The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-03

I ed the matter over and decided that the
murderer ought not to be wasted. We
would use him as an advertisement. We
held that a legal execution would be
good card for the town and would show
| the word at large that Laramie was not a
wild, lawless place, but a law-abiding
city with established courts and officials
to enforce the law properly.
1.-The murderer himself was nightly
pleased with the idea. He reished the
notoriety it would give him and immedi-
ately became the proudest man in town.
There was no Jail Laramie in those days
didn't need one, anyway. Law-breakers
never were fed at public expense. They
were lynched or given notice to get out Of
town.
Court was held in the rear room of a
grocery. A jury was sworn in and every
thing was done as nearly according to law
as possible. The prisoner was sentenced
to hang and the day of execution was
fixed fer the following Friday. 1 rais.I
an objection to this and pointed out TO
the court that l would require more time
liz order to get up a creditable newspaper
account of the affair in a special edition
which was to be sent broadcast to adver-
tise the town. So the hanging was post
poned for a week to suit the exigencies
of my printing establishment
Il went right to work on the special
boom edition--wrote up history of the
man who was murdered; gave a sketch
of the murderer; printed the judges
charge in full and gave special write-ups
to every member of the jury and to all
others who had taken part in the trial
In any way. Then 1 gave an elaborate ac-
count of the hanging itself-told how the
prisoner looked. gave his dying speech on
the gallows described the scene when the
drop fell and ended with the results of
the post-mcrtem examination.
"Only one thing really bothered mel
wanted to illustrate the affair." and there
wasn't cut of any sort within hundreds
of miles, After worrying about the mat
ter for some time l decided to do a little
wood engraving on my own account. l
took a piece of hard wook plank pIaned
it down typehigh, and with a chisel cut
out mans face, as nearly as l could
This placed in the middle of the first
page, with line under it, stating that
II was portrait of the murderer
Beyond any question that was the Cd
dest specimen of the engraver's art ever
turned out in America. The head had
more angles than a geometry ever describ-
ed, the eye was a three-cornered white
spot made with the corner of the chise
and the forehead was covered with bumps
which would have given a phrenologist
spasms.
But it went all right. The old rickety
press was slow and l had to run off the
edition ahead of time 1t was printed ana
piled away in a rear room waiting for the
appointed day to come.
"In the meantime the murderer was
about town, as usual--eXcept that he was
drlnker than ordinarily. because everyone
seemed to feel ii an honor to drink with
a man who was so soon TO be the center
of popular interest Whenever he could
walk he went strutting about town like
peacock
Two days before the hanging somebody
learned that my boom edition was print
cd and Immediately the office was besieg-
, ed by citizens who wanted TO see the pa
per. At first / refused. but soon the crowd
began to offer a bonus for the paper, and
/ found / could sell out then and realize
just as much as 1 could by waiting. so
took in the cash and let the papers go
They went like not cakes.
THE murderer himself was among the
first 10 get a copy, and although he
couldn't read he seemed greatly interest
ed in the woodcut. He came into the Of
flee 70 assure himself that there was no
mistake about il, and I told him it was
all right-the picture was his--and read
him the lire under il.
THAT night he disappeared. There was
no hanging on Friday and Laramie never
saw him again"