Texian Macabre: A Melancholy Tale of a Hanging in Early Houston

by Stephen L. Hardin, Gary S. Zaboly (Illustrations)

Mandred Wood may have caught a glint off the Bowie knife that sank into his belly—but probably not. On the afternoon of November 11, 1837, he had exchanged "harsh epithets" with David James Jones, a hero of the Texas Revolution. When words failed, Jones closed the argument with his blade. Such affrays were common in Houston, the fledgling capital of the Republic of Texas. This one, however, was singular. Wood was a gentleman and Jones a member of a disruptive gang of vagrants that the upper crust denounced as the "rowdy loafers." Jones went to jail; Wood went to his grave.

In the weeks that followed, the killing resounded throughout the squalid, verminous city that one resident described as the "most miserable place in the world." Stephen L. Hardin's suspenseful and witty narrative reads like a contemporary page-turner, yet all is carefully documented history. He entwines the murder into the story of the sordid city like the strands of a hangman's rope.

It is an astonishing tale peopled by remarkable the one-armed newspaper editor and political candidate who employs the crime to advance his sanctimonious agenda; the Kentucky lawyer who enjoys champagne breakfasts and collecting human skulls; the German immigrant who sees rats gnaw the finger off an infant lying in his cradle; the Alamo widow whose circumstances force her to practice the oldest profession; the sociopathic physician who slaughters an innocent man in a duel; the Methodist minister horrified by the drunken debaucheries of government officials; and the president himself—the Sword of San Jacinto— who during a besotted bacchanal strips to his underwear.

Skillfully conceived and masterfully written, Texian A Melancholy Tale of a Hanging in Early Houston will transport readers to a lost time and place.

344 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2007

Reviews

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Dr. Stephen L. Hardin. He's a fantastic writer whose books on Texas history are very enjoyable to read. This book covers the confusion and mayhem during the Texas Revolution when Texians (white and black English-speaking Americans) and Tejanos (Latino/Hispanic) took up arms against the centralist Mexican dictatorship of Generalissimo Antonio López de Santa Anna - and declared their independence as a new nation. Many of the participants were featured in the first few chapters - especially a Texas war hero named David James Jones - who survived the Goliad Massacre, and made his escape to the Texas Army. He later participated in the Battle of San Jacinto - one of the most significant battles in our nation's - if not the New World's - history.

Another Texas war hero was General Sam Houston - the commander-in-chief of the Texas Army, and the first man elected president of the Republic of Texas. He set up shop in the new city of Houston (obviously named after him) as the capital of the new republic after the Texians and Tejanos secured their independence with Mexico's defeat. The city of Houston and its citizens dominate the remainder of the book. The good, the bad, and the vermin (two-legged, four-legged, flies, mosquitos, and the diseases they all carried) are also discussed - as well as the law, economy, climate, geography, social status, living conditions, and political intrigue.

There's also a public hanging. Why is this important? Read the book - because it's all tied together in an interesting read. You'll walk away afterwards greatly appreciating the comfortable living conditions we enjoy today - and appreciate more the people who not only endured the harsh conditions of our early history, but who also paved the way for our convenient life and modern comfort.

[Will Rodriguez]

An interesting portrait of Texas’s early republic period and the origins of Houston. The titular hanging is really a frame narrative for Hardin to discuss Texas society following San Jacinto, with his main focus being issues of class. Hardin is a great Texas historian and well worth reading.

[Carol Gaskamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

History written like a novel, about my hometown in the 1830s.

[Heather Duff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. It didn't of course get to much into the main character (who is an actual person in history) but then again there wasn't much for Stephen to go on due to lack of researchable information regarding him. The aspects he includes however and surroundings did keep me interrested.

[Joel Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting tale of crime, punishment, and vice in the early years of Houston, just after the Texas Revolution. Anyone who has read Hardin's "Texian Iliad" will want to read this, as for me it's sort of a companion volume to the earlier work. Features the great illustrations of Gary Zaboly.

[Raymond Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story of early Houston Texas. Stephen has a terrific narrative style.