The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-12-12

steps. across Il short space OF brick
floor. and the foot Of the scaffold was
reached. Holding her head high. Mis-
Rogers never filtered for an instant
as her eyes rested on the scaIold. Un-l
aided she ed the steps. walked /
on to the trap and then seated herself
In a chair. A moment later she arose. !
having declined an offer by the au-
thorities to make a statement. Even
at this tragic hour. Mary Rogers
thought OF others. Just rs the deQu-
ties approached 20 bind her limbs, she
removed her eye glasses and passing
them 10 one OF the deputies, she sad
These arc for my sister. Please
see mat she gets them"
A moment LATER the straps Il moose
were arranged and the trap was
sprung. The rope was a trifie too long.
and the womans toes barely touched
the floor beneath. She was beyond snf-
fering. however. her neck having g
broken at the drop and she had in
| stanj1y lost consciousness.
little more than fourteen minutes
later the prisOas physician pronounc-
| ed that all signs of life had vanished
| and soon after the body was cut down
and placed in the coffin that had beea
placed near the execution place.
At 2:15 nm. the body was enclosed
In the coffin. The coffin was placed
on board the 2:5o train and sent %
| Hoosick Fails, y. Y. where Mrs. Rog-
| ers' n2ctceT i.aS. Interment will be
| Mt ST. Mary's cemetery in that own
These waO witnessed the execution
. united IL say ns that it was successful
| and humane. Except when the woll-
ans toes barely touched the FOO
there was no untoward incident. With
Il two hours after the hanging, Sher-
if Peck. and practically all of the
| deputies mad returned to their homes.
The little crowd of curiosity seekers
that had fingered IN the vicinity OF The
prison while the grim ceremony was
in progress dwindied away as soon as
it became known that Mrs. Rogers
was dead and Wlnsor Vt, returned TO
its accustomed quiet.
An official account of Mrs. Rogers
last days given by the prison authori-
! ties says:
Mrs. Rogers has been IN good spir-
it's all the time. considering, of coursr.
what must have been passing in her
mind in anticipation of the awful car
Of execution. She has cOnversed with
the death watch, but has talked hut
little Of her case except when Superin-
tendent Lowell vas present. She mas
occupied her time to i great extent IN
~crocheting lace for aprons to be sent
to relatives a-.d persons who have
sent money to her. At night her cro-
cheting needle was regularly taken
away from her, 70 be given to again
the next day. She has read the Bl3
and has even committed some pas
sages to memory. She has written a
few letters to relatives and SympathiZ-
ing persons. Size has never lost nope
that in some way her life might De
shared and even this morning ap-
peared to retain some faint idea ina
,, at the last moment something mi3ni
interpOse to save her.
, ''The gallOwS was erected, hOWeVef
, but every ~precaution was taken tI
, mufle the sounds of the hammer snc
no intimation whatever, that the wor'
:, was in progress. reached Mrs. Rogers
cell.
s Even the death watch did not know
about it. Mrs. Rogers, however, wa
0 curious and kept inquiring through
the day if the gallows was being mad'
t ready. toward night Matron Dui Ike
6 told her that it was.
Mrs. Rogers asked for the vlsl
: of the ~clergymen yesterday and up
peared to believe that her sins ha'
s been forgiven. She had not confesSet
her crime directly and positively no
had she explicitly denied it. Indeed
she has said little about it lately. Sh
said she did not consider it brave L
20 to the scaffofd and make a comics
sion, and that it. would not do ne
o any good to tell what other Peep.
o had done. When she allowed herse!
to dwell upon the ordeal of toda.
she appeared to be making every Fl
fort to go to her fate bravery an
d with firmness. The usual talk has bee
current about some kind OF an opiat
being administered to her to deaae
her se~nsibilities, but it is unqualifedl
false. Mrs. Rogers did not drink eve
I'll coffee or tea, but cOntented nerS7I
Ie solely with cod water.
superintendent Lowell visited NJ"
Rogers cell last night and talked Wit
II her a few moments. She was in goo
y spirits and even told a story just b.
fore he left. She said her case We
= not property managed"
White River Jounction, VT. Decaii
~ Der 8.-Governor Charles J. Bell We
n promptly notified by telephone OF tt
IN execution of MIS-. Rogers. Afterwa-t
"a the governor gave out the followir
10 statement:
a~ 81 am much relieved to know al
20 the execution CT Mrs. Rogers was a
complished promptly, according
a. law. and without a hitch or unnece
sary delay. 1t was a disagreeable d.
A. ty | have beer called upon to perforr
II but Notwithstanding my private view
40 in regard t the matter / have ac'f
10 on my oath as chief executive and
~ believe I have acted in the interest
public good and according to the ii
n abiding sentiment of the people
g Vermont. The incident is closed al