New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-05-20


"a n white man lckn the black cusscs sometimes Tor
busome discipline for that's human natur But l
never hanbcrcd artcr IT, and the less the pcter ss'
John Dunn. These Niger stcalers has alters ncAcu
nIggers now boys and the KentuchiaR Strengthened
mn and spoke with slow emphasis, lets how tho mig
gers lick them, till they cut the hide often their oar
backsr
had been curious to know what lay In DuhhS
,cserve Nothing could have been moro startling
than this II had tho shock of an Icy plunge brlci
and decisive he had been, there was warp Oh rc
luctance I'm HIS tones II he were driven by adverse
fate He could divert the rage of tho Hood, put ne
could not dam up its waters. Yet the new chahhei'
which seemed tho only sufficient outlet tore through
all the prcjudlccs built by hercdty into tho very
foundations OF HIS thinking The bloody scourgng
OF white men by black executioners, themselves tho
chartered victims OF tho lash, seemed to John Dunn
sacrifice little less terrible than death ITSELF 'But
In this way alone could he satate the thirst Tor per
sonal vengeance, yet save its victims from the rope
The French half-brced shook with saturnlne laugh-
ter and his face gowcd with the light of anticipation
The savage forbsars who had scalped and tortured
IN the Canadian Wild looked out OF his sunken eyes
Uo was willing to spare that ho might rovel
I'm tho sweet music OF tho groans and curses OF his
victims. 1t clear, now, why his murderouS rage
had been so easily Modified As for me- felt sure,
after the first surprise, that It was the ono way TO
avoid tho fatal alternative. I had been born along
/
words had blown away the fog of passion, and made
me master of the plain truth though Squire Kings re-
monstranco had not avalcd Then too was UNI
rolled the deeper significance OF tho tragedy, when
TRANSPORTED the lash into an awful symbol of poetic
retribution and made tho black men who wcre 10
WELD It the Wears Of race in bondage
Tho other assessors acquesced in Dunns suggestion
and we returned to tho silent waiting groups under inc
trees. Tho Kentuckian delivered judgment:
With In nnIt
fouchten Xix cats and dogs. Yere abolishlnsts an
Black Republicans an what Tvo helped to do to-day
leaves mo tho less clar Southern to the pohc'
Dut right hyar reckon we're in feclin' that we
owe debt wese got TO pay to these thevn black-
guards They's run squar agcn everything Goa put
in decent human natur. Now wo six arc llned IN
tbnkin' that hanglns dcrned sight too good for SIGH
Our sentence IS this One by they shall stan up
and tho nggcrs they tried to steal shall give em nifty
! Iashes apiece With rawhidc on tho bar back Dye
! agree boys Yes or no!'
There was brief hesitation, perhaps little murmur-
Ing No one had expected this, but there was some
thing of secret relief in moro than one mind thar hero
was good not to press on to the end Whch hau
/ lust tempted them with so fierce fascination a
shout Of assent came, and our prisoners hno" 'i''i
doom.
They had fingered in the shadow of death, for there
was not one who had already felt the clutch OF the
! fatal loop Now terror which had touched them with
so stark finger passed away, and the red Oh suich
and angry shame burned on their tanned cheeks ie'
every one OF the wreches knew that 1t was TINS I'M
pendnc shame alorc that saved him from death But
Fanulnr's faco remained lmpassivc without even the
ouiver of an eyelash. The gamcncss and mettle Oh
! splendid breed put iron In his Dloou
! that made him proof, at least to tho
show OF stole Indifference. But II he did not quail
he could still defy, for his dcvilsh instincts
we're half redeemed by his audaclty AS Peter lareau
UpA
saadlery and harness shop, Started to fetch tho cow
hides the dies perado for the first time since his cap
! turc. spoke. -, -.
wall didn't think yo a pack of fools as well as
towards. Damn YOU III have the life OF cusseu
Yankee and another Of Niger for every lick OF cow
hide or nv back Better 90 back to the hanGn' agen'
and make AXE I IrD Of sbd %5 We ' of bullet holes Spit
on We We id scum. XIII and ger all right though
gS cog Tas 9 my word wan; e we git through
This ckln' alive tharn be funerals dead sho rs
soon as cit a squar chance Hangn'S by Tar tho
nutlest gane for sue gang OF sneaks to play But,
Of by accident you have any real grit SET me Try III
the prairie with pair o revolvers an III hsht SIX
best men Ar at nan who spSYeTs ,b no b ,9
name Dunn and brags o southern p'rth; want nr
in front, so that my fust bullet can ma Hdl'or
We use our shootln' irons mem. said Dunn with
s'e Tanning ignored This rcparco ioy and looked on
vacancy in medtaye way only paGtin n nus over ip
dozen black cusses it's enough to make decent W'o
! mon sick of Twin, From time TO time. however nc
r ms them Tn ON emay As his malignant
rested on each II had that cold unbllnklng gr
which makes the look of the serpehtS eye d.
his fangs ,
In less than half an hour Canadian Pete returned
with two formidable cowhide whips. at least hye lcet
| lone wcapnns which would have honored the days OF
! fbe Russian knout. No word broke inc Oppressive
sIenco of lie short rcprcvc for everything had Deen
Id a. for me could hear my own heart beat, as Il
n would hurst MS walls The fantastic Thought whcn
bad thrilled T D 6t yd % u Which,
tho execution began, became painfully real Nstpn
Iil,c some sombrc creation Of the night mnglins me
things OF tho earth with the airy shapes of fancy me
place was peoped with apparitons as well as with
io' One by one the man-stealers bound to big
cottonvood trunk The negroes had been so cowed In
srresf could scarcely WELD the instrument
Of punishment They were driven to their work as II
Tbc baIfbreed squatted on the bank supervisor and
taicsman his face allght with cxultation. ITO hrsl
u the black cxecutoners struck so leeby that Peter
leaned TO his feet with and dashed him hcrcey
! with tho whip I'm his own hands. But strength came
wavs latent in the African Injected It's fury into the
work as maleactor after maleiactor was haeq 10 the
tree and negro after negro TOOK turn Win 1lo IRON
thong Perhaps too, they felt some mystical energy
coming, whence they knew not, ana g1GEeng Jher
N0 An This I saw blended with phantasms that took
ebann ont of the air till that Sunday afternoon be-
| ENC almost witches sabbath. ] saw the REDEEM
Ing lash cloavc tho air with machine-k9 stroke
heard the count Of tho grim Nm nan id,t a.
chant. ike the rhythm OF an Indian death dance.
saw the ashen faces of the sufferers ana hera I'M
croons and cries But no less really In that WAXING
5,cam seemed 10 hear the echoes of the sighs, tho
piainfs. the mutations Of the millions of men ana
| womcn who generation after generation had waieu
under pitilcss stripes, a muttudlnous Hlurmur hAe
fine break OF the ocean distant beach. seemed
To see the shadows of nnumcrabIc faces. swart ana
solemn fitting Ike creatures Of twilight, bchlnd the
exccutloner, and tho semblance of countess dushy
hands with gestures m0ckng the fall of the sc0u &c
that bllstcred the living hesh. Each suffering
wretch too seemed not 10 suffer alone. His face
continually faded into other lineaments, brutal Ike
nf t.pftlI ~.
I'm an endless procession Of changes streaming out OF
the unknown and as swiftly vanishing IT.. ., -,
Tho phantom play OF inc dead connterfolt OF grief
all human misery, was FAR more appalling than the
fra ccdy with which t mingled its OF shadows.
| II lay on tho tense strain OF mind and nerve, which
had called 1t into being, with Spell that mastered
| every sense Struggle % | would. could not Danish
them from ght separate the grsly shapes from the
reality Of tho swinging whip and the merciless eX-