Mower County transcript., 1890-11-19
eiRcHALL HANGED.

( Z - . & E ,
eiRcHALL HANGED.
Exssution Of the lsurdsrsr Of Bsnwsl II
tAs Woodsteek, Ont. Jail-Hs Faces
& Dsath Calmly.
w WooDsrocK Ont, Nov. 15.-Reginald
Hrchall, who decoyed Frederick G. Ben
we'll, fellow countryman, from Eng
land on pretense OF helping him to
learn farming In Canada and murdered
him in swamp near hefe, was hanged
in the jail.yard ct this place At s:2e am.
Friday. .s..zss... -. =. - ~,
His death, so far as could be ascertained,
was painless. Six minutes after the great
weight jerked his body into the air, the
physicians pronounced him dead. The
post-mortem discovered that death had
been caused by strangulation. The
usual E.atutory verdict was found BY
the coroner's jury.
The hanging was first set down for .
o'clock, Int by Birchalrs own request il
was done half an hour earlier. After
he had breakfasted he sat in his eel
smoking cigars and chatting with old
Sheriff Perry. The latter was solemn;
Birchall was not He seemed to ind
amusement in the fact of the old sher-
IFS sorrow for him.
Birchall was dressed in . white
flannel shirt, dark striped trousers, and
slippers. At his throat he wore
tasty black tie. Tho criminal was ac-
companied to the scaffold by Rev.
Wade, who has been constant in his At
tendance on the prisoner since the trial
Other members of the procession we're
George Perry. Birchall's guard, and
Prison Inspector Chamberlain. Birchall
was perfectly calm and cheerily sa-
luted each member of the party as they
entered his cell. Among the spec
tators was Arthur Leetham of
Montreal, friend of Birchall at
Oxford. Leetham saluted the pris-
oner, who advanced and kissed him full
on the lips. the tears running down
Leetham's cheeks, while Birchall did
not change muscle OF his countenance.
Birchall mounted the steps of the scat
fold with an unfaltering tread. When
the religious exercises were begun
Birchall joined heartily, being partica-
larly emphatic in his ''amens." On
the surrounding buildings overlooking
the Jail yard were hundreds of people
who were thus enabled to witness
the last act OF the Benwell trag-
edy. Birchall repeated the Lords
prayer after Rev. Wade while the moose
was being put around his neck. H sub
mitted to the hangman in his usual
matter-of-fact way. There was slight
ly wearied look in his eyes, While the
doomed mans legs were being bound
with strap Birchall stood with
his head erect looking straight
before him, and Offering no OBJ
lection to the hangman's op-
erations. Toward the conclusion Of the
Lords prayer Rev. DR.. Wade's voice
was filed with deepest anguish and
broke. He stepped forward and kissed
Birchall, saying: May God have mercy
on you," and retired few PAGES. The
supreme moment was at hand.
When Radcliffe, the Toronto hang
man, pulled the black cap over Birch
for every one tc hear: "Well, won't you
shake hands before go?" This rather
dumbfounded Radcliffe for moment
Then he thrust forth his hand and
shook Birchall's hand.
Then stepping back he took hold of
the cord connecting with the latch of
the weight above. John Perry, the son
of the sheriff, and acting for his father.
was standing three or four steps to
the left. He gave the signal and
the bolt was drawn out The body
was jerked in an oblique direc-
tion. 1t moved around for few Sec
onds with its own momentum and final
ly hung straight down. A convulsive
shudder ran through the frame. Then
a blood-curdling sight was witnessed.
The hands clasped and unclasped con-
vulsively, the nails entering the flesh
and causing the blood to flow;
the legs drew up and straightened out
There was every indication that the man
was being slowly strangled. His neck
was not broken. Two minutes after the
bolt was withdrawn Birchalrs pulse was
sixty strokes per minute At the end OF
six minutes he was pronounced dead.
lDAEO0UAAS CTAuS WIS Suo AuAuS VI Z. ~
Benwell February II last In swamp in Oxford
County, Canada. Birchau came to Canada
early in the summer Of 1883 to become farmer.
but finding tho work harder and the pay
smaller than he had been led to expect he
stayed in Woodstock. Birchau talked .
great deal about aristoorats in England
with whom he claimed to be acquainted
or connected. His wife seemed to second him
in what he did. These two disappeared In the
fall rs quickly as they had come, leaving GER
tain unpaid bills. When man was arrested
In February last for the murder OF the stranger
whose body was found in the swamp near
Princeton the people were made aware for the
first time that Birchau had returned.
Against Birchall there were scraps of evi-
dence which, while not making \ complete
case, were all consistent ono with the other,
and together were certainly strong. The prin-
cipal witness was young Englishman
named Douglas r. sPelly, who had come
out on the Britannia with Mr. and Mrs.
YDS~o A11c nnv Dali md Won a