The sun., 1919-08-03

trio apparatus for the first electric
execution arrived at the prison.
New York State had just passed
law substituting the electric chair for
the hangman's moose. There had
never been an electric execution and
everybody was prospecting as to who
would be the first person electrocuted
and whether he would be killed with
out conscious suffering or tortured to
death.
On October 30, 1889, Warden Brush
received Charles McElvaine, aged
twenty, the first person sentenced to
the electric chair. He had slain
Christian Lucca in Brooklyn. There
had been no lighthouse built then.
So McElvaine was placed In a cell on
the upper floor of the hospital building
ond kept in solitary confinement On
December s. 1883, work of building the
deathhouse was begun. It was to be,
virtually. prison within a prison.
Derrenbacher saw Thomas Pallister,
a prisoner, helping to build it. BY
an odd turn of events. this same pris-
oner was later convicted of murder
and lodged. two years later, in the
prison death cells himself. He was
never executed. He cheated the chair
by escaping.
Deathhouse Soon Crowded.
Soon as the deathhouse was finished
McElvaine became its first occupant.
Derrenbacher was his first guard
there. He would keep watch over the
condemned murderer eleven hours a
dsy. McElvaine had not the exclusive
use of the deathhouse long. On New
Years day Sheheok Juigigo. Japa-
nese. was received from Manhattan
for killing Seaman Coutain. japanese
sailor.
Then came Joseph Wood. who killed
Charles Ruffln, a laborer on the new
Croton aqueduct at Kingsbridge. fol-
lowed a few weeks later by Harris
Smiler. who shot Mary Drainey, one OF
his three bigamous wives. and then by
James J. Slocum. a baseball player,
who beat his wife to death.
There was room for only four in the
original lighthouse, so Smiler was
placed In the hospital loft Keeper
Pagan, on watch there, fell asleep one
night while on duty. Principal Keeper
James Connaughton, a rigorous dis
ciplinarian, discovered him in the midst
Of his nap. He rebuked and suspended
Pagan Immediately. Next came Nicola
| Trezza, the murderer who was after
! ward saved by Gov. Flower. who COM
muted his sentence to life imprison-
ment
An addition was built TO the DEATH
house so 1t could accommodate eight
men. On his shift Derrenbacher alone
Tin the lighthouse watched six MUIR
derers. As they were cramped badly
| In the. brick cells, Meserole was as
| signed by Connaughtop in 1891 to take
each murderer out q his cage hall
hour day for exercise. McElvaine
of a nervous nature, often bored
Meserole and the other Keepers BY
scratching his cell bars in filing hii
finger nails or using his bunk sheet tc
swat flies with.
Horse Used to Test Chair.
! AS the time drew near for the frs
execution, Warden Brush wished Il
test the killing capacity of the new
contrivance. So on Nov. 20. 1890. &
| horse was taken from the prison stabl,
and fastened to the death chair In {
room adjoining the condemned cells
where Derrenbacher was on duty. TIT
keepers fastened a hood over TIN
horses head. as they do now over thu
Uranium OF a murderer, and tied tn
steed fast to the chair.
As the current was turned on fus'
blew out and the horse got only par
OF the shock that was meant for 1t. 1
made a weird shrieking noise and
kicked the wall furiously.
The commotion startled Slocum
whats that?" asked the wife slayer
Derrenbacher knew they were testing
the chair, but would not add L
Slocum's mental torture. TITS only
horse Kicking replied the keeper
Little did Slocum realize they wer
trying out the chair to use on tn
deathhouse inmates. Or that destin!
intended that he should be the mrs
person ever to sit in II.
y Derrenbacher had the most trytnl