The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-02-25

waters of the creek, of their struggle
TO the surface. Of the burning cans and
the dual peril-fire and Water-tnat
threatened all hands, of their ultimate
rescue. of the scenes about the wreck
and Of the kindness OF strangers 70
them. No ether paper had malt So ao-
sorbing a story Of the wreck, and the
correspondents of all the other sheetS
were brought up with round turn oy
their managing editors for missing the
old couple. There was one point ABOUT
the story that none Of the fault-nndlnS
editors knew Of, however-there WASH
a grain of fact in the whole thing. the
old couple and their thrilling expert
ences being the creations OF Quad 5
imagination
QUAD used to be constantly on the
look out for good pegs TO hang ms
long and picturesque Geographic nc
/ ton on. and on one occasion ne got all
ready t, write a corking account Of an
expected execution in Canada, not far
from Detroit. He didn't propose 10 see
the execution, his intention beng 10
supply the details from his own fertile
imagination.
But working through the Free Press,
7 managed to have the proposed VIC
tim of the law reprieved, and so he
wasn't executed. The day after the re-
prieve. Quad said TO me, almost with
tears in his eyes. that 1 had played
him a low down trick. Then ne asked
me a lot about the layout of the jail
i'm which the condemned was impris-
oned.
Jollying a Disgruntled Sheriff.
q gave him the information and
day or two later the New York paper
he wrote for printed the most eXtraor-
binary special it had had from quad
for a whole year. In brief, ii told now
the condemned murderer, on the night
before the day set for the hanging, had
Opened his cell door in his sleep and
walked to the end Of the corridor with
measured step.
There he had gone through the mo-
tions of mounting fight of steps, had
bent his head as if to receive the death
cap and afterward the moose, and then
had Jumped into the air, strangled, as
if actually hanged, afterward falling
down apparently lifeless.
"All this was witnessed, the dispatch
said. by a Jail attendant who was rem
dered sDeechless with horror by what
he saw. The special continued with the
statement that the man believed him
self dead on regaining consciousness
and for a long time would not be con-
WINGED otherwise. At the Wind-up II was
stated that d broad black mark was
found round his neck. as if he had ac-
tuaIly been hanged. when he was taken
back to his cell. Scientists may scof
as they will ran the concluding SEN
tence but this is a fact and 1t IS eX-
citing much comment mere
THE story attracted no end Of no
tice. not only among the people at
large. but also among those who
Thought themselves thinkers. One, a
professor in Yale college, wrote elab-
orately to show how it was quite
within the scientific possibilities that
the mans belief in his own execution
could actually cause black mark
around his neck OF course. all the
other papers were ScOOped and all the
other correspondents were severely be-
rated by their employers. Moreover, the
sheriff in charge was severely reprl-
mandsd by the Canadian minister OF
Justice for allowing the cell door TO be
left unlocked. Had Quad told me why
he was asking about the lay of the jail,
I'd have told him that the cell doors
were always locked and that no con-
1emned murderer could get out into
the corridor at night.
The sheriff asked me to help him dis
prove the story and I took him to Quad
for advice, without explaining that he
was the correspondent. quad gravely
read the account he himself had writ
ten and the letter from the minister Of
justice.
It's all a frightful shame. ne cried,
with tears in his voice, and I don't
wonder you want denial printed. But
really you shouldn't have any thing
done You are a man of some dignity
the highest official in your county. and
you can't afford to pay any attention
to a low down, ScOundrelly scribbler
like the fellow who did this. 1t would