The weekly tribune., 1894-05-04
GIBSON AND sMrrrrx IN TIVE p,,,onr

| 1ADSoN avn S'ii iiA IN "aE PILLORY.
son, who assaulted a schoolteacher. an
John Smittix, convicted of arson, steppe
forward and put their heads and arms int
the proper places. Snap went the locks O
che yokes, and the two men, with head
and arms extended, their shoulders JUS
high enough to enable them to stand firm
~ oo the platform, faced the gaping crowd
both men seemed to make light Of thei
punishment. and Gibson puffed away at
cigar BY the time the hour was up tn
arms and legs Of both were twitching, an,
the grins had fed from their dusky counte
naooes. When liberated. they stretche,
their arms and legs and walked to the jai
door in a very stiff jointed manner.
As the two DeD lett the pillory shou
went up from the crowd. Bring then
onl'' yelled u big buck negro. "Golly, nov
we'll see some fun
The whipping was about to begin.
The crowd lad increased, and watching
the first victims had but whet the appetite
for human suffering, which is so easily
| aroused in man. Three or four colored
women had Joined the throng, but there
| was only one white woman in the yard.
Sheriff Gould, a small. wiry man, with a
| determined cast OF countenance, walked up
to the whipping post, which is also the
main post of the pillory. The prisoners
were fastened to the post, their hands being
clasped above their heads.
Again the crowd yelled. The executioner
was ready; bring on the victims. Through
the throng came John Smittix. He had
stripped to the waist after leaving the pill.
lory and was ready to have the remainder
of his sentence carried out. Warden Fran.
els fastened the mans hands.
stand back" cried the sheriff as he
swung the heavy cat o. nine tails over his
head. The men in the front rank made a
desperate plunge to get out of harms way,
but one was struck OIL the ear and let out a
howl that made the man about to be whip
ped jump.
With whir the lash swept through the
air. "Biff"' it struck the copper hued back,
and the victim sErunk closer to the post
but not sound did he utter. The crowd
made up for this deficiency, however
"Onev' shouted Warden Francis in his deep
bass voice as lie kept count of the lashes.
Again the whip fell: again the victims
back stiffened, then relaxed: again the
crowd yelled, and Warden Francis cried,
"Two!'
So on until 10 ashes had fallen upon the
quivering back. Then, with heavy welts
across his back and with a singing appre-
citation of the laws of the state which he had
violated, SmttiX went to his cell
He had hardly disappeared before Henry
Floyd, "a real black negro, witt torso that
might be taken for a model. sh,ilicd
through the crowd, with "A grin stretching
from ear to ear illuminating lis count--
nance.
Henry has a weakness for 'chickens on
the foot which do not belong 20 him, and
to cure him of this depraved taste he was
given Is ashes with hearty good will by
the sheriff Indeed some one in the crowd
said the sheriff had been missing chickens
himself of late. Like Smittix, Floyd did
not utter sound, but his body tw5ched
violently as the whip fell.
James Saunders, George Playter and
Henry Fields have the same disease that af-
flicts Floyd-a yearning for other peoples
fowls-and each was given Is lashes. They
took their punishment without a groan.
Saunders appeared to fear the whip more
than the others and crouched as much as
his manacled hands would allow him be-
fore each blow. Richard Brown was given
~ lashes for stealing coal, and Morris Good
ing, the horse thief, was given 10 of the 20
iuPoseu ny tne court. lne remainder Will
be inflicted next Saturday. He was also
a victim of the pillory earlier in the morn
ing.
As Gooding was led away the sheriff
turned to the crowd and shouted, "That's
all today, boys" and the spectators filed
out Of the yard.
That the Delaware mode Of punishment
for such crimes is eii,cacious can hardly be |
Doubted, as it iS very rarely that man who |
has Leen whipped returns for a second dose |