The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1895-02-28

,r.a,L azure you and ali my Fellow citi-
zens that 1 am taneeens .: The crime
charged against mel''
wished to say more, but could not, and
turning my head toward the iailsr, WHO
was waiting, murmured Proceed felt
him binding my knees and ankles, and then
Tfelt white muslin cap drawn over my
eyes Through its folds could distinguish
the opposite window by the strong light
that percoated through from that direc-
tion. Then the dry, hard surface Of the
rope clasped me round the neck, while a
pressure behind told me where the knot was
placed. moved my head slightly, as some
stray threads of the moose tickled my lately
shaven throat. said hoarsely to the
jailer: "The moose is too loose. For the
sake Of our common humanity do not have
me stranglel' I dreaded strkngulation
worse than death. His fingers pressed
against me second as ne examined it. /
then heard him take two steps and knew
by the rebound Of the drop as twas relieved
of its weight that l stood there alone I
set my teeth, pressed my lips together and
closed my eyes. In the next breath found
myself falling. Then came a jerk that
seemed to force my tongue from my mouth,
my eyeballs from their sockets, and my
blood from every pore in my face The
agoDyi Oh, the agonyi 1 knew in that
dread moment that the moose had slipped,
for the knot was pressing against the back
of my head with force that / expected
every instant would cause 1t to break
through the skull. Yes, the worst had
come. was to stranglel My lungs strug-
gled and beat against my chest. The base
of my tongue seemed like an iron wall stop
n.
II at any moment the rope would cut it in
twain, and fervently wished that 1t might.
The roaring Of the blood vessels in my ears
sounded as if a hundred cannon were being
discharged at every second, and throughout
my body knives appeared to be tearing the
flesh from the bones. Then came cry; it
was the cry of human voices that rose
higher even than the roaring in my ears. I
felt myself falling again. Then there was
n terrific crash, and the blackness of night
followed. ..4
When 1 recovered, five doctors were bend
ing over me with anxious but determined
faces. heard the ticking of an electric
battery. l saw my swollen and distorted
features in tiny mirror that young ply
stefan was holding near my lips to satisfy
himself that ] breathed, and whios he re-
moved with a triumphant cry on my open
ing my eyes.
Then the big sheriff leaned. over me as
gently as a mother would lean over her new
born babe as he said;
"Thank God. my poor fellow, you are
saved The man who killed her for whose
murder you were sentenced was captured
for another crime in Arkansas an hour ago
and has confessed to this, giving substan-
tial proofs. He is dying from wounds he
received In resisting arrest and wished to
make clean breast of everything. The
telegram from our governor reprieving you
reached the Jail just as the drop fell A
bailif rushed to me shouting its contents
as he ran. We cut the rope with single
blow of Ratchet. Your right arm and col
lar bone are broken from the fall, but,
heaven be praised, your neck is still intactp
We're V. Hunt in Chicago Times.