San Saba County news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1874-19??, 1893-02-10
OF HORRORS,
Henry Smiths Execution Tc'ius.s TIA Las.
lays Of the Roman Fnp:'e.
ABSOLUTELY rUsNEo 10 A cEIsP.
Vengeance is Sweet, and the Poo-
pie We're Frenzied aud
UnconIro!labie

PARIS. Tex. Feb. 2-Henry Smith
the negro VINO ravished and murdered
Myrtle Vance the j-year-oiG daughter
of Henry Vance Of this city last
Thursday night mas expiated mis-
terrible crime. His was perhaps the
most horrible death ever inflicted
upon a human being. Those who
witnessed it viii never forget the
! scene in all lie indescrioaOle horrors.
No language can correctly describe
Inc fearful retrioution visited upon
the monster VINO committed a crime
IEat has no parallel in history. At
Iexar6a1a fully 1000 men were at the
depot and cheered the Paris people
loudly special ear was placed at
Inc disposal OF the Paris people who
took charge OF the negro and brought
him 10 this place. arriving
here 1T 0 clock Yesterday afternoon.
smith seemed indifferent ABOUT his
tate at first ana could not be brougnt
ie understand the. fearful vengeance,to
be wreaked uDon him He was tod by
passengers that his death was newt
able; that he must die by the mos
cruel i.anner human ingenuity could
devise. lie weakened and begged the
officers TO save him. When the train
pulled up AT TIE Texas and Pacific
depot from Is 900 10 20, 900 people
we're there TO take caarge OF him ana
every preparation had been made 10
receive him. Hon. H. B. Birming-
ham made speech telling the peo-
pie that the prisoner had confessed;
that they had brought him there as
citizens and not as officers and that
they should lake chn-ge OF the pris-
oner as citizens, ana whatever they
old let it De in iaw-aoiding. peace
able ard patriotic manner smith
was tsken 10 the public square where
seatiold had been prepared.
When stripped 10 the waist Henry
Vance, the father CT Smiths victim.
ms son and two uncles OF the child
gathered around him. They then be-
gan to thrust red not irons under his
feet. Every contortion OF mis- body
ana every groan mat escaped his iiDs
brought iortn shouts OF approval
Nainly ne begged for mercy. Nainly
he protested that he did not knew
that it was Nanee's child as the red
not irons burned into his flesh deeper
and deeper ana ne uttered terrible
cries: cries that told OF untold suffer-
ing. Finally the irons were rolled NJ
and down his stomach back
and arms. Inc crowd eazed
on the terrible scene with
horrible fascination. as the slow
process OF torture proceeded. Inc
climax was reached when the irons
were thrust into his eyes. burning the
balls away. Inen they were thrust
into his throat and still he lived and
writhec and suffered. When the reia-
tives mad giutted their vengeance
great mass OF combustiole material
was placed under the scafiold oil was
poured over Smith. the platform and
the fuel and the match applied.
For a time ne was enyeioped
10 a dense volume OF smoke.
=--Li- -s.aSsa6-E-zEss aud -rhe-
flames snot upward Smith was seen
amid the ire, swaying back and forth.
IN little while be became still and
ali thought him dead. The fire
burned the ropes that bound him and
ne fell upon the burning platform
Then ne began to toss and roll ABOUT
as the flames rolled and Missed around
MIN 1t seemed impossible that any
thing could have lived for a moment
In what was almost a furnace His :
pants we're burned entirely away and !
the flesh on his body seemed cooked
to a crisp and MS feet and hands
were burned to a coal After a
lapse OF ten minutes to the surprise I
of all with q desperate struggle he /
pulled himself uD oy the railing OF /
the burning scaffold, stood up erect
passed his hands over his face and
then jumped of the scaffold and roll
ed out OF the fire below Men on the /
ground thrust him into the burning
mass Again ne rolled out and was
again thrust in. TO roll out again. a /
rope was lied around his neck and .,e
was dragged in and held until life was
finally extinct and the process OF
burning went on until his body was
literally cremated. The reward OF /
1900 offered by the city for the cap
.ure Of Smith will be paid