The Indianapolis journal., 1897-10-11
LYNcHED, YET ALIVE.
Texas Darkey Tells How 1t Feels to BE
Strung Up to Tree.
NeW York Nominal.

A party of whitecappers in the vicinity of
Ferris, Ellis county, Tex, went the other
night to the cabin OF an old plantation negro
named Monroe Williams and took him to
body of timber and brush with the intention
of lynching him as the perpetrater of
criminal assault on a twelve-year-o girl.
Stripping him to the waist, they whipped
him, placed a rope about his neck, after
having tied his hands, arms and legs, and
then strung him up TO limb of a tree. In
few minutes the White Caps departed,
leaving Williams, as they supposed, dying.
Several negroes came along soon after and
cut him down. He fully recovered and is
now physically none the worse.
The Journal correspondent at Dallas went
to WaXahachie, the county seat of Ellis
county, to procure a statement from VIII
liams as to "hoW 1t feels to be lynched.
The old eX-slave, who is sixty-fve years OF
age, was found iounging in the Jail yard,
having taken refuge at the Jail for protec-
tion. In reply to the question how 1T feels
to be lynched" replied in the dialect Of the
Old-time Southern negro
BOSS, dat am about de stumpinest ques-
ton ever put to me in my life. 1t am worse
puzzlin than anything dem turrible white
cappers asked me. l don't know how to ex-
plain jes how it did feel. 1 so bad
skeered. l felt worse when dey wuz getting
ready to pun me up oaa %ae9 feep WV bep ep
dat rope begun ter pinch. AT dat time my
feeln's turrible.
''When dey wuz tying my hands and arms
and legs 1 wuz weak like baby thought
about all my life doins, peared like all at
one time / guess l must about TAINTED
head. l recollect de pinchin in my throat
and a heap of breath pressed down In my
ches' below my neck, and how tried fer TO
II didn't. fore God, do what dey sed I
done; l kept thinkin' of dat fac as long as
l could think Of anything; don't Know ~ II
when | was pulled up. tried to hard
Sudden-like everything was dark and dig
wide OPEN and then l thought that wuz wuz
death There was feelin of forgettln
everything sudden-like.
'I knew it hurt awful pullin' me up but
I don't think the pain was so bad as |
used to think lynchin' wuz. l don't know
how long 1 was hangin' from dat linn |
was what YOU call unconshus-like All OF
sudden, feelin' like tryin' to wake up and
buzzin' in my head and a-tryin' for to
move my arms and BODY and legs. ana y my
like l wuz tryin' to talk and couldn't, and
seemed like 1 WIZ between darkness and
daylight and tryin for TO see, and my eyes
blurred. Seemed like it was long time dat
way ,,, ,u,o aor as r++la %
recollection of a cho<in' at my neck, and
den woke up dizzy and dazed-like partly
as if out of my mind l can't explain jest
what. but. yes confused as you ea1 It II. -
gether-like and remember gradelly about
the White Caps and de whippin and de
rope and de pullin' up to de linn. Den see
two or three niggers standin round and
feelin' of me- Purity soon my neck and
head commenced hurtin', and all my feel
like and scared as if it would all be done
over agin, for I was 'feard de White Cap
pers would want to MAKE ma sure TO XII XII me; me
had been dead as far as not havln' any
fcelin's left. After while l could talk to
de niggers who wer wild me, and dey told
me about cuttin' me down. All dat night
ard mex day / was considerable like what
you call confused-ke in my mind. /
couldn't get to thinlin good.
4 don't know how ii would be to be
sure 'nuff dead but know ] was sure nuff
out of my feeln's and recollection when /
wuz hangin' from dat linn Durin dat time
l wuz jes' as dead as l ever expect to be