Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-02-12

The Two Negroes Who Are to Hang
Dover Tomorrow.

The Two Negroes Who Are to Hang Mt
Dover Tomorrow.
Special Correspondence of Gazette and journal
Dover, Feb. 11.-When represent
alive Of the GAZETTE stepped up to
the grated door of Jesse Proctor's cell
this afternoon and the condemned man
was asked if he knew how many more
days he had to live, Proctor took out
his pocket calendar, ran his pencil
| down the page and said "two days.
Then he BACKED out with the point of
his pencil the last Friday he is to spend
on earth, and only two days We're left
INCREASED. He had entered on his last
week of life.
"Do you think you will be able to
walk out on the scaffold on Friday Y
he was asked.
Eyes, think l will, by the help of
God" Proctor replied
Proctor has been labored with by the
lley. j. $. Cole, pastor Of the Whatcoat
A. Nj. II. Church, and claims to have eX-
perienced religion. His younger partner
in crime, Fred Young, who is by no
means the simplcton he is sometimes
represented to be, has not followed
Proctor's example in this and does not
take much stock in the latter's profess
sions. He, Young, called out of his cell
window the other day TO somebody
down in the yard "Jesse says he's got
religion and that he's going to walk the
golden streets and set down at a golden
table heaped up with milk and honey. |
tell yon it'll be cold day when Jesse
gifts seat at that table"
The Rev. l.. w. Gibson, rector of the
Episcopal church, and the Rev. Pcnfield
Fixes, the stirring young revivalist of
the Baptist church, have also paid the
murderers visits recently.
Proctor's mother and nephew, his
only relatives, were here on Monday for
o farewell visit. They do not expect to
see him again.
When asked by the GAzETTE's
representative if their was anything he
would like to say to the outside world
Proctor bent his head in earnest thought.
For minute or more he remained ST.
lent, and then he spoke quietly and
slowly as follows:
81 feel happy. | feel like new man.
feel that all my sins are forgiven. ]
expect to 60 to heaven when leave
this world"
Proctor occupies the cell in the north
west corner and Young that in the
southwest corner of the upper tier.
There are four cells between them, one
of which is occupied BY Henry Raisin,
the burglar, who is almost constantly at
work upon some wooden or wire CON
trivance He is as ingenious as he is
industrious and the walls and floor of
his little room are filled with curious or
ornamental products of his skill.
Ern6pri1ls Np,nfr ie NOT
of his nerve as his fellow murderer pro-
fesses to be. He could not promise that
he would be able to walk to the scaffold
on Friday. Both of his parents are
dead. His mother died when he was '.a
little baby" and his father fell victim
to grip and pneumonia lit mout he two
years ago" Current report has it that
his mother was killed by her husband;
at any rate she disappeared under sus-
picious circumstances and was never
seen again. The boy murderer, who said
grandmother rates his age at IS years,
comes, like the bully in the "rwo Or
phans, "of family that kill" The
last man hanged in Dover, about 20
years ago, was an uncle of Frederick,
who had killed peddler. Fred has
grown up in ignorance; he says he never
went to school IA day in his life; but lie
does not seem less bright than the
average illiterate countryfied negro Of
his years. He has not been told of the
effort that is being made to save
him from the gallows, under the
direction of his counsel, Beniah Watson.
Mr.. Watson feels quite sanguine that
Governor Reynolds will grant respite,
but next Tuesday will tell the story, for
on that day the governor has promised
to give his answer. The petition for
executive clemency has been signed by
by some very good men, Chief Justice
Comcgys among them, but there is some
opposition and there are men who have
known Young from boyhood who give
him u bad record.