The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-11-30
BARBARIC DELAWARE.
How She is Joined to Her
Idols, the Whipping-Post
and the Pillory.
Fyom our o,on Correspondent.

has no penitentiary." So. at least, you Will be
told by every one OF her Inhabitants. Yetthere
Is in this town q neat and commodious jail
which would answer every purpose, and which
in not now more than half full. The greater
number NJ ,is Inmates are serving out the
orthodox term six n,o,,." 80 which is usually
allotted them, in order that their lscersteo
backs may have chance to heal before they
are turned loose upon the world. At present
in addition to the usual number OF short.term
prisoners there are two who are TO
pass the remainder of their lives within
its walls. One Of these is white man
named Frazier, who murdered his
brotherin.law at Middletown four or five
years ago. Before entering upon his weary SO
journ within the prison walls he received sixty
lashes on the bare back, administered with such
force that he broke down before the terrible
ordeal was ended, and had to be doctored up to
enable TIE Sheriff to finish his dirty work with
official grace. The other is q yellow" man
who recentv shot down his own brn'"-
-Aor,
S,bite in drunken I'll the origin OF the quarrel
beinv n five.cent plug of tobacco. HIS BACK also
yuoa decorated with sixty blows from the cav,
n,nine.tails, before he WAS conducted 10 MS cell
for life. ..,, - .,,o
Ina long. narrow enclosure attached to the
,aII stands the yenerated idol of Delaware. IL
About eight feet from the ground is a square
,latform, on which are placed the unhappy
scratches whose necks and wrists are thrust
through the small holes in the horizontal
board which passes through IL near the TOP
giving 1t at q distance the appearance OF q cross
Five feet from the ground the post Is graced on
either side by a stout iron manscle, In whlcn
is laced the wrist of the culprit VINO is 10
undergo a public thrashing. In front of the
To
pIsced there last Saturday for the accommoda-
tion of two or three urchins, whose stature
would not enable them to hug the instrument
of torture gracefully without some slight ele'
walton.
Last Saturday morning a man was pinned
down in the pillory for an hour, after Whlch ne
was given half an hour or so to get his limos
Htrsightened out, before he was again secured
to the post to receive twenty lashes-all for the
theft of small quantity of dry goods. Six
others on the same day were also given occa-
sion 10 remember that Delaware justice Is sell
dom tempered with mercy. Two or three OF
these were mere children, and another was an
old grey haired man who had appropriated a
shirt to his cWn use. Your correspondent was
assured this morning that a great deal or sym
pathy has been wasted on "this old reprobate
who ought to have been hung long ago." but
precisely why he would have been benenteo
by hanging, was not mace 10 8ppeaIs
Learning that another exhibition of middle
age justice would be given to-day at this place
your correspondent journeyed hither, ano
about o'clock this mo orning repaired to the
SheriT's Office. Unhappily that functionary
was out of town at the time, bent on ofllcia
business. But an ex-sherif whose term CLOSED
but O fortnight ago, was acting as his asslstan
and present representative.
sis anybody to be publicly hogged here to
day % queried your correspondent.
"Yes," was the answer, gruf and hasty; "ont
fellow will get twenty lashes some time during
the day."
"At what hour, please?"
nNoLo-with great earnestness- mot till
dozen or two reporters get here TO write ii up il
grossly exaggerated style"
"Then the report of last Saturdays whipping
which was published in Philadelphia paper
was grossly exaggerated"
"Are you reporter"
Your correspondent assented.
"For what paper" was the next query.
The name of the journal we represented was
given. To our great surprise 1t transformed the
exSheriff from state OF simple eX-otficla
gruhness into one of downright eXsof1icla
wrath. He proceeded forthwith to denouucC
the report of last Saturdays devotions at the
shrine of st. Pillory in unmeasured terms, de-
caring that one fourth of 1t was highly imagt
native, and the remaining three. .fourths utterly
without foundation. We thereupOn explained
that the ex-official had contrived to get the
names of two different journals mixed, and thai
we were present, for the first time, TO see fol
ourself how Justice Is administered in Delaware
and to give q truthful and unexaggerated ac-
count of IT.. This explanation by no means
appeased the lrate ex. Sheriff, but 1t served tC
turn his wrath into q different channel.
1--WE want you to exaggerate it," he ex'
claimed; 1--WE would prefer that 1t should bC
exaggerated. Pile on the agony, make the
blood run, bring your reporters here from al
parts of the United States, scatter the news al
over the country-that's just what we want
1t will keep'-with quiet chuckle-"all you
Vagabonds and burglars out of the state; they
won't venture into Delaware, II they know
what's in store for them when they get here
And much more in the same style. Bot b.
and by the wrath of the ex-SheriH subsided
and he was developed gradually into cleve
gentleman and an entertaining gossiper, Du
withal great admirer OF the gallows and tn
whipping post-holding both in equal esteem.
From the ex-Sheriff in his more genial mood
and from a score OF others-your correspondent
found but two men who viewed the pillory an
the whipping post as relics of barbarism-W
gathered the sentiment of the people upon tn
subject. "The eyes OF Delaware" whose ster
and admiring gaze kept up the heart OF tn
great "Ad Interim" when Stanton, and Grant
and the whole Senate were in league agains
him, have always contemplated, as they d
still contemplate. these instruments OF tortur
with serenity and approval Delaware has n
penitentlsry, and has no need for one. as NO
one hundred persons are now held In duranc