HOW MR. EPHRAIM TOLLY WAS HUNG.

Westport Times, Volume VII, Issue 1048, 21 February 1873, Page 4

HOW MR. EPHRAIM TOLLY WAS HUNG.

[from hakpeb's weekly.] Not many years ago the Sheriff of River County, Mississippi, invited me to attend an execution. Theinvitation was given verbally, and I give it here : —" Come over and see me strangulate that rascal, Eph Tolly, for- arson and setting Old Odum's house on fire." Accordingly on the appointed day, "Uncle Bob," an eccentric old genius, and myself rode over to the place of execution. The Sheriff of River County was the ugliest, funniest little fellow in the district. He stood about five feet, in bis shoes, and was quite as broad as he was long, and had a face to frighten a catamount. Bustling about big with the importance of his position, he waddled up, and offered his hand, saying to me—"l'm precious glad you've cum. These follows here ain't give me no peace since sunrise axin' me when I was going to begin. It'B none of their business. I'd invited you to see the hanging, for I knew you'd like the sport, and wasn't going to begin till you arrived, if I had to put off the execution. Mounting the steps of the courthouse, he sang out tremulously—" Oh yes ! oh yes ! oh yes! I'm now going to proceed to carry out the sentence of the law on Eph Tolly, which has to be hung for arson and setting a man's house afire. Whar'a Bill Simmonds, my depity ?" " He's over at Jim Beard's, playing seven up with Barty Corrigan, and beaten of him like sikes," answered a little pot-bellied, yellow-faced specimen

of ft dirteater. "He wants me to take bis place." " You take his place! You take!" indignantly interrupted the sheriff. " Darn you, you'd look better taking Eph .Tolly's place !, Call Bill." After same delay, Bill Simmonds appeared, and Mr Sheriff, taking a piece of clothes line, about four feet, long, out of his pocket, tossed it to him, and said—" Mr Deputy go and fetch Tolly out here." Up to this time I had heen vainly looking to find some preparations for the fatal ssene; but the only thing visible was an enclosure about forty feet square, five feefe high, made of rails, and in the fashion of a fence, and resembling a suspicious pig-pen more than anything else. In the centre of the enclosure stood a pole, forked at the top ; and lying beside it was an other pole, about twelve feet long, peeled of its bark. "Mr Sheriff," said "I, "are not these proceedings rather irregular ? the lawyer says an execution must take place within an enclosure ; and —" " Well, ain't that an enclosure ? The law don't say that I am to build a stone wall, does it." " Where is the gallows ?" I then ventured to ask. " Squire," said the sheriff with impressive dignity—"squire, don't you fret your gizzard. I knows my biziness, and you'll oblige me by attending to yourn. I ain't been sheriff of River County for goin 22 years for nothing." Enter Bill Simmonds and Tolly. He had tied the bit of clothes line round the culprit's neck, and was leading him along as you would lead a horse to water. Tolly was as tall in stature as the sheriff, very stoutly built, and had a sulky, don't-care-a-rap sort of look ou his sto id face. He nodded familiarly to all hands, spoke to two or three of the party, and asked me for a chew of tobacco. I carry two kinds —one for myself, and the other for tobacco beggars; but thinking it a shame to send a man into eternity with a wad of nigger head in his mouth, I pulled out my own choice honeydew, and handed it. over. That was the last I saw of it. Tolly deposited an enormous quid in his cheek, and coolly handed the rest; to the little pot-bellied dirt-eater, and it went froir one to the other as long as it lasted. Lor', to think that a man with one leg in the grave should be capable of such ingratitude. The sheriff now read a document to Tolly, informing him that be was to be hung by the neck, &c, winding up ■with Che addition, "And now, Tolly, you're a precious skunk, ain't you, to set a gentleman's house afire, and be guilty of arson ? Come along here," and he took the rope from the deputy's hand, and led Tolly, who followed like a lamb to the slaughter, into the enclosure.

Old Bob whispered to me, " Frank give the poor devil a drink." But the fate of my honeydew steeled my heart against this appeal. Arrived at the fatal pole, the sheriff ordered the doomed man to '' set down thar," which he did; the end of the rope was then tied around the peeled sapling on the ground. "Now, Tolly, get up"—and Tolly, with apparent stolid indifference, slowly rose to his feet. The sheriff then put one end of the sapling into the fork of the upright, and, pulling out his watch, handed it to Simmonds, saying, " Now depity, you time him while I hold him up. Judge of my horror when I saw this old devil thus coolly prepare to choke the wretch to deatii, with no more compunction than if drowning a blind puppy. I begged uncle Bob to interfere, but he declined to do so. "All ready? Now, Bill Simmonds, you time exzactly; mind yon, five minutes—not a minit more or less." With this he mounted a low stump, and with a herculean effort raised the small end of a sapling at arm's length over his head. The tension of the rope just raised Tolly to his tip-toes, and didn't seem to inconvenience him much. But the sheriff—you should have seen him ! At the end of about the second minute he was purple in the face. "Bill Simmons," he gasped, "how long has he been hanging—ain't time up ?" "Two minits." " Hang it! panted the sheriff. I ventured to suggest to the sheriff that he was proceeding in an unlawful manner. " Who asked you for your lip ?" he retorted. " I know what the law says It says after a gentleman's been banging a certain time —and I think fi/e minutes is the time —he's got a right to live if he can stand it; and 1 think he ought to." " Time's up," shouted the deputy ; and the sheriff flung the pole from him with a force that jerked the pendant Tolly sprawling on the ground. He picked himself up, and the sheriff untied the clothes line from his neck ; and then ramming Tolly's hat over his eyes, he thus addressed him : —" Now, Eph Tolly, you've escaped hanging by a quibble of the law ; but if you know what's good for you, you'll leave the country mighty sudden ; —" saying which, he applied to Tolly a tremendous kick of pegged boots, ejaculating " I'll teach you to commit arson and set a man's house afire. And if I ketch in these diggin's again, I'll have to shoot you, you villain." With one final kick, he turned him loose, and invited all to liquor.