Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1838-01-24
From the Fincastle IVA democrat.
.ECUTION or JACOB p. CRABTRE

EXECUTION OF JACOB p. CRABTREE.
This cold blooded, reckless individ.
ual was launched into eternity, in the
! presence of two or three thousand
spectators, at this place, or Friday
the goth ult., in pursuance OF tho sen-
tence of the Court, delivered by his
Honor, Judge Allen, at the Septem-
Der term, a few days after his convic-
ton, by a jury Of his country, of the
=" willul, deliberate and premeditated
murder of Geo. Blaze" and we ven.
ture to assert, that no man, in any
age, or in any country, ever met such
a disgraceful end more frmly-indeed
we Lelieve that his indomitable spirit
prevented him from making "a single
struggle after he was swung off, Tor
he was never seen to move either
hand or foot during the whole time
that he was suspended. His history
published at our office, from which he
read several pages standing on his COT
fin under the Gallows, and which he
acknowledged was T" ,oriiten By his oun
hand" is a record Of villanies of such
an abhorrent nature as we are seldom
called on to notice in this enlightened
age of the world, and we regret that
we are compelled to state that he never
expressed either contrition or remorSc
for any thing he had ever done, but on
the contrary seemed TO take pride IN
the atrocious actions that he had been
guilty of, and his only regret while in
Jail was, that he had not committed
more murders. He acknowledged that
he had committed a great many crimes
ola very aggravated nature Gin the
eye of the laW," for none of which,
however, Gid he attribute any blame 10
himself, but considered oil chargeable
to the "HeAish disposition Of the
family he came from, and the manner
in which he had been treated by the
World. He stated that death was a
debt which we all had to pay, al one
time or other, and it mattered little
whether it occurred a few years earlI-
CIR or later-that he had always been
fond Of paying his debts, and minated
that from the villanies he had commit.
ted he was at least even with the
world, and therefore was not about TO
die a moment too soon.
Within the ring formed by the guard
round the Gallows were Clergymen of
three different denominations, who had
zeaIously laboured without effect ever
since his conviction, to convince him
Of the necessity of repentance, but
lest the crowd should suppose for a
moment. that he believed in any thing
that they could do for him, or that they
were there because no thought they
| could be OF any service to him, he took
occasion to say alphabetically, that he
| had no faith in repentance or prayer,
| but that as il looked more like human
mature" to have a Clergyman, he had
requested his worthy friend, Mr..
| Johnson. TO ask the Rev. Mr.. Cooke
to come there to pray" He spoke ve-
nv bitterly Of his brothers, particular
" of the oldest one,) and said that he
had married an infamous woman IN
order 10 make her a witness to keep
one of them from being sent to the
Penitentiary, as he (Crabtree) did not
| like to sccar hes himself" He read
a text from the Scriptures for some pur-
pose which we did not exactly under
stand, but presume il was to show the