The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-08-17

posed that our work was ended when we
had given them into Wirz's hands. sup
posed that Key would himself carry out
the rest of the programme whatever that
might be. On the morning OF the 18th of
July, however, one of the boys of my bat
talon came to me and said: .McElroy,
Key is going to hang the raiders today He
wants you to get your company together
and go to the ration place on the south side
and guard the men who are to put up the
scatfold- This message struck me all
aghast had talked very strongly in favor
OF hanging the fellows. but had no idea
that would be asked to participate in car
rying il out. / was soon ma e to realizs
however, that my only way out of the
trouble wa TO do what was asked of me. or
else to make Illuminating backdown and
figure as q blackgnarj. / accepted the less
disagreeaole bern OF the dilem ma and went
There were two reasons for guarding the
scaffold: first, because we expected rush
from the friends of the condemned to in
terfere with the work; and second, the
need of wood in the prison was so great
that unless the timber was guarded care
fully il would be snatched out of the hands
of the workmen. At that time the roots of
thefrees which had gone 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
had one or two raids upon Us while the
scaffoid was being made. In the mean
time WIrz had got the whole garrison un-
der arms. The rife pits were filed with
infantry and the artillery men were at
their guns ready to fire. When the time
arrived for the hanging there were 1000
men packed about the scaffoId which was
inside OF the hollow square made by our
200 regulators. Ny 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 ap-
pear oyer those of the line in front of them.
so as to produce the effect of sloping wall
OF human faces.
sin short time Wirz came in with the
six condemned under guard. They were
accompanied BIZ Father Mahoney, the
Catholic priest of Macon, who was the only
minister of the Gospel who made any pre-
tense OF attending to the spiritual wants
of the prisoners. Dressed in the appropri-
the service for the condemned. Wirz rode
up on white horse. He was dressed in
his usual suit of white duck. which added
to the association had given him the 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 hat sentenced them
and now do NIT dem as you bleeSe and 1
wash nv hands of the whole bizness.
May Gott hat mercy on you and on dem.
Carts about face! Forward, march, And
with that be left US.
''The prisoners looked up at the dangling
ropes, and several OF them simultaneously
exclaimed, My God! boys, you're not GO
ing to really hang us?' Key, who was
standing by tine scaffold with several of his
aids, answered: Boys, that's just about
the size of it, and the murderers then be-
gan TO appeal to the crowd that was packed
about them. One of them asked the rest
to be still and let the priest speak, and the
priest began to make an appeal for them.
As soon as his drift was understood, ter
rible cry went up FROM all parts of that
vast crowd: No! MOL Hang them! Hang
themH Just at this moment the one of
the condemned standing nearest me threw
his broad brimmed hat on the ground and
yelled out: By God. I'll try for it, or I'll
die for it, And throwing his arms over
his face to protect his ewes he bent his