Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-10-18
1.-THE HAND OFGOD."
Fate of Thirteen Confederate Officers Who Acted "The Last Supper" in Drunk en Mockery.
Birmingham, Ala, Corr. Globe Democrat.

A few days ago man was found dead here in the gutter. Even ill death there was mute look of terror in the blood shot eyes, and the bloated face had grown pale and haggard at the coming of the grim destroyer. "DrinkP sad the Coro, ner's jury, but an old man who came and looked for long time on the pale, dead face. said, with shudder, as he turned away. Tt was the hand of God" This man who died in the gutter was the last of a fated thirteen, and in the death of each and all of them the Christian will read the vengeance of an insulted Dell ty.
 At the leading hotel in a Southern city, in the summer of 1865, thirteen men, wearing the uniform of Confederate of fcers. sat down to dinner. Every man in the party belonged to a grand old Southern family, and many of the names are illustrious in the history of the coun- try. Every man was a cavalier. They were flowers of the old South, representa- tives of the chilvalry of the sunny land, then developed in the gloom of defeat and despair. Every man there had been gallant soldier in the Confederate army. They had returned from the field of de- feat to find their homes destroyed, their slaves free, their wealth gone and many of their nearest and dearest relatives and friends dead The meeting at this hotel was chance one, but talking over the situation in which they found themselves, they resolved to forget the horror of it for a while to drown their sorrows in drink. They sat down to dinner, and round after round of drinks were ordered. Soon the bloody scenes of war, the visions of ruined homes, were all forgotten. First they become merry, then reckless.
 "Let us call this the last supper" sud denly exclaimed one of the party, and the suggestion met with instant approval They might never meet again, so the ''last supper" would be fitting name for the feast where reason had fled. More drinks were ordered, every man filled his glass, the lights were turned low and the thirteen men declared themselves Christ, and his twelve apostles. A young man who had commanded regiment acted the role of Christ and, for the occasion, each man assumed the name of one of the apostles. There was wrangle as to who should lmpersonate Judas, but more drinks were ordered, and then a young Lieutenant agreed to act the character of the betrayer of his Savior.
 It was at midnight, but peals of drunk en laughter awoke the echos in every nook and corner of the old house. Again and again the decanters were passed around, and the blasphemous mockery of the last supper went on. A Bible was called for and the young officer who was impersonating the Savior turned to the New Testament and read aloud the solemn words of Christ. The read ing was interrupted now and then by some coarse jest or ribald laughter, while expressions like Judas, pass the bottle, would excite the mirth of the drunken men to point that completely drowned the voice of the reader. At the proper point in the reading bread was passed around, and the wine was represented by glasses filled to the brim with brandy.
 He that drinketh from the bottle with me shall betray meF' exclaimed the mock Christ in a tragic manner, and placing decanter to his lips he swallow ed a quantity of brandy. then pass ed it to Judas and around the table. This was greeted with peals of laughter, and again the other mock apostles yelled Judas pass the bottleP'
 All night on this mockery went on, and when morning came the thirteen men were in drunken stupor. It was sev- eral days before they all recovered from the effects of that nights debauchery Then they separated. That supper had indeed been their last; they never met again.
 From that night the vengeance of God followed those thirteen men. Everything they undertook failed. Apples of gold turned to dead sea fruit in their hands One by one they went to the dogs, anC every man of them met a horrible anG disgraceful death. Repeated failure il business drove some of them to despera ton and crime. One of them was lyncheC in Texas for murder The young mar who had impersonated Christ was drown ed in the Brazos River while fleeing iron a vigilance committee on a stolen horse and his body was never recovered. An other, while in a drunken stupor, wa caught in a burning building and perish ed in the flames. One was stabbed to the heart by woman he had betrayed, an( still another was murdered in low brothelin Western city. So far as cal be learned, not one of them ever received Christian burial, and their graves ar unmarked and unknown. The man whC died in the gutter and was buried in tn potters field was the last of the thir | teen.