Chipita's Ghost
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Title |
Chipita's Ghost |
Subject |
Chipita Rodriguez |
Transcript |
Chipita's Ghost The most controversial hanging in Texas history was that of an old woman, Chipita Rodriguez. She was hanged on Friday, Nov.13, 1863. Many believed at the time, and some historians still believe, that she was innocent of the crime. Chipita ran a wayside stopping place on the Aransas River. One night in August, 1863, a horse trader stayed there. He disappeared and his body was found in the river two days later. His head had been split open by an ax. The sheriff found blood on Chipita's porch. He arrested her and her hired man. The ensuing trial was irregular. Some of the jurors were felons; others were friends of the sheriff. Still, the jury recommended leniency, because of the weak evidence. The judge was Benjamin F. Neal, who had been Corpus Christi's first mayor. He ignored the jury's plea for leniency and sentenced Chipita to be hanged. The trial records were destroyed in a courthouse fire, but what little survived suggests the evidence was not carefully considered. The case was highly circumstantial, with no witnesses and no motive. They took Chipita from a jail in San Patricio and transported her in a wagon to a mesquite tree next to the Nueces River. She stood in the wagon with a rope around her neck, in a borrowed dress; but her hair had been fixed for the occasion. When the oxen were whipped, they moved so slowly that the fall did not break her neck. It took her a long time to die from strangulation. A woman fainted, a boy cried, and a man turned away, saying, "I've had enough of this." They buried Chipita in a cypress box under the hanging tree. Legends have long held that on foggy nights, the ghost of Chipita Rodriguez wanders the Nueces River bottoms. Murphy Givens: KEDT Radio Scripts |
Author |
Murphy Givens |
Publisher |
KEDT Radio |
Date |
12/28/2001 |
Type |
Sound Recording |
Format |
MP3; Length 2 min. 17 sec. |
Language |
English |
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