Tag: Austin Daily Statesman

Mothers and Sons

March 10, 2014 ·

Unidentified albumen print. One morning before dawn in the summer of 1883, a strange persistent cry echoed through a west Austin neighborhood and caught the attention of two women, Sophia Phillips and Sallie Mack, both of whom lived nearby. They went to investigate and much to their surprise they soon came upon an abandoned infant lying in the grass. There was no sign of the mother. Inquiries were made but no one could find where the… Read more.

The Great Bat Slaughter of 1885

March 23, 2013 ·

Austin, Texas is the seasonal home to a large population of Mexican free-tailed bats who spend their summers under the Congress Avenue bridge on the edge of downtown.  According to Wikipedia it is the largest urban colony in North America, with an estimated 1.5 million bats. The Congress Avenue bat colony is a popular tourist attraction and bat aficionados line the bridge on summer evenings to witness the impressive display as the colony departs into the skies over Austin at… Read more.

Robinson Residence. Scene of West Austin Crime Spree. May 1, 1885

August 7, 2012 ·

The Robinson ResidenceCourtesy DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, Ag2008.0005.   Many people must have been aroused between one and two o'clock by a rapid discharge of fire arms on Rio Grande street, near its intersection with Pecan.  This time it was at the residence of Mr. J. H. Robinson.  Some outhouses occupied by colored women were visited, window panes broken in, and the inmates frightened nearly to death.  Their screams aroused the family.  Mr.… Read more.

Notes on Research

July 25, 2012 ·

I am not the first to delve into this mystery.  The first time I opened the drawer of the microfilm cabinet and saw all the small cardboard boxes of microfilm packed snuggly inside, I noticed that the boxes labeled 1885 were noticeably more worn than any of the others, undoubtedly having been pulled out, opened and put back many times before I got to them.  I wondered who had looked at them and what they had found. What was I… Read more.