Los Angeles herald., 1890-08-07

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 the little rupture was drip
ping blood.
Turn the current on instantly.
The man is not dead" cried Spitzka.
Faces grew white and forms fell back
from the chair. The warden 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 button which gave
the sign to the engineer to stop
the dynamo. The dynamo was
almost at standstill and the
volt metre registered an almost
imperceptible current. The opera
tor sprang to the button and
gave sharp quick signal. There
was rapid response, but it was not
quick enough to anticipste the signs
ofreviving consciousness. AS the group
OF horror-stricken witnesses stood help
lessly by, all eyes we're fixed ON the
chair. Kemmler's lips began to drip
splttle and in moment the chest be-
gan to move and from the mouth came
heavy stertorous sounds, Quickened
and increasing with respiration. There
was no voice but that of the warden
crying to the operator to turn Oh the
current, and the wheeling sound, a
half groan, which forced itself past the
tightly closed lips, sounded through the
still chamber with ghastly distinctness.
Some of the witnesses turned away
from the sight.
ONE TAINTED.
The scene seemed a long time in
reaching the climax. In reality there
were but 73 seconds in the inter-
val which elapsed between the mo-
ment 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 sudden.
ness that marked the first shock which
passed through Kemmler's body. The
sound which Mortified the listeners
about the chair was cut off sharply as
the body once more became rigid. The
Shiny ooze still dropped from the mouth
and ran slowly down the beard and on to
the gray vest. Twice were there
wrenches Of the body as the electri-
clans in the next room threw the cur
rent on and off. There was no mistake
this time about the killing. The dyna-
mo was run up to the highest speed,
and again the full current OF 1000 volts
was sent through the body. How long
this was kept in action no one knows.
10 the excited group about the chair it
seemed an interminable time. DR..
Daniel, who thought he had an approx
innate idea of the time at least, said it
was four and half minutea in all.
The warden's assistant who stood over
the dynamo, said on the record signal
the machinery was run only three and
a half minutes all together.
No one was anxious to give the
signal to stop. All dreaded the re-
sponsiblity or offering, to the man
chance to revive or give again at least
those appearances of returning anima-
tiOn which startled and sickened the
witnesses a few minutes before. AS
the anxious group stood silently
watching the body, suddenly there
rose from it
A WHITE vAPOR
Bearing with it the pungenr and sick
ening odOr of q body burning. Again
there were cries to stop the current and
again the warden sprang to the door
and gave quick order to his assistan.
The current was stopped and again
there was a relaxation of the body.
No doubt this time the current had
done its work, If not we'll at least COM
pletely. DIR. Fell who stood by the
side Of the special correspondent of
the Associated Press, turned and said:
"Well, there is NO doubt about one
thing, the man never suffered untold
OF pain" In after consultations other
physicians expressed the same belief.
1t was some mitigation of the horrors
of the situation to learn this,
butthe mitigation was extremely slight
when it developed at another point
chat some doctors disagreed very
materially.
DOCTORS AT VARIANCE.
Was Kemmler dead when the chest
moved and the lips gave forth those
strange ghastly sounds? Was he
and phenomenal movement OF the chest
muscles? Some of the eminent experts
in attendance said to an Associated
Press correspondent while the body
was still warm in the chair that there
was no doubt these were signs of
returning animation; that respiI alton.
for respiration they believed it to be,
was growing stronger, and that in time
If the current had not been turned on
again he would have revived. Others.
among them DR.. Spitzka, stated with
equal pOsitiveness of conviction that
the first shock killed Kemmler instantly.
Doctors Daniels and SOuthwick, the
fathers OF electrOcide, believe that
Kemmler was dead, but they think the
current should have been continued
longer than II seconds, which was the
official time Of the first contact. There
is no way in which positive deter
mInation of the question can be made.
1t will always remain unsolved.