The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1860-12-20
From Lippard's Legends of the ReYolu
ton
THE NAHIELESS DEATH.

THE NAMELESS DEATH.
There is one of the Signers of the Dec
laration of Independence whose death l
would like to picture, but am almost a.
frad.
In the fearful hour Of the Revolution
when our army was without arms, our
treasury bankrupt, this Signer, by the
force of his personal character, alone,
gave muskets, swords and cannon to the
soldiers, hundreds of thousands of dol
lars 10 the Continental Congress. He
was the life, the blood, the veins of our
financial world. To him the Congress
looked for aid, to his counting house
Washington turned his eyes, in his direst
peril, and was not denied. The dollars
of this signer fed our starving soldiers
his personal credit gave US thro'out this
world that which is more than gold
confidence.
And yet,he died-how? Not in duel,
like Button Gwinett, nor surrounded by
the peaceful scenes of home, like Jeffer
son and Adams. Nor did he meet his
fate in battle. But he died
am ashamed, afraid to tell it.
Not two hundred yards from the Old
State House, there rose some years ago
an edifce, whose walls were black, whose
only echoes were sobs and groans, whose
ornaments, some iron manacles and s.oul
timber gibbet. 1t seemed like a Curse
frozen into stone, Pestilence impersoni'
fed in bars and bolts and black walls
In the Revolu ton, while the British held
the city, this edfce rung all day and
night, with the horrible cries of rebe
prisoners. dying the death of dogs, theil
heart eaten up by plague, which had
been created by the filth and corruption
of the den. After the Revolution the
place made hideous by thousand MUIR
ders, was tie residence Of thieves, pi-
rates, assassins, felons of every grade
Among the various groups of felons. W he
b]asphemed all day in this stone Pande.
monium, there was certain class dis
tinguished from the others by their ST.
lence, and their pale faces stamped with
mental agony, and their evident supe-
riority in point of appearance and educa
ton.
Some of this latter class were men,
some were women; torn from their homes
by the hands of brutes, in the shape of
officers Of the law, they were hurled
thro' the gates and left to rot in the com
pany of the robbers, the pirate, the muir
derer.
This class of felons were guilty of a
hideous crime deserving of worse pen
atty than theft or murder.
They were called Insolvent Debtors.
To me. this law of Imprisonment for
debt has ever seemed holy thing, wor-
thy of the golden age of New Zealand,
when burning little children and innocent
women. was pleasant pastime for the
jocular cannibals. 1t is indeed blessed
law, worthy Of the blood and tears which
was shed in the Revolution to establish
our liberties. 1t merely converts your
honest man into felon, inviting him most
cordially to commit robbery, forgery OF
murder, for these things are not punish
ed with half the severity that visits the
head of your unfortunate debtor. Your
forger can buy his Law-sometimes hi:
Judge-your mm derer may procure
a pardon from merciful Governor,
but what mercy is there for the wretcl
who owes money. which he cannot nov
pay?
In order more effectually to demon
strate the beauty of this law as it existed
some thirty years ago. in all its purity
let me beseech you to look through th,
grated windows Of Walnut street goal, il
the quiet of this evening hour.
Il is cell that we behold; four bar,
walls, chair or two, a miserable couch
There is some sunshine here. Yes. tn,