Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-10-09
n GALLONS.
Execution of Lewis Givens, The Me-
gro Murderer.
Immense COncourss of PeOpJe--An
Orderly Crowd.

past . o'clock, the Negro uuKuelot'
Givens, was hung inthe yaru OF me smell
Nv enuntv iaiL. in sight OF a ~concourse Of
ii leasi six thousand persons Of both col
ors. sexes, and aIlages.
THE CRIME,
in expiation of which the Wretcheo mth
offered up his life, was committed, as u
readers will remember, on the 2lst DAY OF
December, 1855, the circumstances being,
according to testimony adduced on his
trial. as follows: Some months previous
To the murder, Shaw's wife left him and
took M with the murderer Owens, who
len the city after This occurrence, and re-
manned away for some time. On return
mo he went to board with his late spouse,
and became an inmate of the house. On
the night of the murder be left the house
early in the evening, and did not return.
until about 1 O'Clock. A girl who worked
for Owens and his woman, let Shaw In,
and he Immediately went to bed.
The girl declares hat after. doing so she
locked and bolted the door, and also saw
that the other doors were locked. and
bolted so that no one conld come in from
the outside. The axe with which wood
was usually cut, was standing behind
the front door. The girl ON arising in
the morning found the doors and windows
still boIted. and the axe in another pOr-
ton of the room. On taking hold
of it she found il covered with blood.
Calling Shaw and receiving no answer,
She went to his bed, and On finding il
empty she reused Owens, who mlnedi
ately arose, opened the doors, and walk
ing into the adjoining alley, found the
body of Shaw. his skull having been
cleft with an ak. Towards 8 or 8 O'Clock
Owens went down to the Coroner and
told him a " cock and bull" story about
the affair. which, after the inquest, caused
Mr., Samelson to have a warrant issued
for his arrest. He was Immediately eX-
aluined before Squire Gririth, who GOm-
mitted him TO jail.
On the Ilth of August, 1869, Owens
was tried before Judge Hudson and found
guilty Of murder in the first degree and
Sentenced TO he hung. Sentence was
passed at the SAME titee on the negro
Wosds, charged with the murder ct panl|
Tucker. who appealed his case, however,
10 the Supreme Court.
Ia or issue of yesterday we detailed a
conversation held by a reporter of the
APPEAL with the condemned man in his
cell on Thursday. Al that time, although
having been baptized and received into
the bosom of the church, he seemed TO DO
PERFECTLY callous 10 his present and future
condition.. We are informed by Mr..
Fucker, an assistant of Maj. Foster, the
tailor. that on Thursday night about ten
O'clock, after most of the prisoners We're
asleep, and everybody around the jail
quiet, he went 10 tbs cell Of the con-
demned, in hopes that his heart might be
softeued by the silence and darkness,
and hat he might perhaps impart some
thing of interest, or show some signs of
condition. He was mistaken, however.
The prisoner wa rs reticent and callous
AS eVer-though expressing latin IN the
christian religion, the fo~rglssness Of his
sins, and declaring that he expected To
20 TO Heaven when-he died.
On icing requested by Mr.. Tucker to
give a statement of his participation in
the murder, he said that he had no hand
in il. and knew nothing Gf il until he
fonnd Shaw dead in the alley. o. the
night Of The murder Shaw had been out
>. larking around" and returned home
about midnight. As be ebtsred he re-
marked that be had bad q " he'll OF a t8sF
and some id Niger wanted to XIII
him" Alter saying this he commenced
singing, n then fell asleep. That was
the last he knew of him until he found
him in the alley next day.
During his incarceration he was waited
eeaseIessIy by the Revs. j.. w. Early,
Robert Tsi1sy, Blackwell Williams, Wiz
liam Armour, ~, &, Anderson, and
Joseph Ross, of the AfIIGal Methodist
Church. They labored with him, aHd Ls2
N last The satisfaction of making him not
ltfAs EEE4AiIEu " AAo W. DAA bfNA 6ANN ~
g0,h as Sc said 10 US in his cell an hour
before the execution,
THE CROwB.
Sheriff Curry having been absel4t trOfi
the city until late Thursday night, did
not give any passes into the Jail yard, but
tho G,embers OF the press, the bar, and a
few others we're admitted. Among those
outside tine two Grst classes, We are sorry
to say, were a numbef OF white women,
- thu garn lnuyaaf AVNar ~ .naiofV . of
eOHTse-pT0stitutes beer-slingers and that
ilk. There may have been some decent wo-
men among them, V ifthero were, We are
sorry 20 chronicle the fact. Al Il O'Clock
there were perhaps three thousand per-
sons in the streets around the Jail. There
seemed to be no excitement whatever,
aud though the crowd augmented very
rapidly rs o'clock approached, there
was net a sau4bbie Or quarrel that we
could see. The YipdowsQ Of tae old mill,
the roofs of the adjdGsGt houses, the iEess
in the neighbOrhOOd, and, indeed, eyerE
point from which a view of the galloWs
could be obtained, was crowded with hui
ii.sa beings. Front street was q surginy
sea OF humanity, eager and clamorous for
the death Of q pooF, ignorant specimen OF
humanity who bad ueyeg harmed any of
and whom they had meyer keen.
a large force of police, armed with mus
kets and fixed ~bayonets, kept tina side
walk In front OF the Jail clear, but even
the Acould not prevent numbers Of men
and boys from giB,hipg the railing and
perchiug themselves Oh ne sharp points.
THE GALLONS
Saz was in the same position as ST the
last execution, It's appearance had been
materially changed, hogsyer, since that
time. The lower portion vt tlB frsming, |
from the platform down, had been ems
or ceiled ia, : door being len al the
rear. Inside, at the western end, d man
ger and bin had been built, and tie whole /
concern converted into II very neat and
convenient AAble. The idea struck
az decidedly utilitsrian, to say
The least. III front, midway of
The beam was attached tho rope-ths
cord which had been Ised with
MOody-shOYter nov by q few inches, bar
stiIl quite long enough 10 give q terrible
fall.
THE EXECUTION.
At one quarter past Two o'clock (Merri- I
Time the prisoner was brought out
from his cell, where for the past two
he Ind been singing and praying
his spiritual advisors mentioned
The order Of procession Was as
Four policemen with fixed bayonets.
Deputy Sheriffs.
SherIH Carry.
The Prisoner,
E1antad with his snfrit.a1 a1vfaa-a