The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-05-13

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ESCAPE or JACK WRIGHT At ENGLISH
I tain other states. the animosities created
/ by the war and the rapid development of
/ the country. which has driven the poor
and ignorant classes back into the hills
and ravines The state may De divided.
I geographically into thrcc sections The
northern third is for the most part mo.
notonously level, tho middle section is o
/ high and gently rolling table land of
wonderful fertility. settled originally by
/ the best people of the middle and border
states. and now occupied by class nm
I surpassed in the world for general intclli.
gence and moral yigor Farther south
the table land breaks down rapidly go the
I deep depression in which the Ohio flows.
and as the southern border of the glacial
drift is nearly along the parallel of Vim
cenncs. the southern counties present q
sudden change OF formation Tn
polished rocks project sharply from
rugged hills and wild holiows
wind tortuously between knobs or
cut the high level into narrow strips ot
table land For these reasons that see
ton presents the two extremes Of Ameri
can society large section Of good
country. occupied los first class porgla-
ton. is often in the Same township with
a flat creek" or dry run" neighborhood
of log cabins and Illicit stills. rocks fist
fights and ignorance
The wonderful progress Of the state
after 1850 sharpened this contrast and
created a natural entagonism between
these classes The divisions of the war
period heightened il. and for q few years
after the war there was n great deal Of
crime The wild hollows were from tho
first settlement naturally infested by rcck
less and blood stained men At length,
in 1869, the better class Of citizens. de-
spairing OF the law. organized in a spirit
of wild Justice. and hanged whipped and
banished till the moral atmosphere was
greatly purified In ono town and near
vicinity eleven men were hanged I'm a few
weeks II has since been Il model town
Then happened that which always does
happen when the law is set aside One
class wanted to 20 farther and the other
wanted to stop SO the secret organiza
tion dcgenerated into a nero mob. and
was made the instrument of private ven
geance The whole history of popular
movements toward violence abounds in
such lessons The men who organize the
revolution are nearly always hurled from
power before il runs its course.
IN 1879. 80 and 81 the "yigilantcs
were reorganized for special emergency
as the new railroads were bringing on a
new class of criminals Two or three men
were hanged. several whipped and many
moro warned out There was a iuil for
few years. and then the "Whito Caps
took up the work Of purifying society
With outright criminals they have little
concern. as the law is now sufficient for
that their mission il 10 attend TO morals
and Industry Men who neglect or abuse
their families young fellows who iu.ul.
women. "lOafers" who live on their fIm
lles" as the phrase is. notoriously loose
women and their male friends these are
the objects of the Whits Caps atten
ton. The town Of English. In Crawford
county. was the storm center Of one Oi
the latest moral hurricanes About mid
night a large force appeared in the streets.
the men with blackeucd faces and tall
white caps. like the old Ounce cap. bat
no other uniform Each carried n rcvol
yer and 4 little tough switch of hickory
or water beech or other good timber tor
the purpose And this force. acting under
the orders of captain. in two visits
whipped five men and one woman.
MIS- Sarah Wilson a widow with four
children. occupant Of poor little cob.n
got twenty-five lashes for the urpard0n
able in a woman sin James Sellers a
widowcr with four children. received 100
lashes for notorious association with
the widow and ueglecting his children
Robert Bloomfield got 40 lashes laid cn
hard. for notorious association. and
then the guardians Of virtue rested lor
the night Ol another evening Trey sis
tied the cabin Of widow Jones End took
her three boys. John. Steve and Buck, 70
.hc woods. where they Cayo them hity
ashes each and warned them 10 20 90
work and stop sponging on their poor
old mother The medicine operated lihc
a charm Tie thrcc boys nre reported to
be- working Ike good fellows and treat
ing their mother with a politenes5 that
r,laddeuS her old heart