The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1886-07-09
EARLY EXECUTIONS,

woman would brave snrh a death seems
almost incredible The Msid of Or
leans has doubtless been in the minds
OF many persons all over the civilized
world of late, as well as in that of
every Freuchman on account of the
monument recently erected in her
honor in her beloved patrie. But, al
though it seems absolutely barbarous
to make such a suggestion If the old
records are TO be credited, this burning
was by no means the agonizing death
IL is generally supposed to have been.
Indeed, in England il was looked upon
as an easy death, and women were
even burnt for the same crimes for
which men are hung,as being the more
humane manner of putting to death.
But here lies the whole secret, these
same old records show that the con-
demned were invariably strangled to
death, or at least into state of perfect
unconsciousness before the flames were
allowed to touch them so that in realty
it was simply the dead body which
was devoured by the angry flames.
In proof of this case is mentioned
in an old English book where the ex-
ecutioner was severely blamed because
his hands becoming scorched, he failed
TO pull the rope fastened around the
neck of the condemned hard enough TO
kill her until after the flames had
reached her and caused great agony,in
spite of the efforts of those about her.
Quite detailed account is given of
the execution of a woman named
Eleanor Elsom in the 'Iincoln Date
Book" who was condemned to death
for the murder of her husband and or
dered to be burned at the stake. 1t
read as follows: "She was saturated
with tar, and her limbs were also
smeared with the same infiamable SUBJ
stance, while tarred bonnet had been
placed on her head She was brought
out of prison barefooted, and being
put on hurdle, was drawn on sledge
to the place of execution near the gal
lows. Upon arrival some time was
passed in prayer, after which the ex-
ecutioner placed her on tar barrel a
height of three feet, against the stake.
A rope ran through pulley in the
stake and was placed around her neck,
she herself fixing it with her hands"
She was probably quite dead before
the fire reached her, as the executioner
pulled upon the rope several times
while the irons were.being fixed. The
body was seen amid the flames for
nearly half an hour, though through
the dryness of the wood and the guam
tity of tar, the fire was exceedingly
fierce.
Burning at the stake was, not 80
very long ago, used as punishment
of heretics of both sexes, or any per-
son accused of witchcraft. This mode
of execution was kept up all during
the middle ages,the first case on record
being that of man named Alban who
was burned in the year 3O4 A. D.
Many persons we're put to death for
coming, which was up to late date, re-
garded as an offense meriling death,
the latest case on record of burning at
the stake for this crime being that of a
woman named Christian Murphy, alias
Bowman, who was burned on March
18, 1889.
The last case of burning opposite
Newgate was in 1885, when a woman
was hanged on low scaffold, and af-
ter life was extinct the fire was lighted
below her and the body was burnt to
ashes.
George III. put stop to this bar
.barous method of execution and pro.
vide'l that after June 5, 1890 women
should be hung as well as men.
Still more dreadful than burning at
the stake vas the horrible idea of boil
ing people to death, which was at one
tire legal punishment for the crime
of poisoning, the law putting it in eff
feet being passed by Henry VIII. in
1881. One of the few cases recorded
was that of cook in the diocese of
the bishop of Rochester, named Rich
ard Roose. This man had put poison
in food, causing the death of two per
sons and the serious illness of others,
and the sentence was passed on him
that he should be boiled to death with.
out any benefit of the clergy, which
meant without any mitigation of the
sentence such as was commonly accord
ed to those in any way connected with
the clergy, so that he probably really
felt the frightful agonies of being boil
ed.
The next person of whom we hear
as meeting this hideous death was a
woman, a servant, who had poisoned
three families with whom she had liv-
ed. In the chronicle of the Grey friars,
mention is made of a man who was
made fast to chain and let down into
boiling water until he was dead. The
expenses attendant on the parboiling
and hanging of Friar Stone in 1859 are
curious. The execution came off at
Canterbury, and the following were
the details of the expenses "For a
ton OF timber 10 make pair of gallows
for to hang Friar Stone, two shillings
ak pence to carpenter for making
the gallows and the dray, one shilling
four pence ; to laborer that dug the
holes, three pence expenses setting
up the same, one shilling for load
of wood and for horse to draw him
to a dungeon,two shilliDgs three pence;
paid two men that sat at the kettle
and parboiled him, one shilling TO
three men that carried his quarters to
the gates and set them up,one shilling E;
for halters, sandwich, cord and screws,
one shilling; for woman that secured
the kettle, two pence to him that did
the execution, three sEillings three pence
total, fourteen shillings eight pence.
This punishment was not uncommon
either in England or on the continent,
for coming and the law permitting it
was not repealed until the time of Ed
ward VI, in 1547.
Cases where persons were disem-
bowled were not infrequent, but the
sentence was generally mitigated, and
as in the case of burning at the stake,
the condemned were first strangled
Mention Is made in an old book Of a
man being pressed to death, but no in
stance can be given of tins dreadful
mode OF killing, the very idea of which
is enough to give anyone of moderate