Asheville daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1890-1900, 1891-07-07

chamber that the warden could not forget
as long as he lived. The Jap believed
that when he was taken to that
mysterious electric room he was to be
tortured. He had said he would fight
before he would sit in that chair. A dis
placement of the wires or of the harness
caused by astruggle would mean torture.
The watchers anxiously looked up at the
pole on the roof to see the red flag an
nounce the death of Jugiro. 1t was long
in coming. That fact savored of strug-
gle. 1t was over presently. The law
had been carried out to the letter and
the red flag went up. The Jap died at
COG o'clock. The entire time consumed
in killing the four men was an hour and
twenty three and one-half minutes.
The Machinery.
The mistakes OF the electrical experts
which made the execution Of Kemmler IN
the jail partial failure were carefully
avoided today. Thetested voltage of the
dynamos had been brought up to 5000,
while the estimated voltage which was
sent into Kemmler's body was only 75O.
The dynamo used was the Westinghouse, "a
counterpart of the machine used at Au-
burn, but it was supplemented by a
smaller dynamo intended to augment
the current.
The switch controlling the electric cur
rent was so arranged that the motion
that turned the current into the wire
running to the execution chair turned it
away from the incandescent lights and
other devices for measuring it's strength.
story of the Execution.
One Of the witnesses briefly tells the
story of the executions asfoIlows: About
O'Clock the witnesses and jurors were
let into the death chamber The experts
had previously examined everything and
said they were satisfied. The machinery
of death would work successfully. At 4
O'Clock Slocum walked into the death
room accompanied by Father Creeden.
He had received Father Crcedens last
offices and had declared himself ready to
die. He was then firmly strapped into
the chair and the death current applied.
Death was instantaneous. There was n
sudden contraction of the nerves and
then all was over.
Smiler followed next. Rev. Mr.. Edger-
ton chcered him UP. Before Smiler had
time to think he was strapped into the
chair and an instant later the current
of electricity was flashed through him
into eternity.
The next to follow was Wood, the
negro. He had been worked up to a
state of religious enthusiasm and it was
while in this frame of mind that he was
fastened into the chair and killed by the
fatal shock.
Jugiro was stubborn to the last
There was the usual fcrocious look on
his face. He was closely guarded and
short work was made of him.
A killing Success.
There was no apparent hitch in the
four executions and they were pro.
nounced success. The death of the
four men appeared to an observer to bt
painless. Death came like fash. II
was one awful shock and then-oblivion
Cut Up.
The doctors took charge of the foul
bodies Immediately after death and be
gan an autopsy to discover as far as pos
sible how rapid had been the killing, ant
the precise effect produced.
The witnesses were besieged by report
e'~y as soon as they made their appear
ance from the prison. All them refused
to say anything. however, except tina
the executions had passed off withou
anv hit oh and had heeu "a auccess from ,