A Matter of Justice and Honor

[Moloch]

TACOMA, Wash. — On a winter's morning 146 years ago, a posse of lawmen brought a squarely built, dark-skinned man in his late 40s to a spot on the prairie that formed a natural bowl. The sides had filled with spectators, nearly all white. At the bottom was a crude gallows.

The man was led up the ladder. He bowed, then recited a prayer in a language few in the crowd understood. According to one translation, he said he'd made peace with God and no longer wanted to live. He thanked his jailer for his kindness.

At 11:35, the man, who had spent his last two years in prison, was hanged. His name was Leschi (pronounced lesh-eye), the last chief of the Nisqually tribe and the first man to be legally executed in the territory that would become Washington state.

He had been convicted of murdering a white militiaman. Leschi denied any involvement in the killing. A number of people, including high-ranking Army officers who refused to execute him, and even, in the end, his executioner, believed Leschi was railroaded.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&ncid=2026&e=2&u=/latimests/20041228/ts_latimes/amatterofjusticeandhonor

[patdem]

1. Oh, man, what a story. Made me cry for sure...thanks for that..

My roommate is a Native American, not of that tribe, but very interested in all sort of Native American stories. Thanks! :cry: