The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-01-11

ward, the miserable fellow trying each time to
grasp the sides of the scaffold with his feet
Marwood had to descend and stop him from be-
low. Never, on the other hand, have / seen q
man more collected than DR.. Palmer. the pois-
oner, when he came up the yard OF all MUIR
derers, prisoners are the worst for they cannot
excuse themselves with the plea of sudden i'm
pulse or provocation They quietly plan and
premeditate their crime. and. perhaps, do it
twenty times over. Some criminals, per contrs,
are not 80 bad as they ioon. Given the sound
prison diet and air with its moral surroundings
instead of their wretched food, their vile drinks,
their unventilated slums, with their disorderly
announcements. and they would have lived like
you and me-"
The doctor told me also about the time when
the executions were public No phrases, it ap-
pears. could convey an accurate idea Of the shock
ing saturnalia; of the gruesome mob, so tightly
packed thatyou only saw heads; of its noise, of
It's jokes, OF its blasphemies, and OF the COM
manding windows not uncommonly alive with
the youngest and. prettiest faces of the aristoc
racy l heard from the mouth OF another sur
wing witness of those scenes a quaint and mat
ter-of-fact description.
I'VE had to get up very early in those days"
ne said. ION account of the thousands and thou
sands filling up the neighboring streets early,
that often did not think it worth my while to
60 to bed. Our climate holds out no entertain
ment to the early riser, and, as it was too matu-
final to call for anything like breakfast you can
conceive how we had all become depressed by
the time the CHASTITY procession was formed.
Inc scatold was just outside the prison walls,
against door leading straight out Of the kitch-
en-, strange avenue to pass through for
such cortege The walls, it is true, were
hung with black, but it only made it more grim
~ grotesQue. The appearance of the doomed
convict on the scaffold was ordinarily the signal
for storm of vociferations that made you think
of hell After the execution we had still to wait
an hour for the unlooSing of the corpse. This
time passed very well. The sheriffs, with tradi-
tional city liberality, provided US with a most
excellent breakfast; and, as we had all grown
very hungry by that time and some Of US knew
good stories, matters generally went on COM
fortably and pleasantly. Next we had the in
quest"
Now, this is what occurs: The convict con-
demned to death is locked up in cell, much
larger than an ordinary one with two warders.
his food and time of exercise are not habitually
those of the ordinary prisoner He wears his
own clothes. He has reserved seat in the
chapel at the foot of the pulpit. The day before
the execution he takes leave of his nearest rela-
tons. The chaplain, the priest or the minister
who, like the doctor, visits him daily, if
he so Wishes comes early to his cell
on the last day. He is not forced
to receive religious comfort if he declines it, The
governor and the chief warder are near there.
A little while after his breakfast the hangman
enters and pinions him. The small procession
starts for the shed in the yard, where the scaf
told has been built. with as little show as posi-
BILE. You would pass twenty times before that
shed and not notice it. The prisoner is made to
stand on sliding floor. A high wooden chair is
at hand should he or she faint when he or she is
fixed on it. The legs are then pinioned. The
rope, descending from short iron chain hooked
IN beam, is taken by the executioner who, as
rapidly as possible, places its extremity, ending
ID moose, around the convict's neck, and sub
sequentiy puts q white linen cap on his face.
The floor gapeS, and the convict drops into eter-
nifty. The doctor descends the steps leading
under the scaffold. and awaits the death. The
convict remains hanging for full hour. The
object of the cap is to hide the
features, which suddenly assume the
most horrible aspect. The face turns black
the tongue comes out of the mouth, Il e. ps
swell, the eyes strike out of the sockets Under
the sliding floor is coffin, and, the hour having
expired, the body is laid in it. Then the inquest
is held, and the coffin, which has been filled with
quicklime. is closed by lid, pierced with holes,
and taken to lonely corner of the prison, which
is used as graveyard for those who die by
capital punishment The corner is paved with
large flags each with some letters roughly cut
in them indicating by initials those who have
been buried there One OF them is raised
trench is dug, and the coffin is lowered Water
is poured in it through the holes in the lid earth
and flag refixed. and soon, owing to the
r1oistened shroud of quicklime, which rapidly
destroys body ard coffin, the grave is ready to be
used another time
The hangman receives f10 for each execution,
and only G5 should the convict be released at
the ultimate hour The last time Marwood was
called to Newgate the execution was stopped.
He died shortly afterward.