The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-07-10


NEW YORK, July 9.-[Speciall The
Herald this morning publishes the re-
suit of second autopsy held by Drs
Culver. Rodenstein and Nook on the
body of Harris A. Smiler, one of the four
men clectrocuted at Sing Sing Tuesday.
To the unprofessional mind, the Her.
aid says, the condition of tho body was
horrifying, and on slight examination
it seemed as if tho man had died from
roasting The blackened eyes stripped
Of their skin. tlaccid and parboiled, and
tho mysterious scars on nose and chin.
were all suggestive of a horrible torture;
but when the visible marks were more
closely examined it was easy to see that
they were merely superficial, for they
did not extend beyond the outer skin
In describing the body as it lay in I'm
dertaler Uulberg's establishment, the
Herald reporter says:
The features were composed but
painfully discolored. The shaven head
and the unshaven chin helped to make
the head repcllant. The low crowned
skull and rctreating forehead looked
like those of negro, and the discolored
places about the eyes added to the sim
lister and for5idding aspect of the face
In seeking place where the skull was
thin for the placing Of the head cleo
trode the eXCcutioners had clasped it
across the eyes. The fierce white hot
current which set a bucket of water
boiling had stripped the skin in Il hor-
rible way. leaving the raw red surface
OF TIL" CUTS exposed to view.
sat the edges strip of the epidermis
the outer skin, were curled up and dried
like parchment, and easily came off
when touched by tho finger. A piece of
skin had come off from the bridge Of the
nose, and there was a small scar on tho
chin.
when the right leg was barred an
other painful sight was disclosed. The
lower electrode, concave pad Of brass
six inches by three, or whereabouts, had
boon strapped on just below the right
knee. Its mark was there, for the skin
beneath had been stripped away, and a
raw looking place had run up the under
side of the leg past the knee joint. This
latter was as mysterious as the marks
on the chin and nose
DIR. DANIELS on TIE ELECTRoCUTIoN.
BUFFALO, N. Y, July 0.-[Speciall-
DR.. Daniels, who was one of the wit
nesses at the Sing Sing electrocution,
was interviewed this morning. DR..
Daniels said he was in honor bound not
TO say anything concerning what hap
pened in the death cham her, but there
were some things he could conscien-
tously tell. He said in the first place
all the newspaper stories about the
awful roasting the men got are very
much exaggerated. Intact they are un-
true. There was no roasting, no burn
ing, no horrible smell and no smoke. 1t
was in fact just tho smoothest and
quickest death imaginable. No EARRING
or struggling, no switching or anything
of the kind. TIE men simply sat down
and the current was turned on and thew
were dead.
Let mo illustrate just how quickly
the men died. j wanted to see to be con
WINGED myself absolutely that death was
instantaneous, though really my mind
did not require such proof. A man re-
ccived the current while he was talk
ing. | wanted to sec whether he would
stop, whether In the middle of syll.
able of word, or sentence, or whether
he would stop instantly, or speak after
the current had reached him. One man,
l will not tell who, received tho shock
while he was talking. | was bonding
over and looking him In the face. lie
started q word. 1t was tho word
the" lie had just articulated
the first letter, when the button was
pressed. Nothing but the sound of thcfirst
letter passed his lips. II died away
and without any manifestation. Tho
lips made no movement. There was
not the slightest change of tho facial
expression. II was as if all the facnl-
ties we're paralyzcd into death in an in
slant and therefore without pain
absolutely am as certain as OF any
thing in the world, continuing, the doc
tor said, that such statements as wore
published about roasting were absurd.
No sound, not the slightest, escaped
from any Of the men when the button
was pressed or afterwards. Ono OF the
men died with smile on his face 1t
remained unchanged, and he was smiling
in death when left Sing Sing prison
There was no perceptible odor in the
room"
WAS there any relaxation of the
muscles of the chest, as in Kemmlcr's?"
None at all. In one case there was
movement so faint as to be hardly per-
ceptible, but that was probably caused
by slight variation in the current. In
no other case was there perez ptiblc
tremor of muscle
"Was there any expulsion of air from
between the lips, as in Reminders case?"
None whatever. / was close to each
man and should there have been any
such demonstration should have known
1T. No, there was absolutely nothing.
Death was certain on the first contact
and absolutely painless. Tho electro.
cutions were successful in almost every
particular"
why were two contacts necessary ?"