Evening journal., 1911-07-06
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The Murderer Who Won
ThurIOw Weeds Ad-
miratiOn
BY ~HOIIand."

Il once asked Thurlow Weed. who
was my lifelong friend. what was the
finest exhibition Of physical and moral
courage he had ever witnessed" said
the late Charles G.. Clarke. who was
long vice-president of the New York
Central Railway system, and the right
hand man Of Commodore Vanderbilt In
the building of the system, and the ap-
praiser upon the estate of Thurlow
Weed following the death in 1882 of
that famous Whig and Republican
politician and president maker.
Mr. Weed told me that when he was
a young man there was an exhibition
OF moral and physical courage which
came under his observation more i'm
pressive than any other that he had
witnessed in his long career. He added
tnat II he wrote an autobiography. as
ne thought OF doing, he should refer
70 the incident. Mr. Weed did write a
orief account Of the incident but that
account did not compare with the ver-
pal one he gave me, which I can re-
peat IN almost his precise words
soon after ! went TO the city of
albany, N. Y, to live in my early man
hood he said, i was told that there
was 70 De public hanging of a soldier
and was invited to witness the execu-
ton. A morbid curiosity led me TO ac-
cept the invitation.
The execution was to take place
IN a field perhaps a mile from the AL
bany barracks, where this soldier had
been stationed I walked out to the
Held with friend and after a while
saw a wagon coming, in which was
seated a young man who was bare
headed. He was chatting in pleasant
manner with two men who were seat
ed beside him. / was informed that he
was the man who was to be hanged;
had already been told that the young
soldier had been convicted of the mur-
der OF the captain of his company. He
had shot the captain in a sudden heat
OF passion because the captain had
reprimanded him
AT last the wagon stood behind
the gallows which had been extern
porized. The young man calmly watch
ed the constables as they adjusted the
rope. Then, perfectly self possessed, he
mounted ladder. II did not seem to
me to be bravado on his part; his at
1tude was that Of a soldier who was
facing death with intrepidity The boy
Tor he was scarcely more than lad
had said that he deserved death. that
1t was a crime to attack an officer, no
matter what the provocation, a crime
for which no excuse could be given.
AS the ladder was twitched away
and the body fell, the rope broke. What
did that young man do? He helped the
constable to remove the rope. Then
he sat upon box and advised them o i
60 as speedily as possible into Albany
and get a strong Manila rope. He told
them that they should have tested the |
rope before using 1t upon him. And
while two or three constables went for
another rope he sat there upon the
box, chatting with the guards. and /
observed that at one moment he spoke |
confdentially TO a gentleman who
seemed to be a sort of spiritual adviser |
to him
AT last the constables returned
with stout rope. The condemned man |
took II from their hands and tested Il. |
He told them that he thought Il was
strong enough; then they adjusted the |
rope, fixed the moose around his neck, /
and he again mounted the ladder and |
tnen Tell, and In due time his body was
taken down.
a" That, said Mr.. Weed. was physi- |
49, ~NNAe AN1M ANA nlt tell YOU dDOul
the moral courage; I learned of that
atterward. This young man had en-
listed as a soldier. for that was theI
only career possible for him: he was
the son Of a very distinguished mer- |
chant of New York city, but he was
born out of wedlock and he knew who |
his father was. While he was waiting /
Tor the second rope, the gentleman 1 /
observed talking with the boy asked |
him if he desired to have his parents /
know Of his fate He had enlisted un- |
der an assumed name.
No. said the boy do not do /
that. My father has already suffered |
enough for the mistake of my being. |
Let him never know that his son was
hanged"
'Afterward,' concluded Mr.. Weed, /
i learned who that father was, but 7 |
have never revealed the secret to any
living person. and have never ceased
to admire that boy-murderer though /
he was-for the physical and moral /
courage he displayed in the clutches of
death "
Copyright, 1911, by E. j. Edwards. All /
Rights Reserved)
Tomorrow Mr.. Edwards viii tell OF /
"Ihe Mystery of a Great Lawyers
Name"