Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1901-10-30
GOLD DUST

the prisoner brought IN ana az T:1v
o'clock Chief Keeper Tupper swung
open the big steel door leading to the
condemned cells, and as the steel bars be-
hind which Czolgosz had been kept were
swung aside and two guards marched
the prisoner out into the corridor, two
others following and the chief keeper
walking in front
The guards on either side of Czolecsz
had hold of his arms as if either 60 sup
port MIN or to keep him from making q
demonstration. AS he stepped over the
threshold he stumbled, but they held
him up, and as they urged him forward
toward the chair he stumbled again on
the little rubber covered platform upon
which the chair rests
His head was erect and with his grey
flannel shirt turned back ab the neck he
looked quite boyish. He was intensely
pale and as he tried to throw his head
back and carry himself erect his chin
quivered very perceptibly. AS he was
being seated he looked about at the as
sembled witnesses with quite a steady
stare and said:
Il killed the president because he was
an enemy of the good people-of the
working people.
His voice Urembled slightly at first,
but gained strength with each word and
he spoke perfect English
81 am not sorry for my crime" he
SAID loudly, just as the guard pushed
his head back on the rubber headresG
and drew the strap across his forehead
and chin. AS the pressures ON the strap
frightened and bound the jaw slightly he
mumbled:
Il am awfully sorry could not see
my father"
Warden Gives Signal.
When the strapping was completed
the guards stepped back. Warden Mead
then raised his hand, and at 7:l2:30
Electrician Davis turned the switch that
threw !, 700 volts or electricity into the
body. The rush of the current threw
the body so hard against the straps that
they creaked perceptlbly. The hands
cllnched suddenly and the whole atti-
tude was one of extreme tenseness. For
43 seconds the full current was kept on
and then slowly the electrician threw
the switch back, reducing the current
volt by volt until the current was cut
off entirely. Then just as it had reached
that point, he threw the lever back
again for 2 or 3 seconds. The body,
which had collapsed as the current was
reduced, stiffened up against the straps.
When ir was turned off again, DR.. Mac.
Donald stepped to the chair and put his
hand over the heart. He said he felt no
pulsation, but suggested that the cur
rent be turned on for a few seconds
again. Once more the body became
rigid. At 7:15 the current was turned
off for good.
From the time Czolgosz had left his
cell until the full penalty was paid, less
than four minutes had elapsed. The
physicians present used the stethoscope
and other tests TO determine if any life
remained, and at 7:17 the warden, rails
ing his hand, announced:
Gentlemen, the prisoner is dead
The witnesses filed from the cham
Der, many of them visibly affected, and
the body was taken from the chair and
laid on the operating table.
When the body of Czolgosz had been
removed from the room where he was
killed to the autopsy table, Auburn
prison returned TO the routine of it's or
binary life. The prisoners who had
been kept locked in their cells were re.
leased at 7:45 o'clock and prison work
was resumed at once. There was no ex.
element among the convicts Scarcely
100 people had gathered outside the
prison gate TO watch the witnesses enter
and wait until they reappeared.
Greatest Precautions Taken.
Prison Superintendent Collins made
the following statement:
"The execution was one of the most
successful ever conducted in the state.
Extraordinary care had to be taken in
the case, because both the warden and
received hundreds of threatening let
ters, many Of them asserting in violent
and incorporate language that the
prisoner would never be put in the
chair.
II have decided to bury the body of
Czolgosz in the regular prison plot in
the local cemetery. The funeral will
take place some time within the next 48
hours. We will keep the grave guarded
DAY and night until such time as the
quicklime which will be placed around
the body shall have entirely destroyed
it. "