Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-10-31
mumbled: II am awfully sorry / could
not see my father. ="
THE DEATH SCENE

tue last statement when the strnppjpp
was completed and the guards stepped
back. Warden Mead raised his hand,
and at 2. IL. 80 o'clock Electrician Davis
turned the switch that brought |, ZOO
volts Of electricity into the living body.
The rush OF the current threw the body
SO hard against the straps that they
oreaked perceptibly. This hands olinohed
suddenly, and the whole attitude was
one OF extreme tensenesa. For 40
seconds the full current was kept on,
and then slowly the electrician threw
the switch back, reducing the current
volt by volt until it was cut of en-
tirely. Then, just as It had reached
that point, he threw the lever back
again for two or three seconds. The
body, which had collapsed as the cur
rent as reduced, sritfened up again
against the straps When 1T was turned
off again, DIR. Macdonald stepped to
the chair, and put his hand over the
heart. He said he felt no pulsation,
hut suggeste1 that the current he
| turned on for few seconds again.
Once more this body became rigid, At
10 O'CLOCK the current was turned off
| for good.
| From the time Ozolgosz had left his
cell until the full penalty was paid less
than four minutes had elapsed. The
physicians used the stethesooEe aud
other tests to determine If any lite re.
manned, and at Z. II o'clock the warden
raising his, hand and announced /:
Gentlemen, the prisoner s dead. -
The witnesses filed from the chamber,
many of them vIsibly affected, and the
body was taken from the chair and laid
on the operating table
When the body OF Czulgosz had been
removed from the room where he was
killed to the autopsy table, Auburn
Prison returned to the routine of its
ordinary life The prisoners, who had
been kept locked in their cells were
released at 7.45 O'Clock. and prison work
was resumed at once. There was no ex-
citelnent among the oonvicts. Scarcely
100 people had gathered outside the
prison gate to watch the witnesses enter
and wait until they reappeared The
witnesses dispersed quickly, some OF
them leaving for their homes as early
as . o'clook.
Prison Superintendent Collins made
the following statement to The Associ.
ated Press:
just consider that within about six
weeks from the death of his distin-
guished victim Czolgosz was regularly
tried, convicted, sentenced and executed.
and this despite the fact that the law
compelled us to give him fnur weeks
to prepare for death. All has been done
in dignitied way, and the greatest
credit ia due to Warden Mead for the
care he has taken to strip the case OF
sensationaliHm. The execution was one
OF the mcHt successful ever conducted in
this state. Extraordinary care had to
De taken IN the case, because beth the
warden and received hundreds of
threatening letters, many of them assert.
ing IN violent and intempernte language
that the prisoner would never be nut Ia
the chair. l have decided for the Vi es-
ent that We will not destroy any of tbs
hundreds Of letters written to Czolposz,
the warden and myself as to the case
Eventually they will be DESTROYED. but
it has struck me that perhaps we should
make list of them, especially of those
letters signed with full and proper
names in which coincidence was offered
to the prisoner or threats were made
against us. My plan IS to get the ad-
dresses of these people, and keep the
list for police reference. | be ieye that
there may come q time when such a
list would be valuable in running down
anarchists. ] have de,ided to bury tbs
body of Czolgosz in the regular prison
PLOT in the local cemetery. The funeral
will take place some time within the
next As hours We will keep the grave
guarded day and night until such time
as the quick Lime which will be placed
around the body shall have entirely de.
stroyed it. -
The Rev Cordsllo Herrick, chaplain
of the prison, was in the death chamber
ready for any call that might be made
for hi5 services lie was not wanted hy
the prisoner, however, and sat quietly
in the rear of the chamber throughout
the execution.
The clothing and personal effects
Of the prisoner we're burned under
direction of Warden Mead shortly after
the execution.
czuLGosZ's VISIT TO CHICAGO.
In his Interview with Superintendent
Collins, last night, Czolgosz made an
explanation of his visit to Chicago lust
before he went 10 Buffalo, but later
admitted that he had lied. He said
that when he reached Chicago hoy
whom, be did not know approached him
at the depot and handed him package
OF money. He said the money was for
use on the Buffalo trip, but that be
never knew who sent it TO him, or the
identity of the lad who delivered it.
lie then explained that most of the
meetings OF anarchists Es attended
at Cleveland were held at saloons
designated by an anarchist newspaper.
Haf an hour later, when the suLerin-
tendent called in the brother and
brother in.law of the prisoner, he
brought the subject up again and said
How about tnat money you got at
Chiago?''
What money!" asked the prisoner.
why, the money you told me about
here earlier in the evening"" said the
superintendent.
"Did l tell you that. | have for
gotten if L did. [ did not get any
money. If | said SO, it was not true"
Another demonstration of the many
falsehoods told by tbs prisoner was
furnished by WaIdel Czolgosz. He
positively assured Warden Mead that
his brother Leon could read and write,
in direct CONRAD iction of the oft.
repeated claim of the prisoner that he
was illiterate
czaL osz's BRAIN NORMAL.
The physicians holding the autopsy
have decided after critical examina.
tion that C2olgosz brain was normal, il
not above normal.
BETTER THAT 1T WAS ALL OVER"
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