Emmons County Record

A DOUBLE HANGING

The Murder of Thos. Tollefson the Minneapolis Car Driver is Avenged.

The Boys Display Wonderful Nerve up to the Very Last Moment.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., Special March 22.—The Barretts were "hanged by the neck until dead." The last spasmodic exclamations, "Have mercy on us," had hardly come in muffled accents from beneath the black caps when a click was heard and two black shrouded figures shot downward and hung nerveless below the platform. Only a few slight twitches denoted the agony caused by the separating of soul and body. Above the unsightly bodies were grouped the sheriff and his deputies, blue uniformed policemen, citizens in quiet habiliments and the faithful priests, whose kindly touch and comforting words had given the condemned strength to walk to the brink of the dark river and look over to the other shore with the eye of faith. One of these had fallen upon his knees, and with trembling lips was following the fleeting souls with benedictions. A ray of sunshine came through the prison window and made a bright place on the cold, hard wall opposite, and everything became more somber and solemn by its radiant contrast. Spectators stood with bated breath and only the noise of curious thousands outside disturbed the awful quiet. Such was the impressive scene that closed a tragedy begun over twenty months ago.

A little before 10 o'clock the examining board of physicians, consisting of Dr. Ames, Dr. Kilvington, Dr. Burton, Dr. Towers, Dr. Quinby and Dr. Dunn, came in and took their places in front of the scaffold. Several other physicians, Dr. Spring among them, were present. Of course all eyes were directed to the scaffold. The unpainted pine structure with its awful suggestions of death and doom was anything but pleasant to look upon, and yet the scaffold architect, Chris Bpiel, who was on hand all the time, regarded it with quiet satisfaction as a triumph of his art. Finally the ends of the dangling nooses were thrown to one side and rested upon the braces of the cross beam. The ladder was taken down and everything was positively decided to be all right. The carpenter then stepped forward, and, taking his rule and pencil out of his pocket, marked the space upon the traps within which the men were to stand. He did it with the cool business air with which he would have marked out the pattern for a bootjack. At two minutes past 11 o'clock the silence in the room of execution had become impressive, the doors were thrown open and the doomed men were ushered into the scene of their execution. They were accompanied by the deputy sheriffs and by three Roman Catholic priests. The priests were Father James McGolrick, Father Henry McGolrick and Father Corbett. They were in their churchly habiliments, and as they passed up the steps of the scaffold held aloft the crucifix and repeated many times, "Jesus have mercy on us." Tim Barrett was given the place on the right side of the scaffold. He knelt at once and Father Corbett kneeling by him administered the spiritual hope that the occasion demanded. The priest held his face close to that of the doomed man, who, under those awful circumstances, was encouraged to implore for divine mercy. He was not able to rise alone, but was assisted by Deputy Sheriff Rauen, who then bound the straps about his arms and his legs after the usual custom. Tim was very much agitated. It was with difficulty that he could stand and at each motion of the deputies he shuddered convulsively and rolled his eyes about in despair. And yet he repeated with the priest the petitions for divine mercy. When the black cap was pulled down over his eyes his voice could be heard in muffled tones beneath crying "Have mercy upon us." At the other side of the scaffold stood the younger brother, Pete.

PETE THE FIRM ONE.

He was much more composed than Tim. He looked all about the room, and even inspected the scaffold. It was only at the very last that he seemed on the point of giving way. Father Henry McGolrick performed for him the offices that Father Corbett did for Tim. Deputies Leroy, Peterson and James Riley adjusted the straps and black caps. One of the last things that Pete said was to ask that he be placed a little further forward so that his back would not strike when he went down. At one time he was about to fall and asked the deputy to hold him up. Finally the nooses were adjusted, and all was in readiness except for the priests to finish the litany. All but the deputies who supported the men stood back. The low moans of the men could be heard from beneath the sable covering of their faces, still asking for mercy. "Oh, Lord, I am innocent" Pete was heard to say. Asked if they had any final request to make each of the men made some whispered statement to his spiritual comforter.

THE LAST MOMENT.

The last moment had come. The fathers stepped back, still uttering their prayers for the salvation to the two men, when Sheriff Ege touched the fatal lever, and at exactly 11:14 the trap fell and the two bodies dropped into the yawning gap beneath them. As was shown afterwards the necks of both men were broken instantly. Pete made more of a struggle. He convulsively lifted himself up several times in spasmodic efforts at respiration. But they were slight, and in a moment the body was almost motionless. The pressure on Tim's neck must have been greater. He slightly raised himself, drawing up his knees once or twice, and that was all. The body swayed slightly and come to rest with the face looking out from the scaffold. Pete's body faced the other way. The physicians at once stepped forward and with watch in hand attentively noted the heart beats of the expiring men until no traces of life were left. At 11:26 Tim Barrett was pronounced dead, and one minute later the same was said of Pete, thirteen minutes after the dropping of the traps. For several minutes the dense crowd had hardly moved a muscle. When the sheriff announced that all was over they were still loth to leave the room, and it was only by excessive efforts that the deputies succeeded in clearing the space of all but the physicians, the newspaper representatives and a few others. The bodies were then cut down and the physicians made the usual examination. The necks of both men were found to be dislocated. They were stretched out upon the floor under the scaffold and the coverings removed, showing the ghastly faces of the murderers disclosed not yet firmly composed in death. Undertaker Connolly took charge of them at that point. The last loiterer retired and the execution was finally over.

SCENES IN THE JAIL.

Some of the Spectators of the Execution and How They Behaved While Waiting for the Dread Event.

The spectators began to assemble in the room where the hanging was to take place as early as 9 o'clock. At 10 o'clock the room was densely packed. The lofty apartment presented a very curious appearance. The scaffold was built in the center, the floor being on a level with the floor of the tier of cells on the west side of the room. Opposite, and on the east side, was another row of cells, in front of which was built a temporary platform for the use of the spectators. Every inch of space was utilized by the lookers-on. This brought many of them so near to the scaffold that they could touch it with their hands. The spectators included many of the sheriffs and ex-sheriffs of the state. Among them were Sheriff A. W. De Frate of Douglas, who conducted the execution of the murderer, Lee, and Sheriff A. Brandenburg of Fergus Falls, who performed the same office for the man Olong. The experience of these gentlemen made them valuable aids to Sheriff Ege. Other sheriffs present were: Gilbert Anderson of Nobles, Hans Field of Renville, H. Nupson of Fillmore, W. E. Mitchell of Freeborn, George Munroe of Stevens, J. E. Getman of Dodge, G. N. Jansvold of Yellow Medicine, Mark M. Woolley of Wright, Wood of Jackson, A. F. Anderson of Goodhue, H. M. Richardson of Olmsted, Lindholm of Grant, Bean of Ramsey, J. M. Markham, Aitkin; C. W. Lenfest, Anoka; F. D. Du Toit, Carver; Charles Andrews, Chisago; William W. Barlow, Cottonwood; John H. Hyland, Dakota; John B. Schmid, Brown; A. D. Brown, Lac qui Parle; J. F. Remore, Lyon; N. M. Holm, Meeker; A. F. Howard, Mille Lacs; Henry Rasicot, Morrison; Paul Shavory, St. Louis; Theodore Weiland, Scott; D. R. Houlton, Sherburne; William Dretchko, Sibley; A. W. Kraemer, Stearns; J. C. Barncard, Steele; David Crotte, Wabasha; C. M. Kingsley, Waseca; C. P. Holcombe, Washington; J. P. Stemper, Watonwan; J. S. Cameron, Wilkin; Silas Braley, Winona. The past sheriffs present were: P. P. Swensen of Hennepin; William Brackett, Hennepin; Fred Zwinskey, Polk; Hugh Wilson, Waseca. The visiting sheriffs from other states were: L. D. Fieldley, Dakota; H. Anderson, Bayfield county, Wis.; E. Bartlett, Sargent county, Dak. Among the deputy sheriffs present were: Tousley of Le Sueur, E. B. Herberg of Chippewa, H. W. Harmer, Dodge, C. Hunt, Houston, and H. Brown, Olmsted. In the cells to the rear of the scaffold were many well known faces of citizens. The opposite cells were likewise covered, while inside them were the telegraphic instruments of the newspaper correspondents. The crowd was orderly though not at all cast down with gloom. A good many smoked and all of them indulged freely in conversation during the interval of waiting. Naturally enough, as the minutes passed by, they began to feel more and more the solemnity of the occasion. Through the grated windows could be seen the throng outside, and occasionally the sound of noise of shouting as the shrill calls of the newsboys were heard. During the period of waiting one would never have imagined from the faces of the spectators that they were waiting there to see two men deprived of the blessings of life.

THE CROWD OUTSIDE.

Five Thousand People Assemble Around the Jail but Get Not a Sight of the Proceedings Within.

As early as 8 o'clock in the morning knots of people began to gather in the vicinity of the jail, and the number steadily increased. The early comers were very curious. They took a look at the grim building from all sides, gazed at each window in turn, and would have made an even more intimate acquaintance with affairs, but for the cordon of policemen. At 11 o'clock at least five thousand people were crowded into the street. The space from the low wall near the jail, across the street and up to the doors of the little Lutheran church was densely packed with human beings, all with their eyes fastened intently on the narrow grating through which a partial glimpse could be obtained of the proceedings within. The crowd was composed mostly of men of the laboring class, with a very liberal leaven of curious women and a fair sprinkling of infants in arms. As the fatal hour of 11:15 arrived the people began to look nervously at their watches, gradually they pressed closer into the middle of the street and focused their eyes even more intently on the grated window. Dark forms could be seen passing to and fro on the scaffold, and the boys in the tree tops even claimed to be able to see all the preparations for the final act. At 11:14 the policemen on the wall and the crowd nearest the jail heard the click of the traps as they fell simultaneously.

RELUCTANT TO LEAVE.

The crowd dispersed reluctantly. The teams blockading the side street first drove off, the boys in the trees dropped nimbly to the ground and went away whistling merrily, and then the main crowd of men and women began slowly to move off. But a motley throng of a few hundred of morbidly curious men remained. They were bound to get at least a glimpse of the two men, even though dead. Here they were disappointed, however, for by a clever little ruse the bodies were removed at the rear door of the jail and spirited away to Connolly's morgue, where the final disposition will be made of their remains until their shipment to Omaha. Mrs. Barrett had requested that no one be allowed to see her dead boys, and her wishes in the matter were acceded to.

Tollefson's Widow,

Mrs. Tollefson, widow of the murdered street car driver, Thomas Tollefson, made her way through the crowd and into the court house about fifteen minutes before the hanging. She expressed a wish to witness the execution. The lady's desire was communicated to a couple of detectives, who thought the idea was a remarkable one, and were rather averse to allowing her the privilege. A few personal friends of the lady, however, advised her not to visit the jail, and she withdrew from the crowd. It is stated by a deputy sheriff that Mrs. Tollefson had recently expressed the hope that her husband's murderers would not suffer the death penalty, but be given a life sentence.