Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1872-04-24
A BRUTAL, HORRIBLE EXECUTION.
The Hanging of LOgsdOn In Fentress
County-.-The Rope Breaks Twice.

The Hanging of L0gsd0n tn Fentress
County-.-The Rope Breaks Twice.
From the Kingston Fast Tennesseedn
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 in q low swag with command
ing hills in nearly all directions. There
were already some fifteen hundred or two
thousand people on the ground, land still
they came," 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
q two-horse wagon, driven by Mr.. M.
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 short and very
feeling sermon from the words "WhosO
sheddeth mans blood by man shall his
blood be shed. 18th 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 scaffold, and the
Sheriff proceeded to tie the rope, which
was half-inch hemp cord He then asked
fNFiGnnnP hn hnI M aiV,.r To
who said, in a 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, 7" The man has five minutes
to live." At this time a death-like 81
lence prevailed through the crowd. The
prisoner, standing on the scaffold unsup-
ported, showed very little sign of emotion.
The Sheriff again announced, 1.-The man
has three minutes TO live.n 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 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 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 launeh-
ed into eternity. Such was the fate OF
Cal IiOgsdon, the murderer of the Gallo
way family