Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-07-16

was beveled cushion of rubber for the
prisoners head and neck to rest against.
4 hOye this extended wooden figure
g. the long arm of which was clamped
with two wooden setscrewS to the back
of the chair In front of the chair eX-
tended foot-rest, to which the legs of
the prisoner were to be bound. This
was the only important particular in
which the chair differed from the Kemm-
Ter chair Kemmler's legs were separated
and fastened to the front legs of the
chair in which he sat. The chair was
placed on a rubber mat to insulate it.
Behind the chair, built against par
>ETtion wall which divided the building
into two apartments, was closet open
ing at the top, about seven feet nigh.
In this closet was the switchboard
which was to be used in turning the
current into the condemned men. Be
fore the entrance of the witnesses the
executioner had entered this closet
from the other room, and sat facing
for the signal from the warden to turn
the switch. Who he was is not known,
and will not be known authoritatlvely.
1t is generally supposed that the eXecu-
toner was a convict from the prison,
detailed for the duty. On the right OF
the witnesses, as they entered, was the
massive iron door which closed the
passage leading into the prison for the
condemned. 1t was almost as massive
and impenetrable as the brick walls
about it, and as impervious to sound.
Seated in their cells with only the
walls and the iron door between them
and the engine of death, the condemned
men heard nothing of the busy prepa-
rations going on in the execution room.
They knew that their last minutes
were being measured off, though, for
their spiritual advisers had been with
them for some time giving them ZACH
consolation as they could.
Shortly after o'clock the atJorEev
for Wood. Lawyer Hare, left the
warden, after fruitless hour spent liz
irving to convince him that the papers
he had filed in the federal court should
act as a stay of execution. Deputy-At
torney- General Hogan, who had set VI
with the warden, decided the disputed
legal question for him, and the con
sdemned mems last hope was eXtin
guished when, shortly after o'clock
the warden lay down on couch IL
W Scb d illGiC iSoe'
At $3.50 o'clock the lights in the town
and the lights in front of the warden
house went out suddenly. 1t was
half hour before the usual time for ex
tinguishing these lights. and the fac
that they had gone out indicated tina
the power used in generating tn
electric current for them was to b
used in operating the dynamos attaches
to the execution apparatus.
A few minutes later the whizz of tn
dynamo sounded through the still
morning hour. 1t was o'clock and tn
warden had arisen from his couch an
sent one of his assistants to rap softl
on the doors of the sleeping rooms u
stairs to awaken the witnesses. Som
of them had retired half dressed, an
they were quickly down stairs. TIL
two priests and the prison chaplain ha
been summoned more than a
hour before, and after drinking
cup of prison coffee had gone dow
TO the cells of the condemned mel
who had been awake most of the night
When the warden visited them the
were wide awake, and evidently eXpec
ing the end to come soon. They kne
that Kemmler had been killed on til
second morning, and they did not b.
fieve that their time would be delaye
much longer.
Meanwhile the witnesses had distril
uted themselves about the chambe
The electrician, Z. j. Davis, was
charge of the apparatus for measurir
the current, which was fastened to tt
side of the closet opposite the entran,
to the cell-room. 1t consisted of vol
meter, a resistance .on and a row
twenty incandescent lamps, each mea
uring 100 volts A heavy switchboa
formed the connection between &
wires from the dynamo room at t
other end of the prison grounds and t
wires in the executioner's closet adjoi
Ing. A push-button communicated wi