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The Guillotine

The Guillotine image
Parent Issue
Day
12
Month
October
Year
1877
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

[l'ari Cor. New York Heralil.] Pierre Jean Welker, tho odious assassin of a. little girl in the Rue Nationale - she was 8, and he strangled lier witfa lier skipping rope, ontragud her dead body, and went to sleep, using lier corpse as his pillow - has been guillo'tined. Tl)(! warnmt oedgoated as the honr "about 5:30 a. m.," and somcwhsit after midnight the machine arrived and was noiselessly set tip with wooden SCrerwB, only about 150 persons being nttracted to the sccno besides the military and pólice. One of them wan a woinan. It WOB 4:48 when M. lioch luid cverything in working order and tried the fall of the ax ; tlien he and his assistants, Jacob, the Chief of the Detective Serviue, and the Abbo Crozes, who has aecompajuied bo rnany score of murderers to tfie gtullöane, and whosc hack,, No. 118, is as much a part of the procession as M. Roch's van, entered the prison. Welker was a fearíul coward, who had wept ami moaned and tore his hair when sonlciicc: was passed, aud when he was placea ín the coRdenmed cell, bnt he believed the meroiful falsoliood tliat forty (inys must elapso beforo the earryiug out of sentence, wbioh jail attendants ahvays teil to conliding prisouers ; luid, thinking lui liad stül somo tinie left to hún, and also kaping faith that hifi petition for meiey wonld bc heard, he had gotten over his terror, ate freoly and slept soundly. So soundly was he sleeping this raorniug that neither the opening of his cell door nor the light of the lanterns disturbed him. Jaoob 8hook hira by the shoulder, and the clerk said loudly, " Wake up, Welker, your petition has been rejected ; yon must prepare to die." A horrible sound, half the cry of a wild beast, half a dcath-xatÜe, issued i'rom the miserable man 's throat, and he feil back on his bed, convulsively biting the covcrlet. "Have you any thing to say ? l)o you want any brandy?" asked Jacob; but Welker ciid not hear him, and lay racked by convulsive sliuddorti. Hetwna lifted out of bed and niade a vain effórt to lruw on his trousers, but he could not stand, and tumbled again upon his couch. The veins on his forehead and temples stood out liko knottcd cordage, his eyes were iilmy, his jaw liad fallen, and i cold sweat was pouïing down his ashy face. The Abbe Crózcs spoketohhneamcstly; IlocJi asked, "Dol hurt you?" as he bound his hands, but Welker made no answer, heard nothing, was as one dead. Indeed, the attendants were urged to jn.ikc hitste or he wonld die of friglii m their haudH. Two of them hád to onrry 'him' out witli lus arms round théir necks, liis head hanging on the right shoulder, and hislegstrailing on the stonesbehind ' them. The priost walked backward before him to shut out the sight of the machine of death, but the merciful precautiou was needlees. Welker kuew nothiug. His body feil upon the plank j like a bag of sand, and a moment Jater the ax feil. Owing to the difficultgL of plaaing the iurt body ín position, the ax sliori'd away the licad diagonally, taking oiï' a part of one shoulder, and leaving a pieco of the jaw attaoned to the I other. So largo was the murdcrer's skull that it got jammed in the bucket into which it feil, and could only bc shaken out by pounding on the inverted ' vessel. It Tas 4:48 when the officers entered the prison totake out. their inan; t was 5:06 when the ax feil, the time ocoupied being three minutes U';s than was taken iu tho cnsi1 of Billoir. lioch ing him hv can reduce thfl taai i" I'.mIvc minutes- that ia to tay, there w for tiie orirainal aa iutervftl of lees (han ten minutes between sleep and dcath. But how maiiy ages of mental agony ia those ten minutes !

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus