Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1890-11-12
STRANGE BUT TRUE.
Story of the First Execution in Glynn
County, Georgia.

County, Georgia.
Glynn County, Georgia, is soon to have
a hanging. The Brunswick Times pub
fishes the following bit of history: 1t
has been just seventy-six years since
hanging took place in Glynn County.
Yesterday morning I was talking to
Coroner Lewis Harris, whom everybody
knows by the sobriquet of ''Uncle
Lewis, and in some way the subject of
judicial executions came up.
cit has been seventy-six years since
the last hanging in this county," said
the coroner, land it happened just four
years before l was BORN
Although Uncle Lewis is seventy-two
years of age there is nothing about him
save his snow-white beard and hair to
Indicate it, for, short in stature, with
clear blue eye and healthy color, he's as
jovial and jolly as Santa Claus himself.
eyes, seventy-six years" he con-
tinued, in reminiscent mood, as he ran
back over the long stretch of years,
land can tell you all about it,
I eagerly begged him to do so.
''Well, before 1 was born there used to
be great hunter in these parts named
Findley, a one-eyed man, who was not
afraid Of the devil himself. One day he
was out hunting. about where the old
Baptist church now stands, on the cor
ner of and III streets. AS he pushed
his way through the heavy canebrake,
and almost virginia. forest he came face
to face with stalwart, half-savage rum
away negro, and, as was the custom in
those days, he arrested him and started
back to the settlement with his pris-
oner. Unfortunately for Findley, he
wore very heavy hunting-knife on his
blind side, so to speak, and as he and
his prize found their way toward clear
ings, the negro, grown desperate with
fear. sprang upon the hunter, and, seiz-
ing his knife cut his throat from ear to
ear with one strong stroke of the
weapon. When, after some days, Find
ley was still missing, searching party
was organized, and after day or two
the body was found in state of decom-
position.
"The cut told the story of the crime,
and hunt for his unknown murderer
began The negro was found in the
canebrake, and suspicion at once fell on
him. He was brought to the settlement
and was tried, found guilty and finally
executed on spot between what is
now A and 3 streets, within two hum
dred yards of where he murdered Find
ley.
HE acknowledged his guilt on the
scaffold, and SO atrocious had been the
murder that after the execution his
head was cut off and placed upon tall
pole by means of an iron spike. where
it remained for eleven years. The exc
cution happened four years previous to
my birth, but | distinctly remember
that horrible, grinning head on top of
the pole The boys in those days would
never go near the spot at night, for
even in the dark their imagination
would outline distinctly that horrible
sight May be that execution, with all
it's horror, has kept down hanging in
these parts, but we certainly ought to
have one or two now, for fear that les
son has been forgotten"
The scene Of the long ago murder and
execu ton is now one of the prettiest
residence portions of Brunswick, and
the spot where the pole stood with it's
grinning, CHASTITY head, is covered by
the residence of a prominent citizen
Although the crime and it's punishment
have also been obliterated by the cease
less wash of the tide of time, there is
one mind in which it still lives, and
that is the mind of Coroner Lewis. IT'S
a strange, but true story.