Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1881-11-29

wearing a St0Neplpe nat Win tue
crown caved in.
Who's dom dis talkin'l" he de-
manded, as he mounted the steps and
overlooked the crowd. What yeu
uns sayin' dis an datfur when ye doan'
/ tell 70 dat whip am gwine
to draw blood, an Lish Taylor am
gwine to below like a calf lie been
right dar myself, an dat Mass'r Tur-
uer ne doan' 90 light on nobody
Iha7e seen hundreds ofpetty offend
ers sent to the jail or workhouse with
out a change Of cOuntenanoe. Of the
half hundred murderers and burglars
have heard sentenced, / never saw
one Of them taken on as Taylor did
when brought down to the post, He
was a strapping big fellow, able to
knock an OK down at a blow; and yet
he begged and whined aud acted like
a baby, and was en- the point ofhaying
a real good cry when the boots and
Kisses Of the colored people AROUND
him acted as a brace. Still, he
trembled and cringed, and exhibited
actual fear. Ifhe had been going to
Jail for three months his face would
have worn a grin of satisfaction, and
he would have felt himself a hero. A
large share Of the crowd looked
startled and anxious, showing that an
impression had been made, and l
heard one mar whisper to another:
20 de Lawd, William, but |
wouldn't be dar fur de bes' fam in
Virginnyl"
Old Turner, as everybody callrd
him, had done all the whipping 1t
glendale for years His face is neither
refined nor brutal, and / could not see
any change in it from first to last. He
proceeded to business 10 a matte. Of
fact. methodical manner. The prisoner
was ordered to peel, and as be slowly
and reluctantly removed his coat,
Turner leaned against the whipping
post and switched the ground with the
whip he was to use. This whip was a
small rawhide, about like those
used with a saddle horse, and had a
s~uspiciously red color for half its
length. The prisoner was slow about
removing bis garments, and the exc
cutioner finally took hold to assist
him. Coat and vest and shirt were at
length removed, and Taylor stood with
only his pants on. The thermometer
marked ninty degrees Bhere. he stood.
and yet be shivered and shook like .
man freezing toideath. His arms were
drawn around the post and his hands
made fast at the wrists, and his pluck
was all gone. IF his sentence could
have been changed to FIVE years in the
State Prison he would have jumped
for joy.
Old Turner wore the same neutral
expression of countenance as he took
his station and swung his whip for the
first blow. 1t was a pretty hard cut.
and Taylor yelled at the top Of hi.
voice:
"Ohi Cod Oh for de Lord but
somebody save me- Oh Mass'r Tur.
ner, if you'll let me off III die fol
youl"
Had a prisoner shouted this in Z
police court in the North the specta.
tors would have reared with laughter
There wasn't a smile TO be seer in thu
crowd around the whipping post. L
was a warning that made men trembl,
and women wipe their eyes.
"-two-three -four-fve-fell tn,
blows, and a boy ten years ola woul,
not have exhibited more ~cowardice.
think he got it worse for taxing on a.
he did. After the twelfth blow | saw
blood on the prisoners back. but wher
the thirteenth had fallen there va
nothing revolving in the close inspeo
ton Of the flesh. There were Well
and ridges and some blood, but M.
, simplest remedy would heel "a
wounds within a week. Whe
the last blow fell, the prisoner VIII
D had kept a true count all throug
D despite his excitement. was overeom
e with joy, and, raising his voice to II
D highest pitch, he shouted:
Z, "0hl yain't l happy OH doan'
e feel blessed OH To- de Lawdl bu
; I'ze de gladdest Niger in de hu.
! world"
9 Every person in the crowd locke
! upon the prisoner as a ~disgraced maj
= Thirty days in the jail might hay
made a hero Of him, but 10 be mi
licly whipped was quite another thin
Virginia has few iails, and some {
< those are always empty. Michiga
+ has to increase her prison room Yea
o by year. The idea Of the law Is /
r punish. In Virginia the petty tbif
e gets the punishment on his back. I
= the North he is sent to jail TO id
: away thirty or sixty days; to increas
I his zeal to feel himself a hero; to pla
e cards and read novels, and to com
out with his hat on his ear. On
S public whipping has a moro salutar
/, effect on the class to which the victir
. belongs than fifty sentences to jail,an
g the records of Virginia when CON
pared with those Of any other North
ern State will prove the assertion.
A Northern drunkard, or brawlel
or villainous wife-beater who cannc
, pay a fine goes 70 iaii ~ the work
house. In fbolshd IN tame,
men commit cites $ n order to |
sent there. They liea well sleep wei
aud have little t do. In Yirgini