The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-08-17

need of wood in the prison was SO great
that unless the timber was guarded care
fully it would be snatched out of the hands
OF the Workmen. AT that time the roots Of
the trees which had grown down into the
ground for four or five feet were being dug
up by the prisoners in order that they
might be dried and used for cooking. We
mad one or two raids upon US while the
scaffold was being made. In the meantime
Wirz had got the
WHOLE GARRISON UNDER ARMS.
The rifle pits were filled with infantry and
the artillery men were at their guns ready
| to hre. When the time arrived for the
hanging there were $1,000 men packed
| about the scaffold which was inside of the
hollow square made by our 200 regulators.
My company formed each side of this
square and as | stood there shall never
forget the sight that met my eyes upon the
north side OF the camp. The slope was
just gradual enough to make the heads and
shoulders of each line of men appear over
those of the line in front of them so as to
produce the effect of a sloping wall of
human faces.
SIX condemned under guard They were
| accompanied by Father Mahoney, the
Catholic priest of Macon, who was the
only minister of the gospel who made any
pretense of attending to the spiritual wants
OF the prisoners. Dressed in the appro-
pirate church robes for the occasion he
read the service for the condemned Win
| rode up on white horse. He was dressed
In his usual suit of white duck which
camp nickname of Death on the Pale
Horse After he had gotten inside of the
hollow square he pointed to the prisoners
and said in his broken German: Brizners,
bring desc men back to you SO goot as
got dem. You hat tried dem yourselves
and found them guilty. You haf sentenced
them and now do nit dem as you bleese
and wash my hands of the whole bizness
May Colt hat mercy on you and ON dem.
Carts about face. Forward, march, and
with that he left US.
THE PRISONERS LOOKED UP
at the dangling ropes and several of them
simultaneously exclaimed. My God boys,
you're not going to really hang u.s. Key
who was standing b the scaffold, with
several of his aids. answered, Boys, that's
just about the size of it; and the murderers
then began to appeal to the crowd that was
packed about them. One of them asked the
rest to best i'll and let the priest speak and
the priest began to make an appeal for
them. AS soon as his drift was under
stood terrible cry went up from all parts of
that vast crowd. No No, Hang them,
Hang them. Just at this moment the one
of the condemned standing nearest me
threw his broad brimmed hat on the ground
and yelled out BY Godi pll try
for it or I'll die for it, and
throwing his arms over his face
to protect his eyes he bent his head down
and came like battering ram against our
company. We struck at him with the
clubs and knocked him to his knees He
got up and forced himself through the
crowd. A scene of the widest confusion
followed. Every one was expecting the
cannon and infantry to open US, and the
$1,000 men stampeded in every direction
away from The stockade. There had been
number or wells dug and some of the
lnen fell into these and broke their legs,
others were trampled upon, and Wirz who
was watching the scene from the prison
headquarters, lost his head and yelled to
the guards: Fire fire!' The captain OF
the guards, however had more sense and
did not give the order
1.-Two of the boys of my company ran
after the prisoner who had escaped. They
followed him through quagmire which
was thigh deep and
KNOCKED HIM DOWN.
Key in the meantime ordered the other
men into the scaffold, and as they stood
there this man was broughtin almost faint
ing. He drank about bucketful of water
ana all of the prisoners partook OF water
freely. Father Mahoney then resumed the
reading Of the service, but was constantly
interrupted by fellow named Delaney
who was constantly shouting out messages
to his pals in the crowd as to what to do
with the booty he had left. The priest re-
proved him atone time. At last Key said:
Only two minutes and one-half more
for talk. He then stepped back and
raised his hand, whereupon De-
laney yelled out, Goodbye, boys If
I've hurried any of you, forgive me-" At
Keys signal the six regulators selected for
hangmen then tied the hands and feet of
the condemned, put the ropes around their
necks and pulled meal sacks down over
their faces. Two men stood down on the
ground below and held the ropes which
fastened the board which upheld the drop
upon which the prisoners stood Key
dropped his hand the hangmen jumped
from the scaffold and the men on the
ground
JERKED AWAY THE BOARD.
The men all fell ana spun around on the
end of the ropes. There was one excep-
ton. This was tall, raw boned, strong
necled man named Mosby, who was second
from the end of the line. His rope broke
and he fell insensible TO the ground. A
couple of the regulators ran to him, threw
water in his face and brought Elm to.
He thought at first he was in the other
world but he was taken to the scaffold and
hung. AT the end of short time the
hospital steward pronounced the men dead
and they were cut down. The whole camp
passed around and looked at their bodies
and they were buried in a separate part of
the cemetery from the rest of the prisoners.
Their graves are. am told, there to this
day The hanging Of them broke up their
band and after this we had police organi
cation inside of the prison We had our
fixed punishment, and we were as far as
possible community of law and order.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.