The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-08-07

hand and deity wetted two sponges which
were at the electrodes, ole at the top of
the head and the other at the base of the
spine. The water which he put on them
was impregnated with salt DIR. Spitzka an.
answered the warden's question with abort
''An right which was echoed by the
others about him. Ready; said Durston
again and then ''Good bye" He stepped
to the door and through the opening said to
some one in the next room,- but to whom
will probably never be known with GER
tainty, Everything is ready There was
an almost immediate response and at 6: 4315
the electric current was turned on. There
was sudden CONFUSION of the frame in
the chair, spasm went over kemmler
from head to foot He was confined
by the straps and springs that
held him 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 theface underwent gave it for a
moment an expression of pain but no cry
escaped from the lips which were free to
move at will; no sound came forth to sug-
| gest that consciousness lasted more than
an Infinitely small fraction of a second, be-
yound the calculation of the human mind.
The body remains in a rigid position
for seventeen seconds. The jury and wit
nesses, who had remained seated up to this
uiOu6ub, cdlie HuTTlou1y FORWARD anu sur
rounded the chair There was no move
ment of the body beyond the first convul-
sion. 1t was not pretty sight, this man in
his shirt sleeves, bound hand, foot, body,
and even head, with a heavy framework
pressing down on the top of the skull. DR..
Mcdonald held stop watch in his hand,
and as the seconds flew by he noted their
passage. Spitzka, too, looked at a stop
watch, and as the tenth second expired he
/ on ODD al,
voices about The warden TURNED to the
doorway and called out ''Stop" to the man
at the lever. A quick movement of the arm
and the electric current was switched off
There was a relaxation of the body in the
chair" He's dead" SAID Spitzka calmly.
DR.. Hatch was bending over the body
looking at the exposed skin. Suddenly he
cried out sharply: "Dr. Mcdonald, see
| that rupture.n In a moment Doctors
| Spitzka and Mcdonald had bent over and
were looking where Hatch was pointing at
little red spot on the hand that rested on
the right arm of the chair. The index
finger of the hand had curved backward as
the muscles contracted and 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 the little rupture
was dropping blood. ''Turn the current on
instantly. The man is not dead,n cried
Spltzka. Faces grew white and forms fell
back from the char. 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 dyna
mo was almost at stand
still and the volt meter registered
an almost imperceptible current. The
operators sprang to the button and gave a
sharp, quick signal. There was a rapid
response. But it was not quick enough tc
| anticipate the signs OF revlVing conscious
ness as the group of horror-stricken wit
nesses stood helpiessly by, all eyes fixed on
the chair kemmler's lips began to cape
and show spittle, and in moment more the
chest moved and from the mouth came 9
heavy stentorian sound, quickening and in
creaslng with every respiration. There
was no voice but that Of the warden. cry.
| ing to the operator to turn on the current
and the wheeling sound, half groan
which forced itself past the tightly closed
| bps, sounded through the still chamber
with CHASTITY dlstinctness. Some of the
witnesses turned away from the sight. an6
one tainted. 1t seemed a long time reach
ing the climax. In reality there were but
seventy three seconds in the interval which
elapsed between the moment when the frs
sound issued from Reminders lips until the
response to the signal came from the dynamo
room. 1t came with the same suddenness
that marked the first shock which passed
| through kemmler's body The SOUND
which had Mortified the listeners about the
chair was cut off sharply as the body once
more became rigid. A Shiny ooze still
dropped from the mouth and slowly down
the beard and on to the gray vest
Twice there were twitchings of the body
as the electricians in the next room threw
the current on and off, There was to BIZ
no mistake this time about the killing. Tht
dynamo was run up to the highest speed
and again full current Of 1000 volts wa.
sent through the body. How long it wa.
kept in action no one knows. To the eX
cited group about the chair it seemed al
interminable time. DR.. Daniel, who looked
at his watch excitedly and who thought b,
had an approximate idea of the time a
least said it was four and half minute
in all. The warden's assistant, who stoot
over the dynamo, said on the second sigma
the machinery ran only three and hal
minutes altogether.
No one was anxious to stop. All dreaded
the responsibility of offering to the maj
a chance to revive or give again at leas
those appearances OF returning animation
which startled and sickened the witnesse
a lew minutes before. AS tie anxious
group stood silently watching the body sud
denly there arose from it white vapor
bearing with it pungent and sickenin,
odor. 1t was the body burning. Again
there were cries to stop the current an,
again the warden sprang to the door ant
gave quick order to his assistants TIL
the current was stopped and again Their
was relaxation of the body. There wa
no doubt this time the current had done it!
work; If not well, at least completely DR.
Fell, who stood at the side of the specia
correspondent of the Associated Press
turned and said: "Well, there is no doub
aoout one thing: he never suffered an lot
of pain" Ia after consultations othe
physicians expressed the same belief. |
was some mitigation of the horrors of tn
situation 10 believe this. but tn,
mitigation was extremely slight
When 1t developed on another
point the same doctors disagree
very materially. Was Kemmler deat
when his chest moved and lips gave fort.
those strange CHASTITY Sounds Was h
breathing or was there an involuntary AM
phenomenal action of the chest muscles
Some of the eminent experts in attendant
said TO the Associated Press correspondent
while the body was still warm in the chair
there was no doubt there were signs of re
turning animation; that respiration (fo
respiration they believed it to be- wa
growing stronger, and that in time if tn
current had not been turned on again h
would have revived. Others, among then
DIR. Spltzka, stated with equal positive
ness his conviction that the first shoe
killed kemmler instantly. Doctors DAME
! and Southwicll, father of the system o
, electricide" believed Kemmler dead, blu
they think the current should have beel
continued longer than seventeen second
which was the official time Of the first con
tact. There is no way in which positiv,
, determination of this question can b
made; 1T will always remain unsolved
The autopsy began at o'clock. 1t wa
found when the body was spread out o.
, the table that very severe rigor MORT