The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1885-10-08
Feuds and Lynch-Law in the
Southwest.

"A SreaG Ueal Has Deen SAID q VIII
ten lately about feuds and lynch-law
in the districts around the lower Mis-.
sissippi. The reports Of recent lynch.
ing there have probably been very
much exaggerated, andi it would certain,
ly be unfair to form a positive opinion
about the matter without a thorough
knowledge of allthe circumstances.
No who visited that part of the
country before the war could return to
it now without noticing the higher de.
gree of order and the numerous eviden-
ces of progress. But lynching law
breakers and resorting to the knife or
pistol to settle private disputes were
once ordinary occurrences there, and
they were usually marked by a bust.
ness-like GOODNESS which gave them a
distinctive character.
In the winter of 1854 I was clerk
of a steamer owned in Wheeling. The
steamer was obliged to wait sometime
at Napoleon for a rise in the Arkansas
river to enable it to pass over the bar
at the confluence Of that river with the
Mississippi. Napoleon then had be
tween three and four hundred inhabi
tants. and was considered the worst
place on the Mississippi except Nat
chez-under-the-Hi Some OF the
dwellings were ofconsiderable size, and,
Judging from their exterior, were kept
in good order. They were the resi-
dences of the few who belonged to the
better class, and who, to a certain ex-
4nnt nvaro1cal ao-4,1 ~ III, 1,-o
reputable townsmen.
We were treated very kindly by the
citizens, and they declined any return
for their hospitality. We soon no.
ticed that we were never invited to
visit any of them at their dwellings.
At their places of business we were
cordially welcomed, and they seemed
to take a great deal of pleasure in Civ.
ing is information and affording us
any amusement in their power.
Having some canned oysters among
our stores, we twice invited a number
OF our friends to In oyster supper. AL
though our invitations included their
families, zone but male guests attend.
ed. This together with the fact that
We rarely saw any ladies on the street,
seemed very strange to us; but we
made no comments, for we discovered
very soon after our arrival that it
would not be prudent to ask questions
about matters that did not concern
Us. At church one Sunday night we
noticed that all the ladies present
composing nearly the whole of the
congregation-were dressed in black,
and many of them werein deep
ing. This gave US some idea as to the
reason for their exclusiveness. Soon
afterward q murder occurred almost
within my own sight. Two friends
were standing On the street and talk
ing pleasantly to each other, when
they were approached by aman whom
they did not know. Suddenly asecond
man came close to the stranger, and.
without saying a word, drew a. pistol
and shot him dead. The murderer
was instantly seized, bound, and place.
in the jail.
The jail was a square pen about
thirty feet high, built of hewn logs.
without any opening except in the
roof. This opening was only large
enough to admit n person at time,
and was protected by a heavy door
The prisoner vas forced by his cap
tors to mount the roof by means of a
ladder, and then was lowered by a
rope to the ground inside. The rope
al withdrawn, the door securely fas,
tened, and he was Gagged, without any
possible means of escape, to await the
verdict and sentence Of the jury sum.
moned by "Judge Lynch" The trial
was very short. The facts were prov.
en-, and the verdict was that the muir.
derer should be severely whipped and
made to leave the town forthwith
The whipping was administered, and
he left Immediately afterward.
Of course there was a good deal OF
excitement over this matter, and all
the male inhabitants collected to talk
about it. The discussion extended to
some familiar cases ofrecent occurrence
and soon gave rise to angry disputes.
In a very short time pistols and
were produced, invitations to
fight were given, and it seemed that
would soon be shed. By the in.
reference, however, Of some of the
older and more influential citizens,
quiet was restored, and no one wasin-
jured. We were afterward told that
there was hardly a man in the crowd
who had not lost a father, brother, OF
near male relative by knife or pistol,
either in a supposed fair fight or by
foul means.
At that time the hatred of negroe:
"free States" was intense, while
those from ''slave States" we're treat
kindly and regarded merely as per-
sons of an inferior race.
Sometime before our arrival, steam.
er belonging to Pittsburg had stopped
at Napoleon, and the colored stewart
vent on shore to buy provisions.
While bargaining for them he became
involved in aquarrel with white man
and struck him. He was instantly
and would no doubt have paid
or his temerity with his life if some
one in the crowd had not exclaimed.
"a live nigger's worth twenty dead
onesl Let's sell himl" This sugges-
ton was adopted. In a very short
the unfortunate steward was
bound, mounted on swift horse, and
hurried away toward the interior Of