Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-05-17

prayer for him, and sang Take the name of
Jesus with YOU"
About $50 o'clock the prisoner ate his break
| fast-a boiled mackerel with bacon. fried pota-
toes. fried onions. bread. and coffee-but ate
| sparingly. The officials think that this apparent
| faliure OF appetite was due to a late lunch last
| night.
THE PRISONERS DREAM.
During the morning the condemned man
handed the minister a paper, dated April IL,
| stating that he had dream Of a white man
coming to him with a paper. and who asked
MIN where he was going; that he answered:
Taking God as my helper never will come
back to prison again for a crime and will never
do anything to merit il. for God will help me-"
and then the man wrote the number ia on his
Iorenead and said: Go and be a good boy"
THE PRISONERS GOODNESS
1t was remarked by some of the guards last
night that if the prisoner remained up all night
he would likely break down, but this morning
he appeared to be as robust and collected as
usual. and was apparently the most cool and
cheerful prisoner in the building. 1t was re-
marked by some of the veteran guards that his
GOODNESS had never been surpassed by any pri-
soner under similar circumstances, and they
would, If their force was short have no hest
fancy in allowing him to carry the rope and
take his place on the platform unattended.
THE DEADLY ROPE.
At 9:15 O'Clock a mysterious looking bag was
| sent by one of the prison employees to the gal
lows, and shortly afterward three of the Off
GERS followed it. The bag contained the rope
In which the moose had been made. The OBJ
ject of the bag was to keep the prisoner from
seeing the fatal rope. With the aid of STEP
ladder the MANILA cord was soon run through
the beam and hanging without any twist the
weight OF two men, each heavier than the
prisoner, was placed upon it and the verdict
being lit will hold an OK, it was left ready for
use.
The prisoner. after singing one or two
hymns, assisted by Rev. Mr.. Wells, went with
the latter and Rev. Mr. Roberts to his CELL
THE COFFIN.
At 10 o'clock the wagon of Mr.. J. R. Wright,
the undertaken, was driven to the door, and in
few minutes the coffin was borne in through
the rotunda, down the hallway to the rear of
scaffold, where 1t was placed out of sight of
the crowd, to remain till needed.
Although the tickets of admission recited
that the execution was to be between IL and 2
O'Clock, as early as $50 o'clock some of the
cards were presented, but they were not hon
ored till about IL o'clock.
WORKING FOR TEMPERANCE
The prisoner, shortly after 10 o'clock. wrote
his name on the back of number of cards
containing temperance pledge for signature
for distribution among the prisoners. While
thus engaged he ascertained that there were
about two hours more for him to live and re.
marked to Rev. Roberts: Time goes slow; very
slow for me. My mother is watching the clock,
and know that she thinks it fast" and he then
requested the minister to go with him to the
scaffold.
At 1O:45 o'clock, accompanied by Messrs.
Wells and Fitzhugh, Colbert again went to the
cell OF Hawkins where he talked, prayed. and
sang, using the hymn Home Of the Soul"
Then they went to the cells of Briggs, Subers,
and other prisoners. About Ills o'clock, with
Rev. Wells, the condemned man walked up and
down the corridor and sang ''Beulah Land"
after which they went in his cell for devotional
exercises.
THE SCENE ABOUT THE RoTUNDA OF THE JAIL
began to be extremely lively at 11:3O o'clock
Persons who had the privilege Of admission to
the Jail had been assembling in the front Office.
They were admitted to the rotunda at II: 80,
and there were sixty or seventy peo-
pie admitted. They gathered around the
cage in front of the entrance
to the corridor in which Colbert was confined
Some pressed their faces against the glass door
OF the northeast court, where the scaffold stood
The court looked gloomy and bare. There was
long stretch of chilly-looking brick flooring
down which the condemned man and his at
PENDANTS would have to walk to the gallows
THE CURIOSITY OF THE CROWD
that pressed about the grated opening of the
corridor in which Colbert was confined was
satisfied by seeing the prisoner and Rev. Mr.
Wells walk up and down the corridor and stop
at the cells of the prisoners. The minister was
| attired in somber black with coat of conven-
tonal ministerial cut, with long frOck Col
bert was attired in a dark suit. toe. with black
sack coat He stopped to speak to Haw-
kins, convicted recently of wife murder
with Fred Barber, the man convicted of the
murder of Agnes Watson. with Briggs and
other occupants of murderer's row. Colbert
calm lf-nO nd 6ol,
joyful. He pleaded with his fellow prisoners.
just before II O'Clock Gen. Croker, the war
den, went into the corrido- and had a brief
conversation with Colbert. He took Colbert
to the large cell at the end of the corr; lor
where the prisoner remained with the minis
tiers engaged in prayer and religious talk until
the hour OF the execution approached. Mean
while
OUTSIDE THE JAIL
a large crowd was gathering. On the bluff or
hillside, opposite the Jail door, a number of
colored women and children assembled. and
watched with interest all that they could see.
but that was little more than the occasional ar
rlFii OF some person invited to witness the ex-
ecution. They, however, remained there pa
tently, and asked questions of every one who
looked as If he might know anything of what
was going on inside. The police were stationed
about the building It different points to pre-
vent persons from cIimbing up to the window
lodges or making break into the Jail.
FORMING IN LINE.
At 1925 the crowd in the rotunda was cleared
away from the line leading diagonally across
the rotunda from the entrance of Colberts cor
ridor to the door OF the courtyard in which the
scaffold stood. The crowd formed two or three
deep along this line, all having their. faces
turned sideways toward the entrance of the
corridor All that could be heard was the
voice of Colbert in the cell far down the corri-
dor, lifted in song.
Reading the Death Warrant.
number of the Jail officers then assembled
in the cage at the end of the corridor, standing
just inside the door. Presently Gen. Crocksr,
the warden, arrived with an ofiicial-looking
paper in his hand. One of the officers went
down the long corridor to Colbert's cell. and
! Immediately Colbert, attended by the three
clergymen-Rev. Messrs. Wells, Roberts, and
Fitzhugh-came walking along the corridor
| and met the warden in the cage. Colbert was
attired ready for the scaffold. His black alpaca
sack coat was buttoned almost up to his chin.
He wore wide turn-down collar and a dark
blue cravat with a white figure in it.
Colbert carried in his right hand a little
pocket hymn book, having his thumb placed in
the book at the page where he wanted to read
when the time came. Colbert was halted in
front Of the warden and in full view of the
crowd outside. Gen. Croker, who wore a silk
hat, approached the solemn business of the
moment without any preliminaries.
LISTENING To THE PAPERS