ANOTHER HEMPSTEAD MURDER.

Ex-Sheriff Thos. McDade the Victim of an Assassin's Bullet.

Parties who arrived in this city on the 12:40 o'clock westbound Central train from Hampstead on Monday night brought news of the killing of Capt. Thos. McDade, the ex-sheriff of Waller county.  The killing occurred between 10 and 11 o'clock the same night.  Capt. McDade's son, Aleck, was lying at the point of death in the last stage of conmsumption (sic) and the captain, who was sitting up with him, had gone out on the gallery to get a drink of water.  While in the act of drinking he was fired upon from the dark by a cowardly assassin with a shotgun charged with buckshot and was instantly killed.  Two of the shot took effect in his right shoulder and breast, and a third passed through his neck, breaking the vertebral column.  News of the tragedy spread rapidly through the town and the friends of the murdered man promptly assembled together and took steps to ferret out the guilty party.  Bloodhounds were telegraphed for to Bryan and arrived at 4 o'clock on Tuesday morning.  They were put upon the trail at once and followed it until they reached the residence of Mrs. Alchin, the widow of Stephen W. Alchin, who was killed in Hempstead a few months ago by some of the friends of McDade.  Here they found Joe Blassingame, a well known young citizen of the place, who was immediately taken into custody and lodged in jail on suspicion of being the murderer.

The killing took everybody completely by surprise.  It was thought that all the old feuds had been settled and that the town and county were at last to settle down into uninterrupted peace and quietude.  The prominent leaders of the two factions held a meeting on Saturday in Hempstead, agreed to bury the hatchet, and had a big banquet and champagne supper on Saturday night.  The deceased was not at the festal board, as he had to be at home attending to his sick family, but he entered into the fraternal spirit, approved of the steps that had been taken and went down and helped to carry some of the parties home who had imbibed rather too freely over the general merry-making and interchange of kindly feelings.  The killing has aroused public indignation to the highest tension, all the good that had been accomplished has come to naught and the factional war is expected to break out afresh.

Dr. H. Bouldin, a citizen of this county, who lives between Brenham and Chappell Hill and who is a brother-in-law of the deceased, heard of the killing while in the city on Tuesday and left immediately for Hempstead.  He was bitter in his denunciation of Attorney-General Hogg and Judge Burkhart, whom he holds responsible for the murder, as they were instrumental in getting Capt. McDade to resign as sheriff, and claimed that if he would only resign Hempstead and Waller county would be a perfect paradise.  Capt. McDade in order to secure peace gave up his his (sic) office, but the killing has been going on as much as ever.  Dr. Bouldin says that if Capt. McDade had not been induced to resign he would be living to-day.

"Another Hempstead Murder.", Brenham Daily Banner, Wednesday, November 28, 1888, p. 4, col. 2.

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