THE LIVERPOOL & LONDON & GLOBE INSURANCE
COMPANY LIMITED
F. C. WILLIAMS.
AGENT
HAMILTON. TEXAS
HANGING OF JIM AND DAVE BARNES, BECK ABOUT 1860
The Barnes and Beck were guilty of cattle stealing on a wholesale
scale and it was well established that a man by the name of Gardner
had surprised them changing brands and that the Barnes and Beck
killed him, the murder taking place near the old Hibden place. This
hanging was prior to the date of the hanging
of Shaderick Howard in 1862. Shad Howard went by the home of Parson
White [John S. White] and asked White what in his opinion they were going to do with
the trio. White remarked that he thought that the mob would hang them. Howard said no they would Nevr [sic] do that as Beck
and the Barnes boys had too much money.
Old man Beck pleaded with the mob to spare
Jim and. Dave Barnes as it was he who was to blame for having gotten
them into the mess. They had stolen many cattle. G. W. White [George
Walker White] saw cattle that they had stolen
and had changed the
brand.
G. W. White and I interviewed Jimmy Snider Aug 7th 1931, his age
is was [sic] 84 yrs and he was present and saw the hanging of
these three.
He said that they were placed on the back end of a wagon which
had been scaffolled up as high as possible and the wagon pulled
from under them he said that the drop broke the necks of two of
them and that the noose slipped on the third man and almost
slipped over his head and that he remembered some member of the
mob taking his six shooter and shoving the noose back in place.
Prior to hanging the three men they were given a kangaroo court
trial. This hanging took place some where in the Cranfills Gap
Community.
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