Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-08-02
DRAKE UNIVERSITY ALIENisT TO
EXAMINE BRAIN OF MAN WHO
WAS HANGED AT FT. MADISON
pENlTENTIARY YESTERDAY.
NERVE ON GALLOWS
AMAZES WITNESSES
WHETHER IT WAS SHEER BRU-
TALITY OR CONSOLlNG WORDS
OF PRIEST THAT BUOYED HIM
UP is QUESTION.

The remarkable vitality of John Jun
kin, his unlooked-fOr display or nerve
on the gallows and the moral erect
of executions if held publicly, were the
topics Of conversation among the Ot-
tumwa witnesses to the Junkln hang
ing after the death of the murderer
was officially pronounced by the ply
sicians Yesterday There were some in
the Ottumwa party who looked for the
negro to collapse and be carried to the
gallows by Sheriff Clark. A few saw
only the brute instincts in the negro,
depicted by his seemingly cool and
collected manner Others construed
his fearlessness as being the fruits OF
,,enitent heart, brought on by the
conferences and spiritual service rem
dered by the Catholic priests.
Frown on "Dope" Taking.
The supplemental statement made
by Rev. Father A. J. Zaiser to the ef-
feet that Junkin said he took quaint.
ties Of gin, gum opium and cocaine on
the day of the murder of Clara Rosen,
is frowned on by the OttumWans who
helped capture and convict the negro
They maintain that Junkin had no
money with which to purchase dope
and that the evidence produced IN the
trial at Centerville showed conclusive
ly that the negro knew what he was
about from the time BE first saw Clara
Rosen o. the night Of the murder until
his dying day.
The feeling against Junkin by the
other convicts at the FIT. Madison
prison. are said to have been very bit
ter. Warden Sanders In escorting
.parsy 81 Uttuhwans through the
prison yesterday morning. pointed out
where Junkin worked when serving
time for robbery, but remarked that
If he had turned the brute loose in the
prison yard after the murder OF Clara
Rosen, the convicts Of Junkins own
race would have killed him. After the
execution the guards remarked that
hey were glad Junkin was gone, init
mating that he WAS bad prisoner to
handle.
Rope Was Too Large.
In the belief of Undertaken F. A.
Sternberg and some Of the Ottumwans.
the rope of the Junkin moose was too
large and not of the right material.
After cutting down the body Under
taker Sternberg noted that the knot
On the rope was directly in front of
Junkin's ears. The moose is supposed
TO have moved when Junkin, hearing
the first blow of Sheriff Clark's Ratchet
braced himself for the shoot down
ward. When the moose was placed
around the neck of the condemned
man.. Sheriff Clark asked him If 1t
was tight enough. Junkin answered In
The negative and the rope was tight
aned slightly. The thickness of the
rope. together with the fact that it
was new and subject to giving slightly.
Is declared by some to be the cause Of
the failure to break Junkin's neck. I'm
dertaker Sternberg has been called to
the prison at the other three execu-
tions there, and IN each case, he says.
q. much smaller rope was used, and the
material in them was more on the bell
cord or heavy window sash type. Dur
ing the last periods Of his life. Jun
kin's heart was beating fifty-four times
to the minute, according to DR.. J. G.
Box.
May Bury Junkin in Bloomfield.
When the body OF Junkin was re-
moved to the undertaking parlors Of
Sternberg & Lohmann, it was en-
balmed only to the extent that the
Iowa state law required and at 3
o'clock was loaded on board the Bur
lington train for Burlington. The body
passed through Ottumwa last night on
Burlington No. / to Abba. and arrived
in Des Moines about noon. The object
in not fully embalming the body was to
make the examination Of DR.. H. J. II.
Hoeve OF Drake university all the more
complete. DR.. Hoeve will be asked to
ship the body to Bloomfield after the
brain of Junkin is examined, and the
remains will be buried beside those Of
his father.
Mother Weeps over Son.
The actual hanging of John Junkin.
as far as outward appearances were
concerned, had little or no effect upon
the mother, Amy Junkin. Her pent-up
Feelings, however. had full play at
the undertaking parlors. which with
Mrs. Ann Junkin of Bloomfield. she
visited shortly after taking dinner. AS
the body lay on the cooling board, the
heart-broken mother broke completely
down and cried bitterly. The blue suit
and white shirt and the absence of any
noticeable marks on the neck of the
dead man served to attract the moth
er after her display of grief, and with
the remark that she was glad John
was looking so NICE she left the I'M
dertaking parlors and proceeded to the
depot.
Favor Public Hangings.
n. c. Williams, chairman Of the po-