The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1925-02-27
MY FAVORITE
STORIES
By IRWIN S. COBB
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What Aunt Myra Desired

w NAT Aunt Myra DeSircQ
They brought darky out of the jail
In North Carolina town with intent
to hang him for murder. This was in
the day when capital punishment was
publicly inflicted. AS a special mark
Of attention the widow of the murder.
er's victim was permitted to witness
the event from position of vantage
directly facing the gallows. She had
had sort of small grandstand rugged
up and she had decorated it with bunt-
Ing, and when the march to the scat
fold started, there she sat in white
mother-hubbard wrapper gently agi-
tating palmleaf fan, fianked and sur
rounded by relatives, invited friends
and sister members of her lodge.
The preliminaries went forward ac-
cording to the ritual. When the con-
demned had been properly trussed up,
with the moose dangling about his neck.
the sheriff, holding the black cap in
his hand, edged up to him and said:
swell, Jim, we're about ready. II
you've got anything TO say, / reckon
this would be mighty good time to
say IT,"
"Yas, subj" said the doomed, II has
got sump'n to say. jest wants to say
dat is fully repented fur whut done.
l taken 1t to de Lawd in prayer an
knows It's all right wild Him. | asst
de jedge witch tried and de persecutin
attorney, an de foreman of de Jury ef
they bore me any grudge, witch, one
and all, they said they did not. An
now kin go right straight TO hebben
an nestle in de bosom of Father Abra-
ham eff only kin git de forgiveness of
dat niger lady sittin' yonder-de wife
Of de man kilt"
He lifted his voice, addressing the
whitehead figure in front of him:
Lady," he entreated, "does you fer
give me fur shootin' yore husband six
times wild fo'ty-fo' caliber revolver"
Excepting that her under lip jutted
out trifie farther there was no sign
she had heard him. She calmly famed
on.
The darby on the scaffold tried
again:
Lady" he pleaded, ''for de secont
time ] axes you, amt you, please
ma'am, gwine forgive me?"
Still from her there was no response.
1t was as though she had not heard
him. The sympathetic sheriff felt
moved to add his intercession:
"Aunt Myra," he called, Jim, here,
will be goin away from us in minute
and we don't expect him back. Sure
ly you don't entertain any hard feelin's
against him now2 Won't you speak to
him and let him go in peace?'
This time the obdurate widow shook
her head in an emphatic negative. Yet
still she uttered no sound. The sheriff
turned to the condemned.
"Jim," he said, "you see how II Is;
that old woman is set in her ways.
What's the use of wastin' any more
time on her? Besides, it's hot as the
devil out here and ought to be gettin'
on home to dinner. Just hold still
second and we can have this all over"
"Mr. Lucas" sobbed Jim, ''lemme
see eff 1 still can't soften dat niger
woman's stony heart. Lady" he cried
out, ''wid monty nigh my dyin' BRET
begs you fur jest word. amt
hopin' no mo- dat you'll forgive me,
but won't you please, ma'am, jest speak
to me an tell me what's in yore soul?"
And now she did speak. She mo-
toned with her fan as though 1t had
been baton of authority, and IN i'm
patient tones she said:
go on, niger, git hung-git hung"