Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1858-11-13


James Rogers, who was convicted and sen.
fenced to die for numbering Swanston, In October
1857 was hung on Friday morning, in 4 courtw '
IT the City Prison, New York, at IIX O'Clock.
THE MURDER.
IL was In Seventeenth street. near Eighth ave
nue., that Rogers net his two com panions on the
evening Of the 17th of October. They walked
together for some time, stopping repeatedly at
the saloons TO drink. Rum soon made the vonth-
ful murderer reckless. Passing fruit stand be
demanded an apple Of tbs boy In charge, and
upon his refusal assaulted him with drawn
knife. The boy escaped into a store close at hand
and the three young men continued In. wa <
up Tenth avenue. Near the corner of Twentieth
street they stopped at another saloon where they
drank freely. As they came out. one If them
seeing person go by whom ne thought he r. e
ognized, exclaimed, :" There goes a man that
want to whip" and fastened forward His com
panions kept pace with him as he went Ii was
now about III o'clock at night
Inc deceased, John Swanston. had gone out
with bis wife 10 do some marketing for Sunday
ana me two were on their way homeward, when
the three young men overlook them. Rodgers car
Iieu mis- arms a-kimbo, that one elbow hit
evanston violently as be went by him The de
ceased resented The indigniiy, swinging his a ms
and berating him In severe terms The youno
men turned back and attacked him one of them
with drawn knife. SWANSON cried 80 Murder' -
and attempted to ward off the blows, but without
success he received a wound in the side and
fell to the ground. The shrieks of his wife
alarmed the neighborhood; a crowd gathered at
the spot, but IL was too late. The IpIortunate
man was breathing his last, and the assailants
had escaped
THE DEATH PENALTY
On Friday, Rodgers suffered the punisbmsp,
que nh crime He was dressed in q plain .nit.
without coat o. vest. On his neck was the fatal
Moose, and a yellow cross adorned his brsa,t
HIS face was pale, and its expression, toDetber
nss n nrs i0n b. ha,r gave him very girsh APP
DIR Niligan proceeded to read the pravers TIE
condemned youth prayed silently all the time.
kissing the crucihx which he held IN his hand.
The prisoners In the cells above had prepar,d
themselves with bits Of looking glass and ~ Of I,
hands could be seen thrust out from the window,
ABOVE, In the effort to catch the reflection from
the scaffold
At thirty-seven minutes past eleven the re-
liglous services were concluded; the clergymeu.
one by one, shook bands with Rod gers and babe
MIN farewell The Sheriff now approached him
an andiol voice. That officer stepped back
~afa, and the bangman begun his ofhcs
omcef simpson speedily attached the moose TO
hs e 'oPs which dangied above the prisoners
.IIt, NC sign OF finching appeared, except a
ehght uemor evidently produced by the chilli
ness OF the air He stood facing the sou,bvsr I'd
Ar fs ,b Iisex ssP was pulled over his face
Wds given tbc heavy sound Of the ba,c bet ,.,.s
heard inside the Enclosure at the western end ~
the scanoid, and the body of the prisoner was a..
Dangling In the air about three feet from TIE
ground few moments after man wiz H.
some face and whiskeTs came siI,ntlv fr ~ 30 :
inclosnTe and mingled with the spectator, Tn.
death Of Rodgers was not severe TIE M,
eame In contact with the nape Of the neck, mid
way between the ears
For several minutes the body swayed 10 and
fro, and then all became still Al forty two ,,,in
ues past eleven Pulsation was still perceptibIe
sne wI,st, put had ceased entirely two minutes
49, The action Of the heart was psrce pt-
LUIS Yen OF nitren minutes longer The clergy
n.n NV ieI, The courtyard, and notice was
given TO the relatives The pbvsicjarx .Dno1,,r..s
th.; death had taken place by NATURALIZATION
AIief hanging thirty-fve minutes the body was
cut down uad taken into the apartment =, ~ $50
of the inclosed court CT the prison I, w G
and CHASTITY, but not blsckered In the fare p1''
The physicians and sherin's jury afte- nroD.,
examination, gave the proper cert hcate alb
which the father and brothers coming In. SSr-is
Mhieti addressed them, al now deliver 10 yoI
,ae ooay OF your son and brothsr'' The Old
is@n troaned ana wept aloud, lifting the had
VI zee corpse and moving IT TO and fro The
ois %ithdfew, and the corpse wss placed
CO ma. 4 hearse waiting in the court rsc. we'd
me ca a and bore IL AWAY
Inc corpse was buried in Calvary Cemetery.