, 1862-02-26
=
Execution Of Captain Gordon.


Nathaniel Gordon, the convicted slave dea1-
er, suffered thS Extreme penalty Of the law at
noon yesterday, in the yaId oxthe City Prison.
During the prcdedinE night be attempted t.
commik;suicide BY f1kfhg Rffychnine, which
was conveyed to him in ci4ax&: but through
the untf1ing exertionSofD DrR Simmons, Hodg-
man and Wood, the poison ~ removed nom
his stomach, and he >Was sresneedtated- He was
very weak, however, during :tAe morning, and
had Il not been for the 6ea administration OF
.6timulants. it would haIe been necessary to
tarry him to the ganows.
:. Gordon was pale faced, dark eyed little
man, and with an appearance that would
negat1ye the idea Of dealer in human flesh.
He leayes-and this is the most mournful
scene in the whole tragedy-an interesting
Young wife, native OF Now Scotia, only a
Of aRd Ha 1o3s o snssy hssdd th2y RSy
for go1d," ",I!leEaIly pursued, and most painfully
and degfad;nely e1piated on the public scaE.
fold, Nathaniel Gordon Was born IN Portland,
Maine, aud Wis at the time Of his execution
aoPus qecisely Is at tWeiye O'Clock Aarshal Murray,
In company with deputies Thompson, Devoe,
Sampson, Smith and others, entered the cell
ior de- deatb. % Ike 1 prieonet Nv Who % Eaa TsaE and
trembling like q: Leaf, arose from his bed and
cd brandy, and allowed to drink some three
or four slasses before the work Of pinioning
vas commenced. The sttmulanf seemed
to revive him greatly, and he bore the
opcntion Of. binding his arms much bet
ter than was expected Marshal Murray
during the delivery Of which the prisoner
looked the picture Of despair. Shortly after
this the Rev. Mr.. Camp, who had been the
cuIprit's spiritual adviser ever since his con-
domination, entered the cell, and delivered i
short but impressive prayer. Gordon listened
A. AfA ~ Afa-
latter concluded the prisoner expressed a fer
yent hope that he might be the recipient Of
| Gods mercy aud pardon.
AL being ip readiness, Mr- Simeon Draper
! rolnntecre&:to notify Gordon that the fats1
moment arrived. The culprit seemed
TSRseG 'bs bn s4ssafa 3sn sa99s as
twelve o1 and said, al thought it WIS
not to tiEee until two o'c1ock-' Where
| upon As,trnnper informed him that the
| change In she alne had been brought about by
| his attempt at suicide, and that lie must pre-
1aTc to die. The prisoner then said that it
| vas hard to die felon's death, and made some
incoherent remarks about the injustice Of his
sentence and the unfair manner in which he
had been treated By the United States District
/ Attorney. He stated that the District Attor-
ney had promised to use his influence with
tho President to procure 0. Communication Of
his sentence; but instead Of doing SO, le
urged al he could against il.
As the procession moved through the yard
| all eyes were fixed upon the condemned, who
| tcttered to the Ecafold like 4 MAR half dead
| with fear or supplied with liquor, it is hard to
say which. The teebleness Of the culprit, the
| agony with which he viewed the preparations
| which had been made for his execution, the
presence Of the military drawn up in line, all
contributed TO rendcrt he scene most impress
siye and painful one. When the cu1pTitreached
the ga11oWs, and took up his position immedi-
atc1y under The fatal noose, there Was pause Of
a few seconds, but all was as still as death. The
work Of adjusting the rope WAS quickly per-
| formed !; for it Has evident that Gordon could
not stand long but hardly had the task been
completed, when he showed evident signs Of
| iainting. The cap Eas quickly drawn over the
| cnlp1itss face, and the Marshal was about to
| giYc the signal to the e1eeutioner, when Cor
don staggered, and would have El1len to the
ground had he not been caught BY one Of the
deputies. In another moment, however, he
was straightened up, the signal was given, the
axe fell, and the body Of Gordon WAS dangling
in the air.
It has seldom been our lot to witness an cx.
Gordon did. There was no struggling Of the
arms and legs, no upheaving of the chest o.
contortions OF the body-a few nervous
twitcbings Of the hands, and oil was over.
After hanging fifteen minutes the physicians
with the consent of the Marshal, had the body
lowered little, for the purpose OF examining
the heart and pulse. Drs. Finnen, Sh7ady and
kimbtrk announced that there Was no pulsa
ton Of either the wrist or heart It was deem
ed prudent, however, to allow the body tc
hang for little while longer, and the CORPSE
was left dangling until three-quarters past
twelve.