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Across The Fence: Six Went To The Gallows

"The Gallows. Six Murderers Executed." So read the headlines in the September 4, 1875 edition of The New York Times. This single event, the simultaneous hanging of six men at Fort Smith Arkansas, earned Judge Isaac Parker the moniker of "The Hanging Judge" and executioner George Maledon the distinction of being the "Prince of Hangmen." These seemingly morbid titles might be somewhat repulsive to most people these days. However, to those few who were attempting to live a peaceful, law-abiding existence in 1875 "Indian Territory," these two men wielded the awful power of the law to bring an end to the lawlessness that was rampant in the territory.

The territory was the land to where President Andrew Jackson force-marched the Cherokee people. The territory was the land where presidents' Johnson, Grant and Hayes relocated the vanquished tribes of the Great Plains. And as the wheels of civilization rolled westward, past this pocket of so-called "undesirables," the territory became the lair of those who sought to live outside the law. The territory was for the most part unavailable for white settlement and so it became a haven for outlaws and social misfits who preferred the absence of law enforcement.

By 1875 Fort Smith had been abandoned by the US military and the citizens who remained lived in the shadow of a corrupt legal system that catered more to the lawless element than to those who sought justice. Seeing the need for strict law enforcement, Isaac Parker sought out the position of Judge and was quickly granted his request by President Ulysses S. Grant. Parker was a bright, young attorney, only 36 years of age, who diligently and faithfully upheld the strict enforcement of the law. His reputation qualified him for the position and his desire to accept clinched the appointment.

Judge Isaac Parker, his wife and young twin sons arrived in Ft. Smith on Sunday morning, May 2, 1875. Very few of the 2,500 residents of the rundown frontier town were there to greet him. Ft. Smith and the more than 30 saloons that lined her streets was the gathering place for railroad workers, riverboat men, transient fortune seekers, Texas cowboys on their way back home after the long drives to Kansas and the always present riff-raff who migrate toward opportunity.

"We have made a great mistake, Isaac," said Mrs. Parker to her husband. Judge Parker replied, "No, Mary. We are faced with a great task. These people need us. We must not fail them."

After Judge Parker's arrival in Ft. Smith scarcely more than a week had passed before court convened. Judge Parker had been appointed as a Federal Judge with full authority to enforce the law within his jurisdiction. There was no appeal of Judge Parker's verdict and reversal of his rulings was possible only by presidential pardon. The extent of his legal authority was far reaching, but history records that his application of the law was just.

In his first court session, that lasted eight weeks, Judge Parker heard 91 cases. Of those brought before him 18 were charged with murder and 15 were found guilty. Of those 15, eight received extended prison terms, one attempted to escape and was shot and killed by prison guard and executioner George Maledon. The remaining six would be hanged.

George Maledon was an infant when his parents brought him to the Unites States from Germany. Born in 1830, George lived in Detroit until heading west in 1856 and settling near Ft. Smith. He became a Deputy Marshal and served in that capacity until the outbreak of the Civil War, when he enlisted with the Union and served as an artillery officer for the duration. After the war he returned to Ft. Smith and resumed his duties as deputy and prison guard and added to those duties the role of executioner or hangman, which more accurately described his role.

It appears that George was an experienced hangman at the time that Judge Parker arrived in Ft. Smith. From a newspaper interview in later life George mentioned his first hanging sometime in 1873, an event in which his inexperience resulted in a less than satisfactory hanging. However, it would seem that George's expertise was quickly honed and subsequent executions were quick and clean. Those who observed his handiwork claimed that the Prince of Hangmen elevated the mechanics of his trade to an art. In order to more efficiently conduct these proceedings Judge Parker ordered the construction of a gallows more than twenty feet wide, a structure that would accommodate up to ten men, side by side.

The six men that Judge Parker sentenced, during his first court session, were scheduled for execution at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, September 3, 1875. John Wittington, sentenced to be hanged for clubbing a man to death. Sam Fooy, sentenced to be hanged for the murder of a school teacher. Daniel Evans, sentenced to be hanged for killing a man in order to steal his boots. James H. Moore, sentenced to be hanged for horse stealing. Smoker Mankiller, sentenced to be hanged for murder and Edmund Campbell sentenced to be hanged for the murder of an Indian.

The six men were to be hung in unison and the execution would be made available for public viewing. Six men hung in unison would be the largest number of simultaneous executions under the jurisdiction of a Federal Judge. Larger numbers, nearly 30 during the Mexican-American War, had been conducted by the military but this would be a first in civilian courts. It may seem a bit morbid by today's standards but it should be realized that Judge Parker was faced with an enormous task of cleaning up a rampantly lawless region. A clear message needed to be sent to those who were accustomed to disregarding the law and Judge Parker intended to send that message.

In the days before the public hanging the dusty little town of Ft. Smith grew from 2,500 townspeople to a crowd of curiosity seekers as more than 5,000 people from across the region and from the east came to watch the spectacle. Newspaper reporters flocked to the scene and the New York Times was the first to publish a record of the event.

George Maledon took meticulous care to insure that his duties as hangman were conducted with precision as well as compassion. In the week preceding the morning of September 3, George prepared the knots, oiled and stretched the ropes and checked the readiness of the gallows by placing dummies in the noose and springing the trap. Six times each day George checked and double checked to make sure everything would go as planned. And six times each day the six condemned men heard the trap floor drop open with a clatter that echoed against the prison walls.

At 9:30 a.m. on September 3, the six prisoners were marched from the Federal jail to the gallows. Twelve guards marched alongside, one on the left and one on the right of each prisoner. George followed behind until they reached the gallows steps when he scurried to the front of the procession and scrambled up the stairs. Each of the six stood beneath the noose that hung above their heads as George passed to each one, shook his hand and bid him farewell. He cautioned each of them to stand still, not move and most especially don't turn their head. George then took a plug of tobacco from his pocket, bit off an ample chew and began the process of placing a black hood over each man's head then drawing the noose snugly around each neck. When all was in readiness George positioned himself before the lever that would spring the trap and waited for Judge Parker to give the command, a slight nod of his head.

Five-thousand spectators drew a sharp collective breath as the trap door fell open and the six men dropped to the end of a six foot fall. George looked down through the open trap and spat a stream of tobacco to the ground below, satisfied that none of the six had suffered. It had been a clean execution.

In the 20 years that George Maledon served as executioner for Judge Parker he hanged a total of 60 convicted felons. Nineteen more were hanged after his retirement. In the 21 years that Judge Parker sat on the bench he heard 13,490 cases, 344 of which were capital crimes. Judge Parker pronounced 9,454 convictions and sentenced 156 men and 4 women to death. Only 79 were executed by hanging, the others either died while imprisoned or were granted a presidential pardon. In those 21 years, Judge Parker changed from a robust, dark haired young man to a frail, white-haired old man. He died just two months after his last session at the age of just 56 years.

After passing sentence on those first six men that he had tried, Judge Parker remarked, "I do not desire to hang you men. It is the law." And then, he wept.

M. Timothy Nolting is an award winning Nebraska columnist and freelance writer. To contact Tim email; [email protected]

 

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