The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1893-05-16
Carlyle Harris, the Famous
Wife Prisoner, Pays the
Penalty of His Crime.
First Intelligent Murderer Who
Has Sat in the Fatal Chair
Hundreds Sur
round the Jail.

sunshine did not tighten the gloom
that hung over the Sing Sing prison
this morning. Guards moved about
with quiet tread and voices were
hushed in the presence of death. The
air of suffocation which one feels at a
funeral filled the place in spite of the
clear atmosphere of a perfect spring
day. At other eiectrocutions there
has been levity and indifference about
the prison, but the dawn of Carlyle
Harris last day was observed by
quiet due to the impression that he
was no ordinary culprit, but man
whose crime and death will be his.
tOric.
MAN OF INTELLIGENCE.
To-day for the first time was man
of higher order OF intelligence than
the average murderer to undergo the
ordeal of death by electrOcution. He
was man of education. accustomed
to the refinements OF good society,
educated, a medical student and ca
paDle of understanding to an unusual
degree what was to happen to him. In
addition to all this was the question OF
the mans guilt.
He had been given fair and i'm
partial trial and many good men had
declared him guilty.
The courts had affirmed the decis-
ION. On the other hand he asserted
his innocence and has borne himself
:as an annOcent man under the circum-
stances
His mother has proclaimed his in
DOcence with such effect that pub
lie sentiment in her sons behalf, was
raised to such an extent that nearly
forty thousand signatures petitioning
the governor for clemency, were OBJ
tanned in few days.
DEATH WARRANT NOT READ.
Contrary to the usual custom here,
the death warrant was not read by the
warden at midnight. The doomed
man had been told, however, when
the end would come. Principal keep.
er Connaughton said this morning
that Harris rested well last night.
His only sign of agitation was the con.
slant smoking of cigarettes. He was
up early this morning. He looked
over the manuscript which he had pre-.
pared to be given out to the press by
his relatives after the final scene in his
dramatic life had ended and the cur.
tain had been rung down. At s o'clock
Harris ate a light breakfast. He was
cool and collected and appeared to be
capable of going through the odeal
which awaited him. At $40 Warden
Durston arrived from the hotel where
he had breakfasted. The first witnesses
to arrive were DIR. Daniels of Buffalo.
and Col. E. A. Rockwell who reached
the prison together at 9:20 o'clock.
They were followed shortly by DIR. c
S. Grant of Saratoga; DIR. d. Kidd
of Newburg; DIR. Pine of YOnkers
and DIR. d. p. Merritt of Elmira.
HIS MOTHERS FAREWELL.
Mrs. Harris having made her final
farewell to her son on Saturday re-
manned at the Amber house, shut in
from all visitors. Her youngest son
AIKEN was with her. They arose at 4
o'clock. The flag announcing the
successful conclusion of the execution,
which was raised from the roof of
che warden's house could be seen from
the windows of the room which Mrs.
-Hrrris occupied in the Amber house
and there she and her son Allen
watched and waited with straining
eyes and subdued grief for the fatal
signal. She was apparently strong
and better able to bear her grief than
she has been for days. Her son did
what he could to comfort and console
her.
At 1915 there was long string of
carriages Ill front of the prison and
hundreds of people were scattered
along the hillside. The execution
chamber is small one-story brick
Building attached to what is called
the death house" in which only muir
derers condemned to death are con.
fined. The combined structure is en-
tirelv separate from the other build
.ings in the prison yard. The chair
stands at the west and facing east and
back of it is the switchboard where
the current is tested and the amount
regulated.
THE DEATH WARRANT.
The death warrant was formally
read to Harris at $50 o'clock. HI
showed indifference and its reading
did not noticeably effect him.
Warden Durston said Harrisshowed
ne signs of breaking down and ap