Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1865-07-13

sen Dsner. n Avpes, and the writer of these
Iine. samson lived IN one of tbs suburbs OF
Paris We vent to IL slong the Canal de
POurco We reached very pretty cottage
standing alone la q garden kept in high order,
full OF fosers. The house and windows we're
painted in gay colors, principally Of bright green
aud We were introduced into a well furnished
nicely adorned apartment, when the host came 10
welcome us. He told Us that bis emolumeu 4.
once large, had, from the diminished number OF
capital puRi.hments. been much reduced. and
though ne had de euoi rirre, wherewighal 70 live,
bis eiaf was very different now from Wat Il bad
been IN other-better (f)-days. This may have
been al apology for our finding no repAsl pre-
pared in return for " Appert's hospitality he
repeated to 6 that the Office had been for gen.
eratIons hereditary in bis race. Marriages had
been generally confined 10 families connected
with the same profession. Of which there were
several in the provinces.
Samson gave many particulars Of What had
happened on memorable occasions between the
moment when be had received the cORdsrane
from the prison authorities aud that in which the
task was COZ pleied BY him as exeeEfsnT dSs haufss
eBrres lie stated-and We had afterwards an
opportunity OF verifying the fact-that the pro
essUeTbGuI Of every public execution were kept
With the utmost accuracy. he asserted that i
had never been otherwise in the vorst times OF
the French revolution: which mos. sssuredly
would prove that the number OF sufferers, as or
dinarily reported and believed. must have been
enormously exaggerated. Possibly all such sta.
tstics should be received with much distruss, but
in reaching any authentic source oil Information
one is always Impressed with the conviction that
political passion on all sides leads 10 enormous
INTERPRETATION, and reported as they are IN
der the influence of vehement excitement, the
records OF contemporaneous annalists should be
received with much disirust He repeated
again and again that the amount OF
physical suffering from the fall of the axe aud
the separation of the head from the body OK
ceedingly small-the death was instantaneous
that 10 the whole of his experience be had never
seen an involutary motion Of the muscles after
decapltation-that the stories OF the opening and
closing Of the eyeds after execution were inven-
tons contradicted by the whole Of his observa
tons, without a single example to the contrary
that the extinction of feeling and Of life followed
the fatal event Immediately and without single
exceptional case.
I'VE ask whether il were possible TO see the
records-the proces rerbdur of executiOns-of
which he had spoken. He produced some vol
umes handsomely bound, beautifully written, In
whose pages were oliicislized the details, signed
BY persons present, of what had taken place at
every execution. when the c0RdGmne was handed
over to the ezeeutuer, up TO the moment on
which the corpse was transferred TO those who
were commissioned 10 receive ii.
4" He desired US 10 accompany him to an out
house Ii was sort Of stable, in the centre OF
which the mecanigue raised its awful head; it was
painted blood red-a tall, erect frame, much
narrower much higher than that OF a common
gallows-a massive sloping knife was suspended
| at the top. cord hung down BY the side of the
| frame. The assistants stood on platform be
| low Just above them was a plank, with a round
hole for the reception of the head. at the base Of
which was az opening. through which the axe
was TO pass in severing the head from the body
| The plank moved backwards and forwards in a
groove; it was raised by axle at the two sides
perpendicularly In an instant the sufferer wa,
attached 20 IL by cords; il was then thrown dowr
fat, and moved horizontally forward. at thu
same moment the cord was pulled the heavy AK,
| fell down through the iron frame, and a baske
was seen TO receive the head OF the victim al
most as soon as the click was heard announcing
that the axe had been detached from the beam &
which it had been fastened Then the plank va
| drawn back the headless BODY united. and San
son asked Us to feel bow sharp the edge
and remarked how ponderous the weight Of tn
instrument. The edge certainly sharp Al
that of a razor. and the momentum was increases
| bv mass of lead attached to the upper side o
the decapitator Torture OF mishap seemed i'm
possible; aud vet on one occasion, at Boulogne
through the laundering OF the bourTeau, the AK,
! got entangled in the rope. and did not descend
with force enough to do the dreadful work. an'
the head OF the poor wretch was severed by
knife borrowed for the occasion. know gen
tleman who. in those days, was under the ban o
the Bourbon government for political offence
which might have been visited with capital pun
| ishment, and who was consoled with the assur
snce that il decapitation were to be his fate car
would be taken 10 secure him against any defec
in the action of the decapitating machinery"