Englishmen express their surprise that in a moral community such a
monstrosity as Lynch law should exist; but although the present system,
which has been derived from the original Lynch law, cannot be too
severely condemned, it must, in justice to the Americans, be considered
that the original custom of Lynch law was forced upon them by
circumstances. Why the term of Lynch law has been made use of, I do not
know; but in its origin the practice was no more blameable than were the
laws established by the Pilgrim fathers on their first landing at
Plymouth, or any law enacted amongst a community left to themselves,
their own resources, and their own guidance and government. Lynch law,
as at first constituted, was nothing more than punishment awarded to
offenders by a community who bed been injured, and who had no law to
refer to, and could have no redress if they did not take the law into
their own hands; the _present_ system of Lynch law is, on the contrary,
an illegal exercise of the power of the majority in opposition to and
defiance of the laws of the country, and the measure of justice
administered and awarded by those laws.
It must be remembered that fifty years ago, there were but a few white
men to the westward of the Alleghany Mountains; that the states of
Kentucky and Tennessee were at that time as scanty in population, as
even now are the districts of Ioway and Columbia; that by the
institutions of the Union a district required a certain number of
inhabitants before it could be acknowledged as even a district; and that
previous to such acknowledgment, the people who had _squatted_ on the
land had no claim to protection or law. It must also be borne in mind,
that these distant territories offered an asylum to many who fled from
the vengeance of the laws, men without principle, thieves, rogues, and
vagabonds, who escaping there, would often interfere with the happiness
and peace of some small yet well-conducted community, which had migrated
and settled on these fertile regions. These communities had no appeal
against personal violence, no protection from rapacity and injustice.
They were not yet within the pale of the Union; indeed there are many
even now in this precise situation (that of the Mississippi for
instance,) who have been necessitated to make laws of government for
themselves, and who acting upon their own responsibilities, do very
often condemn to death, and execute. [Note 1.] It was, therefore, to
remedy the defect of their being no established law, that Lynch law, as
it is termed, was applied to; without it, all security, all social
happiness would have been in a state of abeyance. By degrees, all
disturbers of the public peace, all offenders against justice met with
their deserts; and as it is a query, whether on its first institution,
any law from the bench was more honestly and impartially administered
than this very Lynch law, which has now had its name prostituted by the
most barbarous excesses and contemptuous violation of all law whatever.
The examples I am able to bring forward of Lynch law, in its primitive
state, will be found to have been based upon necessity, and a due regard
to morals and to justice. For instance, the harmony of a well-conducted
community would be interfered with by some worthless scoundrel, who
would entice the young men to gaming, or the young women to deviate from
virtue. He becomes a nuisance to the community, and in consequence the
heads or elders would meet and vote his expulsion. Their method was
very simple and straight-forward; he was informed that his absence would
be agreeable, and that if he did not "clear out" before a certain day,
he would receive forty lashes with a cow-hide. If the party thought
proper to defy this notice, as soon as the day arrived he received the
punishment, with a due notification that, if found there again after a
certain time, the dose would be repeated. By these means they rid the
community of a bad subject, and the morals of the junior branches were
not contaminated. Such was in its origin the practice of Lynch law.
A circumstance occurred within these few years in which Lynch law was
duly administered. At Dubuque, in the Ioway district, a murder was
committed. The people of Dubuque first applied to the authorities of
the state of Michigan, but they discovered that the district of Ioway
was not within the jurisdiction of that State; and, in fact, although on
the opposite side of the river there was law and justice, they had
neither to appeal to. They would not allow the murderer to escape; they
consequently met, selected among themselves a judge and a jury, tried
the man, and, upon their own responsibility, hanged him.
There was another instance which occurred a short time since at Snakes'
Hollow, on the western side of the Mississippi, not far from the town of
Dubuque. A band of miscreants, with a view of obtaining possession of
some valuable diggings (lead mines,) which were in the possession of a
grocer who lived in that place, murdered him in the open day. The
parties were well known, but they held together and would none of them
give evidence. As there were no hopes of their conviction, the people
of Snakes' Hollow armed themselves, seized the parties engaged in the
transaction, and ordered them to quit the territory on pain of having a
rifle-bullet through their heads immediately. The scoundrels crossed
the river in a canoe, and were never after heard of.
I have collected these facts to show that Lynch law has been forced upon
the American settlers in the western states by _circumstances_; that it
has been acted upon in support of morality and virtue, and that its
awards have been regulated by strict justice. But I must now notice
this practice with a view to show how dangerous it is that any law
should be meted out by the majority, and that what was commenced from a
sense of justice and necessity, has now changed into a defiance of law,
where law and justice can be readily obtained. The Lynch law of the
present day, as practised in the states of the west and south, may be
divided into two different heads: the first is, the administration of it
in cases in which the laws of the states are considered by the majority
as not having awarded a punishment adequate, in their opinion, to the
offence committed; and the other, when from excitement the majority will
not wait for the law to act, but inflict the punishment with their own
hands.
The following are instances under the first head.
Every crime increases in magnitude in proportion as it affects the
welfare and interest of the community. Forgery and bigamy are certainly
crimes, but they are not such heavy crimes as many others to which the
same penalty is decreed in this country. But in a commercial nation
forgery, from its effects, becomes most injurious, as it destroys
confidence and security of property, affecting the whole mass of
society. A man may have his pocket _picked_ of 1000 pounds or more, but
this is not a capital offence, as it is only the individual who suffers;
but if a man _forges_ a bill for 5 pounds he is (or rather, was)
sentenced by our laws to be hanged. Bigamy may be adduced as another
instance: the heinousness of the offence is not in having more than one
wife, but in the prospect of the children of the first marriage being
left to be supported by the community. Formerly, that was also
pronounced a capital offence. Of punishments, it will be observed that
society has awarded the most severe for crimes committed against itself,
rather than against those which most offend God. Upon this principle,
in the southern and western states, you may murder _ten_ white men and
no one will arraign you or trouble himself about the matter; but _steal
one nigger_, and the whole community are in arms, and express the most
virtuous indignation against the sin of theft, although that of murder
will be disregarded.
One or two instances in which Lynch law was called in to _assist_
justice on the bench, came to my knowledge. A Yankee had stolen a
slave, but as the indictment was not properly worded, he knew that he
would be acquitted, and he boasted so, previous to the trial coming on.
He was correct in his supposition; the flaw in the indictment was fatal,
and he was acquitted. "I told you so," said he, triumphantly smiling as
he left the court, to the people who had been the issue of the trial.
"Yes," replied they, "it is true that you have been acquitted by Judge
Smith, but you have not yet been tried by _Judge_ Lynch." The latter
judge was very summary. The Yankee was tied up, and cow-hided till he
was nearly dead; they then put him into a _dug-out_ and sent him
floating down the river. Another instance occurred which is rather
amusing, and, at the same time, throws some light upon the peculiar
state of society in the west.
There was a bar-keeper at some tavern in the state of Louisiana (if I
recollect right) who was a great favourite; whether from his judicious
mixture of the proportions of mint juleps and gin cocktails, or from
other causes, I do not know; but what may appear strange to the English,
he was elected to an office in the law courts of the state, similar to
our _Attorney-General_, and I believe was very successful, for an
American can turn his hand or his head to almost anything. It so
happened that a young man who was in prison for stealing a negro,
applied to this attorney-general to defend him in the court. This he
did so successfully that the man was acquitted; but Judge Lynch was as
usual waiting outside, and when the attorney came out with his client,
the latter was demanded to be given up. This the attorney refused,
saying that the man was under his protection. A tumult ensued, but the
attorney was firm; he drew his Bowie-knife, and addressing the crowd,
said, "My men, you all know me: no one takes this man, unless he passes
over my body." The populace were still dissatisfied, and the attorney
not wishing to lose his popularity, and at the same time wanting to
defend a man who had paid him well, requested the people to be quiet a
moment until he could arrange the affair. He took his client aside, and
said to him, "These men will have you, and will Lynch you, in spite of
all my efforts, only one chance remains for you, and you must accept it:
you know that it is but a mile to the confines of the next state, which
if you gain you will be secure. You have been in prison for two months,
you have lived on bread and water, and you must be in good wind,
moreover, you are young and active. These men who wish to get hold of
you are half drunk, and they never can run as you can. Now, I'll
propose that you have one hundred and fifty yards law, and then if you
exert yourself, you can easily escape." The man consented, as he could
not help himself: the populace also consented, as the attorney pointed
out to them that any other arrangement would be injurious to his honour.
The man, however, did not succeed; he was so frightened that he could
not run, and in a short time he was taken, and had the usual allowance
of cow-hide awarded by Judge Lynch. Fortunately he regained his prison
before he was quite exhausted, and was sent away during the night in a
steamer.
At Natchez, a young man married a young lady of fortune, and, in his
passion, actually flogged her to death. He was tried, but as there were
no witnesses but negroes, and their evidence was not admissible against
a white man, he was acquitted: but he did not escape; he was seized,
tarred and feathered, _scalped_, and turned adrift in a canoe without
paddles.
Such are the instances of Lynch law being superadded, when it has been
considered by the majority that the law has not been sufficiently
severe. The other variety of Lynch law is, when they will not wait for
law, but, in a state of excitement, proceed to summary punishment.
The case more than once referred to by Miss Martineau, of the burning
alive of a coloured man at St Louis, is one of the gravest under this
head. I do not wish to defend it in any way, but I do, for the honour
of humanity, wish to offer all that can be said in extenuation of this
atrocity: and I think Miss Martineau, when she held up to public
indignation the monstrous punishment, was bound to acquaint the public
with the cause of an excitable people being led into such an error.
This unfortunate victim of popular fury was a free coloured man, of a
very quarrelsome and malignant disposition; he had already been engaged
in a variety of disputes, and was a nuisance in the city. For an
attempt to murder another coloured man, he was seized, and was being
conducted to prison in the custody of Mr Hammond, the Sheriff, and
another white person who assisted him in the execution of his duty. As
he arrived at the door of the prison, he watched his opportunity,
stabbed the person who was assisting the Sheriff, and, then passing his
knife across the throat of Mr Hammond, the carotid artery was divided,
and the latter fell dead upon the spot. Now, here was a wretch who, in
one day, had three times attempted murder, and had been successful in
the instance of Mr Hammond, the sheriff, a person universally esteemed.
Moreover, when it is considered that the culprit was of a race who are
looked upon as inferior; that this successful attempt on the part of a
black man was considered most dangerous as a precedent to the negro
population; that, owing to the unwillingness to take away life in
America, he might probably have escaped justice; and that this occurred
just at the moment when the abolitionists were creating such mischief
and irritation:--although it must be lamented that they should have so
disgraced themselves, the summary and cruel punishment which was awarded
by an incensed populace is not very surprising. Miss Martineau has,
however, thought proper to pass over the peculiar atrocity of the
individual who was thus sacrificed: to read her account of the
transaction, it would appear as if he were an unoffending party,
sacrificed on account of his _colour_ alone.
Another remarkable instance was the execution of five gamblers at the
town of Vicksburgh, on the Mississippi. It may appear strange that
people should be lynched for the mere vice of gambling: but this will be
better understood when, in my second portion of this work, I enter into
a general view of society in the United States. At present it will be
sufficient to say, that as towns rise in the South and West, they
gradually become peopled with a better class; and that, as soon as this
better class is sufficiently strong to accomplish their ends, a
purification takes place much to the advantage of society. I hardly
need observe; that these better classes come from the Eastward. New
Orleans, Natchez, and Vicksburgh are evidences of the truth of
observations I have made. In the present instance, it was resolved by
the people of Vicksburgh that they would no longer permit their city to
be the resort of a set of unprincipled characters, and that all gamblers
by profession should be compelled to quit it. But, as I have the
American account of what occurred, I think it will be better to give it
in detail, the rather as I was informed by a gentleman residing there
that it is perfectly correct:--
Our city has for some days past been the theatre of the most novel and
startling scenes that we have ever witnessed. While we regret that the
necessary for such scenes should have existed, we are proud of the
public spirit and indignation against offenders displayed by the
citizens, and congratulate them on having at length banished a class of
individuals, whose shameless vices and daring outrages have long
poisoned the springs of morality, and interrupted the relations of
society. For years past, professional gamblers, destitute of all sense
of moral obligation--unconnected with society by any of its ordinary
ties, and intent only on the gratification of their avarice--have made
Vicksburgh their place of rendezvous--and, in the very bosom of our
society, boldly plotted their vile and lawless machinations. Here, as
everywhere else, the laws of the country were found wholly ineffectual
for the punishment of these individuals; and, emboldened by impunity,
their numbers and their crimes have daily continued to multiply. Every
species of transgression followed in their train. They supported a
large number of tippling-houses, to which they would decoy the youthful
and unsuspecting, and, after stripping them of their possessions, send
them forth into the world the ready and desperate instrument of vice.
Our streets were ever resounding with the echoes of their drunken and
obscene mirth, and no citizen was secure from their villainy.
Frequently, in armed bodies, they have disturbed the good order of
public assemblages, insulted our citizens, and defied our civil
authorities. Thus had they continued to grow bolder in their
wickedness, and more formidable in their numbers, until Saturday, the
4th of July (inst), when our citizens had assembled together, with the
corps of Vicksburg volunteers, at a barbecue, to celebrate the day by
the usual festivities. After dinner, and during the delivery of the
toasts, one of the officers attempted to enforce order and silence at
the table, when one of these gamblers, whose name is Cabler, who had
impudently thrust himself into the company, insulted the officer, and
struck one of the citizens. Indignation immediately rose high, and it
was only by the interference of the commandant that he was saved from
instant punishment. He was, however, permitted to retire, and the
company dispersed. The military corps proceeded to the public square of
the city, and were there engaged in their exercises, when information
was received that Cabler was coming up, armed, and resolved to kill one
of the volunteers, who had been most active in expelling him from the
table. Knowing his desperate character, two of the corps instantly
stepped forward and arrested him. A loaded pistol and a large knife and
dagger were found upon his person, all of which he had procured since he
separated from the company. To liberate him would have been to devote
several of the most respectable members of the company to his vengeance,
and to proceed against him at law, would have been mere mockery,
inasmuch as, not having had the opportunity of consummating his design,
no adequate punishment could be inflicted on him. Consequently, it was
determined to take him into the woods and _Lynch_ him, which is a mode
of punishment provided for such as become obnoxious in a manner which
the law cannot reach. He was immediately carried out under a guard,
attended by a crowd of respectable citizens, tied to a tree, punished
with stripes, tarred and feathered, and ordered to leave the city in
forty-eight hours. In the meantime, one of his comrades, the Lucifer of
his gang, had been endeavouring to rally and arm his confederates for
the purpose of rescuing him--which, however, he failed to accomplish.
"Having thus aggravated the whole band of these desperadoes, and feeling
no security against their vengeance, the citizens met at night in the
Court-house, in a large number, and there passed the following
resolutions:--
"_Resolved_, That a notice be given to all professional gamblers, that
the citizens of Vicksburg are _resolved_ to exclude them from this place
and its vicinity; and that twenty-four hours' notice be given them to
leave the place.
"_Resolved_, That all persons permitting faro-dealing in their houses,
he also notified that they will be prosecuted therefore.
"_Resolved_, That one hundred copies of the foregoing resolutions be
printed and stuck up at the corners of the streets--and that this
publication be deemed a notice.
"On Sunday morning, one of these notices was posted at the corners of
each square of the city. During that day (the 5th) a majority of the
gang, terrified by the threats of the citizens, dispersed in different
directions, without making any opposition. It was sincerely hoped that
the remainder would follow their example and thus prevent a bloody
termination of the strife which had commenced. On the morning of the
6th, the military corps, followed by a file of several hundred citizens,
marched to each suspected house, and sending in an examining committee,
dragged out every faro-table and other gambling apparatus that could be
found. At length they approached a house which occupied by one of the
most profligate of the gang, whose name was North, and in which it was
understood that a garrison of armed men had been stationed. All hoped
that these wretches would be intimidated by the superior numbers of
their assailants, and surrender themselves at discretion rather than
attempt a desperate defence. The house being surrounded, the back door
was burst open, when four or five shots were fired from the interior,
one of which instantly killed Dr Hugh S Bodley, a citizen universally
beloved and respected. The interior was so dark that the villains could
not be seen; but several of the citizens, guided by the flash of their
guns, returned their fire. A yell from one of the party announced that
one of the shots had been effectual, and by this time a crowd of
citizens, their indignation overcoming all other feelings, burst open
every door of the building, and dragged into the light those who had not
been wounded.
"North the ringleader, who had contrived this desperate plot, could not
be found in the building, but was apprehended by a citizen, while
attempting, in company with another, to make his escape at a place not
fir distant. Himself, with the rest of the prisoners, was then
conducted _in silence_ to the scaffold. One of them, not having been in
the building before it was attacked, nor appearing to be concerned with
the rest, except that he was the brother of one of them, was liberated.
The remaining number of five, among whom was the individual who had been
shut, but who still lived, were _immediately executed_ in presence of
the assembled multitude. All sympathy for the wretches was completely
merged in detestation and horror of their crime. The whole procession
then returned to the city, collected all the faro-tables into a pile,
and burnt them. This being done, a troop of horsemen set out for a
neighbouring house; the residence of J Hord the individual who had
attempted to organise a force on the first day of the disturbance for
the rescue of Cabler, who had since been threatening to fire the city.
He had, however, made his escape on that day, and the next morning
crossed the Big Black at Baldwin's Ferry, in a state of indescribable
consternation. We lament his escape, as his whole course of life for
the last three years has exhibited the most shameless profligacy, and
been a series of continual transgressions against the laws of God and
man.
"The names of the individuals who perished were as follow:--North,
Hullams, Dutch Bill, Smith, and Mccall.
"Their bodies were cut down on the morning after the execution, and
buried in a ditch.
"It is not expected that this act will pass without censure from those
who had not an opportunity of knowing and feeling the dire necessity out
of which it originated. The laws, however severe in their provision,
have never been sufficient to correct a vice which must be established
by positive proof, and cannot, like others, be shown from circumstantial
testimony. It is practised, too, by individuals whose whole study is to
violate the law in such a manner as to evade its punishment, and who
never are in want of secret confederates to swear them out of their
difficulties, whose oaths cannot be impeached for any specific cause.
We had borne with their enormities until to suffer them any longer would
not only have proved us to be destitute of every manly sentiment, but
would also have implicated us in the guilt of necessaries to their
crimes. Society may be compared to the elements, which, although `order
is their first law,' can sometimes be purified only by a storm.
Whatever, therefore, sickly sensibility or mawkish philanthropy may say
against the course pursued by us, we hope that our citizens will not
relax the code of punishment which they have enacted against this
infamous and baleful class of society; and we invite Natchez, Jackson,
Columbus, Warrenton, and all our sister towns throughout the State, in
the name of our insulted laws, of offended virtue, and of slaughtered
innocence, to aid us in exterminating this deep-rooted vice from our
land. The revolution has been conducted here by the most respectable
citizens, heads of families, members of all classes, professions, and
pursuits. None have been heard to utter a syllable of censure against
either the act or the manner in which it was performed.
"An Anti-Gambling Society has been formed, the members of which have
pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honours for the suppression of
gambling, and the punishment and expulsion of gamblers.
"Startling as the above may seem to foreigners, it will ever reflect
honour on the insulted citizens of Vicksburg, among those who best know
how to appreciate the motives by which they were actuated. Their city
now stands redeemed and ventilated from all the vices and influence of
gambling and assignation houses; two of the greatest curses that ever
corrupted the morals of any community."
That the society in the towns on the banks of the Mississippi can only,
like the atmosphere, "be purified by storm," is, I am afraid, but too
true.
I have now entered fully, and I trust impartially, into the rise and
progress of Lynch Law, and I must leave my readers to form their own
conclusions. That it has occasionally been beneficial, in the peculiar
state of the communities in which it has been practised, must be
admitted; but it is equally certain that it is in itself indefensible,
and that but too often, not only the punishment is much too severe for
the offence, but what is still more to be deprecated, the innocent do
occasionally suffer with the guilty.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A similar case is to be found at the present day, west of the
Mississippi. Upon lands belonging to the United States, not yet
surveyed or offered for sale, are numerous bodies of people who have
occupied them, with the intention of purchasing them when they shall be
brought into the market. These persons are mailed _squatters_, and it
is not to be supposed that they consist of the _elite_ of the emigrants
to the West; yet we are informed that they have organised a government
for themselves, and regularly elect magistrates to attend to the
execution of the laws. They appears in this respect, to be worthy
descendants of the pilgrims."--_Carey on Wealth_.