, 1874-02-28

Il. Raaegty; pr,est; $ sherth.s tha foot Of thu
HOW he LOOKED
Rafferty,, having answered soto voce = few
questions addressed to him by his spiritun1 ad-
vise1s, preserved silence and scanned the per
sons before him with Whist appeared to be The
most critical observation. He looked remark
ably we'll. although little pale from the effects
Of long continued confinement. He was clean
ehaven. and his dark hair was parted in military
fashion, half shading forehead by no means
"villainougly low Rafrc1ty's worst feature
was his mouth, which Was large and somewhat
coarse in expression. Beyond this, there was
nothing OF the human gorilla about him, despite
all that has been written to the contrary.
THE DEATH WARRANT.
The Sheriff proceeded to read the death war-
rant as follows:
Tho People Of Tho State Of 1lllnois w. Christopher
Rafferty,. Indictment for murder.
Nov said people by Reed. States Attorney and
the said defendant III his proper person, veil
as by Small, bis COUNSEL also comes, and thereupon
the sai1 defendant enters his motion in Arrest Of
the Court being fully advised to said defendants
motion, formally entered for ncw trial herein, and
also aa to eaid dcfend.nts motion IN , ar,
motions, to which decision Of the Court
the said defendant excerpts. And the defendant,
SAYING nothing further Why tho 5a ens z Of ths
that you, Christopher Rscrty, he, BY the shegc OF
Lake County taken from the bar Of this Court to the
ana from thence On the 26sh day Of December, 1874
within tha walls Of said jail orTthn the yard or iu
closure adjoining said jail between the rising Of the
place Of execution and that you then and there be
hanged by the neck until you are dead.
LISTENING TO THE READING.
During the reading OF the document. Rafferty,
closed bis eyes once OF twice, and seemed to
breathe heavily. He also firmly compressed his
lips several times, thus indicating his deter1nina-
tion to maintain bold dcmeanor. At every
word his courage appeared to increase rather
than diminish. Perhaps the sight Of go many
faces that showed little or no sympathy With
his rugged breast, Or, perhaps, he liked better
to leave the world, his glance bent on crowd OF
fellow-norta1s than to perish in view OF q " beg
garly array Of empty benches"
The Sheriff next road the decision Of the
Supreme Court, affirming the Judgment Of the
February as the day on which the Judgment Was
to be carried out.
The eyes of the condemned man remained On
the cruclf1 while tho Sheriff was reading, the
priests Offering prayer, and ho repeating it.
NOTHING TO SAY.
At the conclusion, the Sheriff folded up tho
document, and, advancing toward Rafferty,, said
to him: DO you wish to say anything ?"
Rafferty, looked him in the eye and replied, in
firm voice, II have nothing to say, sir"
THE FINAL PREPARATIONS.
He was then requested to stand up. and did
So After kissing tho crucihx, he handed it to
Fnther Gavin, who offered prayer while tho
Sheriff Tns binding the mu1derer's legs
together. The pinioning Of his arms
5ol1onsd sas the ernsz os1sa xas asaq kissed
we're closed most Of the time, but twice he
opened them and looked calmly aud fearlcssly ut
the spectators, who contemplated tie scene in
breathlsss silence.
His rims having been securely fastened, the
Sheriff and Deputy Lincoln shook hands with
him.
Father Gavin at this moment whispered to
him, and Rafferty, replied in similar manner.
The Sheriff then placed q shroud over the
yictimt and, when his head appeared, ha looked
white muslin cowl Was next adjusted. and while
it Was being pinned to the shroud rafferty,
sighed audibly twice.
THE LAST PRAYER.
Father Gavin now prayed aloud. asking the
God OF goodness aud of mercy to remove all
guilt Of past oHcnsea, and to regard His ser
want, Christopher, and grant him full discharge
from all his Sins to renew what had been cor
rupted by sin, and to make him member Of the
Church. and to let him pa1take of redemption,
aud to admit him to the sacrament OF reconciGa-
ton.
THE END.
The word " Amen :" had been uttered but
second when the Sheriff cut the rope, and Raj
ferty was suddenly jerkcd up about five feet. !
He fell three, his feet coming within eight inches
Of the floor.
As coon as the body fell, Dr.. saxon lifted the
shrond, and, taking out his watch, began count |
ing the pulse Of the suspended man. Many Of !
tue spectators rushed toward the door, paving !
no attention to the Sheriff, who requested them |
10 keep their seats. Their demeanor WIS simply |
atrocious, the majority appearing to have no
more feeling than 70 many brutes.
e%,1%- $%.-1|,
"a drawing up Of the legs and feeble gasp.
BE probably suffered little pain. =
THE pu1sAT1oHs
3nring the first minute we're 70: the sucond, |
X: third, Gu; fourth, 65; fifth, 60; sixth, 50;
seventh. II; eighth, 40; ninth, 81; tenth, 2s. |
he rope, beating 1as imperceptible, and Raffer-
y was dead. His aeck was not broken by tho !
all; he WAS strang}ea-
THE BODY.
The rope was cut at seven minutes Of
,clock. aud the body WAS allowed to hang un-
il twenty-five minutes after l. It was
hen cut down and placed IN . handsome
coffin, the plate On the lid Of which
optained the simple inscription, christopher
,stTerty aged Is years." Il
Six men carried the coffin do~n-Btairs, and
.hcn the Courthouse doors we're thrown open,
nd the multitude outside saw what Was coming, |
,auy Of them lifted their hats.
Preceded BY the priests, the coffin was borne
trough lane Of people to hearse waiting at
4e foot Of the walk.
The crowd followed to the Church OF the In
,aculato Oonccption, two blocks distant, the
dewalk on eitler eido Of the street being
rowded with men, women, and children: After
1e burial.seryice had been said, the spectators
iepersed to comment upon the execution.
TILE LAST EFFORT OF THE CURIOUS.
A number OF. those who did not got the
111rch attempted to force their way into the jaI,
nsAfh1y RI a link Tim rot1p bllt t11pT cid