The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-10-25 00:00:00

Let •II hoped:went' to the flow of capital Into farming be
swept away, and I have no fear of our being able to feed the
population of the future.

EXCITING SCENE AT THE EXECUTION
OF THE MODOC INDIANS.

The American papers contain dceeriptions of the roo•cll•
tlon of the Mod.; !Alan prisoners, for the murder of iiene.
rat Canby sod lie Peace Commissioners. 'I he !Jerald Correa-
p.nrlent, writing on Oct 'bee 4, from Fort Kelm )uth, Oregon,
the scene of the execution, mays :
Shortly after r4veille this morning / accompanied
Lieutenant Taylor to the Guard House, and, after se-
curing the cervices of Scarface Charley aa an interpreter,
went into the large cell and informed Barimbo and
Slolux of the commutation of their sentence. They did
not show the --lightest emotion at their eV's, e from the
;twit of death; and Barhcbo simply remarked, " It
le good." ( 'aptAin Jack and Scmchin were in the next
cell, and I walked in to floe them. I"Aptain Jack wan
looking very much pulled down, and bad evidently not
remigneti all hopes of a repri.ive. Somebody mixed him
for his autograph. and he mechanically mate a number
1 of ,1fi.10.1 nu et tue sheetii of writinv- paper that were
furnished for the porpom. Boston Charley and Black
Jiro were then brought out from their cells, and a
. .

bl mkseulth vet to work, and after knocking oil the
shackles that bound tlo in together rivetted a new
net on each man. We were called back Into
Captain Jack's cell, as he wished to know what the
writing was for, and through the medium of ston
Charley he was told it was simply to have mine
remembrance of his handiwork. He was evidently
ra, her disappointed, as he still had hopes of being
pardoned. Shortly after eight a.m. the troops were
paraded in front of their quartere' and at half-past
eight a.m. the procession formed in front of the guard-
house that was to escort them to the gallows. The
howls of the women, relaqves of the condemned, were
then distinctly heard EIA they came from the stockade.
The other primners, Curly.headed Doctor and the Lost
River murderers were removed from the guardhouse
to the stockade.

_ ----.--
At half pant nine the waggon and four horses were
drawn up in front of the guard-hence, and the con-
demned were brought out. Black Jim got in Met,
followed hy Boeton Charley, Soot chin, and Captain
Jack. The great chief looked rather nick, and had to
helind into the cart. The drume then rolled
I nit the funeral tomtit, and the pi oc. ,11111 I,,,tyLd
.in to the gull,we. The •,:tvalt y le I, the Infantry
being MI 01.41 Nl' Willa 11, W14..K.'11. At ten inuotttia
to ten the waggon halted behind the scaffold
sad the prisoner got out, limos Cheeky sod

Black Jim mounted the stake first, and were placed
on the left hand side of the platform, facing north.
, Captain Jack came up next, and was evidently very
weak, and requiring assistance to get up. Scouchin
came up last. Captain Jack took the position on the
extreme right,with Sconchin next, Black Jim next, and
Boston Charley on the extreme right. They were
then all seated, and the four men 012 iuty proceeded to
Pinion their arms and legs. The latter were fastened
just above the knees. Captain Jack wore a striped
linen shirt and a pair of grey pants. Sconchin wore a
dark Woe shirt and army route; and both Black Jim
and Boston Charley were in the soldiers' clothes they
had stripped from the bodies of these they had
killed during the war. A company of cavalry
and infantry were drawn up in the front of the
square, and a company of infantry and light battery
artillery occupied the right of the square. Al) kit 500
Klismathe then came up, led by their chicle, and
squatted on the ground at the north side of the tipiare.
Mrs. Body and her daughter, anti the widows tit some
of the settlers murdered on Lod River, occupied is
prominent position on the right. They sat on the
front neat of a high waggon. There were, beside. the
500 Klamath Indians, IMMO 100 citiz.inspreeent. Many
of the latter had ridden two or three hundred miles to
witness this execution. The reading of the sentence
took up shunt twelve minutes of the time. The run
was shining brightly on the backs of the condemned,
and for • moment there wan dead silence, occasionally
broken by a wailing froin the woods on the right. The
post chaplain stow with his prayer-book oven behind
General Wheaton, and Poet Surgeon MEllerdery
stood on the right of the line.
The correspondents of the different journals repre-
sented were scattered around, holding their horses, and
ready to start for the ninety mile ride. There was con-
siderable competition among the newspapers, as there
is only one wire at Jacksonville, and the coursers must
have • race for it. This dispatch twilit be carried by
three men riding thirty miles, and changing horses
every ten miles, and they expect to ride the ninety
miles in seven home. . .

At fourteen minutes past ten o'clock a.m. the relating
of the sentence was conclude-ii, and Colonel Hoge re.
ported to General Wheaton. The post chaplain then
advanced into the centre cf the square, and read an
appropriate service for the occasion. The four con-
demned men squatted down on their haunches, seated on
the solid platform, with their feet resting on the hinged
part, which was so designed as to fall at the cutting of a
single rope. At eighteen:uinutee past ten Colonel Hoge
advanced and mounted the rear steps of the platform,
and at a signal the ropes were adjusted. Boston
Charley and Black Jim took a drink of water, but
both Sconchin and Captain Jack declqied. Private
Anderson cut some of Captain Jack's heir off, as it
was very long sod interfered with the rope. Some of
Boonchin'e acid Black Jim's heir V/0.13 also out,. At 21
minutes past ten o'clock the black cape were adjusted,
the condemned men being still cool and collected.
They then stood up, and for a few momenta everything
was perfectly quiet. The four men, though in instant
expectation of death, were perfectly collscted and
quiet, and not a muscle moved. At twenty-live
minutes past ten Colonel Hoge, who was leaning on
the back of the platform, dropped his handkerchief.
Corporal Thos. Itoss, of the 12th Infantry, rained his
hatchet, cut the rope, and the four criminals were
launched into eternity. Everything worked perfectly,
and the arrangements reflect the highest credit on Mr.
Fields, the post carpenter, under whose orders the
gallows was built. Captain Jack and Black Jim died
easily, but Sconcliin and Beaton Charley both twitched
considerably,