Wilmington journal., 1875-09-24

tth e
Witness The COnfessi"naI and
the ScaffOId-Ehe Expected
ReprieVe-'Ihe Prayer and
the Death-Che ke-
spOn~IbiIity.
From Washington Letter
It was beneath "A bright summer SUI
that Mary E. Surratt was murdered
The press of the United States was
amply represented. A majority of il
applauded the cOwardly crime. Wher
the improviscd trap fell and swung
back, and left her body dangling life.
less on the fatal rope, there We're pres
ent generals aud otfic rs of the nation
bearing its uniform, whose buttons
and shoutder-straps glittered in the
bright rays. Save good Father Wal
ter, no voice uttered God bless her T.
as she fell. The soldiers that paced
the top of the surrounding walls made
no SIGH Several turned away their
heads, sickened by the sight, and awed
to see deed done in the nineteenth
century that in the fourteenth would
have been delegated to the secrecies OF
dungeon or the knife of a solitary
bravo.
4Women have been murdered before
jealousy, drunkenness. despair, a mad
dened cupidity, have all in turn MUIR
dored Women. Never before was d
nero called i'll the bright and open day
to see such deed done. Hancock
was. He Cbeyed the call, and saw
| that the hangmen were protected that
! the assassination was not interrupted.
! How his spirit rebeled at the task that
was written on his broad face The
| ~ yI1a a hTnty
THE SCENE OF THE MURDER.
| 1t was in the cid Arsenal Peniten-
| tiarr yard, IN Washington, in the inner
yard, that they straDgIed this woman.
| The Arsenal and Penitentiary face and
| terminate Four-aud- d-a-haif street,
| which stretches to it from the City
Hall. They have erected there since
| then a statue of Lincoln Were it the
man himself he might see the site of
| Jhe murder committed III his name
from the paltry PEDESTAL IN which it is
r-!sed. The outer gate nI The Arsenal
faces that statue at the other end of
the long. wide, street exactly. From
the gate to the old Pc ,it-iti try, where
The mockery of the trial was played,
runs ii broad aud grAvell-d Path. This
path turned around the Penitentiary
walls, and led TO the gate of the yard
where stood the scaffod. 1 he walls of
the Pcul:entiary formed two sides OF
the yard, and Il e other two We're walls
built to inc|nse the yard, and there
stood some fifteen feet high. Upon
these wallis scntr!es we're placed.
Fronting tue wall that ran at right
angles with the end of the Penitentiary
stood a strange, weird looking struc
ture. The one end Of it had a ladder
hat reached to the ground beyond
that end, some twenty yards, was a
small IRON door that opened lutO the
penitentiary-in one of whose lower
tier of cells, beneath q raised and re-
placed flag, were rotting the remains
of John Wilkes Booth. This wooden
structure was
:'HE SCAFFOLD-
1t consisted of a platform, resting
on square wooden posts. The front
part of the platform was attached to
the back part by hinges, and this
front rested on posts, which its weight
held i'll place Along the back and
solid pant of the platform were four
chairs.
Around this yard Ioungcd the CO.
respondents, were ranged some SOL
lInrs. and rrgiIt IN the middle of the
ward. when the writer entered it, stood
the tall and amp q form of II. ncock in
full uniform.
"Grmcrnl. may | go in once more
and see the priS"n"rs?'
"No, sir. Ole momcnt-Orderly !"
eyes, sir.
"Mount your horse, go to the outer
gate of thu. Arsenal. Don't dismount,
but keep vour eye along Four -and-a-
half street ShouId you sec mount
",i >oldIcr riding this way. then ride
here a"i tell me. Stay there till You
arc relieved by th" sight of tina sol
der, Or by order
"lr~. ~Ir.
rue- Orderly sped away.
NO. sir; | cannot permit it VI ey
are with ministers and priests ; have
,;t a faw llinut"s to live. | have re-
used ,.vn,y other correspondent.
ID y"u expect IA rrprleye, Gen
al
81 xpcct nothing, That woman,
howcver, shall not lose chance of
life. 1. can help it. That's why l
sent that Orderly TO The gate. "
He did expect reprieve, d hie
face ShOW"1 hn did.
THE PROC CESSION
The eyes of most were now fastened
on the iron door that led into the pen
ltentiary. 1t looked like postrru i'll
4 fortress, heavy, suIlen andtpittilcss.
NV eyes wandered back to the scatfo!d
| then noticed, for the first time, tn It
.bUve the platform, rentI < on tw"
firm posts, ran ii beam. From this
beam hung four ropes. 1t slckened
me to see them. The sun III th'-
meanwhile si.onr down on the whole
gitastly scene a. ti,Ic-, in is unciuuied
~pirIltinr a. .-v,r 1t shon" on the no
sands of Syrla.
\ sudden movement, a murmur,
iDW exclamation
Her, th,y are
There they were issuing, one by one,
from the little door, preceded by SOL
uiars, iankei t'y s'Idlcrs, accompa-
ned by men in civilian dresses, the
priest the munster aud the hangman.
There was u hangman to every prlso-
ner.
Atzsroit came first. Payne came
stcoId, Harold c5slAe third. She came
last. ts,eAor Waiter WAS talking to
l.r ali the, way to the scntiOld, all the
as.y NJ its otcps, and or It, whcii he
took r,l scut- lhey sat IL the order
y, which they iad come.
The poor WUnl..u could scarcely
w.tL. .nI thry assisted her - Eer
deafL r. teaderiy. y s.lr sat down
| cou' ] not refrain from 'oo,iug - the
v,s.d gate, thinking II the Urteriy at
''.t, outer gate beyond. There WIS no
ign | ,oUke q at Hancock; his eyes
weIr turned the same way ; h's usu-
n!Iv iorid face " as the color of ashes.
ICould see his hands open and close
nurvously. He looked at his watch
and the chain oscillated at the touch
of hIs nervous fingers, usually as calm
AS is the hand of heavy lympatic
man, for Hancock was both.
Marry E. Surratt was praying to
the crucitix held before her by Father
Walter, Each of the others was lis
teuingt to the minister. At lenth Faith
er Waiter prayed aloud, and I report
ing the prayer, for the time, forgot
the orderly. The prayer over, L looked
gatewards again. No sign Han
cocks eyes were rivited on the gate.
The arms of each were being piD1oned