Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1872-04-19
A BRUTAL, HORRIBLE EXECUTION.
The Hanging of LOgsdOn I'm Fentress
Countrywide Rope Breaks Twice.


From the Kingston East Teimcs8ecan
we take the following account of the
hanging of James LogsdOn at jamestown,
Fentress county, on Friday the 9Th inst.
The correspondent says:
We arrived at jamestown fifteen min
utes after nine O'clock in the morning and
proceeded at once to the gallOws, which
was erected i'll a low swag with command
ing nils i'll nearly all directions. There
were already some fifteen hundred or two
Thousand people on the ground land still
they came,n and by eleven o'clock the
crowd had augmented to some four thou
sand. About this time the prisoner ap-
peared in sight, shrOuded and sitting in
twO-horse wagon, driven by Mr.. NJ.
Wright, accompanied by the Sheriff, with
strong guard, and prosecutor, together
with the Rev. MeSsrs. Wright, Grear and
Pile. The wagon was drawn up to the
gallOws, and religious services were COM
menced by the Rev. Mr.. Grear, who read
the 6Sth Psalm and also the 9TH chapter of
Paul to the Hebrews, singing a song found
on the 659th page of the Hymn Book. fol-
lowed by prayer; after which the Rev.
Mr.. Wright who had been selected to
preach the funeral, took his stand in the
wagon and preached a short and very
feeling sermon from the words: " Whose
sheddeth mans blood by man shall his
blood be shed."- chapter, 9th verse,
of Genesis. At the end of the sermon,
the time appointed for the hanging being
yet half an hour off, some fifteen minutes
were taken up in singing and praying,
when, at fifteen minutes before two O'Clock.
the prisoner mounted the scatfold, and the
Sheriff proceeded to tie the rope, which
was Il half-inch hemp cord. He then asked
the prisoner if he had anything to say,
who said, in Il very low tone of voice: "
want you all to take warning from this,
and meet me in Heaven Rev. Samuel
Grear was at this time supporting him.
The Sheriff then drew the cap over his
face, and, descending from the platform,
announced, 1.-The man has five minutes
to live" At this time death-like ST.
lence prevailed through the crowd. The
prisoner, standing on the scaffOld unsup-
ported, showed very little sign of emotion.
The Sheriff again announced, The man
has three minutes to live" At the end of
which time he Knocked out the trigger.
which Was very conveniently arranged.
The weight of the prisoner at once snap
ped the rope and he fell to the ground with
a dull, heavy thud. He was Immediately
seized by the Sheriff and his guard, who
put new rope on him, throwing it over
the gallows, and three or four men taking
the end, they hoisted him up again very
much after the fashion of hanging a dog
This time he hung some two minutes,
swinging round five or six times, when,
his feet getting near the ground, in an at
tempt to raise him a little higher, he again
broke the rope, coming to the ground the
second time. Once more he was seized
and hOisted, the blood running from his
mouth and nose, and his shrOud nearly
off of him. This time the rope proved
sufficient and the poor fellow was launch
ed into eternity. Such was the fate of
Cal LOgsdon, the murderer of the Gallo
way family.