The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1869-08-26
THE MCNEIL BUTCHERY AT PALMYRA.

50 long rs God gives us life, and the earth
is cursed with the presence of Mcneil, we
feel il To be our solemn duty TO rehearse, once
"A year. the story Of the most atrocious and
horrible occurrences in the annals Of barbar-
ons warfare On the 18th Of October, 1862,
u deed was enacted at the Fair Grounds at
Palmyra, Missouri, which sent thrill of hor
ror throughout the civilized world. Ten
brave and true and innocent men were taken
from their prison, driven to the edge of the
town, seated on their rough board collins,
and, for no crime of their own, murdered
like so many swine. Murdered ! Murdered.
BY the old blotch upon creation face, John
Mcneil who now by the grace of bayonets,
Tom Fletcher, and the Devil, is sheriff of St.
Louis county and ,Jacobin in fullfellowship.
There was our poor, handsome, gallant
boyhood friend, Tom Sidcner As pure a
soul as ever winged its flight from bloodstain
ed sod to that God who will yet, to all etemi
tv, damn the liendish butcher Mcneil! Poor
Tom, lie was model paragon OF manly
grace and beauty. SO eXquisltely formed,
features 50 perfect and so fair, so brave and
vet 50 gentle than even the vile reptile, Win
chcll, now editor of the Hannibal Courier
said that Gin his beauty and his wicledness,
he reminded him of Absalom" Poor fellow !.
He was engaged to be married to young
lady in Monroe county. When he learned he
WAS to be Shot, he sent for his wedding suit,
which had lust been made, declaring that if
he could not be married in it he intended to
die in IT, Arraycd in his elegant black broad
cloth and his white silk vest when he mount
ed his coarse plank coffin in the wagon that
was 10 bear him to death he looked MS if he
was going to be married instead of shot! The
very guards cried like children when they
babe him goodbye Raising his cap, and
lowing to the weeping women who lined the
trcctS, he was driven from their sight for
eyer. Half an hour aflcrward, six musket
balls pierced his proud heart, and his white
silk wedding vest was torn and dyed in his
martyr blood.
There was poor old Willis Baker, his head
whitcned with the SHOWS of more than seven
" winters. Heroic old man With his white
hair streaming in the wind, he seated himself
on his rude coffin, and died without shud-
der, refusing with his last breath to forgive
his executors, and swearing he would 'meet
them and torment them in hell through all
ctcnily.n
There was that helpless half-idiot boy from
Lewis county, who allowed himself to be
hIindlolded; then, hearing Sidcner and the
others refuse, slipped up one cc:ner of the
bandage, and seeing the rest with their eyes
uncovered, removed the handkerchief from
There was HUI instead, and BliXcr, and Nc
Phecters.
And there was that most wonderful martyr
of all-yong Smith, of Knox Countrywide
died for another man. Humphrey was the
ow's weeds, with her eight helpless little
ones in deep mourning, that was only less
black than the anguish they endured, or the
heart of him whom she appealed, rushed to
the feet of Mcneil, and in accents so piteous
that a soul of adamdant must have melted
under it, besought him for the life of her hus-
band and father Size was brutally repused.
But Stracham, the monster Of Shelby county
whom the angel Of God, a few months after
wards, smote with Ierodian rottenness and
worms-Stracham whose flesh literally putri
fled and fell from his living skeleton at New
DEMONSTRATION, who has long been pay
ing in the deepest blacklist, hottest hole il
pcrdition the penalty of his forty-ply dam
misunderstanding crimes, was Provost Marshal
He saw the frantic agony of the woman call
ed her into his office, and told her he woul(
save her husband if she would give him three
hundred dollars, and then submit-but oh
humanity shudders, sickened at the horrd
proposal! The wrctchcd halfcrazed, agon
lZed wife, not knowing what she did, accedeC
to save her husbands life. And the mex
morning she was found lying insane and near
ly dead, with her babe at her breast, near tho
public spring of Palmyra. After all this he1
husband was only released on condition thai
another should be shot in his place.
Young Smith was selected. And then caused
a contest without parallel in all the six thou
sand years Of human history. Humphrey re
fused to let any man die in his stead declar
ed he should feel himself murderer if he did
Smith protested that he was only poor or
phan boy, so far as he knew there was not
soul on earth to grieve for him; that Humph
rey had a large family entirely dependent up
on him for daily bread, and ii was his duty Il