Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1879-03-29


mobbed if he did so, and sarG if he did appeal
he would gain nothing hR it, as year OF
prison life was worse than Aath. During the
whole time he was in prison he manifested
very little nervousness, until toward the last,
when he grew more and more restless. He
seemed to regard his fate as inevitable, and
nothing more than he ought to nave expected.
A Grand GalIOws Ball Concludes the
Ceremony In Virginia.
Richmond (Va.) special to the Cincinnati
Enquirer: The ceremonies yesterday on
the occasion of the double hanging at New
Kent Courthouse, concluded with "A Grand
Gallows Ball, under the auspices of the col
ored citizens of that locality. This part of
the entertainment was given in an old to
bacco barn, near the scene of the execution,
and was as novel in the festive line as it was
characteristic of the negro population. Thou
sands of coored men and women from the
country had attended the hanging, which
took place at noon, and which has already
been described in the Enquirer; out OF this
number four or five hundred stayed over to
the dance. Owing to some strange superstl-
ton, the managers would not allow the ball
to commence until midnight; and so, at that
goblin hour, the gay dancers were ranged
in couples around the room, ready for the
word Go! 1t was a weird scene. The
building was lighted by pine torches, held
by negro boys, who were stationed in the
OOAACtHs IAC hlpJOlllJ Vi INC COMPANY wi
sisted of black youths and maidens; but con-
spicuously in ohe end of the room were a
dozen beautiful quadreons from Richmond,
and in the center of the floor stood seven or
eight Indians, belonging to the tribe at
Indian Town, not far distant. They had
been invited to participate. Prominent
among t5em were Smoking Jack, a sort of
deputy-chief, and Bloody Cloud, a we'll
known brave. The orchestra consisted of
three banjo-players and fiddle. At twelve
o'clock Isaiah Peterson, the boss negro, stood
on a salt-barrel and spoke as follows: The
hour for rejoicing is at hand. Let the music
ians take notice, and all others. Then the
band str, OK up The Mississippi Larger, and
the dancers all started off in the joyous maze.
They shouted with wild delight. The Indians
danced with quadroons, negro men danced
with colored girls, and all went merry as a
marriage-bell. The entertainment went on
in the usual way until two o'clock in the
morning. when Polly Johnson, an old voudoo
negress, made her appearance mysteriously
in the center of the ballroom. She
waved her hand in the air and the
music stopped. She carried a red bag, in
which she had bits of hemp rope cut from the
gallows. She told the dancers if they would
buy a piece of the rope and wear it next to
the heart they would live to Ninety years and
escape all I'll, and she sold out rapidly. She
told them that ii they would go to the graves
OF Smith and Christian, the murderers who
had been hung that day, they would hear
strange calls from an unknown voice. Ac-
cordingly large delegation hurried out to
the tomb. The old bag preceded them. As
they approached they saw two figures NOV
ing stealthily. They tosk them to be the
ghosts of the departed murderers, and Aed
back to the ball-r om and reported the fact.
A dozen of the women tainted. The figures
turned out to be resurrectionists who had
been sent by physicians to steal the carcasses.
Many of the dancers became frightened and
went home, but upward of a hundred re-
manned and danced to FIVE o'clock this morn
ing. At that hour doxolgy was sung, and
the galIows-ball ended; but as the party
emerged from the building the voudou stood
outside and yelled: The devil has marked
VOu alli'"