, 1892-01-21

Of whom seventeen are charged with muir
der or manslaughter. The officers of the
court are able, vigilant and summary in
melting out to the malefactor the full pen
atty adjudged him by "a jury Of his peers"
Hence there have been hangings and
htngings at Fort Smith, until the place
IS become notorious for the number Of
them.
For the last twenty years one person has
been the hangmnn, and it is his boast that
in this grim business he has never made n
mistake. In every instance "the party Of
the first part" has gone off on schedule
time, with neatness and dispatch"
George Maledon, the eNecutioner, is a
we built, well preserved fellow of about
the ave.sge height and weight. lie was
born in Bavaria in 1880, and is therefore
siXty-one years of age. He came to Amer
lea with his parents when only six months
old, landing in New York. Shortly after
ward the family settled in Detroit, where
George was reared and educated, and
where he resided until about 1859, when he
removed to Fort Smith, and that place has
been his home ever since.
He is an engineer and machinist by trade,
and followed that calling up to the time
he became a public hangman. When the
court was moved from Van Buren, to Fort
Smith he was deputy sheriff of Sebastian
county under Sheriff Thomas ii. Scott, and
all accounts agree hat he made IA most eX-
c~ellent, Trustworthy and intrepid peace
officer. That was about twenty years ago.
Soon afterward he was appointed by the
United States marshal to the position Of
executioner, and has held the place ever
since during the incumbency OF Judges
Story, Caldwell and Parker, the last named
being the present judge.
In the twenty years named there have
been seventy-four executions by hanging
of condemned murderers at Fort Smith.
John Childers was the first and Booth
Champion the last to suffer the extreme
penalty of the law at Maledon's hands.
The ~gallows, constructed Upon scientific
principles and unde the direction of Male
don himself, stands within a frame in
closure near the Jail and is never taken
down. The drop is a double %trapdoor,
opening downward from the center when
sprung. The fall is great, much greater
than is usual in such appliances, and to
this and the perfect working OF all the
parts tile executioner attributes the uni
form success of his work. A new hemp
necktie is furnished for each victim, and
in every case at which Maledon has ofici-
ated the neck has been broken by the fall.
He has hanged men upon this gallows
singly, by twos, threes, tours, fives and
siXes-the last given number on two differ
ent occasions. The first six disposed Of were
a mixed lot of whites and Indians. The
last six were all full blooded Indians.
There is nothing OF the traditional Jack
Ketch appearance about Maledon which
made it difficult for the spectators of an
execution in England in "ye olden time" to
determine which looked the more hardened
wretch of the two, the hangman or the man
to be hanged. He has a clear, black and
not sinister looking eye, n rather pleasant,
good natIred face, but one in which the
lines denoting firmness are clearly and
strongly drawn. Heis, moreover, a man of
intelligence and an interesting converse
ZIONIST, being educated in both the Eng
lish and German tongues. He is not dis
posed to look with favor upon the punish
ment of condemned men by electrocution,
as practiced at the present time in the
state of New York, believing death by hang
ing, when skillfully done, to be the more
humane method.
Maledon has an honorable record as a sol
der in the Union army during the war,
serving in the First Arkansas battery. He
lsA member in good standing of the Thomas
Williams post, No. 2, G.. A. r., at Fort
Smith. He has been twice married and IL
the father of twelve children. Those born
OF the first marriage-eight in number
are all grown. Some of them are married
and filling important positions in life. The
hrst vile died a number of years ago. His
children by the second marriage are four
bright and interesting boys. He has "A pleas
ant hour in Fart Smith and is known lar
and wide