Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-08-15

A gray haired, gray bearded, pat1i-
archal and kindly looking old man at [
Little Rock, Ark, possesses the unen-
viable reputation OF having helped
more men into the great hereafter by
the hangman's moose than any other
living executioner. The unknown
manipulators of the guillotine when
RObespierre was washing his hands in |
the blue blood of France are perhaps
his only rivals in recent history His !
name is George .Naledan, and as he sat |
in his little grocery at the corner Of
Fourteenth street and Catholic avenue !
yesterday afternoon and related Incl
dents connected with the hanging Of
the lightweight men at which he had !
OBLIGATED in the past twenty-five years, |
he seemed anything but the official
court in the world. He is a Bayarian
by birth, and though he was but 81
months old when he landed in New
York in his mothers arms, he still be-
trays a faint Fatherland accent in his
deep basso voice when he speaks. He
lis 81 years old, understood, with long
full, gray beard brown, filmy eyes, a
not unSympathetic face and small
hands. He does not appear bit hard
ened, and yet the old gallOwsIbeam
down in the battered Enclosure of the
fort has been worn smooth in places
where the hangman's rope, tied by
him. has rubbed the hard wood every
time a human life has been sacrificed
to the majesty of the law.
Fort Smith has been misunderstood
by the world. 1t has the greatest
criminal court in the world has, in the
past tWenty-three years, seen more eX-
ecutions than any other place in the
world, and yet it is not Fort Smiths
fault. She is the victim of circum-
stances. 1t is the government of the
United States that has made her name
Anathenia Marinatha among the cities
OF the great west, and the government
and not Arkansas should shoulder the
blame Here is an Illustration: Sup
posing the state of Illinois to be a ter
rltory, existing under a separate sys-
tenn of government and ruled by an
other race from that in it's surround
ing states, with no court to try muir
der cases where white men and negro
nOncitiZenS and Indians charged with
numbering white men are concerned.
Then, if for the trial and punishment
of these crimes the United States gov
eminent established a court at rWau-
keSha or Michigan City, for all murder
cases from the entire state of Illinois.
it is more than likely that Waukesha
or Michigan City would be as notori-
GUS as Fort Smith as a place of exc
cution.
That is the peculiar position held by
Fort Smith. Here murdererS, except
those involving Indians exclusively.
captured in the Indian territory, are
tried, and, if convicted, hanged. In
1871 the United States court was
transferred from Van Buren, to Fort
Smith. In the twenty-fOur years from
that time to the present ninety-one
men have been hanged and George
Maledan has jerled the fatal lever in
every case except three. Of late there
have been fewer hangings than for
merly. Only two men We're executed
last year. The right of appeal to the
United States supreme court in cases
of murder in the Indian territory has
during the past two years reduced the
number of hangingS.
There are over a score of men in Jail
here now on the charge of murder
Two are under sentence of death, the
date of their taking off being fixed for
the 9th of December. They were
respited, as their cases go before the
supreme court, and life is held lightly
here. The big Cherokee, who is one
of the men to hang, was dressed in
the height of territorial fashion, ex-
pansive white shirt front, low-cut vest
and broad, black SLOUGH hat, and was
laughing and cracking jokes as he sat
playing cords on the hospital cot with
one of the Cook gang and another
murderer when l visited the prison.
OF the other prisoners, they were
mostly young men. For the greater
part they were just the opposite of
what one would expect. A good many
of them were frowsy and ill-kept; the
majority had retreating foreheads
others had cadayerouS faces with deep
set eyes and thin lips, yet the vicious,
hGmicidal element in the countenance
seemed wanting in nearly every case
The court here has jurisdiction only
over white men who commit murder,
steal horses and make moonShine
whisky in Indian territory, and over
Indians who murder white men. Of
the twenty-SiX murdererS here now
only seven are Indians or Of Indian
blood. The vast majority, three
fourths al least, of crimes against life
and property in the territory are COM
mitted by renegade whites-men
who are criminals from other states,
who came into the Indian country
'two jumps ahead of sheriff. They
carry in whisky, corrupt the Indians,
and build UP the crime terror in this
beautiful country. Out of the seven
members OF the Cook gang thus far ap-
pretended only one has Indian blood
in his veins, and only one was born in
the territory. Thurman Baldna. alias
'Skeeter" the most notorious Of the
lot. lis an Ohioan.
The government building here is a
gaudy brick structure, of composite
architectural design in red brick and