East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1862-07-22
The Last victim of the Gauntlet

An imperial rescript, bearing the date
of the Goth of August, 1854, and the
signature of tho Emporer Francis Jo-
seph of Austria, has abolished fore YER
more, within regens of the whole A us
trian empire, that terrible chastisement
running the gauntlet. Terrible it
was, indeed-a cruel and barbarous
remnant Of those dark and dismal times
called the middle ages. witnessed
the last execution of this kind, and re-
corded it for the benefit of those who
still cling with strange fondness even to
the worst legacies of by gone centuries.
On an autumn morning, in the year
1851, the garrison of the fortress of
Theresienstadt, on the Eyer river, in
Bohemia, was formed IN large square
on the spacious place before the resi-
dence of the commandant In the mid.
die Of the square, drawn up in file, stood
company ola rifle battalion, to which
the deliquent belonged. 1t was un.
armed, each private (thcrc were three
hundred) being provided with switch,
and placed at a small distance from the
next man. At the tenth stroke of the
clock the drums We're beaten, and
amidst silence deep and oppressive,
the prisoner was marched into the
square.
HI was as fine looking man as ever
| had set my eyes upon-tall, powerful,
and we'll formed. His handsome fea
lures, to which black mustache gave
a bold and martial expression, shone
forth in the full glow and vigor of man
hood, only they were of deadly pal"
ness.
He was a non.commissioned officer,
and during the last campaign in Italy,
in l549. be had distinguished himself
in such a manner that his superior Off
GERS had recommended him for promo.
tion. Austria is more generous than
England towards those that shed their
blood in her servi, Z, and he would have
been made commissioned officer long
slnce-in spite of his humble origin and
his poverty if il had not been for a
fatal impeachment. The impediment was
very choleric man; harsh and brutal
towards bis interiors, mOrose and stub
born towards his superIors whenever
they deemed it necessary to check or
rebuke him. He was hated by the men
to the utmost. There was not n prl.
vate in the whole battalion that had not
vowed him revenge. He had never
made one friend, nor did he care to
have one. Strict in the performance of
his military service...the most minor
duties of which he discharged with the
utmost exactness, he went his own way
reserved, solitary. lnnumerable were
the punshments which he had brought
upon the men; for however slight the
offence might be, he was sure not to
pass it over in silence.
His superior officers respected him
for his usefulness, his ability, and bis ex-
actitude, but they did not like him
The evident lack of humanity in the
man made him au object of doubt rath.
er than of love Moreover, there was u
vague rumor about his having once
struck at his own officer in a pellmell,
caused.by hand to hand encounter
with the enemy. The report never took
clear shape, the officer having been
killed in the engagement, and the gos-
sipings OF few wounded soldiers hav.
ing been much too inherent and contra
dictory to lead TO formal investigation
of the matter besides it was at the
victory of Novarra. He had greatly
distinguished himself, and old Field
Marshal Ranetsky had, with his own
hands, affixed the golden medal on his
breast. The rumor, however, together
with the knowledge Of his harsh and
violent temper, caused his name to be
erased from the list of those that were
recommended for higher promotion.
When this accident was made known
to him, he became even more sullcn,
more cruel than ever; but always, it was
we'll understood, for the benefit of the
service, the slightest demands of which
he performed with the same immutable
strictness as he enforced them to be
done by others. Ass,
A few weeks previous to tho dread
full punishment which he had now To un
dergo, he was mounting guard in the
outworks with some twenty or twenty.
five men of his own company. 1t was
chilly, rainy night, and when the sen.
tries were relieved they were glad to
stretch themselves, wet as they were,
upon the floor near the large stove ear
the middle Of the guard.room. The
floor was not being very clean, floors
seldom are in these localities,) and the
white uniforms of the men being wet,
it was 10 wonder that the dirt adhered
to them with tenacity that dehed all
exertion to get it off, when the wear.
ers were reused by this sergeant to
prepare fos standing guard once more.
The more they tried to rub their clothes
clean, the more sturdily he lent help.
ing hand to their endeavors by an ap.
phcation to the sad equipment of every
Austrian non-commissioued ofiicer--thc
stick While no was fully at work,
cutting away at the men with powerful
arm, the door opened, and tho officer on
duty entered the guard.room.