Garrison was hung sixty years ago tonight. Sam Terry, the sheriff, knew
it was going to happen. Mr. Williams was out with a herd, and Terry sent
Deputy Meadows out to get him to come in. Mr. Williams held a commission
as deputy. There was a sheriff named Raby White, no kin to the other
Whites, who came from the north to run the Graves Flour Mill. He ran it
for a time and a man named Drew took it over. And White became a deputy
sheriff, office deputy.
White did not believe in mob law and hangings, and Terry was afraid he
would hurt somebody. The gang which did the hanging was composed mostly of
neighbors of Garrison, who lived down in the Evergreen Community east of
Hamilton, about a mile southwest of the old Tom Pierson place. There were
about 76 men in the mob which approached the jail. There were at the jail,
besides Mr. Williams, who was in charge, Ed Secrest, Jim Pinkerton, the
jailer, a small man, and this man White, who was a fine looking man about
forty years old.
When the mob approached the jail from the east they called out for the
release of Garrison, to open up the jail, which was on the north side
behind saloon row. Mr. Williams answered from the window that he would not
open, said they would have to break it down. They approached closer and
started in at a window. White asked Mr. Williams whether they should
shoot. He said, no, he had too many friends in the bunch.
When the gang first approached Garrison thought it was his friends
coming to release him. He called out, "Hurrah, brave boys. Break it
down!" One of the gang called out, he thought it was Louis Manning, a
saloon man, in reply, "You son of a ....., you will be in ... within
the hour!"
When they started in at the window it was of no use to resist. The
jailer Pinkerton’s hands shook, he was too nervous to open the door with
the key, and Mr. Williams had to do it. When the procession started toward
the old cemetery they had Garrison in the vanguard. Mr. Williams came
along in the rear, said he walked beside Bill Secrest, brother to Ed
Secrest who had been on guard with him. I understood the men were masked
and wore raincoats, though it didn’t look like rain. He said Will
Claunch was in it, and that the leader was Seth (or Simp) Webber. The
Livingstons were not in it, though they were usually in on hangings. Said
Jim (Shack) had bought horses from Garrison.
Garrison, who wore a big red moustache, was the leader or member of an
organized gang of horse thieves. The horses were brought in from other
places. When they went to hang him they asked him about a certain horse
stolen near San Antonio. He refused to answer any questions. They hauled
him up once and let him down and he still refused to answer. At first they
did not want Mr. Williams where he could hear the questions and the
conversation, but he edged up and heard it.
The gang had men posted around town to prevent interruption, had a man
under the old liveoak tree in the southwest part of the square. Grandma
Pierson was running the hotel on the corner. Judge Pierson heard the
commotion over toward the jail and came out on the upstairs porch. This
man at the tree yelled to him, "Judge, go back in." He did. Mr.
J. T. James stepped out of his door, and was prodded in by a man with the
but of a gun.
Garrison had a bad influence on the younger men. They never could pin
down anything on him through the regular processes of the law, did not
have enough evidence to convict him.
