The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1890-08-14
KEMMLER KILLED.
THE FIRST LEGAL EXECUTION BY
ELECTRICITY.

THE FIRST LEGAL EXECUTION BY
ELECTRICITY.
The Little Murderer Pays the Penalty
at Last, but the First Experiment
With Electricity as a Node of Put
ting Felons to Death by Law, was
not Altogether q Brilliant Success.
AUBURN, N. Y, Aug. 6.-The per-
SONS invited to witness the execution
Of Kemmler by electricity were privately
notified by Warden Durs.on to be at
the prison at 6 O'Clock this morning.
Some were there at the hour named
and others were not, and Warden
Durston, under evident nervous ten
sion, was pacing the halls and peering
often and anxiously down to the big
iron gate at the entrance, impatient Of
delay. The stated hour had expired
and fifteen minutes more before DR..
Spitzka arrived with case of instru-
ments in his hand. Doctors Shrady
and jenkins, of New York, were yet
missing. At ! o'clock the 1900 would
be marched out from the mess room
to the shops and then the betting to
operate the dynamo could not be run
on without the prisoners knowing that
Kemmler was about to die. No one
could tell what spirit might be devel-
oped by the men if such a knowledge
was forced upon them, and the warden
therefore grew momentarily more i'm
patient. He would have the execution
all over, il possible, before the men
were astir in the shops. Gentlemen,
| will not wait any longer for those
who are not here" he exclaimed at
length. This affair cannot be made
subject to personal convenience. The
big clock in the main hall then marked
sag O'Clock. Only thirty seven min
utes left in which to take Kemmler's S
lie before the convicts should be re-
leased to work.
Acquiescing and silently those
awaiting in the hall gathered about
the warden, who led the way to the
rear hall,where the guard stood to open
and close the doors to the basement
region of the prison, and down into
the basemen: where the apparatus and
: its first subject were awaiting them.
The room was dimly lighted as yet
by the early sunrise. In the same
gloom the massive chair of death seemed
70 loom out of the shadows a little dis
tance from the entrance. As each
guest passed it he might have noted
that every strap and every buckle to
bind the victim was carefully placed
to avoid all possible delay. The cleo
trio rod for the head hung in its place
like a sprinkler for a shower bath.
Chairs and benches stood above the
road in semi-circle around the heavy
chair with its dangling straps and
buckles. Down over one window
towards the east heavy shade was
drawn, while through the bars in the
other window the morning air came
cool and fresh. Suddenly the room
was lighted from within, the warden
having turned up the low burning gas
fame.
In his final arrangements, the war
den had placed all the electric appara-
tus in the anteroom, the wires being
run over the easement to the death
chamber. This anteroom the warden
kept carefully shut, only when he or
some helper passed hastily in or out.
In charge there were three men, whom
the warden refused to name. The pur.
pose of the late change of the electrical
voltmeter and switches to another room
became apparent that those who should
see Kemmler were never to know who
had pushed the switch to send the
death bolt to Kemmler's vitals. While
the final adjustments were being made
doctors Shrady and jenkins entered
and the witnesses were all within the
room.
Meantime, Kemmler, in his cell was
being prepared for ending his life. He
had gone peacefully to sleep early in
the night and had slept soundly and
was snoring at S o'clock when awakened
by one of his guards and pastor Hough-
ton, who has attended Kemmler, and
prison chaplain Yates. They read to
him from the Bible and he prayed with
them. He dressed himself without aid.
His hair he combed and brushed with
great care and his shoes were we'll
polished, and while he made himself
finally tidy the warden and deputy
sheriff from Buffalo entered. The war
den explained to Kemmler that he
must have the top Of his head shaved,
at which he demurred. He had taken
great pains dressing his hair and be-
sides he did not want to dishgure HIM
SELF He wanted the people to see
and know that he was not a man Of
repulsivc appearance as had been stated.
kemmler's hair is dark brown and
wavy, with a hyperion curl that fell on
his forehead. Of this he was proud.
In the shadow Of death his vanity as
serted itself. His hair, however, was
cut, but the curl was saved, and as
the sequel proved, with no good result.
The shaven spot was ~ by ~ inches
in size and was not shaven but cropped
fairly close.
The belt was run upon the dynamo
way down in the west wing of the
prison and the incandescent test lamps
IN the ante-chamber glowed family.
i" How feebly they burned" exclaimed
DR.. Mcdonald. Electrician Davis re-
marked that there was " something
wrong about the machinery down
there, referring to the dynamo end.
(This remark took place before the
electricizing, it is we'll to remember,
and was undoubtedly as true a few