tances, had written the letter for purposes of extortion. Of this
offence only was he found guilty, and condemned, as a vagrant and
impostor, to a few months' imprisonment. By the American laws no severer
punishment could be awarded. The one, however, was far from satisfying
the public. There was something so infernal in the malignant sneer of
the culprit, in the joy with which he contemplated the sufferings of the
bereaved father, and the anxiety of the numerous friends of the latter,
that a shudder of horror and disgust had frequently run through the
court during the trial. Even the coolest and most practised lawyers had
not been free from this emotion, and they declared that they had never
witnessed such obduracy.

The inhabitants of Natchez, especially of the upper town, are, generally
speaking, a highly intelligent and respectable class of people; but upon
this occasion they lost all patience and self-control, and proceeded to
an extreme measure, which only the peculiar circumstances of the case
could in any degree justify. Without previous notice, they assembled in
large numbers upon the night of the 31st of January, with a firm
determination to correct for once the mildness of the laws, and to take
the punishment o the criminal into their own hands. They opened the
prison, brought out the culprit, and after tying him up, a number of
stout negroes proceeded to flog him severely with whips of bullock's
hide.

For a long time the man bore his punishment with extraordinary
fortitude, and remained obstinately silent when questions were put to
him concerning the stolen child. At last, however, he could bear the
pain no longer, and promised a full confession. He named a house on the
banks of the Mississippi, some fifty miles from Natchez, the owner of
which, he said, knew where the child was to be found.

The sheriff had, of course, not been present at these Lynch-law
proceedings, of which he was not aware till they were over, but of which
he probably in secret did not entirely disapprove. No sooner, however,
was he told of the confession that had been extorted from the prisoner,
than he set off at once in the middle of the night, accompanied by
Clarke, for the house that had been pointed out. They arrived there at
noon on the following day, and found it inhabited by a respectable
family, who had heard of the child having been stolen, but, beyond that,
knew nothing of the matter. The mere suspicion of participation in