The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1892-10-12
THE HANGING OF ANNA TREBLE
For the Murder OF Her Infant-The Woman
Forced Upon the Gallows.


Forced Upon the Gallows.
II is horrible to witness, much less
contemplate, the forcing Of a human
being upon the gallows. Such was the
spectacle that presented itself at the Jal!
in Newberry between the legal hours OF
10 a, N. and ? o. m, on last Friday. IL
was foregone conclusion from her ac-
tions the previous day aud night that
Anna Tribble would never walk quietly
to her death. Throwing herself upon
the floor of her cell, wildly clutcnlpg at
the invisible, alternately mourning, ID
her deep despair and shrieking IN her
semi-insapity: "You done me wrong,
YOU done me wrong" the unfortunate
condemned murderess spent the
wretched hours preceding her awful
doom. Her rawlings and pleadlngs were
pitiful to the hardest heart. 1t was
irving ordeal to the humane She1itt and
his assistants, who were necessarily
compelled to be little rough occasl'n-
ally in using their strength to force ner
to submit. Sheriff Riser was partlcu,
iarly gentle in his efforts, and delayed
the execution as long as possible for the
sake of the woman, feeling bis great re-
sporsibility and sharing her suspense
ard anxiety. But the crime had been
the verdict rendered, the
sentence passed, the last resource resort,
ed TO and the hour reached that declded
the finality of Anna Tribble's mortal
;tv and the woman must die-must
hang by the neck until she De dead ne-
vond resuscitation, God alone noio!ns
The power to have mercy. Slowly being
led from the cell, after four or i've Wo-
men had taken several hours to dress
her, she was seated in the passage-W&y,
when a short service was conducted oy
her spiritual adviser and the death war
rant read by the Sheriff. She was then
led to the gallows. Great difficulty was
had in tying her hands and feet. lhe
scenes of the night aud morning were
re-enacted; in fact had never ended.
Standing on the verge OF the Trap,
whose spring wss 80 soon and suddenly
IN hurl her into the eternity she
dreaded, she utterly refused to move
step. In being pushed she tripped over
one O fthe pulleys and fell across the trap
door and one of the men who held her
partially fell with her. 1t seemed Ike
q death struggle. She snatched at her
dress and tore it, and graoblpg the
black CAP in her hand, clenched ana
held it with such superhuman strength
that Deputy Chalmers had to STRAIN
every muscle to- get IL loose. one
stooped almost to the 'f1oor When tne
cap was attempted to be placed over
her head, and fought it of. Realizing
her terrible position, she struggled Win
the desperation of frenzy to keep Aer
wrists from be;ug pinioned behind her,
and exerted all her physical power TO
prevent them from adjusting the moose
around her neck. Some say she was IN
sane. 1t was the insanity of black horror.
Insane to the extentthat no NOR
tai mind could be wholly SOUND whose
tension had been strung to the highest
pitch with the thoughts of that inn
bending fate. She spoke nationally in
the short intervals of her pleadlngss,
speaking to Sheriff Riser, Deputy Chal-
nlers and DR.. Houseal, calling each by
name. Itwas rational mind excited by
the Grim monster of a CHASTITY death star
inr 6erin the face, and the certaintythat
she was about to be dashed into her
uncertain and endless future. Tremb-
ling on the brink and feeling the hang
mans knot at her throat, she stlu
begged for another moment OF time.
It was an exciting moment; the
hands of the watches were rapidly
nearing the fatal hour of two; only
few minutes more; Rev. F. r. Wallace
again offered prayer; the desperate
woman still hoped against hope and
fought against fate; the men were ner,
vously trying to pin her torn dress ana
keep her still for the last time, while
the spectators within aud the crowd
without surged to get a closer view of
a human then to be jerked into eternity
as if they expected to see the very soul
of the woman as it took its affrightened
flight from the swinging body OF the
dead.
And while begging and pleading, her
theughts-which could never be mag
ined by man or woman out Of that con-
dition-were cut off in the twinkling OF
an eve; the body was suspended under
the opening, and the immortal spirit OF
Anna Trib6le passed out into the val
ley Of the shadow of death.
Sheriff Riser pulled the trigger at
Isl and the woman was dead IN Two
and a. half minutes. Drs. Houseal q
Kibler pronounced her death painless.
The execution was neat, notWlthsta nd
ing the efforts of the woman to prevent
the proper arrangements, and twisting
the knot herself at the last minute.
The BODY was cut down after hang
ing sixteen minutes.
The public is familiar with the crime
of the woman and the history OF her
trial: how she was convicted of secret
ing and deserting on the 23d Of last
February her illegitimate off -pring
which had only that day been born;
how she was sentenced by Judge James
Aldrich at the July Term Of Court to
be hanged on the 9th Of last September
hut was respited until the 7th of Octo-
her. and how the Governor was un-
successfully petitioned to commute the
sentence.
The gallows was built by Mr.. w. 81.
Harris and was neat job. 1t consisted
of a trap door cut in the third floor of
the iail building worked by pulleys
with weights attached, Mr.. Harris
taking great pains that everything
should be arranged with a view to an
easy death for the prisoner.
There may yet be another banging
of a woman also-in Newberry on the
same gallows. Amanda Workman,
colored, convicted of the murder of
Nora Simpson, also colored, on the 18th
of November last, occnoies the cell
from which Anna Tril BILE was taken
on Friday. She was committed to
iail OH the 18th of December for killing
the Simpson woman with pistol; was
convicted of murder at the July term
of court and sentenced by Judge James
Aldrich to be hanged on the 9th of Sep
tember last, the same date Of the first
sentence of the woman who has paid
the penalty. Her attorneys, Messrs.
Blease & Blease, appealed to the Su-
preme Court for new trial, which is
now pending and consequently sus-
pending the execution.
Amanda occupied the cell jointly
with the condemned woman and was
cooler than the women who dressed the
victim of the gallows, herself assisting
in the preparations and also in placing
M