Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1864-02-24

laid hold of the handle of the basket, while
the other detained the pal. Tou viii tell
US where is your husband said they
%, dear me, don't know I'm poor
lone woman, aad where nay husband Is can't
consaiye. I'm sure.
You will tell Us where Is your husband,
repeated the men and one of them, getting
upon his feet, stood before her at the door.
He's on the mountain somewhares- | don
know TThar, and don't keer, cried the wld-
ow. excited There was something IN the
stolid determined looks Of the brothers she
did not like He's bad man, Mr.. Stack
ridge is I'm "a secesaionist myself lou are
welcome to everything in the house-only
let me go now -.
door. till YOU tell US. We come for dat
On entering, they had placed their muskets
In the corner. The speaker took them, and
handed one to his comrade. And now the
widow observed that out of the muZzle OF
each protruded the butt-end of small COW
hide. Each soldier held his gun at his side,
and LAYING hold OF the said butt-ehd, drew out
the long taper belly and dangling lash of the
whip, like black snake by the neck.
The widow screamed. It's adj a mistake.
Let me go. amt Mis- Stackridger
Nothing so natural as that the wife OF the
notorious Unionist should deny her identity
at sight of the z:hips. The soldiers looked at
each other, muttered something in Ger
man, smiled, AM replaced their muskets il
the corner.
You tell us where is your husband, or else
whip you Dat is our ORDERS This they
said IN low tones, with mild looks and with
caimness which was frightful. The widow
saw that she had to do with men who obeyel
orders literally, ard knew no mercy
Il hain't got no husband | amt Mis-
Stackridge. Pm poor lone wilder, that
! Jest come over here TO berry few things, and
that's ALL
We unterstan. You say shust now you are
Mrs Stackridge. Now you say not. Dat
make no difruns. We know. You tell US
where is your husband, or We string YOU up
This speech was pronounced by both the for
| eiguers, a sentence by each, alternately. At
the conclusion one drew strong cord from
1 his pocket, while the other looked with salts
| faction at certain hooks in the plastering
! overhead, designed originally for the support
| of kitchen pole, but now destined for an
otler use.
| Don't you da5t to tech me p screamed the
( false Mrs. Stackridge. I'm a secessionist
myself that hates the Union-sArekers wusn
! you do, and Eve got a son that's a capting,
! and poor lone wilder at that
! Dat we don't know. What we know IS,
YOU tell what we say, or we whip you. OATS
! Captain Shprowls orders
Captain Sprowl That's my son my own
son! If he sent YOU, then it's all right
/ So we tink All right And the sol
1 diers Selling her, tied her thumbs as Lysan-
| der had taught them, passed the cords over
/ the hook as they had passed the clothes-line
! over the cross-beam the night before, and
drew the shrieking woman's hands above her
! head, precisely they had hauled up Toby's
/ They then turned her skirts up over her head
and fastened them. This also they had been
/ Instructed To DO by Lysander. 1t was, you
will say, shameful; for this woman was free
and white. Had she been slave, with a
! different complexion, although perhaps quite
as white, would it have been any the less
I shameful? Answer, We believers in the di-
/ vine rights Of slave-masters
Now you viii tell > said the phiegmatic
Teutons, measuring out their whips.
60 for my son My son is Capting
/ Sprowl = gasped the stifed and tcrror-strick-
/ en- widow.
Dat trick Won't do You shpeak, or we
shtrike'
1t is true; it is true / am Mrs Sprowl,
/ and my husband is dead and my son is Cap
/ ting Sprowl, and poor lone wilder, that if
( you. strike her a single blow he'll have you
| took and hung
If he is your son, den by your own sons
| orders we whip you. He viii not hang US for
dat. You viii not tell , Den we give you
ten lash.
Blow upon blow, shrek upon shrek, fol-
/ lowed. The soldiers counted the strokes
/ aloud, deliberately, conscientiously, as they
/ gave them, Yum, Two, tree &c, up to ten
/ There they stopped. But the screams did not
1 stop. This punishment, which it was sport to
! inHict upon faithful old negro, which it
would have been such a good joke to have
( bestowed upon the wife Of 4 staunCh Union
list, was no sport, no joke, but altogether a
tragic affair to thy mother, ., Lvsander |,
Then she, who had often wished that she
too owned slaves, that when she was angry
she might have them strung mp and logged,
! knew by fearful experience what it was to be
! strung UP and logged. Then she, who SYM
/ pathized with her son in his desire to see ev-
cry man, woman and child, thatIoyed the old
Union, served in this fashion, felt In her own
writing and bleeding flesh the stings of that
| lnhmnaE vengeance. Terrible bundcr, for
which she had only herself Ito thank Rob
/ berry of her neighbor's hOuse-the dishonest
/ borrowing not of these ill-gotten goods
/ only, bCl also of her ueighbor's name-had
I brought her, by what we call fatality, TO this
/ strait. Fatality Is but another name for Prov
! ideuce.
The soldiers waited for a lull in the shrieks
! then put once more the question:
( You tell now Where is your husband /?
! No, Den you git ten lash more. Always
/ ten lash tiIl You tell
\ storm of incoherent denial, angry threats
/ sobs, and screams, was the response. One of
I the soldiers drew her skirts over her head
/ again, and gave another pull at the cords
! that hauled up her thumbs, while the other
! stood off and measured out his whip. Jusl
! then the door opened, and Captain SprowI
| looked in
How are You getting on, boys?' The
! question was accompanied by an approving
smile, which seemed to say, i see you are
getting OH very well
I'VE whip her once. We give her ten lash.
She not tell
Very well. Give her ten more
The widow struggled and screamed Had
she recognized her sons voice Muffied as
she Vas, he did not copnize hers Nor was
it surprising that, in the unusual posture In
which he found her, he did not know her from
Mrs. Stackridge. Tie stood in the door and
smiled while the soldier laid on.
Make it Dozen he quietly remarked
And smart ones to wind up p So It happen
Cd that, thanks to her sons presence, the
screeching victim got two smart ones addi-
tonal
Now uncover her face. Ease away on her
thumbs little. I'll question her mys-Good
Luciter " exclaimed the captain, finding him