St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-10-19

sleep with the rope around his neck? l
feel it now as plainly as l will feel 1t
when it is there. l have felt it for
week, and as the time draws nearer 1t
clutches tighter. Sometimes l almost
choke; l actually cannot get my breath.
If l go to sleep tor minute l wake
with start, and more than once l have
toru my shirt collar trying 10 break that
rope loose from around my neck. Some
times L dream that ii is all over, and
That am Dead,
but that horrible rope still clings around
my neck. Then again, when l am
awake, try to convince myself that it
is only a dream, that the whole thing is
a dream and none of 1t ever happened,
and sometimes have kept up this fancy
for an hour at time, till l almost be-
lieved it, but it all comes back. There
is no dream about this Striking the iron
framework of the celD. and yet l hardly
feel that it is all real. Here
l am we'll and strong, stronger
than you are, and yet while you
are eating your breakfast tomorro W
morning l will be in coffin dead. To
die is not so bad, but knowing when
you are going to die is the horror of it.
If they only hadn't told US anything
about It; if they had just gone ahead
and told the sheriff to kill US, and IL he
had come in and said, Come on, boys,
and he hanged without all this prepa-
ration and suspense. it would have been
better. Am resigned? What do you
mean by that? Do you mean am l will
ing to die? No, am not. l would
rather live in the worst prison all my
lite; l would rather live on bread and
water and stand all manner of punish
ment. for as long as you do not know
that you have to die there is always
possibility that something may happen.
II you mean can l stand it, why. yes. of
they call
Break Down,
because have made up my mind that
it must happen, and l will get through
with it some way OF other. think
will try TO imagine that it is all a dream,
and that just before it happens | will
wake up and it will be all
right. l think that is the only
way any of those fellows ever
died game as they call it. Did you
ever see anything of this sort before.
and was it SO 1very horribIe?' he asked.
eyeing the reporter keenly. Thinking
to comfort the poor fellow, the reporter
related the details of half dOzen exc
cutions which he had witnessed with
th in nf
which the victim had died an easy and
quick death.
II think you are lying to me-" said
the doomed man. gravely looking into
the face of the truthful reporter, "but
you mean all right. You want to make
it easier for me-" he continued, ''but
you needn't. know about how it will
be. If it happens to break your neck
you're all right, and it won't hurt, bu t
| if it don't you simply choke to death,
| and l know how that is. Many time
l have tried it in my cell just to see how
it would be. l would grasp my throat
| with my hand and
Shut Off My Wind
just as long as could stand it, and the
/ feeling is terrible. hope it won't be
| that way"
| Rev. Niclaus Bolt the young clergy
man who has been such friend to the
! boys, was constantly with them, and
/ several times engaged them in earnest
conversation, often getting them
into quiet and subdued mood.
but they would soon be up
again and joining Mr.. Jones
and Miss Akers in hymn. Mr.. Bolt
thinks the boys, especially Wonigkeit,
are really penitent, and the good little
gentleman seemed to suffer fully as
acutely as the murderers the fate thai
was impending. He has we'll modu-
lated, musical voice. which seemed tt
have a great charm for the boys, anG
when he would put his arm about one
of them in a careSSing sort of way il
seemed to soothe and comfort them
greatly.
About midnight the reporter had an
other chance for short interview with
Ermisch. and asked him how he would
feel if he should get reprieve. His
eyes lit up for just an instant, and his
face flushed at the thought, but it was
only momentary, for he replied, "Oh