In the winter of 1853-54 I was clerk of a steamer owned in Wheeling.  The steamer was obliged to wait some time at Napoleon for a rise in the Arkansas River to enable it to pass over the bar at the confluence of that river with the Mississippi.  Napoleon then had between three and four hundred inhabitants, and was considered the worst place on the Mississippi except Natchez-under-the-Hill.  Some of the dwellings were of considerable size, and, judging from their exterior, were kept in good order.  They were the residences of the few who belonged to the better class, and who, to a certain extent, exercised control over their less reputable townsmen.

We were treated very kindly by the citizens, and they declined any return for their hospitality.  We soon noticed that we were never invited to visit any of them at their dwellings.  At their places of business we were cordially welcomed, and they seemed to take a great deal of pleasure in giving us information and affording us any amusement in their power.

Having some canned oysters among our stores, we twice invited a number of our friends to an oyster-supper.  Although our invitations included their families, none but male guests attended.  This, together with the fact that we rarely saw any ladies on the street, seemed very strange to us; but we made no comments, for we discovered very soon after our arrival that it would not be prudent to ask questions about matters that did not concern us.  At church one Sunday night we noticed that all the ladies present—­composing nearly the whole of the congregation—­were dressed in black, and many of them were in deep mourning.  This gave us some idea as to the reason for their exclusiveness.  Soon afterward a murder occurred almost within my own sight.  Two friends were standing on the street and talking pleasantly to each other, when they were approached by a man whom they did not know.  Suddenly a second man came close to the stranger, and, without saying a word, drew a pistol and shot him dead.  The murderer was instantly seized, bound, and placed in the jail.

The jail was a square pen about thirty feet high, built of hewn logs, without any opening except in the roof.  This opening was only large enough to admit one person at a time, and was protected by a heavy door.  The prisoner was forced by his captors to mount the roof by means of a ladder, and then was lowered with a rope to the ground inside.  The rope was withdrawn, the door securely fastened, and he was caged, without any possible means of escape, to await the verdict and sentence of the jury summoned by “Judge Lynch.”

The trial was very short.  The facts were proven, and the verdict was that the murderer should be severely whipped and made to leave the town forthwith.  The whipping was administered, and he left immediately afterward.