The Servant Girl Annihilators

Book excerpt: The end of 1884 marked the beginning of a mysterious series of brutal killings that left the citizens of Austin, the capital city of Texas, bewildered and terrified. By the end of 1885, the so-called servant girl murders had claimed the lives of at least five black women and girls, one black man, and two white women, most all hacked to death with an ax or a hatchet. The murders produced a marvelous tale of rape, murder, revenge. prostitution, drunkenness, miscegenation, and official ineptitude. This book chronicles those murders and subsequent events. The intent is to give readers the same thorough sense of the crimes Austinites might have experienced through local, state, and national media. 432 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches; maps, photos, index. "Extremely thorough and meticulous . . . a valuable reference source for future researchers of Austin history." (J. R. Galloway, www.servantgirlmurders.com)