The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-08-06
THE WHIPPING POST IN BOSTON.
How the Pilgrim Fathers Punished Of
fenders-Some Who We're Whipped.


How the Pilgrim Fathers Punished Of
fenders-Some Who We're Whipped.
"Use every man alter his dessert and
who shall Escape whipping?" was the re-
mark of the melancholy Lord Hamlet to
the Grand Chamberlain Polonius. Either
the pilgrim fathers must have read
Shakespeare or else they were intuitively
impressed with that belief and were of
the impression that all mankind Saving
their gracious selves stood in need of
wholesome and wholesale correction in
the way of fagellation.
To this end, not long after the PENN
sula of Shawmut, now known as Bos ton,
was settled by them they caused to De
erected a whipping post for the primary
correction of all classes of offenders, pre-
vious to their receiving more severe pun
ishment.
The first whipping post IN the town
was erected in front OF the old meeting
house. This old meeting house, the first
church of Boston, was an unpretentious
structure of wood and was situated on
State street, on the ground which is now
occupied by Brazer's building, and in it
preached the first ministers of the town
John Wilson and John Cotton-and
thither went to worship John Winthrop
and Richard Bellingham and all their
jealous puritanical followers. The
church remained here until 1910, when it
was removed to that part of what we now
call Washington street, nearly opposite
the head of State street, on the site of the
present Rogers building.
But the whipping post remained in its
original position for some years after
ward, until it was removed to near the
West street gate of the common and
public whippings, whether deserved or
not, continued to be inflicted as late as
1903.
Samuel Brock, in his 'Recollectiona, -
SAYS ss,The large whipping post,
painted red, stood consplcuously and
permanently in the most public street in
town. 1t was placed in State street, di-
rectly under the windows OF a great
writing school which l frequented, and
from them the scholars were INDUCED IN
the spectacle of all kinds OF punishment
suited to harden their hearts and tantalize
their feelings.
Here women were taken from huge
cages in which they were dragged on
wheels from prison, and tied to the post,
with bare backs, on which thirty or forty
lashes were bestowed amid the screams
! of the culprit and the uproar of the mob
A little further IN the street was to be
seen the pillory, with three or four fell
, lows fastened by the head and hand, and
standing for an hour in that helpless pos
ture, exposed to gross and cruel insult
? from the multitude, who pelted them in
cessantly with rotten eggs and every re-
pulslye kind of garbage that could be col
, lected.'
Wasn't it merry in Boston in those
. days? and were those not highly edifying
sights for school boys to witness? Whip
ping, in the early days, appears to have
, been part of the scholastic training at
Harvard college, for President Dunster
= whipped two of his students for some
3 offense, applying the whip most unmerci-
: now for the many OffenseS committed by
> students, what cheerful recreation Presi-
: dent Eliot would have.
S On July s, 1877, Margaret Brewster
4 brought upon herself the wrath of the
a town, which eliminated in sentence tc
l be whipped on the following August 4
1t appears that early in the year Mar
i garet, with the consent of her husband
0 came here from Barbados, and on hei
I arrival warned the people OF a grievous
calamity which was shortly to come upon
= them called the black pOx, which, indeed
: soon after was very mortal in the town,
by which 800 people were carried off.
: The service of warning the town
$ Margaret performed in very singular
| DIG tdAluS Will uSf LyO1t
Wright OF Long Island, Sarah Miles o.
Black Point, Elizabeth Powers, jr., ano
John Easton, jr., who took her riding
clothes and shoes and went into the
South church in time OF meeting. in
d sackcloth, with her face blackened. With
her attendants she was arrested anC
hurried off to prison.
BradstreeJ, in his warrant for their ar.
? rest, alleged as their offence, ''making al
1 horrible disturbance on the LORDS day
y and affrighting the people in South
:, church in Boston, in the time of tn.
: public dispensing of the Word, whereby
g several women, as | am informed, are il
great danger OF miscarrying.
n When Margaret was brought before the
o court for examination the constable wa,
# unable to identity her, ''for,'' said he
t ''she was then IN the shape of the devil;
0 but she. with the desire, probably, o
!, aiding the court as much as possible
:. owned to being that individual, and tn,
n cause went on. She was adjudged guilty
e and sentenced to be whipped at cart
tail, up and down the town, with twent,
;. lashes,' which sentence was executet
II upon her Jour days later. Not long ate
r this number of harmless and unoffend
ing Quakers were publicly whipped a
the post.
Almost every kind of misdemeanor wa
punishable with whipping, and the mum
y Ger OF stripes varied according to tn
enormity of the offense. Here are SOM
OF the instances: On November so, 1866
6 and possibly before the regular whippin,
g post was set up, man was whipped 70
4 shooting at fowl on the Sabbath day
:, whether he hit or not is another matter
y There was a grim bit of humor enacted a
y the court on this day, for the first bust
II ness transacted was to fine one of the as
:, sistants S. for whipping two person
!. without another Of the assistants bein
present, as the act provided.
On June IA, 1881, Philip Radcliffe, al
agent of Governor Craddock, got ii RICH
in the neck, - as we say in refined circles
1t seems that he came to Boston to man
age certain affairs for Craddock, and nc
fully realizing his liability to render him
self obnoxious by Incorporate speeches
he incurred the displeasure of the author
tiles SO seriously that they would not b
satisfied without some OF his blood, whic
they ord cred to be taken by cutting O
If his ears. Nor was this all; he wa
n whipped and then banished from tn
: colony Boston Herald.
u In an interview last night in New Yorl
ir ex-Secretary VIM. G. Whitney is quote
as saying chat the house of representa-
tiyes will repeal the purchasing clause
= the Sherman act without delay. MI