Carl A. Brasseaux | Book Review | The Journal of American History, 87.4

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to JAH online. About 198 words from this article are provided below; about 351 words remain.

If you are a individual member of the Organization of American Historians, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time.
If you are not a member of the Organization of American Historians, you can:: • Join the OAH and receive many member benefits including print and electronic issues of the Journal of American History.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two-hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the Journal of American History (86.1-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the Journal of American History.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

Carl A. Brasseaux | Book Review | The Journal of American History, 87.4 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

No Spark of Malice: The Murder of Martin Begnaud. By William Arceneaux. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1999. xiv, 349 pp. $34.95, ISBN 0-8071-2447-8.)

On the morning of April 23, 1896, James Thomas Mulkern, stationmaster at Louisiana's tiny Scott rail stop, sought out his friend and neighbor, the merchant Martin Begnaud, to discuss the just-concluded state general election. He found his friend bound, gagged, and blindfolded in a blood-soaked bed. The body, tightly wrapped in calico cloth, was covered with large red spots appearing "like red roses." A coroner's inquest subsequently determined that the storekeeper had been stabbed fifty-two times. 1

The public outrage stemming from this shocking crime resulted in one of the most extensive Louisiana manhunts of the late nineteenth century. The dragnet resulted in the arrest of the French national Gustave Ludovic Balin and the South Carolina transplant Hampton Benton Jr., locals with unsavory reputations. Following their arrest, the men were removed to the New Orleans jail, ostensibly to protect them from lynch mobs. Incarcerated and evidently denied the right of habeas corpus, the prisoners were systematically tortured and starved throughout the remainder of 1896 in unsuccessful attempts to extract confessions. . . .

There are about 351 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.