Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1890-08-14
KEMMLER'S FATE.
The Murderer Dies by Electricity
in the Auburn Prison.
His EXecutiOners Made a Botch of Their
Chastity Job-The First shock Fails
to Xiii, and Second Is
Made Necessary.
- - ELEcrEI.IlE.


rising Of yesterdays sun William
Kemmler passed into history as the first
man executed by electricity. The pris-
oner was awakened az o'clock by the
/ death watch. NIcNaughton He APP
peared cool and dressed himself care
fully At o'clock he ate a light
breakfast OF eggs. beefsteak, potatoes,
| and coffee. At 6:l5 Warden Durston
/ appeared and read the death warrant.
/ Up TO Cess O'Clock kemmler was alone
with his spiritual advisers. Then the
warden raped at the cell door and
Kemmler. preceded by Dr. Houghton,
/ his religious adviser, passed to the ex-
| ecution room.
When all was arranged kemmler sat
1 down in the electric chair as quietly
as though he was sitting down to din
ner While the straps were being ar
ranged Kemmler said to the warden and
/ his assistants: Take your time. Don't
/ be in hurry BE sure that every thing
is all right.
The dynamo in the machine-shop was
running at good speed, and the volt
meter on the wall registered little
more than 1000 volts. The stop
watches in the hands Of some of the
witnesses registered 6:43ll, the cleo
trio current was turned on. There was
a sudden CONFUSION Of the frame in
| the chair. A spasm went over it
from head to foot, confined by the
straps and springs that held it firmly, so
that no limb or other parts of the body
stirred more than small fraction
of an inch from its resting place
! The twitching that the muscles
of the face underwent gave to it for a
moment an expression Of pain. But
no cry escaped from the lips which
were free to move at will. There was
no movement of the body beyond the
first CONFUSION.
Dr. Mcdonald held a stop watch in
his hand and as the seconds few by he
noted their passage. DR.. Spitzka, too
looked at the stop watch, and as the
tenth second expired he cried out:
stop" A quick movement of the arm
and the electric current was switched
off. There was a relaxation of the
body in the chair.
On examining the body it was found
that the index finger of the hand had
curved backward as the fexor muscles
contracted, and had scraped small
hole in the skin at the base of
the thumb on the back of the hand.
There was nothing strange in this
alone. but what was strange was that
the little rupture was dropping blood.
Turn the current on instantly. This
man is not dead" cried DR.. Spitzka.
Faces grew white and forms fell back
from the chair Warden Durston sprang
to the doorway and cried: Turn on the
current"
But the current could not be turned
on. When the signal to stop had come,
the operator had pressed the little but.
ton which gave the sign to the en-.
gineer to stop the dynamo. The dynamo
was almost at stand-still, and
the volt meter registered an almost inn
perceptible current. The operator
sprang to the button and gave sharp,
quick signal There was a
rapid response, but quick as ii
was, it was not quick enough to an
tieipate the SIGNS of what may or
may not have been reviving conscious
ness AS the group of horror-stricken
witnesses stood helplessly by, all eyes
fixed on the chair, Kemmler's lips began
to drip saliva and in moment more
his chest moved and from his mouth
came a heavy Stertorious sound, quick
ening and increasing with every respira-
ton, if respiration n was. There was
no voice but that of the warden crying
to the operator to turn on the current,
and the Wheeling sound, half-groan,
which forced itself past the tightly
closed lips, sounded through the still
chamber with CHASTITY distinctness.
Seventy-three seconds is the interval
which elapsed between the moment
when the first sound Issued from
Kemmler's lips until the response to the
signal came from the dynamo room. 1t
came with the same suddenness that
had marked the first shock which
passed through Kemmler's body.
The sound which had Mortified the
listeners about the chair was cus
off sharply as the body only be.
came more rigid. Twice there were
twichings of the body as the electric
ians in the next room threw the currens
on and off. There was to be no mistake
this time about the killing The dyna-
mo was run up to its highest speed and
again and again the full current of 2, 200
volts was sent through the body in the
chair.
AS the anxious group stood silently
watching the body, suddenly arose
from it white vapor. bearing with it a
pungent and sickening odor The
body was burning Again there were
cries to stop the current, and again the
warden sprang to the door and gave the
quick order to his assistants. The cur
rent stopped and again there was the
relaxation of the body. There was no
doubt this time that the current had
done its work If not well, at least com
pletely
Or. Fell, who stood at the side of the
correspondent Of the Associated Press,
turned and said: well, there is no
doubt about one thing. The man never
suffered an iota OF pain. In after-con-