The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-01-15
UNDER TIE LASH.
low Thleves are Punished In Virginia.

The state laws OF virginia prOVlde
that all persons convicted of petit lar
ceny shall receive a certain number OF
stripes proportionate to the offense. 10
observe and describe the method OF IN
hicting this punishment a section of the
Post was detailed to visit Alexandria,
where two negroes had been sentenced
by the mayor to be whipped. The Of
Tense for which they were convicted was
small, merely the larceny of a cap, and
consequently the number of stripes was
comparatively light. Shortly after nine
o'clock the men were released from their
cells and brought into the corridor of
the station-house. CHOW, Henry Car
tsr>step up and put your hands through
the eratiag of this cell door," said Lieu.
tenant Jo6hL. Smith Us he drew a new
ly-purchased cowhide whip from it's
wrapping. ,-
A well.formed negro, about twenty
one years of age and naked to the waist,
walked up and placed his hands through
the grating as directed, while the lieu
tenant passed the whip to Officer
Franks, who generally inaicts the pun
ishment.
Chow many, boss?" asked Garter. as
his hands were secured on the other
side.
"Twenty-one," replied the officer.
clay them on light" pleaded Carter,
as he began to sing "Halleluiah and
"Glory to God" to keep up his cour'
age. -.
Swishl Down came the cruel whip
on the mans bare back. A long white
mark looked livid in contrast to the
ebony skin. .'Two!" called the Off.
Ger. as o deep cut showed where the
second blow had struck. The third,
fourth and fifth followed in steady sue
cession, each about one inch below the
other. By this time Garter was bowling
for mercy. The sixth blow fell dlago'
nally across the preceding ones, and the
whole body of the wretched negro
ouivered with agony. Down came the
whip again and Garter writhed like a
snake. The eight, ninth and tenth were
given with such force that Mt the latter
blow the handle OF the whip broke
about eight inches from the butt end.
Without stopping for a new whip 9th,
Ger Franks grasped the instrument
further up and kept at his work. An.
other blow. The whipping was only
half done, and yet it seemed an age to
the reporter, while Carriers back was
already marked like a checker board.
Each successive blow drew from the
negro the most piteous yells. His
body squirmed against the cell door and
raised and lowered in his efforts to get
free. He turned half way round and
the relentless whip wound itself around
his side and drew the blood from his
breast. He jumped in his agony and
the cowhide fell across his neck and
face. Each blow now seemed to sink
like iron into the mans body. The
blood began to rush from the lacerated
flesh, and to one unused to this pun
ishment the scene was almost horrible.
"For Gods sake put something on
my back, captain" screamed Garter, as
the blows fell sharp and singing upon
his back, the pain growing with each
more and more intense. To add to the
scene, if indeed it needed any addition,
the other culprit, Albert Dorsey, who
appeared enduring mentally what his
companion was suffering physically,
commenced to howl as loud as possible.
At last, however, the justice of the law
was satisfied. The whole operation only
took about three minutes, and yet it
seemed as if all the pain which could be
inflicted in that space of time was laid
upon Carter. Although the blows had
ceased it was evident that the pain was
still felt, and the negro thief will carry
the marks of the whipping for some
time to come. -
"Now, Dorsey, it is your turn" said
the lieutenant, and the second negro
was placed in the same position as the
first. "Give him fifteen" added Mr..
Smith, and the officer having cut the air
once or twice with his whip, as if to try
it, proceeded at once to carry into effect
his ~superior's orders. On Dorsey's skin,
which was a light brown, the marks
showed more plainly and the blood
seemed to come quicker. The same
scene was repeated, and though be
seemed to suffer as much pain as Garter,
he appeared to get over it quicker when
the whipping was finished.
"What do you think of this business?"
asked the Post of Lieutenant Smith,
after the whipping was over, while the
negroes were putting on their clothes.
az am in favor of it. My experience
shows that it reduces the number OF lar
cenies to a great extent. Not only that,
but it saves the expense of courts, it
discourages pettifogging lawyers, and
it is far more effectual than jails or
warehouses;, which only harden crimi-
nails"
ST suppose you have seen many cases
of whipping2" inquired the particular
fiber of the Post.
cat Leaf $780," was the reply.
"What is the extent of the law?"
"Seventy.eight stripes. But to in
fict them all at once would kill any
man, and so only thirty-nine are given
daily until the sentence is carried out.
But this number of lasnes is only in
ficted when the offense is an aggravat-
ed one. No person is ever given less
than ten or fifteen"
Meandering over toward Mr.. Franks,
who had thrown down his whip and was
putting on his coat, the Post asked him
how he liked his work.
sob, J am used to it," he answered ;
sand I don't MUD it much. Don't
you think this was a neat iob?"
Perhaps it was. The reporter did
MI lilo tN avrroco on nnonSNn Int
thought he might as we'll agree with
Mr.. Franks, and rather reluctantly as
sented.
"There are not many men who know
how to handle a whip" continued the
officer, enthusiastically. "Some of
them catch hold of it as though it was a
stick, and bring it down heavy. Now 1
don't. I just make a simple twist of
the wrist (ill~ustrating) and bring the
whip down like a spring. That cuts
like a knife, and hurts worse than any
other way"
"What kind of q whip do you like
best ?" inquired the reporter.
"Well, l don't like that kind" said
the gentleman, pointing to the instru-
ment he had thrown down. "It is too
stiff, and liable to break. But it don't
make much difference if it is handled
right. They all hurt"
"Do the men always squeal p
"Sometimes they start out with tue
determination not to open their mouths,
but the whip generally takes that ont of
them. I remember one man, though,
named Rntcher Smith. who tailed off