Democratic enquirer. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1867-1873, 1869-02-24
Griute.
THE DOOMED MIJRDERERS.
Avisit to Twltehen and EatOn In thei
From the Philadelphia Telegraph


A visit to TwlteheIl and Eatonin their
Cells.
f. From the Philadelphia Telegraph
GEORGE S. TwITcHELL JR.
A genteel young man, faultlesb in attire,
even when bolted and barred from the
world; with hair smoothly arranged as il
expecting visitors; in good spirits as if no
pent-up Utica interfered with the freedom
of his will and whims; disposed to converse
on trivial subjects, as if no fell doom inn
pended over him-he received the COM
pany which presented itself at the cell door
with touch of elegance and an dir OF hos
pitality,
II am sorry, gentlemen" were his first
words, after the civilities customary in the
great world outside had been rigidly OBJ
served II am very sorry, gentlemen that
there are not chairs enough for you all.
Make yourselves comfortable rs far as the
facilities win permit"
He had seated himself upon the rough
blanket of his cot after taking each of our
party by the hand, and now as he looked
around and saw how meagre were his ac-
commodations in comparison with the
number of his guests, he rose again and
moved to the head of the coach, motioning
to some of us to share his seat.
The cell was o model of neatness, and
comfortable, as far as neatness with scapty
material to work upon could make it, On
the bed lay an open pocket Bible-"and
may God of His infinite goodness have
mercy upon his soul y were the closing
words of the death doom pronounced two
days before-while on little stand, which
broke the monotony of the opposite wall,
were thrown carelessly two or three other
volumes. This stand, the cot upon the
floor, and the two chairs, both Of them
new comprised nearly the entire outfit OF
the room. Against the wall at the head
of the cot hung trihe of mirror, not
larger than child's hand, and on the
ledge of the narrow grated windows stood
two small vessels. Both were filed with
earth, and in one were few sprigs OF
Hodorous heliotrope, while over The other
rambled tiny creeping vine, aslt clamor.
ing for that gracious freedom Of light and
air which were needful to fuller and more
vigorous life. What volume Of sad and
solemn thought was bound up in these
stray crumbs of earth, and unfolded in
these dwarfed and whitening plants The
chance to nurture, and watch, and cherish
such garden may keep mans brain from
reeling into madness may nerve his heart
to face death at the hands of the outraged
law
The apartment in which we found
Twitchell was not the one known rs the
condemned cell, that being tenanted at
present by Jerry Eaton He was the first
to inform us that he had occupied it since
Saturday only II is said that, on his re-
turn to prison ON that day his feelings got
the better of his conposure and found
vent in tears for two full hours. Then he
became somewhat composed, and at the
time Of our visit had dreassumed his old and
Indifferent bearing.
Although the interview with the prisoner
lasted some minutes, and he chatted with
much freedom until We left him, our con-
versation for the most part was Of the most
commonplace, with no such humorous sal
lies as had thrown feeting gleam OF sun
shine into the cell of Ford. Only twice
was the subject of the great tragedy which
has not yet ceased to be the wonder Of the
town broached by either side. We referred
casually to the rapid and favorable termin;
alton Of the trial of his wife, and in an.
swer he exclaimed, without the slightest
touch of enthusiasm in his tone:
"Yes, they got through with it soon,
was very much gratifed indeed with the
result"
Nothing more on this subject, except to
assent demurely to our supposition that he
had been visited by her since her release
from custody,
Since his sentence to death on Saturday,
however, Mrs. Twitchell had not made her
appearance at the ptison-a circumstance
which may account for his seeming lack oi
interest in her fate.
We also adverted to the effort which was
still being made in his behalf by carrying
his case before the Supreme Court, touch
ing which he merely remarked that he had
but little hope in this world
When the subject of his personal comfort
was approached, he spoke quite freely in
praise Of the prison officials and their uni.
form courtesy and kindness, Nothing in
this way was lacking, and for no privilege
could he wish that was not allowed him
save that Of indulging his appetite for the
solacing weed. He greatly longed for ci-
gar, and the liberty to smoke it openly,
without being compelled to practice any
deception. and without the knowledge that
he was thereby violating the rules of the
prison.
Could 1t be that this gentlemanly, harm
less-looking young man in whose presence
we were standing had been guilty of the
foul deed of blood laid to his charge? A
jury of his peers had decided this issue.
and it was not for US to question the right
eousness of their verdict Perhaps it was
the remembrance of his protracted trial, Of
the vigor and zeal with which his defence
was managed, Of the impressive solemnity
attending the scene when the judgment Of
the law was pronounced upon him, that
gave us fancied clue to the lack Of manli-
ness in his general bearing, a lack of out
spoken candor which presented noticea-
bic contrast to his assumption of indiffer-
ence.
Into the presence Of
GERALD EATON
we were next conducted. Condemned tc
be hung on the 25th of the present month
we found him in on exceedingly cheerful
and rather talkative mood. In answer tC
our queries he narrated volubly yand graph
ically the circumstances attending the
murder of Timothy Heenan, for which Of
fence he is to suffer death. He is an limo
cent man, so far as this alleged offence il
concerned. So at least he asserted, as ht
sat upon the side of his cot and explained
over and over again his movements on the
evening of the occurrence.
my life, he said, "was sworn away tc
crafty political prejudice. l hope l may
never see my Maker if fred single shot
that night. Twelve or fourteen men were
chasing three or four of us up the street
A man stopped me and asked why ! did moi
shoot He wrencbed the pistol from my
hand. calling me harsh names for refusing
to defend myself against men who were
seeking my life. The night was dark and
rainy, and you couldn't see man just in
front of you. It was regular
drunken row. Ten shots were fired
in quick succession, and yet theii
eyes were 80 sharp that they detected the