The Iola register., 1891-07-17
roons ,toge. aYiEns seer. while the

execution. AT 3.JO O'CLOCK the grlnd1ng
OF coffee In the warden's kitchen indi-
Gated the preparations for the breakfast
for the wardenis guests, but this sign of
life was quickly concealed from the
watchers without, and the shutters Of
the dining-room were tightly closed.
All of the shutters OF the other rooms
were closed 90 that no evidence OF the
time when the witnesses should gather
in the warden's parlor preliminary to
the execution should be given.
Shortly after o'clock the attorney
for Wood, Lawyer Hare, left the ward
en- after fruitless hour spent in trying
to convince him that the papers he had
filed in the federal court should act as
stay of execution. Deputy Attorney
General Hogan, who had sat up with
the warden, decided the disputed legal
question for him. and the condemned
mans last hope was extinguished when
soon after o'clock the warden lay
down on couch in his parlor to get
little rest
Outside the prison walls the group of
newspaper reporters which had
watched al through the night re-
mained on guard. The guards paced
slowly up and down the roadway. At
$3.50 o'clock the lights in the town and
| the lights in front OF the warden's house
went out. II was half hour before the
set time for extinguishing these lights,
and the fact that they had been put out
indicated that the power used in gener-
ating the electric current for them was
to be used in operating the oynamos at
tached to the execution apparatus. A
few minutes later the whiz oil the dyna-
mo sounded through the still morning
hour.
THE WITNESSES SUMMONED.
It was o'clock and the warden had
arisen from his couch and sent one OF
his assistants to rap softly on the doors
of the sleeping rooms up stairs to ava
ken the witnesses. Some Of them had
retired half dressed and they were
quickly down stairs. The two priests
and the prison chaplain had been sum-
moned more than an hour before and
had gone down to the cells OF the cou-
demned men. They had been awake
most Of the night. When the warden
visited them they were wide awake and
evidently expecting the end TO come
soon.
They knew that Kemmler had been
killed on the second morning and they
did not believe that their time would be
DELAYED much longer. There had been
no increase of the guard. The regular
watchers. Partridge and Baxter. had
remained with them from 6o'clock last
night. Most of the men were ava
kened shortly before 4 o'clock. when
the priest and the chaplain appeared.
Chaplain Edgerton spoke few words
OF comfort to Jugigo when he told him
| that the end was near, but the Jap did
not receive them in grateful spirit
and the chaplain passed on to Smiler's
cell while the two priests busted them
selves respectively with Siocum and
| Wood.
The condemned men took very calmly
| the announcement that the sentence was
| about to be executed. They we're
dressed when the chaplain and priests
entered. Their clothing was much
alike-a suit of dark diagonal, white
shirts and collars and black ties.
IN THE DEATH CHAMBER.
| The witnesses 10 the execution gath
cred in the prison parlor shortly before
| the hour fixed for the first electrocution
| to take place. The warden led the way
and the witnesses went in no particular
order out OF the door OF the warden's
1 house. through a short passage. aud
| then with a turn TO the right to the
door in the prison wall. With another
turn 10 the left they skirted the wall of
the condemned mems cells. turned 10
the right and entered the little frame
building in which the apparatus Of
death had been placed.
Opposite the entrance OF the chamber.
facing it. was the death chair. 1t was
OF almost the same pattern "a the chair
in which kemmler was eXecuted-a
plain wooden chair with perforated
wood seat. the back having slight in
cline. Near the top of the chair back
was a beyeled cushion OF rubber for the
prisoners head and neck to rest upon.
Above this extended wo Nden figure
t." the long arm of which was clamped
with two wooden screws to the back OF
the chair. Ia front of the chair extends
foot rest to which the legs of the pris-
oner were to be bound. This was the
only important particular in which the
chair differed from the kemmler 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 1t.
Behind the chair. built against
a partition wall which divided the
building into two parts, was closet
opening at the top. about seven feet
high. In this closet was the switch
board which was 10 be used in turning
the current into the condemned men.
Before the entrance of the witnesses
the executioner had entered this closet
room. and he sat waiting for the signal
from the warden to turn the switch.
Who he was was not known and will
not be known authoritatively. l. is
generally supposed that the executioner
was convict from the prison. detailed
for the duty. On the right OF the wit |
nesses as they entered wac the massive
iron door which closed the passage
leading into the prison for the con- |
demned. 1t was almost as massive and |
impenetrative as the brick walls about |
ii aud as impervious to sound.
THE TESTS SATISFACTORY.
The witnesses distributed themselves |
about the chamber. The electrician E. |
J. Davis. was in charge of the apparatus |
for measuring the current which was !
fastened TO the side OF the closet oppo-
site the entrance 10 the cell room. Il |
consisted Of volt meter, a resistance !
coil and a row OF twenty incandescent |
lamps each measuring 100 volts. a
heavy switch board formed the connec-
ton between the wires from the
dynamo room at the other end
OF the prison grounds and the wires in
the execulioner's closet adjoining. a
push button communicated with the
signal b,ll in the dynamo room. When
the witnesses had ranged themselves
about the room the electrician touched
this button once. The engineer re-