The Sun.
London, England, 1857-10-20 00:00:00

A DEATH SCENE IN MISSISSIPI.

The following from the Examiner gives an ac-
count of the execution of Jefferson Gray, for
shooting Robert Abernathy, in Pontotoc county,
Mississipi. With a general hurrah and shouting
the crowd marohed their victim off immediately to
the woods. About half a mile from the town of
Red Land they halted at a hiokory tree at the road-
side, tied a rope round the prisoner's neck, and
threw the other end of the rope over a limb of the
tree. They then gave him a few minutes to say
his prayers and speak what he had to say. He first
called for a drink of water, which being given to
le said, "they had one end of the rope around Lis
neck and the other over the limb, but as there was
a God in heaven and a hell below be was inncoent
of the charge against him." Some one then cried
out, "Hang him up ; he is determined to die
with a lie in his mouth." A motion was made
to swing him up, when he cried to hold on,
and he would confess and te:l the whole truth. A
little time was given him. He then confessed that
he shot Abernathy, that some difficulty had oc-
curred between Abernathy, Jones, and himself ;
that be went to Abernathy in the field, and at-
tacked him en the subject. Abernathy having no
gun acknowledged himself in Gray's power, turned
his back to him to walk off, when he shot him in
the back. After he had fired the gun Abernathy
exclaimed, " You have killed me, Gray, but I am
going to Heaven." He further stated that "na
one else was implicated in the murder but himself ;
that his wife was a good woman, and he hoped she
would be taken care of ; that Abernathy wa a good
man, and he believed was gone to Heaven ; as for
himself he could see the flames of hell blazing
under his feet like dry broom sage." He then
prayed awhile, and called for some one to pray
for him. Whereupon Major Steele, by request
of the company, prayel a very solemn awl fer-
vent prayer for the spiritual welfare of the pri-
soner, and for the sanction of Heaven upon
their proceedings--the moatj,re3pactful order and
silence being observed by the crowd during tha
prayer. Some other remarks were then made by
the prisoner, mingled with prayers, &c. He then
called up the brothers present of the man he had
murdered, and desired to shake hands and bid them
farewell. They all, being three or four, we believe,
came up and gave him their hands. Hw.e or
during the int3rvals of these proceedings, a c.ntri-
bution was made up by the company present, cf
about two hundred dollars, for the benefit of the
prisoner's wife and child, who were about to be
left a wido AT and orphan. After whioh the pri-
soner was mounted upon a horse, a handkerchief
tied over his eyes, made to stand on his feet upon
the horse, the rope tightened over the limb, the
horse led out from under, and the unfortunate
victim of the terrible vengeance of an outraged
community left to swing and quiver between
Heaven and earth, as if unfit for either.

THE LAST SAVED FROM THE CENTRAL
AMERICA.

•*-

After a lapse of 1.6 days since the first party of
those saved from the Central America were landed
at Norfolk from the gallant little brig Marine, and
when every hope of seeing any more of the unfor-
tunate passengers and crew of the lost steamer had
bJen &mcst extinguished, three more have bean re-
turned to their home.. After enduring the most
t:rrible sufferings on the open sea for nine days—
they were without food or water—drenched with
the waves, exhausted from exposure, and reduced
to skeletons from starvation, they were mercifully
snatched from death in the darkest hour of despair.
The account of their agony is harrowing. One of ,
them, Mr. Tice, the second engineer, was drifting
on a plank for 72 hours, when, espying one of the
damaged lifeboats, he fortunately succeeded in
reaching her, and soon after fell in with the other
two, Grant and Dawson, clinging to the hurricane
deck of the steamer, and took them off. There is a
sad episode in the story of these two men. It ap-
pears that at one time there were 12 in all on the
hurricane deck, of whom 10 perished miserably
from exposure and starvation—a slow, lingering,
and painful death. While drifting about at the
mercy of the waves they saw several others cling-
ing to portions of the wreck, but were unable to
aid them ; and, as there is no account of any of
them having b3en taken off by any other vessel, the
painful conclukion is forced upon us that they are
ost—that we shall never hear more of the brave
Herndon and the hundreds of unfortunates who
went down with him on the deck of the Central
America. It is a remarkable fact that the men last
rescued had drifted on their fr&l support nearly 600
miles from the spot where the steamer sunk, before
they were picked up—a dreary voyage, the terrors
of which, with a protracted and !agonising
death staring them in the face, no one but them-
selves can realise. There are few instances, if any,
on record of men enduring so much from the disaster
rrofT,Shipwreek, et coming so bravely through it.
...ough there ?Tit
will be
or have b little cause for hope that any more
some
eeeni saved, still there is a bare pos-
sibility that soor
theo twhhoeselseen clinging to the cap-
tain's cabin
some vessel nolitoyuet"hemaardy
picked up by
fhroamve. beenv e '
sincerely trust, though we hardly dare hope, that I
may be so. —New York 11 erald.

THE SIAMESE AMBASSADORS.—W leaerartl horn Malta
'a despatch
that the passengers on board hereM •
steamer Caradoc, which arrived at 11ijaltay o
ult., were the three Siamese Ambassadors 7 thr'
3lontri Suriywmgsi, Cbarouna Stilbedh Chaity, and CCiir
naun Mix Dir Bidacks—accompanied by a numerous-
suite. Upon their arrival they were saluted by her Ma-
jesty's ship Hibernia and afterwards by Fort St. Angelo.
They were received at tha palace by his Excellency the
1(1.
Governor, Sir Wm. Reidy and Rear-Admiral Sir
Stopford, with their respective staffs. Their Excellencies
took up their abode at the Imperial Hotel, much, it is
eald• to their dissatisfaction, as they expected they
would have been guests, according to the custom of their
country, of the governor. In the evening, attended by
Commander Clavering' R.N of the Caradoc, they were
rpircehsreine:si
an:dl2 6_4 ov erno r's box at the opera, where the
novelty of their costume attracted much
atVantion, and on the following morning Lieut.-General
on the Flori
Pennefanaathsr
had the troops out in review order
parade
val: Their Excel le n cieag"und' in honour of their arri-
Caradoc for England directoeurethte lloetahveorMlaulhta. by the