Beck

Beck was held in the jail at Austin, Mississippi, when about forty citizens took him out, according to a Memphis dispatch printed in the New Orleans Republican. That dispatch and an Evening Star report say the group carried him to Favorite Island and hanged him from a tree, dating the killing to August 10 and August 11 respectively. The officers of the steamer Cheek, as relayed by a Memphis newspaper, said the men hanged him, while a second account says they rowed him to an Arkansas sandbar and buried him alive. The accounts differ on both the method of death and the date.

Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody

Reported by: Memphis dispatch printed in the New Orleans Republican (reporters).

Sources (7)

• New Orleans Republican, August 12, 1870, page 8 New Orleans Republican, August 12, 1870
• Evening Star, August 12, 1870, page 4 Evening Star, August 12, 1870
• Chicago Tribune, August 12, 1870, page 1 Chicago Tribune, August 12, 1870
• The Evansville Journal, August 12, 1870, page 1 The Evansville Journal, August 12, 1870
• Worcester Daily Spy, August 12, 1870, page 1 Worcester Daily Spy, August 12, 1870
• Delaware Tribune, August 18, 1870, page 3 Delaware Tribune, August 18, 1870
• Chicago Tribune, August 18, 1870, page 4 Chicago Tribune, August 18, 1870