Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-09-14
Standing Under the Moose He Declares Himself Ready And Willing
Die--Hs Voice Was Firm And His Manner Composed.
Said Thai He Was
Broken And He
rl

Daniel Lucey was hanged in the yard
of the county Jail this morning and no
man in this section or probably any 9TH
er ever faced death with an equal de-
gree of comDosure. The drop fell at ex-
actly Hill O'Clock and in 1lve minutes
afterwards the heart in the dangling
body ceased to beat, the neck having
been broken by the sudden jerk. Lucey
made no confeSsion-he neither denied
nor affirmed his guilt. but just before
the moose was placed about his neck lie
delivered himself of the following:
well. Ladies and Gentlemen: Thel
only statement I have to make is that
l was convicted by the Anaconda Stand
ard through prejudice. 1 also blame the
my friends for the way they have treat
ed me while l nave been in here and /
thank the good fathers and sisters for
the wonderful things they have done for
me-"
1 forgive all and beg to be forgiven. 1
am ready and willing to die"
While Lucey was talking someone on
the outside of the yard, probably on top
of the wall, yelled shut up" but Lucey
paid no attention to it.
The execution was a clean Job. not q
hitch occurring in any part of the pro-
ceedingS. Each officer was cool and COL
lected and knew his place and the part
that had been assigned to him. The sher-
II bJuSlS Liz IooSS, lux olSIllI
Murphy drew the black cap over Lucey's
face and fastened one of the body straps,
while Deputy Sheriff van fastened an
other of the straps. The identity of the
man who cut the rope which dropped the
weight is not known, as it was intended
that the one who essayed this role should
be kept secret. =
Father De Siere, Father Harrington,
Father Battens and Father McGlynn ac-
c~ompanied Lucey on the march from his
COLL m tho o,1lN,-~ Tho tu-N fNrr,nr arN
dressed in priestly vestments and walked
at either side of the condemned man,
Father De Siere at the right and Father,
Harrington at the left. with the other
two priests bringing up the rear. 1t was:
principally due to the spiritual consola-.
ton which Lucey was given and accepted
from the reverend gentlemen and two
Sisters of Mercy that enabled him to
face death as coolly as he did. In the
march to the pace of death Lucey car
ried in his right hand a small crucifix and
the clergymen prayed. Lucey's step was
firm, but he was a trifle pale. He held
the crucifx tightly, relaxing his grasp
| upon it only after he had been jerked up.
A platform about two feet wide. two and
a half feet long and four inches high had
been prepared for him to stand upon I'M
der the moose. 1t was covered by a piece
Of mating. When he reached the
platform he hesitated and then
stepped upon it turned about and
took a hasty look at the crowd, raising
his head to an angle of about twenty de-
grees. The process of %strapping his arms
and legs was at once commenced and it
was While this work was in progress tina
he made his statement. While standing
upon the platform the priests prayed for
him and he repeated the prayers after
them. When the prayer was finished
each of the priests kissed him, the black
cap was adjusted and the trap sprung.
Lucey stood about six inches to one side
of the center of the platform and when
the weight fell his body was jerked to-
wards the west. This probably accounts
for the fact that his neck was broken.
The body shot into the air about three
feet and then zig Zagge back to the per-
pendicular. settling with the feet about
twelve inches above the platform. , Drs.
p. j. Sheeran and 7. ]. Murray kept track
Of the pulse and at the expiration of five
minutes announced that the neck had
been broken and the heart had ceased to
beat. The pulsation was quite rapid at
first, but it gradually slowed until there
was none left. When life was extinct
the body was cut down and turne over
to Undertaken Sherman for burial.
The execution was witnessed by sew
eral thousand persons, -.:y Of whom
were perched upon housetoDs, on top OF
telegraph poles, the Jail yard and in the
Jail yard was also we'll filled with resi-
dents of this and other cities. Among
the outside visitors We're Sheriff JACK
Conley of Deer Lodge county, Sherlft
Jones of Madison county, Sheriff George
T. Young of Park county and Unuef
Sheriff Morgan Of Deer Lodge county.
The county attorney n his CHIEF Dep
uty and other deputies of this county
were also present, as was also Attof-
ney Thresher, who defended Lucey IN
the last stages of the case.
1T is not customary for women to We"
an execution, but some witnessed TINS
one, which fact no doubt promoted LII
cey to address the crowd as Ladies ana
Gentlemen" The ladies' however
were not in the Jail yard. but their NOR
bid curiosity prompted them to clmn 10
the roofs of adjoining houses per
empt open windows wherever avallaple.
In the window of an adjoining mouse az
the northeast corner of the enclosure
were several ladies in a group cram
ing their necks to get a glimpse OF a man
about to be stranoied to death for muir.
der. The ostume of two or three OF
them were of jet black, denoting that
they were mourning" the death of some
relative or friend. They au.hed ana
chatted gaily while waiting for the. con
demned man to be brought forth.
Lucey's demeanor during the few hours
prior to his execution was that Of Sell
composure. He did not sleep we'll or ions
last night. Retiring after midnight ne
awakened at 4 o'clock and got 10 apou'
T:3O o'clock, two sisters called upon nm
and remained until after 10 o'clock. A
S o'clock Fathers DeSiere and Harrington