Eyewitness a Double Hanging (c. 1890)

A six-card series of cabinet card photographs details a double hanging, c. 1890. While the cards do not contain names or places, the sequence provides an interesting glimpse into law and order in the western frontier.

Each cabinet card contains a number penciled on the reverse, which creates a sequence (one card, however, is missing).

Card One opens the drama with sheriff’s deputies escorting the two condemned prisoners from the jail to the gallows, constructed on the outskirts of town. In bigger towns and cities, hangings typically took place in an enclosed courtyard adjacent to the jail. The condemned cells of large prisons, like Sing Sing in New York or San Quentin in California, were a short walk (often called “the long walk” by prisoners) to the execution chamber. In Sing Sing, for example, a condemned prisoner passed from the “death house” though a green door to the electric chair.

These two unfortunates, however, have a “long walk,” literally—a long way to go on buckling knees, probably after downing a last shot or two to steel their nerves.

Nineteenth-century hangings took place on Fridays if at all possible and practicable. Christ died for the sins of humanity on Good Friday, so according to the reasoning of the era, convicted felons would follow in his footsteps and expiate their sins on “Hangman’s Friday.”

Note the electric wires in the background of the photograph: a clue as the approximate age of this sequence.

By Cards Two and Three, the two condemned prisoners have mounted the gallows. Spectators, some on foot and others on horseback, listen as the prisoners address the crowd on onlookers. Official, sanctioned executions followed a prescribed routine. After the “death march,” a party of officials would congregate on the gallows. The sheriff would read the sentence, and then the condemned would be allowed their last words, often consisting of a miniature sermon against the evils of rot-gut whiskey, an eleventh-hour plea for mercy, or a condemnation of any justice system that would let an innocent man swing.

Card Four provides a good glimpse into the size of the crowd assembled to watch justice in action. Hangings were always popular events that caused a run on a town’s hotels, saloons, and brothels. When they took place in closed courtyards, sheriffs sent invitations in envelopes fringed in black. This execution took place in an open area on the outskirts of town, and judging from the size of the crowd, became must-see drama for townspeople.

A minister would have the final word, literally, by leading a prayer while the hangman pinioned the arms and legs of the prisoners and placed nooses around their necks. The caps (sometimes white, sometimes black) would come last. The hangman, minister, and sheriff would then stand back. The missing card—Card Five—may have shown this fateful moment just before the gallows doors opened to admit the condemned to the netherworld.

On cue, the hangman’s assistant would pull a lever to release the counterweights. With a loud thud, sandbags attached to the trap would pull the floor out beneath the condemned, which either led to a quick death via broken neck or a ten-minute demise by strangulation.

The desperate writhing would slow and eventually stop except for an occasional twitch or spasm. A few minutes later, movement would cease except for a slow, seesaw swing caused by the momentum of the struggle.

The bodies would sway gently for a half an hour during which spectators would amble up to the bodies. The philosophical would contemplate the ultimate punishment; the morbid would pluck a souvenir, such as a shirt button or a few strands of hair. Practical hangmen would reuse the good (and expensive) hemp ropes, but these things sometimes ended up as macabre museum exhibits.

Card Six shows this peaceful yet ominous moment as the pinioned bodies dangle—an ominous reminder of the penalty for murder, rape, or horse theft. A curious fellow has lifted the coat sleeve to inspect the handcuffs, or “bracelets,” on one of the dead men. Note the straps pinioning the arms and legs of the condemned to prevent them from trying to gain a foothold in the land of the living as they fell through the trapdoor into eternity.