Asheville daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1890-1900, 1891-07-07
SUCCESSFULLY KILLED !
FOUR MURDERERS QUICKLY
"ELECTROCUTED."
DEATH WAS INSTANTANEOUS
IN EACH CASE.

The Execution ana VindlcatiOn
of the Law Occurred Early This
Morning hut no Reporters Were
Present-A Witness Interviewed
SING SING, N. Y, July 1.-THE killing Of
the four murdercrs, Slocum, Smilcr. Wood
and Jugiro was done this morning.
Slocum was killed at 4:421a, Smilcr was
put to death at 5:14, Wood met his
doom at $50, Jugiro was killed at 6:O6.
The lights in the prison buildings are
usually put out at O'Clock every morn
ing or few minutes after. This MORN
ing there was change. The lights
went out half an hour earlier than usual
and those Of the curious ones who re.
mained in front Of the prison all night
noticed that something was happening.
The watchers outside had grown very
suspicious Of the new warden, Brown,
and they thought it would be just like
him to kill the men at some unexpected
time and then say nothing about it for
hours afterwards. So, when at $50, the
lights went down it was believed some
thing was to be done with the dynamo
which kills and which has to have all the
other electric power Of the prison shut
OIL when it runs.
Then the killing was Done.
For over an hour the dynamo was kept
running and its force was not expended
in making lights. Then it was stopped
for time
The day broke this morning upon a
row of very tired men who sat on stone
wall opposite the prison outside the
dead lines" The guards who had pa.
trolled the dead line had become very in
solent. Their long walk of the night
rufilcd their tempers considerably and
early this morning they had reached n
state where they would have been glad
to use club on some one.
Killed Partially im secret.
Beyond few rihe-laden guards at that
time there was nothing to show that
human beings lived in the prison. Not
the slightest trace of life was visible. The
hour of 5 O'Clock came and went and
there was nothing more to show. There
was not hint from those walls. The
curious group still lounged on the stone
steps and the bluff opposite the prison, the
only disturbing element being freight
train which rumbcd along through the
two tunnels. AS the rc-echo of the
uheele uveu 20 ;pter holt ~ . ,,,,,,, nod,
projected out of the west window of the
cupalo.
Slocurn Was Dead.
The crowd opposite the Jail did not go
him because the cupalo was between
but if they had looked closely they would
have seen the flag ballard moving. II
took the man up there less than half g
minute to make bit of bunting fast tc
the ropes and then there fluttered up tc
the peak Of the pole small white flag
That was prearranged signal thai
Slocum, the baseball player, the mar
who hacked his wife to death with al
axe, had died just five minutes before
, BY the time the flag was set the new,
was on dozen waiting wires.
The flag hung against the pole limpl,
for couple OF minutes and then it cam
down and was pulled inside. There wa
little hustle outside when the whit
flag went up but as soon as it was dowl
everything became quiet again. Ever
the guards who were supposed to hav
an inkling of what was going on, cease
walking, and stared up at that loni
slender white pole.
Smiler E:lectrOcuted.
70 The dcath.like silence which followe,
the hustle caused by the raising of tn
flag was oppressive. All this time not
sound had come from the prison enclo,
ure to indicate that any one was up an
about. At Sis the first rays of the su
topped the eastern bluff and brightenc
in spots the ivy of the prison house. Th
sun turned vagrant awhile and went b,
hind a mackcrel screen and then. whe
everything looked gray and gloomy
again the same half man was visibl,
A pair of hands tumbled awhile with til
y halliards and the square of white bun
ing crawled slowly up the poles. 1t wa
Sis and Smiler the Salvation army bo,
slayer of his third wife, had given life fc
life FIVE minutes before. 1t took the a
tendant five minutes to 60 to the top ,
the prison and hoist the signal. No OF
knew exactly who was inside that boar
house with the carefully screened vii
dow.
The Witnesses.
No one knew just who were the leg
Y
witnesses to the killing. but this is amin
10 perfect list: DR.. Southwick, Buffalo; d
Daniels, Buffalo; DR.. Carlos F. McDo
aid, State Board OF Lunacy, New Yorl
, DIR. Alphonzo D. Rockwell, New York; D
W Samuel b. Ward, of Albany; DR.. Fran
lin Townsend, Auburn; DR., Parker,
the local prison staff; DR.. Harambarle
.Y Prot. L. II. Landy, New York; Faith
Hogan, Rev, John b. Creeden, Dcput
!. Attorney General Hogan, E. F. Davi
U. electrician, and Chas. Durston, ward,
of Auburn prison. All of the witness
had remained in the prison all night.
was the idea of the warden to keep the
within the walls where they could not
interviewed, aud where they would ha
no chance to talk to any one.
In the interval of waiting this mornir
there were two things to talk abou
First was as to what color the next fls