The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-03-25
From the New York Press.

From the New York Press.
How does it feel to be hanged2 There
~, very few men who can answer the
crssrion. Theories there are in album
5once on the subject, and the theorists
s.v that the sensation of being changed
nv the neck until dead" is far from being
q painful one.
MIR. John H. Wellington, who now lives
IN Tioga, a suburb of Philadelphia, dis
,grses with them, and says that hanging
: very painful Mr.. Wellington speaks
from experience. He was hanged in Den
yer about fifteen years ago, and to-day
baars a long, livid scar on his neck to re-
mind him of it. He keeps it covered with
a heard now, but when he raises his chin
the scar, upon which no hair will grow,
is painfully apparent. 1t begins at a
noint about midway between his right
ear and the middle of his thorax, and ex-
tends around to the hollow under his left
ear Here is where the knot was placed,
making a deeper and wider scar.
oThe little affair."" said Mr.. wellington
ton Press reporter recently, "in which |
was the chief but most unwilling partici-
papt. occurred when Denver was only a
bustling, bustling mining town. ] was a
Young man, just turned % years old, in
fact and had gone out there in search of
adven lure and my fortune. 4 relative had
died a short time before, leaving me
legacy of 81 900. 1 thought the west would
he a good place for me to increase my cap
ital. so | started out from Pittsburg,
where I then lived, with a determination
a
with the growth of western things. had
no definite plan of action, but thought |
would make one after got west. l had
heard a great deal of Denver and its op-
portunities for men with little capital
and a great deal of pluck and persever-
ance, so made for that town.
III remember well the night I struck
the town It was in the month of May,
but it seemed more like an April night.
The rain fell perpendicularly and in tor
rents, and the streets, which were the
veriest roadways, were ankle deep in
mud ! was directed by man at the
station to the Denver house, which he
said, was the best hotel in the town 1t
was not a long walk to the hostelry, but
! suppose I passed dozen gambling
houses in full blast before l reached it.
They were mostly one-story shanties,
with here and there one which aspired to
al attic.
ROUGH PLACE.
The Denver house was an odder hotel
than you ever saw, l guess, unless YOU
are older than you look, and have tray
eed in the west. 1t had two stories,
however, and seemed a little better than
the other shanties. The Office was one
end OF bar. At the tables III the bar
room sat a lot of rough-lOOking miners
playing cards. The landlord, not a bad
looking man, told me he charged So a day
for transients, lighted candle, and after
taking a drink at my invitation, con-
Quoted me up narrow pair of stairs and
to my room at the end Of a short hallway
The room was furnished with a bed, a
couple Of chairs and a washstaud. upon
which was pitcher and a bowl. was
tired, and slept we'll, even though there
was no spring mattress under me-
The next day did that which, al
though at the time did not know of its
Importance, saved my life. 1t rained
spasmodically all day long, but I went
about and saw the town. 1t did not re-
quire very long time to do that In those
days. Late in the afternoon | met man
who aCCOsted me on the street and asked
me to help him. He was the biggest man
! have ever seen outside of a dime
museum. He must have stood 6 feet 5
inches high, with big, broad shoulders
and shaggy, red beard. He said he had
walked the streets all the preceding
night and all that day, and had Just been
promised a job on a railroad about five
miles out of town, where he was to go in
the morning | gave him dollar to buy
meal, and told him to come to my hotel
and l would share my bed with him
lie turned up about 10 o'clock, and I
look him to my room without passing
through the bar. The bed was not long
enough for him, so, after laughing great
deal we placed chair at the side by the
tootboard, and he lay on the bed with his
feet covered with coat on the chair. He
arose before anybody else was astir, and,
after thanking me for my kindness, went
away.
MOB AFTER HIM.
The next day was bright and sunny,
ana l went out with the purpose of get
ting acquainted and seeing what | could
DO with what was left of my 81 900. OF
course there the only place to meet men
was the barroOms, and in them I spent a
GOOD portion of the day. | carried all my
money IN one roll, and was rather care
less IN displaying 1t, as YOU will see. l
noticed that evening that some of the
men regarded me rather sharply, but
yhOught 1t was only because | was ten
dorfOot'
i went to my room about 10 o'clock
ana got to bed. AS though that had been
SIGNAL heard a tramping OF heavy feet
on the stairs and along the hallway, and
vhen heavy knocking on my door 1
arose Just as l was and opened the door
mere stood about dozen rough miners,
all with pistols in their hands. l was so
surprised chat | could not speak One of
tuem pushed his pistol ipto my face and
Iolu me, with an oath, that they wanted
NE Ihey let me put on my trousers,
ana then babe me walk l walked you
may be sure. To my questions as to what
was the matter, got no satisfactory an
SWer- In the barroom below we found
aoouJ hfty men, all armed, who were
awaiting us. They made me hold up my
nahds while one Of them emptied my
p0eHets. In my roll of bills was one for
soO, Here it is my searcher said, as he
separated 1t from the others / said it
was mine, but they only laughed at me,
ana ordered me to shut up. | tried to
as again what was the matter. but was
! did
Then they marched me out through
!ue main street TO the end of the town,
iihfew a rope over a limb Of tree and
hAHotted one end of it about my neck
scared l was a worse scared man than
you ever saw.
60 Now sar yer prayers, some one said,
lef yer goin' to be jerked Yer hev jest
one minitp
-, u devoted that minute to asking why
icy were going to hang me, and at last