The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1882-09-03


F" What are you going to do with me =
" I'm going to cut your throat
I" And end your days on the gallows ?
[" Never When | see the last OF your
seducing blood trickling on this floor I'll
die too
Z" In ten minutesp
Z" Now, now, you dovil-in less than eight
minutes
"fI can't pray
"'Then read, man. Come, hurry, hurry,
hurry there's the Lords Prayer hanging
over that door ..
"' Where is your mother now
In heaven, firmly believe
"tSo do /. always heard your mother
was good woman and you 'oerc good man.
DO you think she is in heaven now, looking
down on you sharpening razor to cut the
throat of helpless man y
Yes, and more. She will see me cut
your throat in less than seven minutes.
Prayr
a. And what is on that other placard =
{" What, you monster Have you led
such a life of sin that you don't know the
Commandments
" lie set his evil eyes on me sharper than
ever, General, looking me through and
through, and then he said slowly:
Thou shalt not kill
al sprang at him, General, and made n
wipe at his throat; but he never moved his
awful eyes from mine, and staggered back,
and remembered how when ! was n little
boy, twenty years before, my mother used 10
make me repeat that every night, and the
razor dropped from my hand to the floor. |
loosened all the towels.
"tGo, you devil. God Almighty Furnishes.
Your blood won't he on my hands, and he
went away half shaved. lie noised his os.
cape about, General, and my business broke
up. The war come on and enlisted. They
used to call me Crazy Blake, but they said
was q good soldier. | was always at the
front and was never hit but once.
Z" One dark night, down at Petersburg,
was out with a chum trying to capture n
piece of ice for another chnm of ours who
was down in shelter-tent with the fever.
We crept through the Johnnies' lines to an
ice house they had there and saw n guard on
post in front of it. My chum said he wouldn't
60 any further, but | crept up behind the
ice house, watched my chance, tripped that
guard, took his piece away, clapped the
bayonet on him, and told him to keep still.
| had him foul, General, and he never said
| word, as | made him 90 into the ice-house,
| get a chunk of ice, and then kept him in
| front of me all the way back to camp.
| left him in the guardhouse till morning,
| and took the ice to our sick chum. In the
| morning, when the sergeant was dressing the
| guard, he looked in the guard-house and
| saw the Johnny.
"'What's your name p said the sergeant.
"'My name is Talbot, sergeant,
| "'And what did you belong to p
| "'I belonged to the Second Georgia.
"'No you don't said the sergeant. 'Youi
name is Smith, and you belonged to the One
hundred and third New York
"And so it turned out, General. Il
| appeared when they tried him that his name
| was Smith, and he was n bounty Jumper, ant
| had deserted TO the rebs, intending to desert
back again and get sent North You know
| General, lots of the jumpers played that dow
| there.
| -" He was sentenced to he shot, General
aud twas detailed on the shooting squad, aud
| felt awful about il. 'Thou shalt not kill
was rushing through my head like trail
through tunnel. When the squad fell il
theprovost marshal made mo take tho lively,
pieces into tent, and he told me to loaj
| eleven of them with ball and one with ;
blank, like they always do. didn't want
to have anything to do with it, so l LOADED
eleven with blanks and rammed three ball
cartridges into one piece. Thinks |, II
| hllVW WIN llt hllllng II nODuuy tiS'
does, because that piece will kick like sixty
So we marched out, and the provost marsha
read the sentence, and the chaplain prayed
and then there came the Ready, Aim, Fire I!
and l found myself lying on my back. Ego
the ball-cartridges after all. When we go
back to camp felt awfully. II seemed a
though there were letters of fire, AS big n
mountains, strung along the sky, Thou
shalt not kill
"That night | wasn't on guard, an,
after Retreat | was spreading my blanket
just about to turn in, when heard our cap
tain ont in the company street asking 70
me. went out. Blake, get your ra2o
and brush and come with me- SO / 20
them out of my knapsack and followed tn
captain to the surgeons tent. The surgeo
says: Blake, you must not mention
it; that deserter we shot to-day
here. We have had discussion; Capt
Hunt claims that dead mans hair grows
want TO convince him that it don't, so yo
shave him close and We'll see if he has
rough or smooth face tomorrow
"The poor fellow lay there, General, wit
three awful holes through his breast, an'
l lathered him and took of his mustach
and left beard and then commenced on hi
right, but as soon as did my razor touche
a mole! 1t was Gods work, General. Ther
he lay.
What's the matter, Blake p said til
captain.
"'God save us, captain; what was hi
IL anne p
" Smith
No, no, captain. knew him in Coz
necticut and in the West his name WASH
Smith then
"And, General, Mr.. Lincoln and Nj
Stanton and Gen. Grant and Meade an
Sheridan and all the other high officers 81
on the court that tried me for killing hin
and they sentenced me to be confined in thi
narrow room for q thousand years. Pleas
get me out, General -
, | was SO touched by his pitiful name
that | said
81 will, my man."
"Come, General" said the doctor from I'll
hall.
"Good-bye, my man." said |, and joine
! the doctor.
"What do you think of his story ?'' aslse
the latter.
, Wonderful; but it cannot be true"
SIT is true, every word of ii, cxceptii
his trial-that's all his fancy. ha'
made inquiries and found it fact"
"Well, doctor, can only say that if Al
one doubts Retribution in this world aft
hearing that they must be very skeptical i
deed.n SCUM,
. Show Eagle with History.
| The large golden eagle placed on exhib
= ton in front of the curiosity store in Il
Windsor block, has received much attention
but the many who have gazed at it in wo
E derment have little thought that the biz
7 had history quite tragic in detail. La
! February n ranchman living near Nor
Platte, Nebraska, was preparing to take h
i, family to town to spend Sunday. His chill
: one year of age, was left alone in the wag
. which was to serve as a means of conve
! ance, while the father went back. While
= was in the house he heard the shrielSs oft
baby outside, and rushing to the door foui
the little one in the cruel talOns of a hu
, bird, which was slowly ascending, strivil
q to escape with its precious prize. Befo
: the eagle could get out of reach the farm
= secured his gun and fired. The bird car
- down slowly, and it was thought the chi