The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-08-01
GEORGIA SLAVERY.
Barbarous Features of the Chain-Gang Sys-
tenn as Applied to Convicts.
Atlanta Correspondence New York Trihnne.


erless slave stood upon the auction-block
finds its counterpart in to-day, when thou
sand miserable wretches are bought by men
who force from them labor through the ig-
NOMINEES of torture, and bring the sweat
trlckling down their bodies beneath the sick
ening slashing of the lash, accompanied by
the dismal baying of the bloodhound. Chill
dren are taught the science of civic law on
the one hand, only to learnthe barbarous
edicts of a new slavery on the other. No
words can portray the miseries of the chain
gang, which few moments ago came clank-
ing past my door. Two white men acted as
guards. They guided thirty swarthy negroes
and two white men to their work of grading
neighboring street. As they passed,
one poor fellow, more daring than
the rest, family called to me and
begged a piece of tobacco. | went out
and gave him all I had. He took it humbly
and the guard said; Here, --- if you!
speak to another white man Pll give you
--p' The procession moved on. Soon l
heard cry OF pain above the clatter of SHOW
els and the dull thud of picks. Curiosity
led me 20 step to my side gate to see the
cause. One of the cart boys had run over
shackled prisoner; he was on the ground
writing in pain, for the cart was loaded
WIN diIU Ilic Wdlheu up W lu6 IdiI-
en- man, and drawing from the waistband of
his trousers heavy leather strap two feet
long, the end of stout harness trace, said:
There, take that for your blindness" and
at once struck dozen heavy blows across
the convict's body. The latter seemed un-
mindful of the beating, and could not rise
but only groaned. Then the guard grew
white with rage; the convict lay with his
face in the dirt. Here, you dirty scoundrel,
if you don't get up from there I'll kill you"
and with that his foot was struck with
thud into the convict's side. Still ne did
not move, and two men with legs chained to-
gether had to drag him to one side where he
was stretched out almost dead. Directly he
revived and the guard called to him: Here,
- you, come to work. The prisoner tried
to rise and fell back exhausted The guard,
still uttering the foulest oaths, walked up to
the PROSTATE man, took him by the collar
and said; You amt hurt; get up from here
at oncel' The convict slowly obeyed and
could scarcely walk. He was using a pick,
and it would not enter the ground an inch
from his efforts. This convict was a white
man. But the negroes fare even worse.
The other day had long talk with one of
the guards. l asked him if he didn't show
the white men IN the gang little Partially.
''Well" he said, ''you know how that is, but
don't give it away; OF course the niggers are
a hard set and won't behave" And no won
der. The life OF slave during the worst
days of slavery was paradise compared to
this present chain-gang system. From this
guard | learned that there were negroes in
his gang who had no earthly business there;
some were sent up for drunkenness, some for
petty thiewng, others for almost nothing
merely quarreling, where not blow had
been struck.
There is an old negro ever there" said
the guard to me, who ought to be at
home"
''What has he done?"
HE owns a little house on the other side
of town and rented it TO a negro woman.
The woman was charged with keeping
house of ill-repute, and this man was SEN
fenced to sixty days in the chain-gang for
renting it to her"
us this true?
Il swear it,
And yet Atlanta is noted for her wealth of
such houses, owned by some of her most no.
ted citizens gentlemen" of the old school,
who are never arrested for renting property
for such places.
1t is not an everyday occurrence that con
victS are shot down, but it has occurred very
often. 1t matters not if the prisoner has
only stolen loaf of bread;an attemp to escape
means sure death from the muzze of the
guards shotgun. The press of Georgia has
been remiss in giving this matter attention.
and not few leading journals have defended
the miserable system. l could string out q
list of atrocities, many (which | have wit
messed, that would shame a man already
bankrupt in tender feelings. A man re-
quires by the military law of this country
an average of twenty-eight inches for step
To-day | saw a convict stumble and
roll over on the ground, when a
guard hurried him in his march to work.
What was the matter? I looked and
saw his chain was not eighteen inches long
with the ends locked to his ankles Yester-
fIoxri ,,t 10 Ia nall
toned mulatto strong and athletic, raised
his hands, dropped his pick and fell uncon-
scious on the ground. He had heart disease
and was dragged out to one side, where he
lay painting in the boiling sun, with not a
hand to relieve his suffering and no effort on
the part of the guard to give him even a cup
of water rs that man sick"' l asked the
guard. mo, - him, he is only playing
'possum." | went up to him, and drew a
cart over him to give him shade His pulse
was drawn out to thread, and his heart pal
pipated with the vehemence of pounding
machine. His respiration was over thirty
He did not breathe but only gasped
On the other side of town some days ago |
saw another large gang of these miserable
creatures. To the legs of burly negro was
chained a small emaciated white boy as pale
as a ghost. The boy had stolen bread and the
negro had pilfered meat. Not long ago the
son of a well-known confederate general
killed a poor negro by beating him to death
with a club or strap on a North Georgia
railroad chain-gang. This fact is known and
talked about over Georgia. Perhaps the only
argument the men who are in the ring adj
vance in favor of the system is that the death
rate is less here than in any other State l
will not say that good quarters are not pro-
vided They have enough to eat; good clothes
and living death!
Peter Goelets Alleged Marriage.
New York Special.
A report reached this city from In