Rensselaer Union, Volume 11, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 January 1879 — The Whipping-Post. [ARTICLE]

The Whipping-Post.

The State laws of Virginia provide that all persona convicted of petit larceny (hall receive a certain number of stripes, proportionate to the offense. To observe and describe the method of inflicting this punishment, a section of the Post was detailed yesterday morning to visit Alexandria, where two negroes had been sentenced by the Mayor to be whipped. The offense for which they were convicted was small, merely the larceny of a cap, and consequently the number of stripes was comparatively light Shortly after nine o’clock the men were released from their oells and brought into the corridor of the station-house. “Now, Henry Carter, step up and put your hands through the grating of this cell door,” said Lieut. John L. Smith, as he drew a newly-purchasod cowhide whip from its wrapping. A well-formed negro, black as the ace of spades, about twenty-one years of age, and naked to the waist, walked up and placed his hands through the grating as dirocted, while the Lieutenant passed the whip to Officer Franks, who generally inflicts this punishment. “ How many, bossP” asked Carter, as his hauds were secijred on the other side. “ Twenty -one,” replied the officer. “ Lay them on light,” pleaded Carter, as he began to sing “ Hallelujah” and “ Glory to God” to keep up his courage. Swish! Down came the cruel whip on the man’s bare back. A long white jonark look livid in contrast to the ebony skin. “ Two!” called the officer, as a deep cut showed where the second blow baa struck. The third, fourth and fifth followed in steady succession, each about one inch below the other. By this time Carter was howling for mercy. The sixth blow fell diagonally across the preceding ones, and the whole body of the wretched negro quivered with agony. Down came the whip again, and Carter writhed like a snake. The eighth, ninth and tenth were given with such force that, at the latter blow, the handle of the whip broke about eight inches from the butt end. Without stopping for a new whip, Officer Franks grasped the instrument further up and kept at his work. Another blow. The whipping was only half done, and yet it seemed an age to the reporter, while Carter’s back was already marked like a ekecker-board. Each successive blow drew from the negro the most piteous yells. His body squirmed against the cell-door, and raised and Towered in his efforts to get free. He turned half-way round, and the relentless whip wound itself around his side, and drew the blood from his breast. He jumped in his agonv, and the cowhide fell across his neck and face. Each blow now seemed to sink, like iron, into the man’s body. The blood began to rush from the lacerated flesh, ana to one unused to this punishment the scene was almost horrible.

“ For God’s sake put something on my back, Captain,” screamed Carter, as the blows fell, sharp and stinging, upon his back, the pain growing with each more and more intense. To add to the scene, if indeed, it needed any addition, the other culprit, Albert Dorsey, who appeared enduring mentally what his companion was suffering physically, commenced to howl as loud as possible. At last, however, the justice of the law was satisfied. The whole operation only took about three minutes, and yet it seemed as if all the pain which could be inflicted in that space of time was laid upon Carter. Although the blows had ceased it was evident that the pain was still felt, and the negro thief will carry the marks of yesterday’s whipping for some time to come.

“ Now, Dorsey, it-is your turn,” said the Lieutenant; and the second negro was placed in the same position as the first. “Give him fifteen,” added AJj\ Smith; and the officer, having cut the air once or twice with his whip, as if to try it, proceeded at once to carry into effect his superior’s orders. On Dorsey’s skin, which was a light brown, the marks showed more plainly, and the blood seemed to'cofne quicker. The same scene was repeated, and, though ho seemed to suffer as much pain as Carter, he appeared to get over it quicker when the whipping was finished. ! “ What do you think, of this business?” asked the Post of Lieut. Smith, after the whipping was over, while the negroes were putting on their clothes. “lam in favor of it. My experience ' shows that it reduces the number of larcenies to a great extent. Not only that, but it saves the expense of courts, it discourages pettifogging lawyers, and it is far more effectual than Jails or Workhouses, which only harden criminals.” . '' ■ “I suppose you have seen many cases of whipping,” inquired this particular fiber of the Post. “ At least five hundred,” was the reply. “ What is the extent of the law?” “Seventy-eight stripes. But to inflict them all at once would kill any man, and so only thirty-nine are given daily, until the sentence is carried out. But this number of lashes is only inflicted when the offense is an aggra vated one. No person is ever givenless than ten or fifteen.”

Meandering over toward Mr. Franks, who had thrown down his whip and was putting on his coat, the Post asked him how he liked his work. “Oh, I am used to it,” he answered, “ and I don’t mind it much. Don’t you think this was a neat job?” Perhaps it was. The reporter did not like to express an opinion, but thought he might as well agree with Mr. Tranks, and rather reluctantly assented. “ There are not many men who know how to handle a whip,” continued the officer, enthusiastically. “Some of them catch hold of it as though it was a stick, and bring it down heavy. Now, i don’t. I just make a simple twist of the wrist (illustrating), and bring the whip down like a spring. That cuts like a knife, and hurts worse than the other way.” > “What kind of a whip do voh like best?” inquiml,the reporter. “ Well, I don’t like that hind,” said the gentleman, pointing to the instrument he had thrown down. “ It„is too stiff, and liable to break. But it don’t make much difference if it is handled right They aU hurt, “ Do the men always squeal?” “ Sometimes they stq.it out with the determination to ndtopen their months, bnt the whip generally takes that out of them, 1 remember one man, though, named Butcher Smith, who tallied off each stripe until he reached thirty-nine, when he said, 'Stop her.’ Then he *Ut pn Ms clothes, lit his pipe, and wemtbulof the door. Another man, named Butler, refused to be tied, and otood with his arms folded while he was whipped. But these are exceptional

cases. The white men stud it better than negroes.” , , “ How shout the women?”' “I never whipped a woman, although such a thing has been done here often. You see the law allows us discretion in the esse of women, ahd they are generally sent to Jail. But we have no such discretion regarding men.” “ What do you think of the punishment P” “ What do I think of it? Well, I would sooner go to Jail for six months than take thirty-nine stripes.” “Do yon always lay the whip on heavyP” “The law says * and well laid on,’ and I always like to obey the law.” The whipping is bad enough always, but when a Magistrate orders a negro to whip a white man, as is sometimes done, the disgrace is far worse than the pain inflicted by the whip.—Washington (D. C.) Post.