The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-19
STRUNG UP CHEF JUSTICE.
HE REFUSED TO GIVE HIS NAME
AND WAS HUNG ny HIS THUMBS.


ders and Came Near Getting Into
TrOubIe-A Little Poker Game on
the Plains With Stranger ana
How 1t Turned Out.
From the Philadelphia Times.
Washington.-'I was only 10 years of
age and held a lieutenant's commission 10
the Fifth Infantry when an event occur
red which gave me a great deal of un-
sought notoriety,' said department Off
cial at the Normandie last night. Not
only was the notoriety unsought but it
| was exceedingly undesirable" he added,
for it almost made an old man of me in
a single day. 1t was an experience call
culated to try the discipline and determi-
nation of any young officer"
What kind of an experience did you
have?'
Il had merely routine duty to perform,
but it was exciting. The regiment was
stationed at Sante Fe, N. M, and the de-
partment was under martial law The
war had just commenced and people were
averse to obeying military orders, but
they learned obedience very soon. 1t was
ordered that no person should enter the
city of Sante Fe nor depart from it with
out registering his name with the provost
marshal; the order was positive and was
rigidly enforced One afternoon, when l
was officer of the day, and, having attend
ed to my duties, was lying down in my
tent reading a book, an orderly reported
| that there was man in the custody OF
the provost marshal who refused to give
&c ID t,,xy Io,l I don
ned my uniform and sash and proceeded
to the guard house.
| There, in the midst of as tough a look
| ing gang as one ever saw stood a we'll
dressed, MISUNDERSTANDING gentleman.
| When l asked him why he was in custody
he informed me that he was under arrest
| because he had refused to give his name
or register with the provost marshal.
| When l politely requested him TO go with
me and register he responded You
know me well enough and do not ask my
name When 1 assured him that L had
never seen him before and requested him
| to comply with the order under which
was acting he refused Indignantly to do
| so.
II then ordered the guards to take him
| to the parade ground and tie him to the
| flag staff. Upon arriving there 1 again
| begged him to be reasonable and give his
name, but he obstinately refused to do so.
| the thumbs. After leaving him in that
! position for three minutes he was let down
and again remained obstina teiy silent He
was drawn up again, and after leaving
him in that painful position nearly ten
minutes, he was let down, but scornfully
declined to answer my most polite request
| to give his name. / begged him to re-
| lieve me of the necessity of resorting to
| more force and to relieve himself of fur
| Their humiliation and physical pain, but
| he scorned me. There l was on the pa
rade ground with that gentleman, who
| was manifestly of more than ordinary
| ability and consequence in the world, and
| in the presence of the regimental staff 1,
young officer, mere STRIPPING, and yet
| the officer of the day, was trying to COM
| pei him to give his name in accordance
| with the order of the commanding officer
of the department.
HE remained stolidly silent, and then
| ordered the guards to buck and gag him.
| 1t was painful scene, which l shall never
! forget. The soldiers did their duty,
| bound him in an uncomfortable position
! gagged him so tightly that the blood ran
| from his mouth. That was more than
! had intended to be done the first time, and
it was more than 1 could bear to see so 1
| ordered his release.
LAS he stood up, trembling with pain,
| passion and humiliation, he said: L am
Joseph G. Knapp, Chief Justice of the Su-
preme court of the Territory of New Mex
| leo l Immediately ordered his release
! from custody and he returned to the Hotel
| Fonda. where he had registered upon his
| arrival. His presence in Santa Fe was
no secret and nearly everybody knew him
! Therefore he may have reasoned that
| knew him and was merely making a pa
| rade of my authority needlessly in asking
| him his name and compelling him to give
| it,. You may be very sure that I regret
/ "a H.,
| nounce his name, his title and his official
standing, as, indeed, l had sincerely re-
| GREETED the entire scene from the first
Did your provost marshal know the
| justice?"
mo, he did not; otherwise the Judge
! would never have been taken to the guard
| house, and should not have had that dis
! agreeable duty to perform. l have never
| been able to understand what motive ac-
| tuated him in his obstinate refusal to give
| his name when such humiliation and pain
full punishment resulted from that refusal.
1t has always been something of a mys-
| terry to me-"
What did you think when he finally
gave his name?
What did l think? WHY I Thought
there would be a tremendous row about ii.
and that 1 should be hauled over the Goals
for having done my duty. My soldiers of
| the guard were frightened well nigh to
uedIi Wuen tndl distinguished and dtgni-
| fled man finally submitted to force and
gave his name. Although they had only
been doing their duty, under my orders,
| they feared they knew not what"
WAS anything done about it officialIy?"
We'll, / should say so. Col Carleton.
commanding the post, wrote report of
| the affair, which he characterized as bru-
| tai, and recommended proceedings against
me, although he knew that | had only
done my duty in the premises. If an OBJ
scure citizen had refused to give his name.
| as Judge Knapp had done, Col. Carleton
would have commended my course. AS
it was, Judge Knapp and Col Carleton
were bosom friends, and had been for
years; therefore he was biased in the
matter. The papers were finally laid
before President Lincoln, who had mean
time been seen by some of my friends.
who told him the true story of the affair.
and the President wrote on the back of
Col. Cartoons report: This young man
has simply done his duty and is released
from arrest. A. Lincoln
did you ever meet with Judge Knapp
afterward?"
Several times, but we were never on