Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-08-07

TORTURED TO DEATH
William Kemmler Dies by the
New Electrical Process.
Instead of Instant Death, Several APP
plicatiOns are Made Before the
"Job" is q Success.
Kemmler Perfectly Cool. and Insists on Every
thing Being in Proper Shape Good
Luck to Everybody"
THE HORRIBLE SCENE .


liam Kemmler was separated from his
body At $40 O'Clock this morning the
warden adjusted the head of the man,
bound captive, in a strong looking chair,
a lever quickly swung around the arc of
semi circle, quick CONFUSION, sud-
den revival of muscular action, an
other turn of the lever, a pause, room
filed with sickening fumes OF burning
flesh, and twenty-seven witnesses OF the
first electricide in history known. Inc
death of Tillie Zegler had been avenged
in law and the crime of William Kemm-
Ter eXpiated SO far as human hands
could force its expiation.
At O'Clock this morning there was
rapping at the doors and a general
awakening through the hotel. Warden
| Durston had left quiet call for HIS wit
nesses and they were ordered to report
| at the prison at o'clock
An hour before their coming Rev. DR..
Houghton and Chaplain Yates appeared
| at the gate of the prison and were ad-
| mitred. After brief consultation with
the warden they were taken down TO
Kemmler's room where he
WAS ALREADY AWAKE
and talking with his keeper.
| Witnesses as they arrived gathered IN
warden's office. In an inner room Or.
| Mcdonald and DR.. Daniel went over the
instruments and paraphernalia for the
autopsy. They had been In conference
until 2 O'Clock preparing the prellmi-
naries. Outside the prison gates there
was a constantly augmenting crowd,
which examined each newcomer with
| ,,r;O int
group of newspaper men, two OF them
perched on a platform twenty feet from
the ground in constant communication
with New York city by telephone ready
to give the world the signal that the
execution had taken place.
Prisoner Kemmler was supposed to be
IN ignorance of the time fixed until the
warden should summon him from his
| cell to enter the execution chamber. But
the murderer was not entirely ignorant.
He knew from his guards last April that
il had been the intention to execute him
early in the morning of some day in the
fret part of the week. He had felt from
the time that Monday came that the
penalty would be inflicted on Tuesday or
Wednesday morning. Monday it could
not be because his good friend and ad-
wiser, DR.. Houghton,
HAD NOT BEEN NEAR HIM
all through Sunday, and he knew
well that if his doom had
been Immediately impending DR.
Houghton would have been at hi
side. So when Tuesday morning broke
and gray reflected light stole down the
| little corridor and no summons came he
felt that the last day of his life had be-
gun, that he had twenty-four hours more
= in which to prepare himself for the here
after. He spent that last day much al
he had spent those Immediately before
it, III writing on cards and scraps o.
paper the monotonous repetition OF hi
name and in talking with his keepers.
About six clock this morning thu
witnesses began to arrive at the prison
and by $50 all were present and seated
in a little circle around the execution
chamber waiting for the appearance o
the warden and his charge. AT 6:3S tn
door at the right of the execution cham
Der leading toward the execution room
opened and Warden Durston g figure ap
peared in the doc way. Behind hin
walked a spruce looking, broad shout
dered little man, full bearded, with
CAREFULLY ARRANGED HAIR
clustering around his forehead. He wa
| ur6SSoQ III d VI new CiObhihE, eoS
= coat and vest of dark gray material
f trousers a mixed yellow pattern, whit
shirt, whose polished front was ex
. posed directly below the littl
I. bow of lawn of black an
white check pattern. This was WilliaI
Kemmler. the man who was about
undergo the sentence of death. Benin
him walked DR.. W. e. Houghton an
Chaplain Yates.
Kemmler was by far the coolest man
|I He did not look about the room with an
7 special degree of interest. He hesitate
7 as the door was closed behind him an
u carefully locked by attendants on II
i. other side as though he did not know e1
10 actly what to do.
n "Give me chair, will you, - said II
il warden.
Some one quickly handed him wood
Y en- chair which he placed in front and
little to the right of the execution cha
>, facing the little circle OF men.
n Kemmler sat down eomposedly, locke
ct about him and then up and down
WITHOUT ANY EVIDENCE OF FEAR
or special interest in the event. His fat
MI was not stolid, it was not indifferent,
looked if anything as though he W
rather pleased at being the center
interest.
Warden Dunston stood at the left I
ne the chair with bis hand on the back
OF it, and almost at the moment tn
a. Kemmler took his seat he began to spe'
JUS in short, quick periods.
"Now, gentlemen, - he SAID, "this
William Kemmler. 1 have warned hi
that he has got to die and if he has an
o. thing to say he will say it. =
n, As the warden finished Kemml
- looked up and said in high-key
voice, without any hesitation and
80 though he had prepared himself with
he speech: "well, l wish every one go
his luck in this world, and l think {
Ice going to good place. and the pap
of have been saying lot of stuff that
ais | not so, that all.
~. With the conclusion OF the speech
EEK turned his back on the jury and took
the his coat aud handed 1t to the warde
| This disclosed the fact that he had be