The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1891-07-08
60 to be t0p Of the prison and hoist

that board house with the carefully
screened windows. No one knew Just
all who were the legal witnesses to the
killing outside those names given last
night. In the interval OF waiting this
morning there were two things to talk
about. The first was as 10 what color
the next flag would be, and the other
was as to whether or not lawyer Haire
had succeeded in his mission. he came
TO the prison last night and showed q
paper, said to have been signed by
Judge Lacombs. No ono knew what 1t.
was or how much import it carried. 1t
was after midnight when he got an aud.
ience with the warden, and it was SAID
that heated confab followed.
WOOD DIES.
There was not much timefor specula-
tion as to result Of Haire's mission, for,
at 5:44 o'clock, black flag went up the
pole. 1t settled all argument concern
ing the negro Wood. 1t announced, ac-
cofding to previous arrangements, that
the negro was dead.
The sun, which at its first rising gave
promise OF a fair and bright day had
kept SO secluded that it looked as though
the gray dawn effect was to be a lasting
one.
The Jap, that big muscular Shibuya
Jugiro, who, in a TT of rage, stabbed to
death one OF his countrymen, was to
come next. The flag Of death for him
was red.
The watchers anxiously looked up to
the pole on the roof to see the red nag
announce to them the death OF Jugiro.
1t was long in coming. That fact saw
ored OF struggle. 1t was all over pres
entity. The law had been carried out to
the letter and the red flag went up,
The Jap died Mt G:O6 o'clock. The en-
tire time consumed in executing the
four men was an hour twenty-three and
one.half minutes.
NO MISTAKES MADE.
The mistakes OF the electrical experts
which made the execution OF Kemmler
in part failure were carefully avoided
to-day. The causes of the accidents and
delays at Auburn were known to the
warden at Sing Sing, and they had been
anticipated in the arrangements for the
execution of the four men who were to
be put to death during this week. The
tested voltage Of the dynamos had been
brought up TO 5000, while the estimated
voltage which was turned into Kemm-
ler's body was only $50, The weakness
OF the current at the Kemmler execu
ton was chargeable in part to the
slipping OF the belts on the dynamos,
and especial precautions had been taken
to avoid this to-day. The dynamo used
was a Westinghouse, counterpart Of
the machine used at Auburn, but 1t
was supplemented by smaller dynamo
intended to augment the current.
HOW IT WAS DONE.
At to-day's execution the executioner
was in small closet with an open top,
through which he could hear anything
said to him by the warden or any Of his
assistants, and the electricians were in
the execution chamber itself. Besides,
by an arrangement OF the switches, it
was made possible for the electrician
himself to turn the current in the exc
cution chair, or to turn it off in case the
executioner should become confused or
fail to respond to the warden's signals.
With these precautions it was thought
that every chance OF failure had been
provided against. The witnesses to the
execution gathered at the prison in re-
spouse to the warden's invitation half
an hour or more before the time fixed
for the electrocution to take place. The
warden had invited the full number OF
those whom the law authorized, twelve,
and all were present. Warden Brown
had declined to permit the representa-
tives OF the press associations to have
access to the execution chamber, either
as witnesses or as assistants, and it was
known several days before the execu-
ton took place that the accounts of 1t
which might be published must be OBJ.
tained from the twelve citizens who had
been invited to be present, ii they could
be persuaded to talk about it.
GETTING THE NEWS.
Extensivepreparations had beenmade
to handle what news could be obtained
as rapidly as possible. Near the place
where the temporary execution room
had been built was trestle running
above a series of lime klns. Adjoining
this was q small frame building of two
rooms. This building had been leased
by the prison people to lime company,
which sub-let it for the occasion of the
execution TO the representatives of the
press. Special wires had been strung
to it and operators had sat with their
fingers on the keys from midnight on
Sunday, waiting for the signal to send
the news that the executions had taken
place. The Western Union Telegraph
Company had put extra operators in its
office at the railroad station not far
down the track to handle the reports OF
the special correspondents,
TIE EXECUTION.
One OF the witnesses briefly tells the
story of the executions as follows:
About 4 o'clock the witnesses and Jurors
we're let into the death chamber. The
experts had previously examined every
thing and said they were satisfied that
the machinery of death would work
perfectly. At o'clock Slocum walked
into the death room accompanied by
Father Creeden. He seemed to be
making tremendous effort to keep his
composure. He had received Father
Creeden's last offices and had declared
himself ready to die. He was then
firmly strapped into the chair and the
death current applied. Death was in
stantaneous. There was n sudden con-
traction Of the nerves and then all was
over.
smiler followed next. The Rcv. Mr..
Edgerton cheered him up. Before
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