36 
INDIANOLA 
their prisoner to me at San Antonio, and I immediately 
placed him in the hands of the sheriff of the county. 
Soon after, I saw him lodged in jail and handcuffed. 
Although this affair did not attract much public 
attention, such things being of frequent occurrence at 
the time, yet, among the class to which the murderer 
belonged, there was much excitement, and threats were 
heard that an attempt might be made during the night to 
effect his release. The prison being an adobe building 
and quite insecure, I deemed it my duty to detail a guard 
of six men from the Commission to the jail for the night. 
The following day an examination took place before 
the mayor, the Hon. J. M. Devine. Many witnesses 
were examined ; and the result was the committal of 
the prisoner, to take his trial for murder. I learnt 
some months after that he was found guilty, and sen- 
tenced to fifteen years imprisonment. He remained in 
prison about two years ; but on my return from the 
survey, I heard that he had made his escape. 
Murders were common in Texas about the time of 
my visit in 1850; and it had been too often the case 
that the guilty escaped justice. At this time the laws 
were better executed ; and now (1853) there is as much 
security for life and property as in the older States of 
the Union. Frontier States often contain a bad popula- 
tion, at least such is the case in their early history. At 
the time of the annexation of Texas, large numbers of 
vicious and ^worthless men, some of whom had commit- 
ted crimes and eluded the hands of justice, had sought 
a home here, where law and order had not then 
been firmly established : life and property were little 
regarded by them. But since the laws have come to be 
