Belle and Sam Visit Detroit, Courtesy of the State!
Howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas!
In our series of the famous outlaw Belle Starr we last left off with her and her husband Sam being sentenced to a very light term of one year for stealing a horse. They were shipped off to the House of Corrections in Detroit, Michigan and this is what it looked like in 1882, it was torn down decades ago:
This light sentence was a remarkable event because the presiding judge was the "Hanging Judge" Parker who was known for his use of the death penalty for almost everyone coming into his courtroom with a serious offense!
Here's a painting of him from about 1895:
They even still have the gallows that he used:
source
They could hang six men at the same time and it was utilized to it's maximum on many occasions of execution. That's a bit of a side note but I thought it was important to drive home the point of Belle and Sam's light sentence and no one knows why, but in this case the judge not only thought the case was weak against the defendants but that they didn't need a harsh punishment.
Where he sent them is also interesting because it was somewhat of a new experiment in the prison system being an educational and redemptive institution as well as one for punishment. What happened with Belle there is unprecedented even in today's minimum security facilities.
Belle turns on the charm
Folks, if you've been following my series of Cole Younger and this one of Belle you will recall that when she was 15 years old she pulled off an amazing spy mission for the Confederates by stopping in at a house in the country which was being used by the Union army as a headquarters, remember that?
And Belle was the most articulate, polite, charming young lady they'd ever seen. By the end of the evening she had the Union officers eating out of her hand and telling her about all their troop movements and strategies! lol.
So in this situation she again became the ultimate lady in poise, manners and grace when the warden of the prison took her around personally to give her the tour. And to her benefit, she WAS somewhat of a famous outlaw in her own right and plus being a woman which was unusual too.
The warden had been warned about this "terrible woman" and had heard many tales about her so he was shocked to find her to be anything but what he had heard.
Easy time
In fact, he was very impressed by her of course and in one month she was tutoring his kids, teaching them piano and French lessons and had a full run of the place. The warden gave her the job of being his assistant and she had total freedom to do as she pleased in her leisure time! He totally suspended the rules in her case. lol.
Sam didn't fair as well because while many Indians did very well in this prison and took advantage of all the education and classes they offered, including reading and writing. Sam refused...saying that he had no use for the "white man's ways" so he was given hard labor.
In short 9 months(for Belle, not Sam) they are headed back home! I wonder if this will change their minds about their criminal lifestyle?
Thanks for reading folks!
-jonboy Texas
the gentleman redneck
ps- ya know.....you might just be a redneck if...
This is your philosophy:
lol. God bless you all!
Nah, they won't quit their criminal activities! Also, do you eat squirrel?!
howdy blacklux! I agree about the criminal activity. They only change if they go to prison and get out when they're old at least that's what I've seen in my life. I don't eat squirrel and never had it but I'd try it if someone knew how to make it taste good and tender, would you? I mean I know they're cute and everything, does that make a difference to you?
Eh.. I'll stay with my veggies. Thank you!
haha! howdy blacklux but you might want some protein with those veggies right? lol.
Squirrel and dumplings? Lol
I have never ate squirrel.. you are so funny.. oh that's right you are a redneck..lol
Another great episode in Star Belle's life and i like the way you tell it.
Resteeming this one .. :)
lol! thank you so much rebeccabe, I like your sense of humor. I know quite a few people who have had squirrel but I haven't either so I guess I'm not a very good redneck! Thank you for the kind words and for resteeming!
Well, when I was very young I was around hunters who ate squirrel. I am from Texas and they eat almost everything. I never ate it. While working in Houston, Texas we had a guy on life support. He ate squirrel brains and got some strange disease from it. Later on he died.
oh my gosh that sounds horrible rebeccabe! That would cure me from ever wanting to try it!
lol
You are killing me with these redneck jokes, lol.
And Belle is really something else, wow! She has so many gifts that she could be using for good, but instead she is using them for evil. But it's still funny to read about it! Not to forget the gallows, oh my gosh!!! Well I've seen those in the movies! Yeah, they were very popular back in the day! Very efficient!
howdy Miss Lena! somehow I missed this comment, it is such a good one too...yes she was very smart, clever and talented and if she would have just married a good man instead of all these losers who knows what she could have accomplished?
Fun to research though because she was such a colorful character!
She was definitely a colorful charter, but not the type to be married. I see her more as to be someone involved with secret intelligence service. I think that way she would have the thrill she need it legally, lol. Although, even those jobs have their consequences.
Howdy there Miss Lena! Now that's a brilliant observation and I think you analyzed her personality perfectly because she obviously needs action and excitement but in many ways she is a very good person. Dang she is so much like Cole Younger!
Thanks for a great comment.
I am glad you like it Janton. You know, I have a little admiration for people like this and clearely you do too 😊
Howdy Miss Lena! Yes, Belle and Cole both could have been great leaders and made such significant contributions to society under the right cricumstances so they have many admirable character traits inspite of their obvious bad choices! lol.
You truly are a great story teller and half of that comes from picking the correct stories to tell. Very well done sir.
howdy sir sultnpapper! well thank you for your kind words. I try to talk about colorful characters and that makes my job real easy! lol.
I do wonder what her parents think! They gave her every advantage, so I guess it's good that she is using the things she learned to her advantage. Poor Sam, though. And I do agree with everyone who has told you what a great storyteller you are!
howdy again Melinda! well, I try not to make it boring that's all, if it comes out in an interesting way then it's probably more luck than anything! lol. But thank you for the kind words.
But yes, her dad was always railing against her choices and the men she chose but at this point in her life I think he has died. Her mom is still alive and has been watching over Pearl much of the time. But yes, I can just imagine what she thinks!
Probably a blessing that he didn't have to watch her being sent to jail. I'm glad Pearl has her grandma during this time. Your posts are never boring and they are always just the right length to hold your readers attention. Some of those long ones that people post are tough!
thank you Melinda, I try to keep them short and even then I doubt if most people read them! lol. But the long ones that get curied, yeah not many people have that kind of patience.
Did you see my question about esteem? I clicked on the link in your post and it asks if I have telegram, do I need to sign up with telegram to get esteem?
No. I don't use Telegram. It is a text messaging service like Facebook messenger. How did I miss your question!
I don't know. lol. well how do I sign up with esteem then? The guy who told me about it said that I should try to do a post through them and he said I'd be able to see a difference from the first one, growing the rep score faster.
And you've told me how nice the platform is to use so I thought I better look at it.
I sent you the download info. It should be easy... All you will need to do is log in. I can't remember which key is required for log in, but it should tell you.
Hey Cowboy! Fascinating. I'm late to this series, but better late than never lol Thank you for coming over to my blog & calling me out of the deep dark forest haha or I would have surely missed this awesomeness <333 :)
you're too sweet reikigirl but I appreciate it. Hey don't worry, most people just look at the pictures anyway! lol.
Howdy there janton! That judge looks like you janton.
Squirrels are rodents. So, I don't know or think they're considered food, are they janton? That would be yuck.
howdy roger5120! oh yes, squirrels are very commonly eaten in the South but I've never had any. I have no idea what they taste like, that might depend on the cook and how they prepare them!
that judge looks like me? I guess he does a little. lol. But I'm a softie, I'd give everyone prison time instead of hanging them!
Howdy back janton, ha, Hmmm...i see. I've never known that to be eaten.
Yeah, i don't know what it taste like too.
You think you only look like him a little...lol? I think a lot.
Oh, that hanging thing...I didn't know that existed here...I thought that's only in Europe. They're into that stuff.
oh really? Europe likes to hang people? Well here they don't do it anymore, just lethal injections.
Howdy back at ya janton, how you feeling today? Happy Sunday btw.
Lol... why do you sound like surprise about it...? Didn’t you know about the Nazi? How they tortured those people..? At the camps. Well, anyways... I’m sure you knew about more about it...
howdy there roger5120! oh yeah the Nazi's...horrible. I thought you were talking about modern times. How are you today, did you do alot of actifit ,movements today? oh that's okay I'll check your daily post! lol.
Howdy back janton! See, I know you knew...lol
No, I don't think any countries would dare do that today.
Anyways, yes, you'll see all that on there. You should start joining the group janton and participate in the fun contest.
Have a great day janton.
howdy today roger5120! I would join the actifit group but I don't use a cell phone and that app works by having it turned on while you are wearing it right? So that wouldn't work with me. lol.
It must have done the grave diggers nut in when they had a 6 hanging - they probably needed a week after all that digging. Hopefully they only hanged short criminals in sixes!
Using womanly charm’s and guile’s to get their own way - it’s being going on since apes started making tools - and it will do even after we are all just brains in jars!
#thealliance #witness
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haha! sir c0ff33a! good to see you, very interesting thoughts you have...short criminals because of all the digging! lol. Yeah that was before they had back hoes. And can you imagine doing the digging in the winter time when the ground is hard as a rock? Now you got me thinking about this stuff! lol.
As far as women..oh yes, can't trust them as far as you can throw them but can't live without them either!
Haha janton and so the story goes, it takes a lady to use the situation to her advantage. I look forward to the next instalment.
What sort of fluff be this?
haha! sir blanchy! see now this is a good example of a fluff piece because no one gets killed, it's a fun verdict when you go in front of the Hanging Judge and get sentenced to a year in a minimum security corrections house, they were very thankful, a feel good piece so I think fluff fits it perfectly. thanks for calling it!
In fact, it's almost too fluffy. People tell me they come over to read some action and this one has no action.
I'll send them to one of your pub extravaganza stories, tons of action there! and no one gets killed except that one post.
hahaha touchè
actually sir blanchy I've tried so hard to make some of my posts pure fluff you wouldn't believe it but I failed most of the time!