Year: 1867

Nineteenth Century.


From the Wilmington (Dell Commercial.


In this State of Delaware, it is still a
part of the punishment for felonies to
publicly expose the convict fastened in
the pillory, and TO publicly lash him at
the whipping-post.


Twice q year the Court Of General
Sessions aud Oyer and Termincr sits in
each Of the three counties of Delaware.
The persons convicted OF felouies are
generally sentenced to be whipped and
pilloried. Last Saturday, at New Castle
in this county, seven persons were thus
punished!


The place of punishment is the yard
of the old Jail. On the occasion Of the
whipping, the gates were thrown wide
open, that all might enter who desired
A crowd, probably fifteen in number,
assembled, of whom the majority were
boys, from ten to fourteen years, gath
cred thus early in life to witness the
Christian humanity of the law, and to
gather high ideas of its character.


The whipping post is two stories high.
The upper portion is the epillory. Eight
feet from the ground, platform SIX
feet square makes standing room for
two persons. Five feet above, two
cross bars morticed into the whipping
post, are placed one atop the other, and
in each the half of a complete circle is
followed out for the victims neck, and
beside it, one on each side for his
wrists. He stands upon the platform,
lays his neck and arms on the lower
bar, the upper one is brought down
upon it and securely wedged, and he
stands fixed, his head bent forward, and
the whole body strained in most pain
ful and unnatural position. For few
moments the culprit suffers little, but
in an hour the constraint becomes al
most unendurable. ...


To undergo this portion of the tor
ture, the victim is stripped to the waist,
and his arms are pinioned around the
upright post, toward which his face is
turned.


The executioner is the Sheriff of the
county. The unpleasant operation be-
comes his duty by law, and he is obli-
ged to perform it. The repugnance to
such duty is so great that no deputy
can be found willing to injure his char
acter, and become successor to the
Jack Ketch fame Of ancient day


The scourge used at New Castle is a
veritable cat o. nine tails, the worst and
most horrible whip that human ingenu-
ity has devised. 1t has nine leather
thongs, each about quarter of an inch
in diameter, and tapering in its length
of thirty inches to a point. A handle,
two feet long, and an inch thick, serves
to swing the leather tongues high in
the air, and bring them with terrible
effect on the back of the bound prisoner.


The seven victims were colored men,
all but one. The offences were gener-
ally larceny and house breaking. Two
of these We're whipped with sixty lashes,
FIVE hundred and forty blows OF the
thongs.


The white convict was brought out,
stripped. He was bound to the post
securely. 1t was evident the Sheriff
was using but little force with his ter
rible whip. The first blow barely made
a mark, but as the successive ones fell,
red marks began to appear, livid lines
of bruised and mangled flesh were
drawn, the muscles rose in knotted
cords, and the whole of the naked
body showed livid purple color. -
Faint and staggering with even this
mild treatment q, the prisoner was
covered with an old blanket, united,
and led away, II this was the effect of
twenty lashes, lightly laid on, it may be
supposed that sixty blows were terrible.


The prisoner, Saunders, trembled vis-