Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-07-07
THE DEATH VIGIL.
investment of Sing Sing Prison
by Reporters.
OFFICIALS REFUSE TO CAPITULATE,

And are as Silent as TO the Time of Execu-
ton as the Walls Themselves-Tab
Kept on Every Movement by the Vigil
lent Press Men-AH the Witnesses TO
the Tragedy on Hand-Also Woods At
torney With a New Legal Objeetion-A
CIPHER Telegram Received,
SING SING, \. Y, July 1T was
weary vigil the reporters outside che pris-
on here KEEP all day yesterday and last
night, and they racked their brains put
ting this and that together in order to tel
egraph an accurate story to their papers,
in spite of the fact that they knew abso-
lutely nothing of what was going on in
the prison, and the officials positively re-
fused to give out any information, except
a little as to how the condemned men ate,
slept and bore themselves. The latter
knew as little as the reporters as to when
they would be called upon to meet the
penalty of their crimes. In fact Warden
Brown gave one thing out last night, and
that was that there was not a living soul
knew when the execution would take place
except himself.
Reporters Must Be Kept Away.
The warden arrived home yesterday
about S a. H., and was Immediately be-
sieged by the reporters, but he was equal
to the attack. The first thing he did was
to issue an order to the guard to keep
every one away from the Office and the
walk in from of it, "Bve.got to keep You
people away now" he said. "Tue treated
you as cordially as l knew how, and given
you every facility possible but today 1
must have my house TO myself. have a
big job ahead of me and l must have a
! chance to res. If have anything official
"a stay or anything like that will come
out and give It to you"
How They Keep Their Watch.
The newspaper men, those detailed to
| that duty, sat around on the grass outside
of the dead line" all day. When any one
was seen approaching the prison gate there
was rush, and he was surrounded and
pumped; but the pumps wouldn't draw
each visitor had been forewarned to say
| nothing, and ne obeyed his instructions to
the letter. Among the arrivals toward
the close of the day were Drs. ). b. Ward,
| F. B. Townsend. OF Albany, and also Drs.
| Daniels and Southwick, of Buffalo, who
were suppose to. be on the jury which Will
watch the execution.
The View Through a Window.
When the prison guard was changed at 6
O'Clock last evening the prison wore a
| very business like appearance. The armed
guard patrolled the front of the prison
grounds, and kept. all travellers in the
roadway where they were. In the prison
| Office and the warden's Office and private
| parlor could be seen the witnesses who had
| arrived during the day and had taken up
! their quarters with the warden. The war
| denis family had gone to Newburgh and
| left the house to the disposal of the wit
nesses, and they made themselves very
much at home there. At $40 p. ~, Father
| Creeden and MS assistant, who have been
preparing Smiley and Siocum for death,
went into the prison dressed in priestly
| garb. At 10 D. M. all the witnesses had
arrived.
| The Warden Talks a Little.
| One thing the reporters have been watch
| ing for the arrival of was the death war
4 rant. Every man who has reached here
! for the past twenty-four hours has been
! questioned on hat point. And he follow
| ing talk with Warden Brown at midnighS
shows how closely all the secrets of the eX-
ecution have been kept. Said he: The
| death warrants came here at the time the
| men were last re-sentence6-let me see
| that was June . Think. l have had them
in my safe ever since The warden said
! that most of tire witnesses we've asleep.
@They are like you,' he said. They would
| like TO know VIXEN this thing is Soing to
take place; buU they do not know any
more about it than you do. There is no
one knows when it is going go occur but
me-"
EAREAS CORplIS EOR wOOD