Europe and elsewhere, by Mark Twain [pseud.] [with an appreciation by Brander Matthews and an introduction by Albert Bigelow Paine]

EUROPE AND ELSEWHERE
ing, it cannot reason upon them rationally; it
would say, for instance, that China is being swiftly
and surely Christianized, since nine Chinese Christians are being made every day; and it would fail,
with him, to notice that the fact that 33,000 pagans
are born there every day, damages the argument. It
would say, "There are a hundred lynchers there,
therefore the Missourians are lynchers"; the considerable fact that there are two and a half million
Missourians who are not lynchers would not affect
their verdict.
II
Oh, Missouri!
The tragedy occurred near Pierce City, down in
the southwestern comer of the state. On a Sunday
afternoon a young white woman who had started
alone from church was found murdered. For there
are churches there; in my time religion was more
general, more pervasive, in the South than it was
in the North, and more virile and earnest, too, I
think; I have some reason to believe that this is
still the case. The young woman was found murdered. Although it was a region of churches and
schools the people rose, lynched three negroes-two
of them very aged ones-burned out five negro
households, and drove thirty negro families into the
woods.
I do not dwell upon the provocation which moved
the people to these crimes, for that has nothing to
(do with the matter; the only question is, does the
assassin take the law into his ounm hands? It is very
simple, and very just. If the assassin be proved to
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