Becknall, who then lived out east of Clarksville in the Burkham settlement. A searching party was at once organized to trail the horse-thief and they overtook and captured him at Old Jefferson. They brought him back to Red River County, but had no courts in which to try him and no jail in which to confine him.

The people for miles around, hearing of the capture of the criminal and being told of this unusual crime, came to the little village of Clarksville to see the horse-thief. They went upon the block of ground now known as the Clarksville Cemetery with the prisoner, bound and seated in a wagon, for the purpose of hanging him. They had picked out a very favorable limb on an old blackjack tree and had already suspended the rope thereon when Dr. George Gordon, then the husband of Mrs. Isabella H. Clark, arose and entered a plea in quite a lengthy address in behalf of the horse-thief, claiming that his crime though bad did not deserve the death penalty. Eli Hopkins, the brother-in-law of George Gordon, contended that they were forced to hang him for the reason they had no jail in which to confine him and that they could not afford to turn him loose on the public. It was then decided to leave the question to a popular vote of the crowd there assembled.

Here let us note that this was perhaps the first time the women of Texas had the right to vote. They were permitted then to vote and Dr. Gordon put the question to the crowd, stating that all who