Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1898-07-14
STRUNG UP A JUDGE.
REFUSED TO GIVE HIS NAME AND
WAS HUNG BY THE THUMBS.
How a Young Lieutenant Carried Ont
Orders and Came Near Getting Into
TroubIe-President Lincoln Stood by
the Soldier Who Did His Duty.

How a Young Lieutenant Carried Out
Orders and Came Near Getting Into
TroubIe-President Lincoln Stood by
,be Soldier Who Did His Duty.
Il was only 10 years of age and held
n lieutenant's commission in the Fifth
infantry when an event occurred which
gave me a great deal of unsought noso-
riety," said a department official the
other night mot only was the notorj-
etv unsought, but it was exceedingly
undesirable, he added, "for it almost
made an old man of me i'll a single day.
1t was an experience calculated to try
the discipline and determination of any
young officer. "
"What kind of an experience did you
have?'
Il had merely a routine duty to per-
form, but it was exciting. The regiment
was stationed at Santa Fe, 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 Santa Fe nor depart
from it without 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 attended to my
duties, was lying down in my tent
reading a book, an orderly reported that
there was a man in the custody of the
provost marshal who refused TO give his
name. Putting aside my book, I donned
my uniform and sash and proceeded to
the guardhouse.
There, III the midst of as tough a
looking gang as one ever saw, stood a
well dressed, distinguished looking gen.
tlenan. 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 TO register with the
provost marshal When politely re-
quested him 10 go with me and regis
ter, he responded, You know me well
enough and do not need ask my name
When | assured him that had never
seen him before and l 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 flagstaff. Upon arriving there
again begged him to be reasonable and
give his name, but he obstinately re-
fused to do So Then / ordered the men
to tie him up by the thumbs. After
leaving him in that position for three
minutes he was let down, but again re-
mained obstinately silent He was
drawn up again, and after leaving him
in that painful position nearly ten min
utes he was let down, but scornfully
declined to answer my most polite re-
quest to give me his name l begged
him to relieve me of the necessity OF
resorting to more force and 10 relieve
himself of further humiliation and phys
ical pain, but he scorned me. There
was on the parade ground with thai
gentleman, who was manifestly of more
than ordinary ability and consequence
in the world, and i'll the presence of the
regimental staff, |, a young officer, q
mere stripping, and yet the officer OF
the day, was trying to compel him tC
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 a painful scene, which
| shall never forget. The soldiers did
their duty, bound him in an uncomfort-
able position and gagged him so tightly
that the blood ran from his mouth. That
was more than | had intended 10 be
done the first time, and it was more
than | could bear to see, so | ordered
his release
"As he stood up, trembling with
pain, passion and humiliation, he said
Il am Joseph q. Knapp, chief justice o.
the supreme court of the territory o.
New Mexico. 1 Immediately ordered
his release from custody, and he re
turned to the Hotel Fonda, where ht
had registered upon his arrival Hii
presence in Santa Fe was no secret, apc
nearly everybody knew him Therefore
he may have reasoned that | knew him
and was merely making parade of my
authority needlessly in asking him his
name and compelling him TO give it.
You may he very sure that l regretted
! the occurrence when | heard him an
nounce his name, his title and his off
/ cial standing, as, indeed, had sincere
" regretted the entire scene from th'
| first. "
WAS anything done about it off
cially?"
well, should say sol Colonel Carle
ton, commanding the pest, wrote a re
port of the affair, which he character
lied as brutal, and recommended pro
ceedings against me, although he knew
that had only done my duty in thu
premises. If an obscure citizen had re
fused to give his name, as Judge Knapl
had done, Colonel Carleton would hav'
commended my course. As it was
Judge Knapp and Colonel Carleton
were bosom friends and had been fo'
wears Therefore he was biased i'll tn
matter The papers were finally lai'
before President Lincoln, who had mean
time been seen by some of my friends
who told him the true story of TIA
affair, and the president wrote ON tn
back Of Colonel Carleton's report:
This young man has simply done his dut
| A LINCOLN
Did you ever meet with Judg
Knapp afterward?'
Several times, but we We're neve
on speaking terms. He was not only
prominent official, great jurist and
popular gentleman, but he was also ON
of the proprietors of the st. Louis he
publican, now called The Republic. -
Washington Cor. Philadelphia Times
7 GriTTNn nTIra