The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1879-11-06

hAIApu8l a f1fN door 1n1 81;
INTO the field s~urround;Dc bc~ b,,mhia -:
nome he cruel and inhunan william who,
LES woman had called husband, with u,
hI'ed axe pursued her across the fell and
ieeIIu!e>s OF her screams and piteous an
T1d!S ior mercy, dealt her blow after blow
nev had thus run about two hundred vard
When' the woman 5 feet becoming entanrIe,
IL some pea vines, she fell 10 tie eartb an,
boswell ended her suffering by burrrinr ~,
biade OF the axe in her brain and s@nlitting n,
Skul open. He then immediately tool RI,
bleeding and still warm BODY of his wifi
dragged It to the cabin, threw it on the bee
,hereIh, and, with a torch which Becky Lvor
nag already prepared, set fire to the house,
sho then he and his accomplice fled. In q
lew moments the ncighborhoo1 was AT
tracted by the flames, and Becky Lvon bar.
ing gone to her " house and changed her
clothing, Joined them and calmly locke
upon the fiendish work she and Bob Ros-
Wei had but a short while been engaged in
ARREST OF BOSWELL n THE WOMAN
Boswell left the n~eighborhood and the
county, and was not seen by any of those who
were attracted to the spot by the fire. The
Tact that he was seen in the neiyhborbood
early that nj light and was then suddenly lost
to view caused suspicion to rest upon him.
and officers We're at once put upon the look
ont Tor him., but nothing was ascertained as
70 his whereabouts until about the lst of
November, when he was arrested In WAYNE
county, 100 miles from here. He was brought
back to this county, and the testimony eli
cited on his preliminary trial led to the arrest
OF the woman Rebecca Ann LYON. and both
were committed to Jail.
THE TRIAL.
At the fall term of the court Boswell was
tried, the woman being used as a witness
gains HIM. Her testimony was corrobo-
rated by other witnesses and bv circumstan-
tlal evidence, and Boswell was found guilty.
of murder in the first degree. He was SEN
fenced to be hanged on the 22d dav of No
vember. Beck Lyons case was continued
until the spring term, and as the solicitor
desired to use a confession which Bob had
made after his conviction as testimony
against the woman, the Governor, at the
solicitors request, 1espited Boswell, SO that
he might be put on the witness stand against
the woman.
THE EXECUTION.
Twelve O'Clock was the time fixed for the
execution. Promptly at that hour Boswell
was brought from Jail, seated on a coffin in a
wagon, strongly guarded and followed by
large crowds OF men, women and children,
mostly negroes The procession made its
way slowly to the gallows. On arriving there
the coffin was put on the scaffold and the
prisoner seated upon it. The sheriff read the
rous respites which had been granted. He
then read Boswells written confession, which
was as black a record as ever was read, even
from a North Carolina gallows. In it he
confessed his improper relations with Beck
Lyon and the murder of Nancy Blackwell
and his children. He said bad women and
whiskey brought him to this ignominious
end. He charged Beck Lyon with the muir
der of Ned Lyon, that being a part of their
arrangement, and said she urged him to
carry cut his part by killing Nancy and the
children, and he, being repeatedly urged, did
so. He said he swore falsely on Beck's trial.
His confession closed with a mild expression
of hope of salvation. While the reading was
going on the prisoner sat upon his coffin
trembling violently. He, for a wonder, de-
clined to speak. Rev. Mr.. Wheeler, a min
lister of the Methodist Church, made an
earnest and eloquent address, taking for his
text Bad Women and Whiskey,' and then
prayed. Handshaklng was INDUCED IN for
several minutes.
At twenty-five minutes past one the sheriff
pulled tnC Trap. ucu III uIOp ICl SC'Cidi
negro women tainted. others screamed and
many moaned and groaned. Otherwise
everything was very quiet. Violent strug-
Cling and twitchings of the body and draw
ING up OF the legs were noticeable tor three
minutes, after which the body was still.
Though the arrangements Tor the execution
were perfect, and there was a clear drop of
seven feet, his neck was not broken. The
crimina! was twenty-nine minutes dying, and
died from ~strangulation. The crowd num-
bered about three thousand.
Boswell's confession. which We take from
the Obserrer, says: 81 left Raleigh and walk
ed to Durham, reaching there about one
or two O'Clock at night. Instead Of going
to Beck's house, | went to Nancy's and
knocked at the door; she asked who was
there, | told her Tom Baily; she then said,
Rob is away from home and | don't let
anv one In after | have laid down. After
awhile told her who was, she let
me in 1 sat down and talked with her awhile,
she then got UP and walked out into the yard
and brought in some clothes that were hang