The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1904-03-17

.How long were Jon witt the resi-
ar was conscripted Winter fore last
be answered.
"That was It. as suspected from his
appearance. He was a raw recruit at the
time he shot Forsythe, and had been
said: !
81 remember your regiment and your
Colonel perfectly. I remember you. Your
name is James Kitchen-they called you
'Sog' Kitchen. You We're taken TO the regi-
ment while 1t was lying at Kingston. The
| regiment had been there O year. In March
it was ordered to join Lees army. You
got to Richmond some time after the LIST
| Of April, and were sent to relieve North
Carolina regiment which had been guard
| ing this prison. Your company was G,
which went on duty Apyil Is. and you had
sost No. .; right there on the sidewalk,
from that LAMP post to that one. You
were In the second relief. Shortly after
sou came on post You noticed Yankee
officer standing at the window. You step
ped out into the street, leveled your gum,
took good aim. and shot him dead
/ Il spoke slowly, distinctly and without a
trace Of temper, like a Judge pronouncinc
sentence. and watched his face for the
effect of each word 1t was worth while.
be stared opes-eyed at noe, as / stated
what knew Of his regiment and him. His
dull. fat face became ashen white, and his
full fright as ! proceeded.
Name o God. Mister, how you know
all that be gasped, as stopped and gazed
steadfastly at him.
ave Yankees have a way of knowing
things that You can't understand an
lswered. It's all true. isn't itP
"'Yes, its's true he admitted. and his
fear began 70 manifest itself in actual
tears. Yes, it's all true. Lord have mercy
on me-
".What made you kill that manr
Mister, you know so much I'll tell you
the Gods truth. L will s'heip me God
was recruit in that rijiment was
the biggest and the greenest Of the batch
that the conscripters brung in. Everybody
seemed TO pick on me- They picked on all
us recruits, but on me wusser'n airy one o.
the others. case / was SO big and so
lgreen, / s'pose. They jes' got me half.
Irrazy. They said that I'd be skeered to
death when | see Yankee. and was too
much OF softy to ever shoot at one
had chicken-gizzard, and was afeared to
kill even a fly. They deyiied me till
iswore I'D kill the first Yankee / got a
lehance to, jest to show 'em. They bruns
the riJimint up here, and put US ON guard.
The North Carolinians we relieved eassed
tgreat deal bout how many q the Yankee
officers the'd killed, and said they had 20
lshect one every day or two to keep the
Yankees from bein' too sassy. The
Yankees got so imperdent that they come
to the windows and spit out on 'em. When
cur company went on guard that mornin'
Maj. Turner he talked to us. He was mad
and cross, and said he wished that every
Yankee IN there was dead and in his grave
lie wanted us to be more strick with 'em
than the others had been. The Yankees
was gittin, entirely too imperdent to their
betters. They was too powerfully sassy
They must be kept back from the windows
They had their orders to keep way from
the windows, and when they went there IL
was to show their despisery Of orders.
KILN was too good for 'em, anyway, the
Wmte-livered nigger-thieves. Soon after I
went on post, l saw that man come to the
window. He was laughin' as il he was
maxim fun o. me and the Confederacy. I
hared up at once, and went out there and
and-shot him.
He seemed to collapse as he finished his
confession, and / sat in absolute silence
for some minutes. thinking over the awful
tragedy. Then I asked in a less stern
tone:
"'What made you come back to the spot
where you did that awful deedr
dunno he answered. Something
druy me to il. 1 couldn't keep away The
thing sorter hanted me. | can't never for
git that mans face. nor the look when my
bullet struck him. / jest had 10 come
back
Take him down to the dungeon
4 ordered the Sergeant, and then sat and
| thought of what had read of murderers
being drawn by an irresistible fascination
back to the scene Of their crimes, and the
| presence of the corpses Of their victims
Then 1 thought what should do with the
man, and I'm still thinking. Some how I
can't shoot that miserabSe devil down In
cold blood, AS 1 promised myself thou
sand times / would do. That would ap-
pear to balance the account by making his
| door,. miserable life an offset for poor
Georges. That thought alone is intoIer-
able know George would spurn the
idea, il he is where he knows what is GO
| ing on. 1 have kept the fellow employed
at the filthiest. most repulsive work about
| the prison. and he accepts ii without re-
sistance or complaint. This somewhat dis
| arms me. l am worrying whethSt should
turn him over to a Military Commission,
with the evidence have against him. To
hang him would be in the way of Justice,
| and warning to others. but somehow the
idea OF offsetting his dumb. ox-like stupidi-
| ty for such a grand nobility as Georges
| siekens me. What do you think about ity"
I'D keen him cleaning up filth a while
longer, while l thought about It. and then
| tie a rock about his neck and throw him
into the river, like dog" said Monty
tie be eontinued)
| PERSONAL.