Sentence:  Cunningham then declared ... that he was at Mr. Lyneall's, and saw Robinson snap his pistol, which did not go off; that he heard a voice from some one, saying fire! and also heard a shot, but did not know who fired; that Condron, the approver, afterwards told him he had no pistol, as he dropped it when he fired; that Condron could not help firing, as the gentleman who struggled with him held a <WSD>death grip</WSD> of the pistol he fired. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An extremely tight grip.