Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1890-08-15

time had no measurement.
DR.. Daniel, who looked at his
watch excitedly and who, through
out, had an approximate ilea OF
the time, at least, sail it was four
and halt minutes in all. The
warden's assistants, who stood
over the dynamo, said that on the
second signal the machinery was
run on three and a half minutes
altogether. 1t will never be known
with any degree Of accuracy what
the space of time was. No one
was anxious to give the signal to
stop. All dreaded the respOnsl
bilty of Offering to the man a
chance to revive, or to give again,
at least, those appearances OF re-
turning animation which had start
led and so slckened the witnesses
a few minutes before.
AS the anxious group stood ST.
lently watching the body, sudden
ly there arose from it white vapor
bearing with 1t pungent and sick.
ening odor. The body was burning.
Again there were cries to stop the
current, and again the warden
sprang to the door aOd gave the
quick order to his assistants. The
current stopped and there was the
relaxation OF the body. No doubt
this time that the current had done
it's woIk-if not well, at least com.
pletely. d.. Fell, who stood at the
side of the special correspondent
of the United Press, turned and
said: "Well, there is no doubt
about one thing-the man never
suffered any pain"
The autopsy was begun at about
nine o'clock. 1t was in charge of
DR.. Jenkins, of New York, (who
handled the knlfe,) DR.. Daniel, DR..
Mcdonald and DR.. Spitzka. DR..
Fell prepared the blood drawn from
the body for examination under
the microscope. 1t was found, when
the body was spread out on the
table, that very severe riGOr mOrtiS
had set in. There was little relax
alton and it was with difficulty that
the corpse was straigtened out. On
examination 1t was found that the
second electrode h d burned
through the skin and into the flesh
at the base OF the spine, making a
scar nearly FIVE inches in diam
eter. The heart, lungs and other
organs were taken ont, and were
found to be in good healthy condi-
ton. They will be preserved for
further examination. The brain
also was taken out, and it, too, Will
he carefully examined.
The examination of the BRAIN
showed that the brain was harden.
ed directly under the spot where
the electric current had come in
contact with the skull and that the
blood at that spot was hardened,
showing that the current had had
direct action on the brain.
AUBURN, n. Y, August G.-The
following statement was dictated
to tie special correspondent of the
United Press by DR.. Spitzka before
the witnesses lett the execution
room:
There is no doubt that consci-
BUSINESS was abolished instantly
at the first contact. The hrst cur
rent did not destroy all vital phe-
nomena, hut some reflex phenome-
ma, or phenomena of yegetative
life, resisted and that | think you
can safely say, was due to the fact
that the voltage was not constant
and strong enough"
The crime for which Kemmler
was executed was itself one worthy
of only passing notice, and had it
not been for the method of paying
the death penalty would have at
tracted little attention for the mur'
derer and his victim had only lived
IN dissipation and debachery.-
KemmIer was the son of a Phils
delphia butcher and was born May
9th, 1860. He eked out an existenc'
as a huckster about the suburbs o
Philadelphia until 1887, when 1t
married a woman named Ida POr
ter, of Camden, n. j. She hat
. another husband living and tw'
days after the marriage Kemmle
eloped with TillIe Seigler, also
. married woman and one OF hi
= customers, They fled to Bnffal
] and hved here for eighteen month'
e QuagGels were frequent, for bot
D were addicted to drink and Kemn
% ler, always brutal in his dlspos
t tion, frequently abused her. D
the morning OF March 2Sth, 1885,
l the pair INDUCED in a fierce qua
e rel over money matters. In a drnnl
g en- rage KemmIer attacked n
d mistress with a ha'chet tn whlC
ttu,aa FnnofI