The Beaumont Incident
Howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas!
We're in a series about one of the top Texas Ranger lawmen to ever wear the badge, the great Frank Hamer, who was brought out of retirement to take down Bonnie and Clyde.
In the last post in this series Frank's Ranger unit or company, was ordered to Austin, TX where they were thrust into the volatile environment of racial tension between Blacks and Whites.
I believe the Rangers were sent in because they worked strictly by the law and didn't care what color anyone was. But whenever there was a crime committed by a Black person in Southeast Texas all hell broke loose and lynch mobs were out in force.
Today's story
Much of the work Frank and his companions performed was secreting suspects from jail or prison to the various court houses. Many times the lynch mobs were so large, we're talking thousands of people, the Rangers called on the state militia.
The militia would furnish teams of between 25 to 50 men to accompany them and help guard the prisoners. Frank had never seen anything like it!
Public executions by hanging were still being carried out and when it was a Black man who'd committed a crime against a white person the typical crowds numbered about 5 thousand!
At times, especially in small towns, lynch mobs would show up in the middle of the night, take over the jail, drag out any Blacks that were there and hang them all. That was the kind of atmosphere the Rangers found themselves in.
The incident in Beaumont
Beaumont, Texas was a growing city in Southeast Texas located just 20 miles from Louisiana. It sure wasn't a West Texas town, it was Deep South for all intents and attitudes. Pre-Civil War feelings prevailed about Blacks.
One day a Black youth heard screams and went to see where they were coming from. By the time he got there he found a 13 yr old white girl name Ada Bell Hopkins. She'd been brutally raped and beaten unconscious.
The kid saw a Black man running away and two other black men chased him into the woods but lost him. The police were called, the whole city went berserk with rage, the woods were searched by a massive crowd of angry white men.
An innocent Black man was out hunting for squirrels with a shotgun and he was killed "by accident." But the suspect wasn't caught.
Even though the Blacks had reported the crime, had given descriptions and helped in the hunt, two Black owned businesses were burnt to the ground that night as well as several Black owned houses.
A main suspect is found
The county Sheriff did a good job of rounding up "suspects" but they were really just temporary scapegoats, not real suspects. He knew he had to show some results fast or else there would be even more bloodshed.
From interviewing witnesses the Sheriff found out that some had seen a 30 yr old black man talking to the young white girl earlier that day.
They would remember such a thing because a Black man in that time just didn't strike up conversations with white females, especially 13 yr olds.
He's toast
The cat's name was Claude Golden and he got a visit from the Sheriff the next day and they searched his place. Golden had burned his shirt but deputies found a blood-stained cuff which hadn't burned up.
Pitiful job of destroying evidence, had to of been drunk.
So he and a Black kid were arrested. Well, word spread like wildfire and a huge, angry, well-armed mob was forming.
Amazingly Frank showed up in Beaumont that day, by himself, and volunteered to guard and keep the two Black prisoners safe! The only person in the world who could pull off what happens next is Frank Hamer.
Thanks for reading folks, God bless you all!
-jonboy
Texas
PS- If you've been reading my posts you know I keep finding great wire sculptures. Here are a few created by the same lady who made the giraffe, Kendra Haste.
![befsl9inqp.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://img.esteem.ws/befsl9inqp.jpg)
![1ybyqihgip.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://img.esteem.ws/1ybyqihgip.jpg)
![b8943gazo6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://img.esteem.ws/b8943gazo6.jpg)
![l1xgphrt5d.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://img.esteem.ws/l1xgphrt5d.png)
![uvsylyennv.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://img.esteem.ws/uvsylyennv.png)
![ak059z170l.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://img.esteem.ws/ak059z170l.png)
Was this black man really guilty janton?
Hey you're getting ahead of me! lol. but since you are one of the few Australian readers I'll tell you that he was very guilty.
Did you like that wire mesh Ostrich?
Ha, I do, he looks like he is running. Are you familiar with our Australian Emus? I wrote a post on them a while ago, I think...... too many posts since, lol. Emus are not as fast as the Ostriches.
I like those crazy birds too. lol. We have a commercial over here by an insurance company and for some reason the guy has an Emu with him all the time, it's pretty funny. It usually has sunglasses on!
Hahaha, must be a sight.
It is, here's a picture of them:
Howdy Janton! I am so behind, that I am getting anxiety from it! If I had a dishwasher, I would save so much time!!! LOL!
Anyway, here I am and if I have time I come back little later or tomorrow.
I see Frank's job is not getting any easier! Even for a cool guy like him this is a lot to handle, but so far he is keeping it under control. But those people there were total nuts!!!
Love those sculptures by the way! Really cool!
Howdy Miss Lena! so glad to see you are catching up somewhat and sorry you are behind, that's frustrating. Take your time with my stuff. Should I stop posting for awhile so you can catch up easier? lol.
I guess that would help. lol. But I could not ask you to do that. I should be able to catch up today, although I have to do a photoshoot.
Is the photoshoot with a famous person or just some vegetables? lol..a photoshoot always sounds like taking photos of a celebrity! I didn't post anything today so that will help a little bit.
Janton, I don't have time for nonsense, lol. You know very well, what it means when I say photoshoot, But yea, I know it is sounds like it, lol.
Well if you don't have time for nonsense then you're too busy! lol.
Howdy Jonboy, looking forward to the next one.
Blessings!
Howdy and thanks sir papilloncharity! How was your Sunday?
Your posts are getting wild! Very diversified and interesting!
Thank you sir kaminchan, you are too kind! lol.
Hi, @janton!
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Sounds like this is going to get interesting? LOL.
Howdy tonight sk43! It's a crazy deal that he goes through, thanks for reading!
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Oh gosh, these stories get me all bent out of shape with suspense. You just had to leave us hanging. Well, at least not literally.
lol! At least you didn't get lynched. sorry, I just had to include that little teaser because the story's pretty remarkable. lol. If we think things are a mess these days..just look back at those times!
A rotten apple.
Who you callin a rotten apple sir Vincent? You better be talkin about the story. lol.
Touche, touche! Oh, wasn't I clear enough. I was talking about the rapist.
Well that would be mild compared to many of the things I've been called so "rotten apple" isn't that offensive really. lol.
😊