Wyoming democrat. [volume] (Tunkhannock, Wyoming Co., Pa.) 1867-1940, 1869-04-14
THE MURDERERs, TwI1CHELL AND
EATON.
Twitcheu Commits Suicide--Eaton il
Hung.


ton quit the world, but not in company
Twitchen died at o'clock last Thursday,
in his cell, and by his own hand Eaton
expiated the crime Of which he had been
convicted, upon the scaffold at 1850
MINCING MATTERS.
Eaton is reported to have said recently,
that he did not mind being hung, but dis
liked the idea of being hung by the side of
such hypocrite as Twichell Twitchel
was more generous, in word if not in heart.
While he apparently did not regard the
eompanionship of Eaton on the fatal trap
as calculatefto increase the ignominy of
his death, he expressed his JOY, few days
ago, at hearing that there was some hope
of respite for his condemned companion.
THE LAST EFFORT AT SALVATION
Twitchell had not been politician
Therefore it was necessary that he should
resort to some startling trick to cheat the
King of Terrors out of part of the prey
allotted him by the courts. The sensation
al confession" with all its improbable
ties and incongruities, was kept back until
but five days remained to him as the time
within which he must succeed in pervert-
ing the sympathy of the public, or else die
the death the law had decreed. 1t was a
sad thing for man to attempt to fasten an
Infamous crime upon the name of the wo-
mon whom he had sworn to love, cherish
and protect and yet it must be done-not
that he might give the halter the slip, but
that man about to be ushered into eter-
nifty might make his peace with God OF
course such thunder bolt from u cloud
less sky served to startle, perhaps to amaze,
the world ; but it failed to frighten any
body. And having thus failed utterly to
avert one jot or title of his approaching
fate, he did not scruple to place his spirit
| ual adviser in a very ugly position, by sub
sequently asserting that the document had
been sent to the newspapers against his
desire and consent"
On the contrary, Eaton had been a pol
itician of some note, and although stOutly
asserted his innocence from first to last,
his friends chose rather to rely upon polit-
ical machinery to secure n mitigation of
the severity of his punishment Within
three days of the time, appointed for his
death, the time-honored appliances were
brought to bear, and with marvellous ra-
pidity-one of the elegant arts of Harris
burg legislation-an act waspushed through
both houses comforting upon the Governor
the power to commute q sentence of death
into one of imprisonment for life or for
term of wears. Wednesday it was tele-
graphed from the capital that the Governor
would certainly sign this law without delay
and avail himself of its provisions to rescue
Eaton from death. But the Governor
turned over the proposed statute to his
Attorney-General for his legal scrutiny,
and finally, late at night, announced that
in neither case would he interfere with the
due COURSE of the outraged law. Thus ex-
pired the last hope of Eaton.
The doomed man listened attentively to
the fatal intelligence, and when its full
force had broken upon his mind, he ex-
claimed =
"All right! "
Then the philosophy which Twitchell
had failed to cultivate came to his aid, and
after short silence he said -
''Tell my friends" running over the
names of few of them, 'tell my friends
that I am very grateful for what they have
done for me, and they will have no cause
to be ashamed of me, for will die like a
man."