Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-01-24
ExrREaE PENALTY OF THE LAW


! seen upon the streets of Mobile, whom
we shall call Smith, chiefly because it is
not his name, went up to West IenDes-
see to spend the Christmas holidays with
a young lady he used TO sit up with be-
fore the war. and whom he would have
married but for an interpOsitiOn Of Prov
| idence in the shape of an unwilling pa
rent, who wanted to blow him up with a
horse pistol to prevent the wedding.
Smith returned TO the city few days
ago, and was amusing himself and some
OF his friends yesterday by telling very
pretty story Of a way the West Tennes-
seesns have Of punishing cotton thieves
| when they happen TO catch them.
Smith states that while travelling
| through the most wild and barren of the
! Tennessee counties borderingoa the state
/ of Mississippi, he stopped TO spend the
night with an old gentleman in whose
! lot were piled some six or eight bales OF
| cotton. knowing by what an uncertain
| tenure the staple is held by its owners
! further south, when they find it neces-
/ sary to leave it out at night without 8
! guard, Smith said 10 his host, after sup
] per:
az see you've got a fine lot Of cotton
out wonder, Mr.. Grimes; amt you afraid
! somebody'l come along one of these
nights and steal il ~
"Oh, no, said Mr.. Grimes; "cotton
/ stealing is a sort o. dangerous business
round here now, and 1 amt afraid no.
! bOdy's gwine to steal mine"
Before sunrise next morning Smith
was wakened from a sound sleep by some
Of the heaviest swearing he had heard
since the mule tromped onto" Capt.
| Browns toes at Corinth, just before the
& frf,f NJ "a fln
| 10 the window and looked out. Old man
Grimes, bareheaded and in his shirt
sleeves, was standing on his pile Of cotton
bales in the lot, and pouring out whirl-
wind of oaths that fairly
| "Shooll the scar leaves from the wood,
! As il a storm PASSED by
Smith, who is fine, practical mathe-
matician, estimates that Mr.. Grimes ut
| tered, in two minutes and a h9RtSsa sutti-
cieut quantity Of d-ns and OtIier impre-
cations 10 sink a flatbOat. Smith threw
| himself into his clothes and went out
/ into the lot to ascertain the cause of the
row. It was about fifteen minutes before
/ the old man could cool down sufficiently
to explain the why and the wherefore Of
his wonderful profanity. But he finally
managed to do it.
Somebody had come during the night
and carried oil two bales Of cotton.
Immediately after breakfast, Mr..
Grimes and his son, a slab-sded, long
| legged young man about eighteen years
of age, and one of their neighbors who
| had been summoned for the chase,
mounted their horses and started in pur-
suit Of the stealerof the cotton. Having
nothing else To do, Smith determined TO
stay where he was and learn the result
of the chase. The weather was cold
but Mrs. Grimes had a good fire, and
seating himself in the corner, Smith
spent the day delightfully."- in talking to
the old lady about the war, and in read
ing a copy Of the patent office report for
1850. A little after sundown Mr.. Grimes
and his son returned, the former driving
q two horse wagon, on WHICH were piled
couple of bales of cotton. Smith walked
out 10 the gate.
"And you got your cotton, did you,
Mr.. Grimes ?' said Smith, interroga-
lively.
j" Yes, / got it,"
"And did you get the fellow that stole
it,"
Yes, I got him."
Where is he ."
He's back yonder.n
"Where ?'
"He's back yOnder a piece
" Is that his wagon ?'
g. 'spOse it's his'n-it amt mine"
All this time the old man was engaged
in embarrassing the horses, and having
| taken them from the wagon he led them
| toward the stable. Smith saw that but
/ little information was to be had in that
! quarter, and turned to young slaJ-sIdes,
/ who sat with his left leg thrown across
! the neck of his horse and biting the end
of a switch.
And you really caught the fellow, did
you ," said Smith 10 young Grimes.
You bet, " answered that gentleman.
"Then, where is he ?''
Why, jest as daddy told yOu-he's
back yOndeT a piece"
But back where9"
Why, back yonder in the woods
where me and daddy and Jim Nicks
histed him to limb"
q" What you don't mean to tell me
you actually hung him" "
"Of course We hung him. You don't
| take Inc and daddy and Jim for pasSel
| Of -- fools, do you ,"
"Good heavens :" exclaimed Smith
with unaffected horror depicted in every
| feature Of his face, " is there no law in
| this country? ,"
"Law! why, there's lots of the best
sort Of law in this country. We kotch
! the feller with the cotton, and we tuck
him out into the woods, and swung him
! higher nor a kite; ia like to know what
| the you'd want with any better
law than that"
smith didn't think it safe to enjoy
| longer the hospitality Of the amiable
| Mr.. Grimes, and ordering his horse,
rode on TO the next house, where be
spent the night, determined TO make "A
very early start the next morning for a
| section Of country where theyt had a
different sort Of laws, II no bettbr ones.
| Accordingly, immediately after breakfast
he began a rapid retreat southwark. He
had gone about two miles when young
Grimes came galloping up behind him.
Smiths hair stood on end. He at once
determined to sell his life at the highest
price il would bring but then, remem-
bering that he had no arms, he thought
he had better take his life out OF danger
and was In the act of putting spurs TO his
horse when young Grimes dashed up be-
side him.
"Hello, Mister Is that you? You
amt skeered, hope. / thought you was
gwine 10 run"
Scared? certainly not, said Smith
with white lips and chatterlng teeth
" What Is there 10 scare me@'
4" Nothing that / know Of. ] was
gwine down the road a piece, and ss.N
you on ahead Of me, and ] thought ia
catch up and ask you If you didn't want
10 ride out here into the woods and see
that feller that me and daddy and jim
sent up the spout"
BY this time Smith had gotten pretty
well over his scare, and seeing tina
Grimes, like himself, was unarmed, con
cluded to go and see If the "feller
really had been hanged. They had gone
about three hundred yards from the rOaC
when Grimes refined up his horse
'Yonder he is, " said be. Smith looked
in the direction indicated, and there
dangling from the limb Of tall tree
with legs about three yards from tn
ground, was the unfortunate man Wh'
had loved cotton not wisely but 10,
well.
Do you know who he was? " askeC
Smith, sOlemnly.-
No, ] don't; but I guess he WI
nothing but one Of these here - rebels
and his nanny ought to be shot for no
hanging him when he was baby.n
Smith was once rebel" himself
, having gallantly drawn h(Apay as quar-
| termaster's clerk in defenG Of bis cOun
try, and this remark Of young Crime
added very little to the comfort Of hi
feelings. He ventured to ask
Are there many rebels about here p
No" said Grimes, there ain
many now; we've got 'em pretty wei
thiuned out in this neighborhood" ."
Smith drove his spurs into the flank
Of his horse, and dashed off through th
woods as If the very dickens had been a
: his heels Hold on Pm gwine you
way" was the last he heard Of yOuni
Grimes or any of his family.
A punctual man is rarely poor man
and never a man of doubtful credit. Hi