Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-04-04
WON'T FORGET HIM

Old 7ib Benson's Reasons Why tAse n..
Sentence Should Not Be Passed na"
Him. ""
Old lib Benson, having been onx
sicted Of the murder Of a brother in -
church, was hauled up before CONT ~
be sentenced. lib stood SCRATCHING II,
head in an embarrassed way, and wbo.
asked why the sentence of death shonls
aot be passed upon him he shuaias
about for a few moments, and then =
piled:
Wall, sab, sence YOU ak me. Wv
reckon Til halter tell you. l doan
think er pusson oughter be hung won
he didn' mean whut he done an M,
willin' ter take de whole thing hack d.
very next mint after he done it. Yas
sab, dat man hadn't been dead mon ..
mint till I dun wush he wuz e%rlive..
That does not excuse the deed. Tx
Benson, the Judge answered. The law
does not take regret into consideration,
Wall, sab. chen leabin' dat outen d.
question, de law oughten hang me-"
why not?"
"Becaze l didn' hit dat man har}
ernuff ter kill him."
But you did kill him"
"Yas, sab, dat mout all be err fach
but er little lick like dat oughtenter kin
er chile. 1 ain been ulster 'socia.iu'
wild folks dat is so easy ter kill, 1 ain,
1T does not make any difference how
hard or how easy he was to kill, Won
killed him."
"Yas, sab, [ says dat mout all be er
TACK, but it is also true dat I jes' Glib
him er little bit O. er tap on de head,
not mon hard ernuff ter kill er chile,
Ell de Lawd seed fitten ter make de
brudder so easy ter kill, wy, I KANT
hep it. Oughtenter come blamin' ne
fur whut de Lawd dun"
ave will not do that. We blame yoa
for what you yourself have DONE"
AN argy dat you got er right ter
kill me, I reckon"
"Oh, no, we do not argue at all. The
argument is all in, and the duty Of the
court now is to pass sentence. Til
Benson, you are guilty of a great crime,
and it is my d~isagreeable duty to pass
the death sentence upon you. And
hereby instruct the sheriff to keep you
in charge and on the twenty-third OF
next month to take you to some place
within one mile of this courthouse ard
then and there hang you until you are
dead, and may the Lord have mercy On
your SOUL"
Wa err mint, jedge. You means,
[ reckon. dat de shelf is ter take me
me right yere (placing his hand on his
breast) an hang me-"
THAT is what l mean"
Den I ain got no chance er tall, ]
reckons."
NO."
"None err tall?
None whatever"
Den rs right bad off,"
YES"
"Gwine ter kill me sho' 'nufr, den?'
Yes"
"Gwine ter break my naik?"
Eyes, and God help you"
"Yas. but you is de man ter help me.
You oughtenter ask de Lawd ter he'p
er man wen you amt willin' ter hep
him yo'se'f. An I doan blebe de Lawd
gwine do nuthin' nohow. You les say
de word, jedge, an I'll show how fas'
er pusson kin git outen er courthouse
an outen er neighborhood. Jes' say de
word, jedge, jes' fur de ole mans sake.
L ain neber done you no harm, nohow."
Il a do nothing for you:
"Jes' try it jedge, an see ef YOU
KANT"
Take him away, Mr.. Sheriff."
"HoP on jes' er mint, jedge. Hol' on
an let me tell you one fack. It amt
gwine do de law no good ter hang NE,
Wait, l tells you. Fo' greshus, / doan
blebe 1 kin stan dis bizness, nohow.
Neber did see de like. Snatch er man
up and hang him like he didn' hab no
feelin's. Vas, Ill go wild you-go right
er long, but, jedge, 1 wanter tell yoa
suthln' an dat's dis: | amt gwine fur
git you."-Arkansar Ilaveler.
W Us RE 4Dl TO HELP.
1t was a piteous appeal, says the
Washington Post. He stood shivering
in the chilly air. A look of semi-re-