Russian Fairy Tales

1900

A book of fairy tales was the cause of the expulsion and consequent ruin of 175 persons at Poltova. A pupil at one of the state schools there was caught in the act of reading this book of fairy tales, which had been prohibited by the censor on the ground that certain of the tales might be applied to Russian conditions and Russian politics. The boy explained that the caretaker of the school buildings had lent him the book. The principal of the school reported the caretaker to the police, and on the ground of this denunciation the offender was sent to Siberia.

The officials of the institution, together with several parents of pupils, were so indignant at the conduct of the principal that they drew up a protest describing his denunciation as a mean and despicable act. The only consequence was that the officials lost their posts, and, together with the residents who had signed the protest, were expelled from the province of Poltova for three years. The order of expulsion was extended to all the relatives of the offenders, so that 175 persons were sentenced to this severe punishment on account of a book of fairy tales which in other countries is given to every child to read. — Chicago News.

The Ghost of the Tower

1901

Superstitious people in merry England are busy prophesying many gloomy events because it has been declared that the ghost of Mary, queen of Scots, has again made itself evident.

The story was that an officer of the guard on duty in the constables' quarters in the Tower of London on Christmas eve heard a long wail from the top of the tower. He stopped to listen and heard it again. Footsteps followed, and a third time the wail rang out over the fog bound river and the sleeping city. He went to search for a cause. but found none.

According to tradition the ghost of the unhappy Queen Mary has frequently made itself manifest in the Tower of London. Mary, queen of Scots, was imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth in the constables' tower and was led from it to execution in the tower quadrangle. Before the death of every king or queen of England since her day her spirit has been reported as having appeared.

All of this is very unpleasant for those to whom the welfare of Queen Victoria is dear and who believe in appearances after death. But apart from any supernatural auguries it would not be surprising to hear at any time of the demise of the Queen of England. It is well known that her health is far from satisfactory and that she is daily growing more and more feeble. The death of the Dowager Lady Churchill threw her majesty into a condition which is alarming to court circles. Lady Churchill was the queen's oldest and closest companion, and Victoria's grief is extreme.

Should England be unfortunate enough to lose its august ruler there would not be lacking those who would sagely wag their heads and recall the appearance of Mary's ghost. But their "I told you so" would be far from satisfactory to more materially inclined individuals.

Wretched Men Meet Their Fate at Hanging, Last Words Given

Pennsylvania, 1877

MURDER EXPIATED.

Eleven[*] Men Appease the Offended Law

How the Wretched Men Met Their Fate — Last Words on the Scaffold.

POTTSVILLE, June 21. — The weather this morning at daybreak was dull and heavy, and before long a drizzling rain began to fall, without, however, diminishing the crowd already in waiting outside the jail. The general suspension of business throughout the surrounding country in deference to the extraordinary events of the day, and the funeral quiet attending the preparations for the executions, served to make more impressive the tragic occurrence which marked this most eventful day in the criminal calendar of the State.

THE FAREWELL SCENE.

Meanwhile the immediate relatives of the condemned took their last farewell. The scene was a trying one. The brother and two sisters of Roarity were admitted at 6, and soon after the aged and impoverished father of Munley, who had walked to prison all the way from Gilberton, a distance of thirteen miles. Several of the relatives of others, not having applied at the proper time, were not admitted. To each of the doomed men had been assigned a clergyman, who attended his charge in his dying moments. The reverend gentlemen were in attendance at the cells of the men at dawn this morning, and afterward assisted in the celebration of mass in a private apartment.

All access to the men by other than the Sheriff and his assistants and the spiritual advisers, had been scrupulously avoided. They are reported as having passed the night well, and at the usual time breakfast was served for each, though this was barely touched by any of them. Carroll, Munley and Roarity expressed their eagerness to die, and were apparently calm and resigned. The last named this morning received a letter from his father, urging him to turn his thoughts heavenward, and while admonishing him of his parents' belief in his innocence, advised him to confess the truth before God and the world.

NEARING THE END.

After several hours of patient waiting, the witnesses of the execution gradually closed up around the outstretched rope extending from one end of the yard to the other, which barred intrusion upon the reserved space in front of the gallows. The relatives and friends of several of the men were allowed to witness the dread spectacle.

MOUNTING THE SCAFFOLD.

The entire party mounted the steps of the scaffold nearest in their coarse, and proceeded to the furthermost of the three, upon which only were visible the suspended nooses.

Upon taking their, places the Catholic service for dying men, which begun when the men left their cells, was continued by the clergymen, Boyle and McGeghan giving responses in firm and audible tones. The demeanor of Boyle, until the drop fell, was one of entire self-possession. His composure was not assumed, and as the services proceeded he occasionally inhaled the perfume of a beautiful red rose which he held in his hand. McGeghan's bearing was that of a sincere and contrite penitent. He appeared to realize his awful situation, and repeatedly looked appealingly to Heaven.

Both the men kissed the priests and shook hands with the sheriff. Boyle responded to a remark of his attending priest with, "I ain't a bit sorry." McGeghan, in response to an intimation that he was at liberty to say anything he desired, at once addressed the assemblage as follows:

THE SPEECHES.

GENTLEMEN: — I have nothing at all to say to you about guilt or innocence, nor about them that left me in here, or them that done anything else to me. I only ask forgiveness of the whole world, if I have done a wrong to them, and the Almighty God may forgive all Christians all them that He ever created in this world for the sake of forgiving my sins here." The speech here ended, its concluding portion having been delivered in a somewhat tremulous, though firm and vigorous tone, Boyle now addressed the crowd without a symptom of emotion: "I have nothing to say, gentlemen, only pretty much in the same way; nothing as regards guilt or innocence. I forgive those that put me here. I forgive them from my heart, and I hope they will forgive me. I forgive all this world."

McGeghan, with a supplicating look heavenward, here supplemented his remarks by fervently exclaiming, "I have done all that is in my power to save my soul; anything at all that I could do I have done, and I trust in God. If there is any sin on my soul that I have not cleaned off, God will make me suffer for it here now. I offer up this death that I have to die to God for the sake of Him to forgive my sins. I have nothing more to say."

THE TRAP SPRUNG.

With the conclusion of the speeches, an awkward pause ensued, the officials not knowing whether or not to proceed immediately. The last good-byes, however, were soon said, and the arms and legs of the men pinioned, both calmly surveying the preparations, McGeghan occasionally murmuring a prayer and gazing intently heavenward. As the noose was being adjusted around his neck, he exclaimed, "Christ have mercy upon me! Lord have mercy upon me!" The nooses were then adjusted, the trap sprung, and in a few moment the men were dangling between heaven and earth.

ROARITY AND CARROLL.

At six minutes after 12, the Sheriff, his deputy, prison keeper and prison physician, reappeared at the gallows with James Roarity and James Carroll, who were attended by Rev. M. J. Gately, of Pottsville, and Father Beresford, each of the condemned carrying a crucifix. Both seemed perfectly composed. Mortuary service was said, the men gazing fixedly at the crucifix, Roarity occasionally heaving a deep sigh, and glancing at the windows of the cells near one end of the gallows, where the juries of the Sheriff had been stationed. Bidding the Sheriff good-bye, Roarity added: "May God bless you." He then made a short address. He said: "Well, gentlemen, I want to talk a few words. It is only a few words. I stand to-day before the public, and I must say the truth for them. I don't know whether they are gone, whether they are to come after me or not; Thomas Duffy has been convicted for giving me ten dollars for the shooting of a man I never saw — shooting him at Tamaqua until I saw his name in the paper — Thomas Duffy. I hope I am going to my Lord, and Thomas Duffy is a man that (I won't say for fear that I might be lying) I never saw him. The third time I saw him in the Pottsville jail, and what I can say for him is this: I never heard him talking about Benjamin F. Yost, nor any other man. If they are to come after me let them say so. I am satisfied, and I hope forgiveness from the world, from everybody. I hope they will forgive me. That's all I have to say."

CARROLL PLEADS INNOCENCE.

The crowd looked to Carroll, who was calm, and in appearance more intelligent than his companions. He merely said: "I have nothing to say, gentlemen, only that I am innocent of the crime I am charged with."

Here Roarity broke in again with the remark, "Well, that is what I forgot; excuse me, gentlemen. That is another word I forgot, that I was going to die an innocent man. I forgot to put that in," [here Roarity's voice grew tremulous.] "but I hope it is good for me, and, as to them that prosecuted me and brought me to this place, I forgive them from the bottom of my heart. I hope God will forgive them and forgive me too."

Carroll made no attempt to resume his remarks, apparently interrupted by his associate. He only whispered to the Sheriff a few hurried parting words. Carroll was the only one who did not bear a flower of some color. While being pinioned Roarity, recognizing one his counsel, shouted, "Mr. Laville, I leave you my blessing, and leave it to all my employers." "God bless you, Jim," responded the lawyer.

The priests exhorted the men to turn their thoughts to God. The nooses were tightened, the caps adjusted, and the trap was sprung. After hanging nineteen minutes the bodies were taken down and deposited behind the gallows.

MUNLEY AND DUFFY.

At twelve minutes after one Thomas Munley and Thomas Duffy appeared with their priests and the prison officers. Duffy was kept to the last, owing to rumors of a reprieve, and he only of the six showed nervousness. Neither of them made a speech. At 12:21 the drop fell, and fifteen minutes later the two men were declared dead. Examination showed that all except Munley died of strangulation. His neck was dislocated. The bodies of McGeghan, Boyle and Duffy were given to friends; the others will be interred by the county.

When the hangings were completed Sheriff Werner was congratulated. Notwithstanding the crowds, only one arrest was made, that of a drunken woman. The removal of the bodies from prison was attended by some excitement, and conveyances containing the coffins were followed down Center street by men, women and children.

—The Indiana Progress, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Jun 28, 1877, p. 1.

Note: Munley's name doesn't have a "e" in a few references to him. A few other more obvious typos were changed.

[*] The article as presented here has only seven men who were hanged. The other four I have in a separate entry in this blog. Search for Pennsylvania, hanging, capital-punishment, 1877, one of those words if you're looking for it.

The Burning of Joan of Arc (poetry)

1874

The Burning of Joan of Arc

They've bound her to the iron stake,
That fierce and haughty soul!
Oh! mistress of the hearts of France,
Is this the conq'ror's goal?
The flashing fire is round her now,
And mocking lips are near;
But scorching flame and mocking lips
Can wake from her no tear.

Oh! France, where is thy chivalry,
Where, where thy crowned king.
That he can suffer death like this
To claim so fair a thing!
Shame's clouds are o'er thy sunny hills,
The siroc breath of shame
Hath blotted out from valor's list
The records of thy fame.

Where are the friends of early youth?
Forsaken, France, for thee!
The martyr in this awful hour
Is one that made thee free.
Where are the battle hosts she led
To vict'ry and renown,
O'er fields of shiver'd spears and helms
Her arm had stricken down.

Come, come, ye men of iron souls,
Behold your leader die;
Your eyes may see no quiv'ring lip,
Your ears hear ne'er a sigh.
Is there no sword in mighty France
To save her from the tomb?
And England's chivalry, can they
Be witness of her doom?

God! there is none; it is no dream!
There is the stake, the fire,
The sparks, the smoke, the trumpet tone,
By Rouen's market spire.
Joanne of Arc, on! can it be
Thine is the felon's doom,
And thine the quiv'ring, withered form
Within the smoke-clouds' gloom?

One cry -- a gasp, but not of fear,
Springs from the sea of flame,
And France, th' Recording Angel stands
To chronicle thy shame.
Bear forth the tale on eagle's wings,
Joan, of France, the pride,
Hath, like a felon at the stake,
Ignobly, basely died.

—Printed in The Indiana Progress, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Jan. 15, 1874, p. 2.

A White Bean or Death — Struggling for Texas Independence

1878

A White Bean or Death

A Story of the Texas Struggle for Independence — Shot by the Mexican Authorities — Drawing the Lot for Life or Death

The events recorded below took place at Salado, Mexico, March 28, 1843, when seventeen Texans of the Mier expedition were shot by order of the Mexican authorities. The story is told by a correspondent who signs himself R. P. H., of Blanco, Texas, a brother of one who drew a white bean:

One hundred and-fifty-nine white beans were placed in the bottom of the mug and seventeen black ones placed upon the top of them. The beans were not stirred. Such was their anxiety to execute Captain Cameron, and perhaps the balance of the officers that first Cameron and afterward the other officers were made to draw a bean each from the mug in this condition.

Cameron, in the act of drawing first, said with his usual coolness: "Well, boys, we have to draw, let's be at it." So saying, he thrust his hand into the mug and drew out a white bean. Next came Colonel William F. Wilson, who was chained to him; then Captain William Ryan and then Judge F. H. Gibson, all of whom drew white beans. Next came Captain Eastland, who drew a black one, and then came the balance of the men. They all drew their beans with that manly dignity and firmness which showed superior to their condition.

Some of lighter temper jested over the bloody tragedy. One said, "boys, this beats raffling all to pieces." The knocking off the irons from the unfortunate told who they were. Poor Robert Beard, who lay upon the ground sick, said: "Brother, if you draw a black bean I'll take your place." The brother said : "No, I am stronger and better able to die than you." Several of the Mexican officers who officiated in the cruel violation of their country's faith expressed great dissatisfaction thereat, and some wept bitterly. Soon after the fated were placed in a separate courtyard, when about dark they were executed.

Several of our men were permitted to visit the unfortunate previously to the execution, to receive their dying requests. Poor Major Cooke said: "Boys, I told you I never failed to draw a prize; and then he said to Judge Gibson: "Say to my friends that I lived in grace." Judge Gibson was so much affected at this last parting that he showed it from his tears. The major said: "They only rob me of forty years," and then sat down and wrote a sensible and dignified letter to General Waddy Thompson, the United States minister to Mexico, and knowing that his remains would be robbed of his clothes after death, drew off his pants and handed them to his surviving comrades and died in his underclothes. Poor Henry Whaling, one of Cameron's best fighters, said: " Well, they didn't make much off me, anyhow, for I know I have killed twenty-five of the yellow dogs." Then demanding his dinner in a firm tone, saying that "they could not cheat me out of it," ate heartily, smoked a cigar, and in twenty-five minutes was launched into eternity.

Our interpreter, who was permitted to remain with them to the last, says that "fifteen times they wounded the iron-nerved soul, Henry Whaling, and it would seem that Providence had a special care in prolonging his existence that he might demonstrate to his enemies the national character they had to contend with, for he gritted his teeth at and defied them in terms of withering reproach, until they placed a gun to his head and blew his brains against the wall." Such was the effect of this horrible massacre upon their own soldiers, who were standing as guards upon the wall above, that one or them fainted and came near falling over, but was caught by his comrades.

Poor Terry, quite a youth, but in spirit a giant, said that "he was perfectly willing to meet his fate; that for his country he had fought and for her glory he was willing to die," and turning to the officers, said: "After the battle of San Jacinto my family took one of your youths prisoner, raised and educated him, and this is your requital." Edward Este spoke of his fate with coolness. Cash said: "Well, they murdered my brother with Colonel Fannin, and they are about to murder me. Tell the officer to look upon men who are not afraid to die for their country." Captain Eastland behaved with the most patriotic zeal. He desired that his country should never lay down her arms until the most ample reparation and her freedom was obtained. Major Robert Dunham said he "was prepared to die, and would to God that he had a chance to do the same thing over again; that he gloried in the demonstration they had made, which showed Texans without arms to be more than equal to Mexicans with arms." James Ogden, with his usual equanimity of temper, smiled at his fate, and said: "I am prepared to die." Young Robert W. Harris behaved in the most unflinching manner, and called upon his companions to avenge the murder, while their flowing tears and bursting hearts, invoking heaven for their witness, responded to the call. I have the utmost confidence that this pledge, so solemnly plighted, will be redeemed. They one and all invoked their country to do both them and herself justice.

Just previous to the firing they were bound together with cords, and their eyes being bandaged, they were set upon a log near the wall, with their backs to their executioners. They all begged the officers to shoot them in front and at short distance, as "they were not afraid to look death in the face." This they refused to do, fired at several paces, and continued the firing from ten to twelve minutes, mangling these heroes in a manner too horrible for description.

The names of the murdered men were : L. L. Cash, J. D. Cooke, Robert Dunham, Captain W. M. Eastland, Edward Este, Robert Harris, Thomas L. Jones, Patrick Manan, James Ogden, Charles Roberts, William Rowan; J. L. Shepherd, J. M. Thompson, James Terrey, James Turnbull, Henry Whaling, M. C. Wing. — Houston (Texas) Telegram.