The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-10-19
At the Post
philadelphia Times.)

Within the narrowly confined walls of
the historic old jail yard, at New Castle,
Del, fve prisoners, four negroes and one
white man, were publicly whipped and
pilloried ~recailng the days when
the ~thumbscrews and the rack were not
uncommon means of punishment for
crime. With the exception Of one man,
ly assault a little girl. and who richly
deserved his fate, all the other culprits
were convicted on various accounts,
charging them with petty larceny.
Following each quarterly session Of the
general sessions court Of New Castle
county there are usually a number of
cuiprits condemned by the judges to the
pillOry and the lash. While the offence
for which some Of these prisoners suffer
Is no greater than the larceny Of a pair
OF boots, or the ordinary case of purloin-
ing a pocketbook or robbing a roost, the
prisoner must undergo the usual term
of Imprisonment, and if the Judge deems
1t an aggravated case the pillory and the
cat are also added to his punishment.
In every instance, unless he is disabled
by sickness or death, the sheriff must in
fict the corpora punishment. He has
no alternative but to obey the courts
directions. Usually the prisoner who is
to be pilloried is brought out first, and
while the crow of impatient people
gather about him and make all manner
OF jest of the man in the stocks. the
prisoner wriggles and sQuirms at the
post. beating a tattoo upon the floor of
the stocks with his feet, as If to make
sure that life still holds his twisted and
body together.
owing to the hardness of Sheriff Will
liam r: Finn, who was detained at court
in Wilmington, the %whippings did not
place on schedule time. Usually the
hour set for the whippings is IL o'clock, |
ana omp at this time the gate is
thrown open to admit the multitude.
Young men and young women elbowed
each other in their anxiety to get inside
he Enclosure, while not a few grey haired
aId men, and even children, mingled with
A few nut after IL o'clock the door /
the end of the Jail corridor opened. |
and - negro walked side by side with |
Deputy Sheriff Conner. The crowd open |
and as soon as the latter had /
been cufed to the post and stripped to l
he waist of his clothing the officer drew |
I paper from his pocket, at the same
Edwar Winder, larceny. ten lashes."
He had no sooner said that when l
.nerin Finn, holding in his hand the
Ter and brought it down with terrific
Orce upon the negro's back.
When William Fihmer, a tall. angular
made his appearance on the
he was hailed with mingled ieers
nd curses. Flamer had pleaded guilty
o attempting to assault a child. His
was five years, one hour in
ne plllory n thirty laShes. Sheriff
linn had little mercy for the negro
rute. He brought the blows down UPON
he mans back with full force, causing
uge Welts to appear upon the surface
f the skin.
John West got one hour in the pillory
no twenty lashes for robbing the store
James Rankin Armstrong, at Newark.
nd he took it cheerfuHy. William
'outuen, another negro, was given fifteen
lshes for abstracting a pair of chickens
a hen roose-
Harry Wilson, the only white man
ogged, was an old offender. He had
cen whipped once for stealing a nair of
noes, another time for taking a watch
lat did not belong to him, and this lime
got fifteen lashes for stealing a pair
le crowd dispersed.