El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-12-10

| der First Sne mlnlStereQ TO the man
who had deliberately taken the lives
of his comrades. Nelson refused to
touch the prisoner, because he said he
could not trust himself in the murder
| er's presence. 1t was a difficult task
to wash the blood away from the mans
head and to feed him as he lay, bound,
and when this duty had been perform
ed she still had much to do in finish
| ing her husbands labor of removing
the blood stains from the walls and
floors and furniture.
1t was not until the sun had set on
the day of horror that the woman gave
up to her feelings. Then she cried,
and the night brought her no rest. for
she and her husband were confronted
with the question of what to do with
their prisoner. This problem harassed
them for a fortnight. Every day Mr..
and Mrs. Nelson took turns guarding
the prisoner. ;. 18th the mans own
shotgun leve1ed at his head, they sat
and watched him as he lay, bound
hand and foot. For an hour each
morning they led him out of doors for
a little exercise. and then both did
guard duty. One day DENIM confess
ed that he had meant to kill the whole
party and then take all the gold that
had been found. He had planned how
he would tell the story that Indians
had murdered his partners. 1t was
Mrs. Nelson's quick action that had
surprised him and saved her life and
that of her husband.
i For ten days the Nelson's waited in
the hope that a steamer would put in
at the little harbor. Once a vessel
headed their way, and then changed
it's course. Several Siwash Indians APP
peared at the camp. but when they
WI
fed in terror. Both Nelson and his
wife began to succumb to the nervous
strain as the days passed and it be-
came probable that they would have
to spend the winter in camp. The
prisoner suffered intensely from his
confinement. and he begged to be
either killed or set at liberty. Often
he pleaded earnestly to be allowed to
go into the wilds to spend the re-
mainder of his life. and it became nee
essary to dispose of him in some way.
1t was then that Mr.. and Mrs. Nelson
decided to give him a trial.
Standing before Dennin's bunk, they
solemnly administered the oath and
put him on the witness stand by brac-
ing him up in bed. In response to the
questions put to him by Mrs. Nelson
he made a full confession. This was
carefully written out, and then he was
asked TO sign it. With his fate to be
decided by the two who had been his
friends and companions in the early
days of their prospecting trip, the pris-
for half an hour. With the shotgun
still pointed at Dennin's head. Mrs.
Nelson sat near the bunk and whis-
pered to her husband. Then she stood
before the wretched man and said:
I'VE have foun dyou guilty of muir
der in the first degree, and We declare
that your sentence shall be death. You
will be hanged by the neck until you
are dead. The execution will take place
place on Friday"
1t was Wednesday when the trial
was held and for two days Mrs. Nelson
devoted herself to preparing the pris-
oner for the end. She read the bible
to him. wrote letters OF farewell! to his
relatives. and talked with him. At
first he seemed unreconciled but when
the day of his execution arrived he
appeared quite calm and self-possessed,
He said goodbye to his eNecutioners,
and when his feet were unbound he
walked firmly to the solitary tree near
the cabin where barrel had been
placed to do service as a scaffold.
Nelson preceded him and Mrs. Nelson
followed with the shotgun.
1t was a solemn moment as the con-
demned man stood looking at the sky
for the last time. He shook hands
with both his executioners. and then
Mrs. Nelson tied a handkerchief over
his eyes. Nelson helped him to step
upon the barrel. Mrs. Nelson said a
little prayer and read a chapter from
the bible. Her husband frightened the
rope and pushed away the barrel. In
a few moments Michael DENIM had
paid the penalty of his crime.
For six months after the execution
Mr.. and Mrs Nelson were unable to
get away from Latura bay. When
they again returned to civilization,
taking with them Dennin's confession,
the United States court, before which.
the murderer's case was laid, decided
that the hanging was judicial act
EXcange-