The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-06-29

HIS CONFESSION,
as published In the HERALD, was essentially true,
Of no Importance He acknowledged his guilt and
felt confident that his great ain had been forgiven
n ne % that the
up" to change the sentence. During his imprison.
ment Avery has exhibited remarkable inventive
tie contrivances, and he recently presented Mrs.
Pen with miniature ship, half foot long, made
out Of the top OF pastenoard box with the spass
board men.
DURING THE NIGHT
he slept WELL the guards remaining In the lighted
corridor outside At six O'Clock in the morning he
lay 80 silent and motonless that the guards feared
he had committed suicide. They aroused him, and
into the corridor through the grated windows with
unfeigned Joy. he was shaved at an early hour,
tweed pants, vest and coat, and. surveying himself
in the glass, said .I'm looking pretty well.h
Tas ss Scenes s. OUTSIDE p. .nr -.
to sec the sight. IL was true that only about one
hundred tickets Of admission were granted by the
strict injunctions nom the Governor to make the
execution as private as possible; but nevertheless
there was some charm about the neghborhood OF
the coming spectacle that called all the people
forth. 1t seemed to be an intense satisfaction
for the rustics even to gaze upon the
WALLS o. se an was ana nervew 'os m
casual conner forth from the prison who had seen
and interviewed the prisoner. The people OF the
In the morning, and assembled about the tavern
and the Court House. The Bergen county Chosen
r,v ~ the law resteS unon their shonders
''sprcad" themselves about the vicinity, and
COMPANY OF MILITIA
from Leonia, numbering fifty men, marched up to
the public square at about nine O'Clock and
'ordered" arms, with all the amazing irregularity
ofmilitiamen, in 'front.' Of the sacred temple OF
opened from the corridor where the execution
to take place, and directly behind the middle
the open yard Of the prison the rope was
visible through the grated bars, and many
disappointed visitors posted themselves here for
the satisfaction Of seeing the rope suddenly tight
ened at the fatal moment, and perhaps, even to get
glimpse Of the quiverlng body OF the doomed
tributed through the Court House, guarding each
door with fixed bayOnets, and squad of them, In
the course OF their duties, cleaned out the
ANXIOUS ExPECTANTS IN THE OPEN YARD.
But when the hush just previous to the hang
ing fell upon the crowd the soldiers forgot their
duty ana the AGAIN t1 se yaaG
the sight they had hoped to see-the frightened
rope, the body shot up by the window and the
dangling and writing OF the dying man.
At eleven O'Clock Averys brother, william, and
his stepather, w. l.. Livingston, both OF New York,
visited him for the last time. The interview be-
tween
THE TWO BROTHERS
was most affecting. John asked that the Sheriff
al low William to be present at the execution.
s.No, mob said the Sheriff. 'you would not want
him." Both John and William persisted however
AS the Sheriff commenced reading the death war
rant to the condemned in his cell the brother was
SO overcome that he shrieked and raved and finally
went into u fainting it, in which he was carried
outside.
"Be sure and let him come In" said
the prisoner; "that is only fanting
fit, and he'll soon be over It," But the sher-
scene was In progress he remained In the outer
of the Sherifi7s office, moaning and crouching
like an angry wild beast.
THE LAST HOURS.
The Rev. DR.. R0mayne, DIR. Craig, and all the
preachers visited the condemned man In turn
during his last morning, and instiled all the COM
forts of their various creeds into his hungry soul.
Mr.. J. w. STACY, President OF the Board Or Chosen
Of BERGEN county a mast OF no wre
and DemOrest, counsel OF the prisoner also visited
him during the morning.
panied by the prosecuting attorney, Judge Post,
ex-Sherin Terhune, who hanged Heating, the
last murderer hanged In Bergen county, pre-
vious to Avery, Deputy Sheriff Cisco and the rev.
erends entered the cell and read
THE DEATH WARRANT
It occupied The Sheriff at least ten minutes reading
1t. His voice was tremulOus and shaken with emo
tion The prisoner listened stupidity, swaying HIM
assent to its provisions. His arms were then
pinioned to his side and at six minutes past twelve
Terhune, and consisting Of the prisoner, between
Reys Romayne and Craig, and Garrett 2. Acaerso1
the sherit,s room, and appeared at the heavily
grated door that divided the gallows room from
the sherr's parlor. Through this narrow door the
procession passed; but as the prisoner and
his Two reverend guards came to pass through
1t abreast, 1t was found too narrow: Both
the preachers persisted In holding the helpless
prisoners arm, and In the struggle to get through
the narrow doorway without decreasing front, 1t
looked to the reporters In the first corridor, as II
they were dragging the prisoner In by force. 1t
was not 80, OF course, but the bungling manage
ment OF the preacher the downcast head and
seSce Of the rude ropes about his and the
moose about his neck, and the armed soldiers in the
rear struggling to secure entrance to the fatal
corridor, suggested some OF the terrible features Of
an ancient inquisition or human slaughter house.
Avery, raising his eyes when past the door, saw,
for the first time,
upon which he was to die. A cOnvulsive shudder
ran through his frame, and then he clenched his
Behind this procession came struggling squad OF
the Jersey militiamen, who filed the doorway, and
throughout the rest of the affair were struggling
among themselves to get view Of the hanging
through the crowded passageway.
THE INSTRUMENT OF DEATH
was Jersey improvement on the regular patent:
from hole In the ceiling OF the corridor, passed
over pueys concealed above the ceiling, and came
down through another hole into the bath room and
through the floor, ending in the kitchen basement
beneath, where a $50 pound iron weight was at
tached. In the bathroom, on the same floor as the
platform, was the rope and pulley which holds the
weight, and here the executoner, whose name ID q
secret to Hackensack stood concealed from the
people outside, with sharpened to cut the rope
at the given signal. The corridor itself Is narrow
one, probably fifty feet long by eighteen feet wide.
The galleries OF the upper stories trench upon 1t and
the doors OF a dozen cells look into 1t,
so close to Avery that no prisoner In these cells
could have helped seeing him or nearing the dread
full thud and any Of them could have spoken to him
in whisper II they wished. They were all re-
moved to another part OF the building, however,
before the execution took place. This narrow cor
ridor was crowded by about one hundred persons,
the Chosen FreehOlders, who were present In
solemn concave to witness the vindication OF the
law and the reporters, being accorded seats in the
gallery.
THE PRISONER
wore the gray tweed suit which he had donned In
the morning, plain-bos0med shirt, with collar and
black necktie. The black cap which was to cover
his features was crushed upon his head and about
his neck hung the fatal moose.
ON THE SCAFFOLD
Sheriff Pell attached the moose to the heavy ships
cable, which served the purpose OF the hangmans
rope, the prisoner cOolly placed himself within the
narrow square marked out for him, Counsellor
Ackerson leaned against the wall and wept, ex-
Sheriff Terhune leaned meditatively upon the steps
beneath, and Rev. Mr.. Romayne offered
A PRAYER.
II was I'VE minutes In duration, and must have
seemed an age to the unhappy criminal and the
agitated SherifY. During the first few words OF It's
delivery Avery allowed his eyes to wander around
the thronged CORRIDOR but soon he dropped them