The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1861-08-03
Southern Atrocities.

The journal Of Commerce OF a day or two ago
referring to the atrocities and mutlations com
mitted upon our dead and wounded soldiers by
the wretches at Bull Run, who are in insurrec
ton agains, the Government, says:
snow, if any sane person has credulity enough
TO believe such stuff in its length and breadth
we can only say he must have "a poor opinion OF
his own flesh and blood. Does he believe tina,
Americans, civilized people. living the same
soil, uhder the same humanizmg influences, and
in the same age with himself. have degenera'ed
in few short weeks to worse than New Zealand
savages ?"
For our own part, we confess there is good
deal Of flesh and blood about, Of which we have
very poor opinion. without going even so lar
as Virginia to find it. But the mistake of The
Journal il in the assumption that the atrocities
at Bull Run ,erre committed by IA civilized Poo
ple, ''living under the sane Eumanizing irflu-
ences" with ourselves, or that they have degen
Grated in II few short weeks to worse than New.
Zealand sayages" There is no degenelacy in
the case; perhaps il ia putting it rather slrons
20 cav of these people that they are worse than
New Zealand anvages. hut certainly they ase not
IA civilized peoples" and crr:ainly they do not
live under the same "hunanizipg influences"
with ourselves. There is and there must be ~
radical difference between the people of thu.
people Of the North where Slavery has no exis
tence. The social system of that region is a
projection Of he Middle Ages down into sh,.
Nineteenth Century Ii is in condition of semi
harbsrism. and has neither the graces, the amen.
tiles. nor the virtues. though possessing all tn.
vices Of modern civilization.
Jefferson said Of Southern society: "The n.
rent storms; the child looks on, catches the lin
Garments Of wrath, puts on the same airs in the
circle OF smaller slaves gives loose rein to the
worst of passions, and, thus nursed, educated.
and daily exercised in tyranny. cannot hut be
stamped hy it with odio'ts petwiarjGes The man
must be prodigv who can retain his manneys
md mornis untleJrared by such circumstances ~
Certainly, there are no such ''prodigies' now in
Virginia, and it is absurd to expect that the
.odious peculiaritips" have been in the least sof
tened by the long and heated cont, oversy npon
slavery, or that those who in daily domestic life
'give loose rein to the worst of passions ur.
likely to restrain them in the fierce conflict o,
the battle field. There is rot the least pnbabil
ity that the accounts that have reached ns are
untrue, Tor they come toe well authenticated -
But there is side Jyiba facie evidence of thu IL
truth in the fact that they are not in the lea 81,
degree inconsistent with what we know OF South
ern society. l. there any other part of the world
where men, aud even women, Of our WHITE race,
can deliberately chain fplow-creature to a
stake and roast him nv slow fire, standing b,
the while to enjoy the spectacle of his extrcnn,
agony? They do this somewhere in the South
as often as once year, and sometimes oten,r.
Anywhere else are the barbarities ri tarring and
gathering, or cnttoning, OF crue. scourgines. q.
hanging, and other like enorntics pe,petrated
upon unoff;,ndiDg strangers. g spccted, M, o,
propagatng, but only of holding obnoxious opin.
i"nsy Many hund'eds. perhaps thousands, at
Northern people hive been 80 outrsgea at the
South within the last FIVE years This is in time
Of peace; what these people may or may no, do
in time "f war, we have NJ vet but lttl expert.
ence. We hear ~hat they did Mt Bulls Run. on
the first opportunity Eghte, n months ago. Viz
ginia had a little war of her own with one John
Brown, in which, after nm expensive campaign,
she was successful. W., remember that she
skinned one of the victims Of her vengeance
then-a son Of Brown--anh HING IL up in what
they call college down in Virginia. as a trophy.
Enormities Of this sort have nat been practiret
in what are called civilized countries for seyera,
centuries II atrocities, not The same, but of
similar character, were common on the field Of
battle on Sunday, it was not that they were ex.
capiiOnil. but that the opportunities OF perpr.
trating them we're more numerous than ever be.
fore.-(N Y. Tribune