Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-02-27
EXECUTION OF STREETER, THE
MEDINA MURDERER,
At Medina, Friday, February 26.
Great ExOitsment through the
Country.
Fifteen Thousand People Pres
ent.

EutH6H TnOHbbuu EoOpI6 REbs.
ent.
The Fence Around the GallUws
Torn Down and Burnt.
The impending execution Of Frederick F..
streeter, who murdered the Coy family, in
Medina, on the night of the second of July
last, and was, upon conviction, ssntsnsed to
be hung on Friday, January 22d, between
the hours Of ten A. N. and four
P. n, has created G widespread feel
ing of excitement. To this the Pc
oulisr and extraordinary circumstances
Of the case have greatly contributed. The
peculiar atrecity of treble murder Of a mar
ried couple and their only child, boy of
ssven,-the attempted arson,-the bold rob-
bery,-ths curious, romantic and most won
derful Identification Of the oriminsl,-the
story Of the trial,-ths incidents Of his cum
ming escape and the; extraordinary r. cal tlrs,
-and above all, the extraordinary chsrac-
ter and bearing of the prisoner, whose life
was 3 romance, and whose entire demeanor,
though inconsistent, extraysgant and unac-
countabIe, was nevertheless wonderfully COL
lectsd and frm,-all this tended most pow
erfulIy to creste.and foment an almost un-
controlIsble excitement as the day set for
the fnal and closing act of the mysterious
drama rapidly approach.
full review of all details Of this afro
cions crime, almost without parallel in the
annals of criminality, would, doubtless, be
of interest to our readers, but the latsness of
the hour at which we write entirely precludes
all details, except Of the happenings Of the
execution itself.
THE DAY.
Friday dawnsd gloOmiIy upon Medina. It
seemed that Nature, as If In sympathy with
tho awful solemnity of the occasion, had
cloaked herself in mourning. Snow had
fallen, the winds were chilly, and the sun
was mantIed from sight in gray and sombrs
clouds, and would not smile. In spite of the
bitter weather and the fesrfulIy bad roads,
however, thousands upon thousands
of people from adjacent towns
and counties, from Cleveland, Akron,
Wooster, Ashland, and even from Toledo
and Cincinnati, came pouring into the quiet
village, remote as it was from railroad and
travelling facilities, until it seemed that Me-
dina should instead have been called Mec-
o., SO numerous were the pilgrimages to this
new and awful shrine. The roads were all
the morning crowded with the piIgrims,-in
every manner of Yehieles,-on horseback
on foot. Strangers gathered all along the
sidewalks of the still streets, which, with
their places of business closed, wore, but for
the crowd, a Sabbath aspect. Swarms of
people congrsgatsd about the hotels, on the
Court house steps, about the scafold, and es-
psciaIIy about the jail.
SPIRIT OF TEE PEOPLE.
The bitter and vindictive spirit of the peO-
pie present was especially manifest. They
were largely composed of the natural attend
ants upon such an awful cere-
mOny, - the rOughs and brutss of the
country srOund,-who were loud and coarse
enough in fierce invsctivs. Women, too,
cOngregstsd in the crowd, and, when they
spoke, surpassed the men in fierce indictiYe-
moss. Said one virsgO, standing under the
scaffOld, in tho morning: "Ah, I hope the
rope will break-he ought to be hung twice."
Another one "Hs9ging is too good for
him"-and third: " I long to see him kick
ing up there" And these are but random
utteranoes.
Many Of refinement, ,sensibility and human
lty, however, also sWelled the vast crowd,
but, being less noisy, were less noticeable.
THz FENCE AROUND THE GALLows BURNED
As an illustration Of the overwhelming
tide Of public sentiment, it may be mention
ed that during the night preceding tho exc
cutiOn, the high fence which, in accordance
with the law, had been erected around the
scafoId, was torn up and burned dOWn-snd
that every body expected and nobody was
Indignant at, the acts.
VISIT TO THE PRIsoEER-HIs APPEARANCE
AID DEHEAHoR.
By the kindness Of several Of the county
officers we were admitted to the cell Of the
prisoner at eleven o'clock in the forenoon,
md had brief interview with him. Since |
his escape he has been placed under the |
JtriCtsst surveillance, being all the time under |
guard. On Thursday night he was removed |
70 new cell, and expressed chsgrin therest,
aging that he had provided means in his
'Ormsr cell for taking his own life, and that
le would have been dead on Friday morning |
lad he remained there. But so many have ]
'een the improbable and contradictory sto-
les which he has uttered, of which perhaps,
We may cay more in another issue, that little
slianee can be placed upon his statement.
His recent fsignsd insanity and his bold
lttempt to stsrvs himself had supsrinducsd
,thsr diseases, which had so far reduced him
hat he weighed less than one hundred
pounds and was too weak to walk alone.
Enter and look ct him, as he lies stretched
Ipon his straw pallet at the further end of
ne cell. You are instantly struck with the
between his personal appearance
nd the horrible deed he has been already
roven to have committed-the fearful fate
rhioh In two hours he must meet. A deli
ate young man of tWenty-fOur, hardly
lors than five feet six inches in height
noe evidently dandy, and even now care
al of his personal appearance, with brown
air and eyes, light mustsohe and beard, a
ace clear and handsome, though thin and
ale, form once slender and now emsciated'
can this be the terrible burglar,
obbsr, assassin, triply murderer.
an this slender, weak youth, lying so calmly
pom the bed, with quiet face, coOl--svsn