River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1882-07-06

his life. Let thy light descend upon him; liberate
his soul from prison; may he appear before you
absolyed by thy great mersy from the blood OF
outlines. Deliver him and us. God have mercy
on us. Christ have mercy on us. Lamp OF uod
that takest away the sins Of the world, have
mercy on us. Amen, and amen.
During the prayer Guiteau stood
with bowed head. At its conclusion
DR.. Hicks opened the Bible and Guiteau
in firm tones said: 81 will read Sc
lection from the tenth chapter of Mat
thew, from the 2Sth to the 41st verses
inclusive" He read in clear, strong
voice and with good information, show
ing little if any nervousness.
Hicks then produced the manuscript
prayer, which was prepared by Guiteau
this morning, and held it before him
while Guiteau read. While the doctor
was arranging the manuscript, Guiteau
exhibited slight nervousness and NOV
ed several times from one foot to the
other. He soon recovered and looked
over the "sea OF upturned faced" say
ing, 81 am now going TO read to you
my last dying prayer" He then read
in loud tone and with very distinct
and deliberative emphasis, the follow
ing:
Father: Il 60 to Thee, Savior, now that have
finished the work Thou gavest me to do, and am
only too happy to 60 to Thee. The wsrld does not
| yet appreciate my mission, but Thou knowest 1t.
Thou knowest Thou did'st inspire Garhelds re-
moyal, and only good has come from II. This IS
the best evidence that inspiration came from Thee
and have set it forth in my book, that all men
may read and may know that Thou. Father, didst
| the act for which l am murdered by this
government and nation. By this act know they
Mill TnxTaf Nv al fha npCc
| by killing Thy Son and my Saviour. The retri-
button in that case was sharp and | know Thy
| divine law Of retribution will strike this nation
and my murderers, in the same way. The dia-
bolical spirit of this nation, its government AMI
| its newspapers toward me- viii justify Thee in
cursing them, and know that the divine lawiof
retribution is memorable. therefore predict
| that this nation will &c down in blood and my
| murderers from the executive down TO the hang
| man. will 90 to hell. Thy laws are memorable
Oh, thou supreme Judge Woe unto the men
that violate Thy laws only weeping and gnash-
inn of teeth await them. The American press
has a large bill to settle with Thee, Righteous
Father, for their vindietiveness in this matter;
nothing but blood will satisfy them, and now my
blood be on them and its officials Arthur,
the president is coward and an migrate; his IN
gratitude to the man that made him and saved
his party and the land from overthrow has no
parallel in history. But Thou, Righteous
Father, will Judge him. Father, Thou knowest
me, DuL the Worlu MAIN not hiOWn lnt, anu uVh L
90 to Thee and the Savior without the slightest
ill-will toward human being. Farewell, We men
OF earth
At several points he paused and en-
deavored to impart increased emphasis
to his words by those peculiar facial
expressions so often observed during
the trial, when he was angered at some
thing which was said or done. This
was particularly noticeable when he
alluded to President Arthur, and when
he predicted that this nation "would
go down in blood" When he had fin
ished reading his prayer, he again sur
veyed the crowd, and said, still with a
firm voice: 81 am now
GOING TO READ SOME VERSES,
which are intended to indicate my feel
ings at the moment of leaving this
world. If set to music, they may be
rendered effective. The idea is that of
child babbling to his mama and his
pa. / wrote it this morning about 10
O'Clock" He then commenced to
chant these verses in sad, doleful
style:
am going to the Lordy,
am glad am going TO the Lordy,
/ am glad | am going to the Lordy,
Glory hallelujah, Glory hallelujah
l am going to the Lordy.
Here his feelings overcame him and
he leaned his head on the shoulder of
Hicks and sobbed pitifully:
l wonder what 1 will do Wien get to the
Lordy?
guess l will weep no more when get to
the Lordy,
Glory halllelujahi
Here there was another interruption
caused by sobs and emotions which he
was unable to repress. He wept bitter
| " and then, with quivering lips and
mournful tones, he went on to finish
his ditty:
I am going to the Lordy;
| love the Lordy with all my soul
Glory hallelujah!
And that is the reason am going to the
Lordy.
Glory hallelujahl
Glory hallelujah, ! am going to the Lordyl
Here Guiteau's voice failed, and he
| bowed his head and broke into sobs;
| but he rallied little and went on with
his chant:
I saved my party and my land,
Glory hallelujah!
| But they have murdered me for it,
| And that is the reason am going to the
Lordy,
| Glory halleuahl
/ wonder what / will see when | get to the
! Lordy,
| expect to see most beautiful things beyond
| all earthly conception,
When am with the Lordy.
| Glory hallelujah
Raising his voice to the highest pitch
that he could command, he cried:
Glory hallelujah,
l am with the Lordy
This closed the chant, and then the
Rev. DIR. Hicks gave Guiteau his
FINAL BENEDICTIoN
and farewell, saying: "God the Father
be with us and be with thee, and give
thee peace forever!"
For at least forty seconds after
THE DROP FELL,
the body hung motionless. Then there
was slight motion of the shoulders
and legs due to muscular contractions.
Three minutes after the drop fell, the
body was lowered to be examined by
the physicians. There was decided
action of the heart for fully fourteen
minutes and the pulse fluttered two
minutes longer. When the body had
hung with the feet Just touching the
ground over half an hour, it was
LOWERED INTO THE COFFIN
which was waiting for it under the
scaffold.
The physicians decided that the neck
had been broken. When the body was
lowered the black cap was removed
and his face exposed. The features
were pallid and composed +; about the
mouth there was considerable mois.
ture. After the body had been arrang-
ed in the coffin, Warden Crocker as
cended the steps of the scafold, and
addressing the crowd, said: Those
who desire, can now view the remains"
Then the crowd of spectators was
formed in line, and passing between
the scaffold and the wall of the Jail,
VIEWED THE REMAINS.
Some jail officers, two or three ply
sicians and DIR. Hicks stood about the
coffin. John w. Guiteau joined the
company and famed his dead broth
er's face to keep away the flies. John
w. Guiteau did not 90 on the scaffold,
but stood during the scene just within
the line of officers at the bottom Of the
steps. When liberty was given to the
crowd to view the body, the scaffold
was at once filled with people who GU
riously examined it.