Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1874-05-11
EXECUTION OF THE MURDERER,
WALTZ.

Harmon Holcher, a scissors grinder, and
Officer Ernest was lunatic. living near
the place of execution.
He had brain of enormous size. but
he was unedueated. 1t appears that in
his case the brain force was often beyond
his control. leading him to the commits
sion of eccentric, and finally to the per-
petration of terrible acts. To use
homely illustration. his brain would run
away with him at times, as an unruly
horse will on occasion seize the bit In
its teeth and dash TO destruction with
the master whom it has formerly obeyed.
He wrote abominable stuff which he
thought was poetry, and believed he had
communication with beautiful woman
who reigned as Queen in the moon, and
that he would finally 60 to that mild
luminary and be crowned L unarian
King"
On his fathers farm Waltz had built
tower of rough stone about eight feet
IN height which he called his Lunarian
tower. and he was in the habit of going
upon the top of this structure to converse
with the Queen of the Moon. There
was something even more poetical than
grotesque in the idea of this poor ignor-
ant rustic building his little stone heap
| and thinking that by mounting it he
could converse Familiarity with woman
of SURPRISING beauty who reigned su-
preme over another world, and was wait
ing to share her throne with him In
all his conversations and writings that
have been made public this expectation
that be was to become King of the Moon
was his most predominant idea and
there is no doubt that his fancies were
as real to him as the actual occurrences
of real life TO sane men.
About year ago a scissors grinder
named Holcher took lodgings for the
night in the farm house belonging to
the Waltz family. During the night
this lunatic killed the traveller and bur.
led his body. The man was missed a
search was made; Waltz was arrested
and confessed that he committed the
deed. He gave an incoherent account
Of his motives for the act, saying that a
bad spirit prompted him to it; that he
resisted and read the Testament, and
that finally he was overcome BY the evil
influence. He pointed out where the
dead body lay, and where he had hidden
his victims effects. He was tried, con-
vlcted OF murder in the first degree. and
sentenced to be executed. Afterward
he told a story of having murdered an
organ grinder, which was marked by
the widest flights of diseased imagin-
alton and which on investigation proved
to be fictitious.
As time passed on Waltz became an
uncomfortable maniac. With ineredi-
bic heedlessness keeper named Ernest
permitted himself to go to sleep while
detailed to watch the condemned man in
Of the circumstance to beat his skull in
with an iron bar which be wrenched
from the floor. He took loaded revolv-
er from the body of Ernest, but made
no attempt to use it, as he might have
done, when the Sheriff and jailor renov-
ed the fatally injured keeper.
The night previous to his execution
the military did guard duty about the
jail to prevent any disturbance the pris-
oner being threatened with a mob for
numbering his keeper.
At an early hour, the approaches to
the Jail were filed by an eager multitude
who watched the building with painful
solicitude. The prisoner early dressed
IN suit of clean clothes and sat sulIenlv
In corner Of his cell, awaiting the hour
fixed for his execution. His mother,
father and sister were in an adjoining
+ room waiting for an interview. The
, former visited her son in his cell at q
, A M- He manifested no sign of recog-
, milton and refused TO talk to anv one.
: looked on Eacantly. occasionally start.
e ling the bystanders by emitting howl
r like that OF wild beast. At 10. Father
Drlseoll and the relatives of the condemn.
f ed man visited him. The priest recited
? the funeral services of the Catholic
church. The relatives then entered
ana the prisoner preceded by the priest
IN his robes Of Office and accompanied
by the jury proceeded to the cell tina;
t had been prepared for execution. From
a hole IN the ceiling. sixteen feet square
e daDgled the fatal moose. The Jurors and
: representatives. of the press ranged them.
= selves around the room, and Waltz.
with his eyes fixed on vacancy. his coun.
= tenanee exhibiting no more intelligence
S than that Of brute. his action that of
V man who cared not or knew not what
] his destiny was. He. with pinioned
: arms. was seated on chair placed be-
!. meath the moose, which was quickly plac
e ed about his neck, and Sheriff CoonIe,
7 read the death warrant. Not a sound
It was pereeptible as the prisoner stood up
rather oDriseoll pronounced few las