Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-06-20
THE WHIPPING POST.
OLD FASHIONED PUNISHMENT IN
THE STATE OF DELAWARE.

Quarterly Whippingz Of Petty Criminals.
! Trial and Sentence-wife Beaters Not
! whfpped-The PfHory-spectaton Gem
orally Few-Shertns Lenient-Lest Blow.
-Four times year this old town, that
seems to be the connecting link between the
last century and the present time, Is aroused
q little from its lethargy by the sheriff
| throwing open the heavy wooden gates OF
/ the cid jail yard. These four times are upon
| the occasions Of the quarterly whippings of
| petty criminals who have been sentenced by
| the court TO stand in the pillory and be
struck upon the barred back by cat-o'-nine-
/ tails In the hands Of the sheriff These whip
! pings are the outcome Of court Of quarter
sessions Of the peace and Jail delivery. To
/ the natives Of this sleepy old place the whip
/ pings have lost most Of their attraction, and
I the audience that gathers In the Jail yard
I upon such occasions is made up principally
/ of children-sometimes little tots hardly able
( to walk-and loafers OF the village, a few Gu
rious men from Wilmington and three or
four reporters The offenses for which pris-
oners arc sentenced to the whipping post are
/ the various grades of stealing, from petty
larceny to highway robbery end burglary,
and the punishment Is according to the Of
tense The pillory sentence accompanies
higher grade otfenses, and the number of
/ lashes Is larger to those who aspire to lead in
the profession of stealing. Five lashes is the
minimum and forty the maximum number.
/ Most of the offenders are poor, miserable
blacks and it looks to an outsider as a rav-
esty of justice to watch the process A black
boy, for instance, is brought into the court
in charge of deputy sheriff. The clerk of
the peace clerk of the courts) then in loud,
singsong voice reads the indictment of the
grand jury. This document is a ponderous
affair, copied after the old English, as is
everything connected with the court, and
charges the defendant with stealing two
chickens Of the value of 81. The prisoner
pleads not guilty and asks to be tried A
jury is drawn, the attorney general, who is
the prosecuting officer in all the criminal
courts of the state, reads the Indictment
again, and the hearing Of witnesses begins.
The result is generally the same. The pris-
oner Is found guilty. and the dignifled chief
justice commands the prisoner to ''stand upw
The trembling wretch stands up in the dock,
and this is what he hears:
''The sentence of the court is that you pay
50 restitution money, the cost of the case, be
day next, and then be imprisoned for five
months. You are now delivered into the
hands of the sheriff"
WIFE BEATERS NOT WHIPPED.
For some offenses prisoners are put in the
pillory only, and not whipped at all A very
few years ago prisoner convicted Of lar
ceny was also, in addition to the specimen
sentence quoted, ordered to wear convict's
r.. L. g..
prison. That portion of the sentence, which
had really become dead letter. was repealed
in 1888. 1t is a mistaken idea that the wife
heaters are whipped at the post, when, as a
matter Of fact, only offenses that relate to
stealing make the offenders liable to the pill
lory and the whipping post.
The whipping post and pillory in use here
at New Castle are plain affairs. First, there
is heavy upright post about twelve inches
square and fifteen feet high About eight
feet from the ground is platform about six
feet square, through the center of which the
post runs. The platform is braced by nu-
merous stays, arranged somewhat like the
ribs of raised umbrella. On either side Of
the post, about four feet from the ground, is
an iron semicircle with fanges at the end.
One end is fastened to the post, so as to swing
loose. The other end slips over staple,
into which a pin is placed when the wrist Of
the victim to be flogged is placed against the
post and encircled with the iron. The por-
ton of the post above the platform has
cross beam about five feet FROM the floor, and
it forms large cross. The arms of this
cross, on either side, are cut through the
center, the upper portion lifting as hinge.
Three openings are made in the center Of the
arms, one for the victims head and the other
two for his wrists The upper portion of the
arm is lifted up, the prisoner places bis head
in the lower half of the center hole and his
wrists In those at the side. The upper part
of the arm is lowered and fastened at the
end, and the prisoner is secured. They are
generally compelled to stand in a stopping
position, and not on their toes IS some aver.
SPECTATORS GENERALLY FEW.
The post and pillory are used between the
hours of 10 and IL o'clock, and always on
Saturday morning. At 10 o'clock the sheriff
places those under sentence to the pillory in
position, the platform being reached by
ladder, and throws the Jail yard open to the
public. As rule the spectators are few,
but sometimes they may be as many as 200.
They are not allowed to annoy the men in
the pillory, who never stand there more than
an hour, and who squirm and twist with the
painful monotony Of their position Then
the prisoners to be logged are brought out
one by one, barred to the waist. Their arms
are fastened to the post, and deputy sheriff,
with list In his hand, tells the sheriff how
many lashes are to be given The sheriff
stands to the left, and as he brings She lash
down each time the deputy counts aloud.
The caSo'-nine-tails is not laid on heavily,
blood is never drawn sufficiently to run, and
the sheriRs, IS rule, are very lenient.
Nearly every blow Of the leather thongs
makes a welt, especially upon white men,
and thesherif distributes the cuts over the
entire back. When twenty lashes are given,
no matter how gently laid on, the victim's
back is In q very tender condition when the
operation is over. The last blow is as a rule,
the hardest, and generally surprises the vic
tim, who imagines that he is getting OF
easily.
Black men pay the least attention to the
whipping, and it Ii no. an uncommon thing
for them to jump and kick their heels, ask for
q chew Of tobacco, crack a joke, or laugh as
they are led back TO their cells WITH the
whites it is different They squirrn great
deal, and frequently give vent to emphatic
exciamatsons. The crowd Of spectators is
ready TO laugh at any semblance OF lsvity
upon the part Of the prisoners, and the one
who has enough grit TO crack joke after his
punishment is repaid BY the greeting Of the
crowd The last to be whipped are the men
il the piilory, IL any there be- They suffer
the most, their backs and limbs having be-
come stifened By standing in one position.
The first time . stranger witnesses a whip
ping .he idea is disgusting, bat after two or
three exhibitions it loses Its unpleasant feat
ures and is looked upon merely as a relic OF