The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1899-10-25
4 WALKING GALLOWs
LIEUT.. HEPENSTALl WHO HUNG MEN
FROM HIS OWN NECK.

This Notorious Individual Was an
Apothecary in Dublin-A Man OF
Splendid Physique, Six Feet and
Two Inches TaIl-Died in 1904.
Among the examples and records Of
British tyranny during the terrible
year Of 1898 there is none more extraor-
dinary, according to a writer IN an
English magazine, than that OF Lieut..
Edward Hepenstall, known by the
nickname Of "The Walking GalloWs,"
for such he certainly was, literally
and practically.
This notorious individual, who had
been brought up as an apothecary IN
Dublin, obtained a commission in the
Wicklow militia, in which he attained
the rank Of lieutenant in 1895. He was
a man Of splendid physique, about six
feet two inches in height and strong
and broad in proportion. Referring to
this handsome but brutal giant, Sir
John harrington, in his Memoirs
states:
II know him well, and from his coun-
tenaHce should never have suspected
him Of cruelty, but so cold-blooded and
eccentric an eXecutioner Of the human
race never yet existed"
AT the outbreak Of the sanguinary
rebellion, when the common law was
suspended and the stern martial variety
fourished in its stead, Lieut.. Hepen-
stall hit upon the e1pedlent Of hang
ing on his own back persons whose
physiognomies he considered character
istic Of seditious tenets. At the pres
ent day the story seems most incredi-
bic, but it is notorious fact, revealed
when rebels either suspected or caught
red-handed, were brought him, Hepen-
stall would order the cord Of a drum
to be taken off, and then rigging up
running moose, would proceed to hang
each in turn across his athletic shoul-
ders until the victim had been slowly
strangled to death, after which he
would throw down his load and take up
another
The walking Gallows" was clearly
both a new and simple plan and q
mode Of execution not nearly so te-
dious or painful as Tyburn or Old
Bailey hanging. It answered his ma
jesty's service as well as two posts and
croWbar. When q rope was not at
hand, Hepenstall's own silk cra7at. be-
ing softer than an ordinary halter, be-
came merciful substitute.
In pursuance Of these benevolent in
tentions, the lieutenant would frequent
ly administer an anesthetic to his
trembling yictim-in other words, he
would first knock him silly with a
blow. His garters then did the duty
as handouts, and the craTat would be
slipped over the condemned mans
neck.
Whenever ne had an unusually pow
seFful victim to do with Hepenstall took
a pride IN showing his own strength.
With dexterous 1unge Of mis- body the
lieutenant used to draw up the poor
devils head as high as his own, and
then, when both were cheek to cheek
by jowl, begin to trot about with his
burden like a jolting cart horse, until
the rebel had no further solicitude
about sublunary affairs. It was after
one Of these trotting executions, which
had taken place in the barrack yard
adjoining Stephens Green, that Hepen-
Sid1l dCQu4IeU luG ouIudNo VI l0o
Walking GalloWs." He was invested
with it by the gallery Of Crow Street
theater, Dublin.
At the trial Of rebel in that city
the lieutenant, undergoing cross-exam-
ination, admitted all the aforementioned
details Of his method OF hanging, and
Lord Norbury, the presiding judge,
warmly complimented him on his 10y
atty and assured him that he had been
guilty Of no act which was not natural
to a jealous, loyal and efficient officer.
Lieut.. Hepenstall, however, did not
long survive his hideous practice. He
died in 1904. Owing to the odium in
which he was universally held, the au-
thorities arranged that his funeral
should take place secretly, while Dub
lin wit suggested that his tombstone
would be suitably inscribed by the fol-
lowing epitath:
Here lie the bones Of Hepenstall,
Judge, jury, gallows, rope and all.
Baltimore Sun.