New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-06-25
VISIT TO THE CELL or ISAAC l.
WOOD.

Away up the valley Of the beautiful Geneses, which
sOrs winGingy through the midst Of hundred sore
Adds Of waving grass aud grain, along the hillside
s,snSs the village known in by gone times as Big
Tree" 50 ne0ed after tree of fabulous dimensions
Which stood Until within ayesi past the valley by
since the time when the memory Of nsu ruoneh not 10
he ontrsfy The great fire. shot of last under
mined its vast proportions and swept il some distance
down the stresm, whore 1t was sawed in pieces and
moved. Two ponderOus specimens now lie 10 the yard
~ lanes w sdsw0rth esq., near the village. The for
,osy sppsIls,ion of Big Tree" has long since been
oh.,p.o 20 Geueseo the thire town Of Livingston Co.
Ys,s are situated the courthouse aud jail, both par
taking Of the style Of more primitive times Tue j all
!. occunied by the family Of the Shenff on the first
floor, on TIE sec1nd are the cells Tor prisoners lhs
ola nod. ,uiidng which from its appearance would
offer resistance 10 some Oh our Guy CRIMINALS
~ s,s desire some evening to step through the
q "a, axe stroll 10 the adjoining woods, is rem
dare, r. notable at present than ever before by
AIN ,its Iecesses the notorious Isssc l.. Wood,
,uice tn. I'd lastly convicted of the murder of his
brother and his brothers. wife, by poisoning Through
q kindness of Mr Mccartney the ob'ging Sheriff,
the wris,r wss afforded an opportunity to visit and
CONVERGE with TIE condemned Sittiog upright in
n. char, e. if be were before the camera OF da-
eusrreot,pst, with bis srces shscked. lie Gross on
our snteIios and exerdei his hand, at the mo-
neus givIg an irquirog look Of melancholy Mingled
with enx;eiy if sutcipa ting some cheering news
upon wbh to bose single ray Of hope ia his agOnized
mind Ater being introduced to three or four who
scconpar ed u.s. he resumed hls seat ard in TO
query re- piled toat he was very DESTROYS TO see as
many ss possible before his death. IIs seemed per-
fsotly awae that he must suffer for the crime attIib
uted and proven against him. aud apparently did not
boo, Executive eiemency would interfere With the
senrence passed upon him. He declared his innocence
in the most Nc nizng manner with signs aud tears and
hear.reDding calculations, "Oh! do not believe it,
3geptlemsp, do not believe 1 am guilty of murder"
NV poor besr il nriH break and other expressions
fof grief which caused copious flow Of tean from
fevery spectator.
He was very emphatic in his declarations Of inno
cence desiring it should go forth to the world that he
should die innocent of the crime imputed 30 him.
Speaking thus, with uptuned fscs and hi, large,
tear filed eyes resting fully couftensuce his
position seemed pitiabe indeed, considering that the
evidence upon which he was convicted was entirely
crcumstsnts. He expressed great affection for the
Sheriff. who, he says, has treated him with much kind
since his confinement, period of ten months.
In regard to statement circulating through the papers
that certain Mrs. CLARK Of Ne y-Jersey only his
hasster, he desires, also the Sheriff. that it should
be remarked that she is his own sister. No furniture
was observable in the room except one chair and a
table, upon which were writing msteIials, seeming y
not much used He said be had made several atempts
10 write some account Of himself but up to that time
had not been able to collect his thoughts sufficiently
10 do so. The agony Of mind supeiaduced by in
difference on the part of those who visited him,
hcth aafv thars wit, innita
idea Of that religion which dissbuses the mind of
prejudice and brings it into communion with the pre-
oepts inoulcated by esry moral training and continued
association in exemplary society. The condemned man
himself as about to sleep that sleep which knows
no waking" aud seeks that which it is evident he has
not had since his conviction-sympsthy-:ha brief
word expresses all the kind word properly spoken the
dreoiog Of the mind to the future instead of the past
is what the criminal needs; but how seldom does 1t
occur? Ceremony must be laid aside then, for the
mind at such times will not bear restraint to good
end, Directly underneath the window beside where
the doomed man eat could be heard the sound of the
spade throwing up the earth where the galows are to
stand which, with the round Of the hammer and saw
of the carpenters engaged enclosing some fifteen by
twenty feet Of ground for the purposes OF execution
the horror occssoned by the tears of the unfortunate
man and the preparation for his execution immediately
underneath the window Of hs cell, will not soon pass
from the minds of those who witnessed the 1t
certainly would seem though there wes desire on
the part of the officers 10 such cases to work up all the
horrors possible In carrying out the execution of the
law, by often unnecessarily subectiDg the doomed
criminals TO witness the preparations in progress for
their owr ignominous deaths. Wood Is 80 years
Of age, weighs only ITO pounds and dressed plainly,
bu. neatly; certainly would be taken, sooner, for a
Besdles clerk than one guilty of the crime of which he
has been convicted and is about to suffer. But the
fat has gone FORTH that Friday June 26, lsasO L.
Wood shall be brought forth, from his lonely cell, to
die a felon's death.