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CHIPITA RODRIGUEZ: THE ONLY WOMAN HANGED IN TEXAS DURING THE CIVIL WAR by Carolyn Arrington  I was introduced to Chipita Rodriguez when I took a Texas history course in college several years ago. Our assignment was to pick from a list of subjects on which we would like to do a book report. Being a little bit of a history buff, and a songwriter and poet, Chipita’s story fit my interests very well. I read various books and articles, and did well on the report. But all during my research for the report, I kept thinking the story could be taken to another level. Hence, the song came about. I performed it for a local junior high class, and one student told about a relative’s land that borders the property that Chipita’s ghost walks on. He said her ghost has even been seen in recent years. It seems that on nights when the sky is clear and the moon is full, you can hear her moaning and see her walking along the bank of the river, with the rope still hanging from her neck. History books tell us that Chipita Rodriguez spent her early years in Mexico with her family and later, only her father. Chipita and her father, Pedro, fled Mexico when the Texas Revolution prompted Santa Anna to pledge attacks against the revolting Texians and settlers such as the Rodriguezes. Native American paths and game trails are what most likely guided settlers to the McGloin-McMullen Colony, where Chipita’s legend began. The original settlers had struck out from the Mission Refugio toward their new land in the spring of 1830. Where they stopped was at a low bank crossing off the Nueces River several miles north of the Refugio County Courthouse. Between the Native Americans, cutthroats, gringo bandits and, a little later, Federal troops that might raid the settlers such as Chipita and her father, it was hard to make a living or even survive. During this time it is said Chipta had an illegitimate son by a white man who stole the infant child and abandoned her. She was not to see her little one 199 200 Superstitions, Strange Stories, and Voices from the “Other Side” until many years later. And he would come into play with her fatal demise. Also, somewhere during this time, her father was killed in the Texas Revolution. Chipita settled on the high bank of the river at the crossing and set up an “inn” for paying travelers in the late 1850s. Service consisted of a cot on the front porch and coffee and meals. Records show the land was actually owned by impresarios and Chipita was simply allowed to stake a living in such a lucrative location along the Nueces River. The inn was just a shack overlooking the bluff on the west bank near what was known as Aldrete’s Crossing in San Patricio County. Land at the time was occupied by Mexican ranchers with grants from the Spanish and Mexican governments, and Irish impresarios who also lived by the stipulations of the Spanish and Mexican governments. It is speculated that Chipita was given permission by local officials or the Welder family to establish her “inn.” Chipita was an old woman when she gained notoriety in Texas history. She was thought to be about sixty years old in 1863. The paying traveler who gave her such notoriety was a man by the name of John Savage. He had sold a herd of horses in San Antonio and was carrying a nice pack of gold in his saddlebags. The horses were to be used by the Confederate Army. He was in transition to purchase more horses further south and bring them back to the army. Savage forded the river and settled in for a meal and a night’s sleep at Chipita’s inn. A day or so later, a local family was setting up a picnic on the river, just south of Chipita’s cabin. A servant with the family saw a gunnysack lodged under a log in the river. When she tried to retrieve it, the sack ripped and exposed an arm. The family fled to the closest ranch for help and to notify authorities. The sheriff and deputies found two gunnysacks with John Savage’s remains; his head had been slashed open with an ax. Savage was carrying about $600 in gold, which was never found. The sheriff went to Chipita’s cabin because...

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