Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1870-06-11

The Last Sensat tiOn I'm Lexington
ky.-A Little Child ShOcIeingiy
ON the street!
From the Lexington Caucasian extra. June T.
Our usually staid, quiet and orderly
city has, just passed through season Of
terrible excitement. Under the hill, as
we write, this beautiful June morning,
lies little child, scarcely more than an
infant, mutilated ruined for life, by the
brutal lust of a black-skinned fend.
Under a locust tree, on Main Cross
street, just opposite to where the spire Of
the Cumberland presbyterian church
points'to that heaven whose pearly gates
nothing impure or unclean can ever
enter, lies stark, stiff and dead, the car
cass Of the beastly ravisher.
Richard Wilkinson is an Englishman,
who keeps a small grocery and saloon on
the levee, just above A. G. Williams old
warehouse. Educatedin the old English
school of abolitionism, Wilkinson is a
Radical of the darkest type-a believer
in and a practicer Of nigger equality,
And fearfully, awfully, have his own doc
trines come home to plague him. Among
the niggers who we're encouraged to
lounge about his store, was one, John
Tolliyer by name, thick-lipped, drunken,
and black as Erebus Last Saturday it
was discovered that this monstrous
savage had horribly outraged a little
daughter of Wilkinson s-A CHILD ONLY
SIX YEAss OF AGEl The wretched little
victim is hideously mutilated, and in
fected with most loathsome disease.
On Saturday evening Wilkinson caught
the destroyer Of his child; and instead
of shooting him down on the spot,
marched him up into town, and deliv-
cred him to Mr.. Flynn, the jailer. On
Monday morning the examination
came off, and the guilt of the black
barbarian was clearly established. The
news Of the horror had by this time spread
like wildfre; and excited groups of both
blacks and whites were to be seen on
every corner. To the credit of our col
ored population be it said, not one of
them, 80 far as we could learn, evinced
the slightest sympathy for the offender;
but they all united in expressing their
adherence of him and his crime The
popular indignation increased as the day
wore on and the circumstances. became
more generally known. And in the af-
ternoon delegation of the leading col
ored men Of the city waited upon one or
two of our prominent citizens, and de-
clared that they wished to remove the
stain fromlthe character Of their race
that if the whites wouldn't interfere they
would themselves take the criminal from
the jail and burn him at the stakel They
were earnest in their request 70 be al
lowed 10 do so Bnt their white friends
advised a more moderate course. A
About nine o'clock at night, however,
a large crowd Of all oolors. characters,
and shades of political opinion, began
to assemble in the vicinity of the Jail |
And il soon became evident that the
atrocious offender was doomed At ten
o clock a rush was made for the prison.
Sheriff Fleming aud his deputy, and
Tailor Flynn, did all in their power to de- I
fend the wretch who had been committed
10 tleir keeping. But two hundred men,
led BY a determined band made up Of ex-
actiy equal numbers of ex-Federal and
ex- Confederate soldiers, were too many
the odds was too great And after a
little gentle choking, The officers grace
fully capitulated In n trice, the iron ]