Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1859-12-23
Further Particular Of the Exc
cuti0m of Cook and COppic.

A correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette
gives the following additional particulars Of
the execution of Cook and Coppic, on Friday
last. 1t will be observed that young Copies
case excited great sympathy among those who
witnessed the executions. He was certainly
deserving Of it.
CATER taking their seats in the wagon, the
countenancs Of Coppic changed; his face
wore settled expression of despair. He
looked wildly around the crowd, and his large
eyes lighted up with an unnatural lustre.
Many heart sighed for communication of his
sentence, which would certainly have been
granted by the Legislature, had it not been
for letter which appeared in the New York
Tribune, addressed to Mrs. Brown, signed by
EDWIN OoPr;., and written after the execution
OF brown mat letter sealed his fate. Coppic
denied having written the letter. II was
written by Cook, and signed by him for
Coppic. 1t was not read to Coppic, and
written without his solicitation, and it is
believed was an act of policy on the part Of
Cook to bind Coppic's destiny with his own.
This morning, his youthful appearance, frank,
open countenance, and the knowledge Of the
facts connected with the writing of the letter,
which only trsnspired on yesterday, all tended
to enlist sincere sympathy for the misguided
boy. He, however, gave no evidence of dread.
As the wagon, preceded by the military, and
guarded on all sides by the same, proceeded
to the field, Cook recognized many acquaint-
ances. He bowed his head to some, and
spoke to others. As they entered the gate,
he remarked to Coppic, Ned, we are going
together Coppic replied ~ bowling his
head. No other word was spoken.
"On reaching the scaffsld, they assembled
with firmness, and, on gaining the platform,
Rev. Green North offered up prayer of one
minutes duration.
"During this prayer, both men stood with
out tremor. Coppic had his eyes closed,
and his lips moved as with prayer. When
the divine had finished, the doomed men babe
each other farewell, and, as the white cap was
drawn down, Cook addressed the Sheriff with,
Now, as quick as possible The ministers
and officers of the law then babe them fare
we'll, and in another instant they were in the
struggles of death. Both, however, died
easily. There was slight movement of the
lower part of the limbs, and all was still.
Both their necks were broken. They assembled
the scaffold at nineteen minutes of o'clock,
and the trap was sprung at fifteen minutes of
one. They were thus only four minutes on
the scaffold
"The bodies hung for thirty minutes, when
the physicians stated that life had been extinct
some minutes. They were then cut down
and placed in their respective collins. Cook
relatives had sent from New York an elegant
metallic one. Copncs was of plain black
walnut, furnished by the Undertaken, Mr..
Ladder, who conveyed the two collins to
Harper's Ferry. Cock was delivered to
Adams & Co.'s Express. 1t will be conveyed
to his rel~tives, in New York, at three o'clock
tomorrow morning. Coppic's was delivered
over to his uncle, Joshua Coppic, of Salem,
Ohio, and Thos. VIM, of Iowa, who will
convey the remains to Iowa. He leaves this
evening, and will bury the remains near bis
house."