Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1874-01-08
A Voice from the Gallows.


The following appeal to the
young men Of the country was
written by Newton Chandler,
who was hung i'll North Carroll
ma Il few weeks since, few days
before his execution:
| have been requested by sew
eral persons to write IL full
sketch Of the events Of my life,
which, for certain reasons best
known to myself, / have refused
to do. But can say to the
world my life has been a bad
one, especially for a man Of my
age. ! am only twenty-five
years Of age; was brought up
by pious, christian parents; my
father died when l was about
twelve years. | never began
to be Incorporate until my faith
er died. | then began to asso-
ciate with bad company, and, as
a matter Of course, | began to
drink a little, as all drunkards
begin. When | first began to
drink it was apparently hard to
learn, but | lived with an uncle
who used it, and soon learned
the habit. | never became the
slave Of intempcrance until /
was % or % years of age, then
| became Il complete drunkard.
I became involved in trouble
and rcsorted to spirits as ii cure.
My life has been Il burden for
three years. The cause of this
trouble concerns no man but
myself. | will say it was not on
account of any crime by drink
ing. To drown this trouble |
found myself in the strong
chains Of intempcrancc; it was
now that | began TO be a dcsper-
ate, bad man. | would drink,
fight, swear, frolic, dance and
associate with the worst Of COM
panions and dissipated persons
of all kinds, and at the same
time could associate with good,
respectable. | have been told
that / would be hung if / kept
my course. | have been begged
and appealed to abandon spirits.
My mother has taken hold Of
me when in the act Of drinking,
telling me in a flood Of tears,
thatit would ruin me temporarily
and ctcrnally. have at times
promised my friends to quit, but
| soon forgot my promises. |
finally left my mother 5 and sell
dom ever went home. All |
cared for was spirits; that |
must have; all the appeals Of
my friends were dead to me du-
ring the times of my drunken
ness. ! cared but little what |
did. is an old saying that
what is in the heart, when sober
comes out when drunk. This
was not the case with me. |
did things when drunk that |
was ashamed OF when SOBER
For instance, | would lie down
in the rain or snow when drunk;
would strip off my coat, my
shoes or boots and go barefoot
ed in snow and ice to a neigh
boris house. | would strike the
best friend | had, burn my cloth
ing-ridc into deep water and
gullies, or in any kind of dam
GER. 1t is we'll known TO those
who are acquainted with me
that when sober | had common
sense and good reason; | could
anything but whisky
always beat me.
| by no means excuse my
self, and feel that | deserve my
fate, because | knew that intem-
perance would ruin me, and l
often thought and wondered
what would be the result of my
ways; but, poor deluded wretch,
in spite of all my reasoning
with myself, l would swallow
the water of death again. The
last few months Of my drunken
ness | thought of suicide. | at
one time took my pistol to
shoot myself; why | did not do
the deed | can't tell. Peace
was not to be found; sleep was
a stranger. l kept up my hab-
its of drinking till | was arres-
ted on charge of Il capital
crime and placed in Jail, | was
arrested on the second day of
May, 1871, remained in jail till
the spring term of the court at
Charlotte, 1871; then tried, con-
.yicted and sentenced to death;
placed in dark cell to await
my execution. Now my feel
ings can be more easily imag-
ined than explained. What
had / come to now? Doomed
to die; not fit to live nor pre-