The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1885-11-06

GRAND FORKS, OAK, OpeCial 1eIeBTuLh' OCH
3O.-George Miller, the murderer of Mrs. Q.
Y. Smell and son, was hanged at 1876 p. m.
to-day. Yesterday afternoon he received
the sacrament and refused to receive Wis
itors. He went to bed at IL o'clock and
slept till 8, when he was awakened by the
wind, but went to sleep again. Friday
dawned cheerless and cloudy. The winds
howled mournfully about the jail as the con-
demned awOke from his last sleep on earth,
which was at 7:30. His last breakfast, con-
sisting of beefsteak, potatoes, toast and
coffee, he ate Of heartily. After breakfast
he had a conversation with a reporter,
and said that he had passed a good
night, with pleasant dreams. Rutherford
visited him, and Miller accused him Of taking
part in the crime, which Rutherford denied.
He smoked almost necessarily during the
forenoon, and ate a light dinner. He did not
wish to see spiritual advisers until on the
scaffOld. He said to the reporter that he had
received the kindeSt treatment at the hands
of the sheriff and attendants, and that he
deserved the fate awaiting him. At l o'clock
quite a number of those invited were assem-
bled in the cage room OF the jail where the
scaffold was built. At l:23 Miller, attended
by Sheriff jerks, Reverends Doran, Davis,
Smell and CuIrie, entered the room. He
walked firmly and alone up the steps and
took his place on the sCaffold, Sheriff jerks
standing behind him. The sheriff told him
If he had anything to say now was the m
HIS DYING STATEMENT.
Miller began in mournful almost whining
voice to tell of the murder. Rutherford
stood within a few feet looking him directly
in the eyes. Miller's statement was the same
as he has previously made-that Rutherford
did the deed while he was Harvesting the
horses for escape. He went into the house
and saw the woman and child were dead;
got the money, took S115 and gave Ruther-
ford 800, and was told by Rutherford to go
to South America. He said he was to be eX-
ecuted for a murder which he did not com-
nit, and continued: ...........
Now, gentlemen, everything / have told you
is true; and as dear as that family was to me /
never could have consented to murde, them. /
was used there as theil son. I was always
treated well. They thought the world of me,
and l Of them, but by another mans deeds / am
TO be hanged. / am going to my grave, and am
t. ankful l can trust in God and feel my sins
have been pardoned. / feel that the other party
shall receive the same punishment that ! have.
1t Is not because l am down on him, and not for
malice, but it is just what should be done. As
dear as that family was to me, / could not go in
and murder them: but thank heaven / am will
ing to die. This world would be no pleasure to
me after this, and / don't want to go to the peni-
Tertiary. / am better satisfied to 90 to NV grave.
/ am fully satisfied and feel that what has been
done is just. As that family always used me like a
son, alW0yI ROOQ, always dear IN every Snape,
never refused me money, never refused me any
thing. Now, gentlemen, / want you all to remem-
Der that this is the whole truth and nothing else.
/ will not meet You any more in this world face to
face, but hope we can all meet in the world TO
come.
During the rectal, which lasted about ten
minutes. Miller swayed to and fro, the rope
dangling at his right side. Twice he took a
handkerchief and wiped his eyes, but shed
no tears. He seemed choked with emotion
at times, and toward the close his voice
almost failed. Rutherford never took his
eyes of Miller's face, but the color came and
went, and his facial muscles twitched nerv-
ously. He asked to make a statement, but
was refused by the district attorney.
THE ~ECUTI
Sheriff jerks then pinioned Miller's hands,
knees and ankles, ana drew o black cap over
his head, during which time Miller thanked
the sheriff for his kind treatment. The
sheriff placed the moose around his neck,
and as he adjusted the knot under the left
ear Miller said @this is awful, " in a low voice.
Sheriff jerks quickly stepped from the plat
form at exactly 1:45 o'clo.s- threw the
lever. the trap dropped, and George Miller
was hanged. He! dropped about six feet,
and for a few seconds remained motion
less, then drew up his feet, stretched his
legs quickly. shrugged his shoulders a few
times, and drew up his feet at intervals for
the first eight minutes. The part OF his face
that was seen under the black cap grew
u guaSUly DfOW0. ana ne SWayeQ TO and
FRO for twenty-three and one-half minutes,
when he was pronounced dead by the phys
ician and delivered into the hands OF Cor
oner RounsevelL Nothing occurred TO mar
the work OF the execution, and it was pro-
nounced by many to be the neatest OF the
XIII ever seen. Sheriff jerks is given much
credit for the manner In which he performed
his part The punishment of Miller will go
q long way to counterfeit the effect of mob
law in the future. Miller's statement is be-
lieved by two-thirds OF the people here and
nearly all who heard it from the scaffold.
As circumstances develop in the case there
is reason to believe that Rutherford knew
more than he has told; but unless he chooses
to tell, 1t will forever remain secret.
The Crime and the Criminsl.
The readers of this paper are
already familiar with the particulars of the
crime for which Miller was hanged. Ii was
committed on Jan. %. 1885, and was one
OF the most horrible known outside OF the
brutal indian massacres in the Northwest
The fapaily of Rev @. Y. Snel lived Near
Inkster. Grand Forks county, about thirty
i've miles northwest Of Grand Forks Mr..
Smell was away from home, holding revival
meetings. Three children were attending
school at Grand Forks, and the farm was left
In charge OF George Miller. Mrs Smell and
q son ten years old remained at home. On
the night of the Oath Miller entered the bed
chamber OF Mrs. Smell and with the back OF
an axe dealt them several fierce blow0 until
life was extinct, leaving the bodies upon tho
bed Ia a horribly mangled condition. THE
crime was discovered on Friday. the Goth.
by ~neiEhbors, who believed something wae
wrong and broke into the house. finding
the bodies frozen Ia their gore.
~ Miller had left them. The