Execution Tales Chapter 39 Part 2 Revision 2
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[This is a re-imagining of the classic hanging scene in the film Cat Balou - this time with what I consider to be a much more satisfying conclusion]

The second novella was also set in the Wild West & it too ended with a hanging

Cat Ballou

Cat Ballou “You have been found guilty of murder. Is there anything you wish to say before I pass sentence”. The judge looked at the beautiful young woman standing at the defendant’s table.

She sobbed “I’m innocent. Please you must believe me”.

The judge replied, “The jury has decided otherwise. Cat Ballou I sentence you to hang by the neck until you are dead. The execution will take place one week from today at noon. As is customary in these circumstances the Governor will be informed of the position & asked if he wishes to commute the death sentence to life in prison Return the prisoner to the town jail”.
Cat cried piteously as she was led away.

On the morning of the execution Cat looked out from her cell window at the newly assembled gallows standing in the middle of the town square. She gripped the bars on the window so hard her knuckles were white. A large crowd was beginning to gather.

This was the first execution of a female in the territory & so the spectators were very excited by the prospect of a woman having her neck stretched on the gallows, swinging & kicking the air, especially one that looked like Cat Ballou.

The Sheriff & one of his deputies appeared through the door leading from the office to the cells.. The prisoner turned round as she heard them approach.

The deputy stared at Cat transfixed as he waited for the sheriff to open the cell door. The prisoner was a slender well developed young woman, no more than a girl really, with shoulder length light brown hair & large almond shaped brown eyes.

She was wearing a long white lace dress, which could have been taken for a wedding gown. The Sheriff’s wife had given Cat the dress as she had felt sorry for the young girl & thought that she should at least be given the chance to look her best at her hanging.

The law officers entered the cell. Cat’s wide eyes stared hopefully & fearfully at them “Have you heard from the Governor Sheriff?” she asked her voice trembling.

“Yes Cat, we have. The Governor has told us he isn’t minded to intervene in your case. The execution will proceed as scheduled in an hour.”

The prisoner’s eyes welled up with tears, her hand went to the slender white column of her neck. “Oh God!” she cried. “You can’t hang me! You can’t! I’m innocent! I’m innocent”.

She wrung her hands in despair & almost collapsed into the plain wooden seat, which was the only furniture in the cell apart from the bunk.

The Sheriff offered Cat a makeup bag & a hand mirror & said to her. “Cat try to be brave. My wife thought you should have this so that you can make yourself look as presentable as possible.”

The prisoner looked up at the Sheriff & through tears whimpered, “Please thank your wife for this, & also of course for the lovely dress”. She took the bag & the mirror.

The Sheriff left but the deputy pulled a chair from one of the empty cells & sat down in front of Cat’s cell. The authorities were determined that there would be no risk of the prisoner taking her own life & so cheating the noose.

Cat looked at the mirror & took out the lipstick, make up jar & a small brush from the bag. As she began to apply the make up with the small brush to her face she tremulously asked the deputy “How long will it take?”.

Cat had seen a hanging in Dodge City three months previously & the vision of the condemned man writhing on the end of the rope like a stranded eel was still vivid in her mind, as were the strangled, squeals & gasps that had accompanied his protracted demise.

The deputy was a decent man & wanted to be kind but he saw no point in lying,”If you are lucky Cat you will pass out after a couple of minutes & death will follow swiftly. If not…..”, his voice trailed away.

He knew that the authorities were determined to make an example of the girl & the hangman had been instructed to make sure that there was no chance of the prisoner’s neck breaking when she dropped through the trap. He didn’t share this with Cat

At five to twelve the execution party entered the area with the cells at the rear of the Sheriff’s office. It consisted of the Sheriff, another deputy, a doctor & a minister.

Cat got up from her seat as the cell door opened. She looked stunning in spite of the large tears rolling down her cheeks.

She managed to walk unaided from the cell & through the Sheriff’s office. As they emerged into the sunlight the crowd broke out into the traditional hanging hymn. “When we gather at the river, the beautiful, beautiful river” echoed round the town square.

With the prisoner in the middle the execution party walked slowly towards the gallows. Cat glanced nervously from side to side at the faces in the crowd. Some showed pity, some righteous anger & more than a few sadistic pleasure as they looked forward to seeing such a beautiful young woman dance on the end of a rope.

When they arrived at the steps to the gallows the doomed girl lifted the skirt of her dress up revealing slim ankles clad in silk stocking, which had also been supplied by the Sheriff’s wife, so that she didn’t trip on it as she climbed the stairs leading to the platform.

The Sheriff, one of deputies & the minister followed her up the steps. The doctor & the remaining deputy stayed standing on the town square.

The masked hangman was waiting for Cat on the platform. When she arrived he went behind her & firmly but gently took her arms & pushed her onto a four foot square trapdoor at the front of the platform. The waiting noose swayed slightly in the light wind framing the prisoner’s terrified face. The executioner took out a piece of rope & tied Cat’s wrists behind her.

The Sheriff was carrying a formal looking paper. The singing died away as he started to read, “Cat Ballou, you have been found guilty of murder & sentenced to hang by the neck until you are dead. Is there anything you wish to say before sentence is carried out”.

Cat could only whimper, “Get on with it”. The sheriff nodded at the executioner. He pulled the noose over the prisoners’s head & tightened it round her trembling neck, careful to ensure that none of her hair was caught under the rope.

As she felt the rough fibred hemp against her skin Cat’s eyes opened wide & she gasped. He moved to stand next to the trap door lever at the side of the gallows platform. The sheriff looked at the hangman & nodded. He pulled the lever

The wooden platform falls out from under the condemned girl. She falls about three feet. The skirt of her dress flies up giving the gaping crowd a good view of her shapely slender legs encased in expensive white silk stockings.

The rope is unforgiving as it digs into Cat’s throat, twisting & stretching the tendons in her neck. Her breathing cut off, choking rasps come from her. Her face begins to darken, suffused with the trapped blood now unable to circulate to the rest of her body. Drool flows freely from her gaping mouth & her tongue begins to protrude as she searches fruitlessly for the air she is unable to inhale.

Her body shakes & convulses, breasts bouncing. Her legs kick furiously giving the appreciative crowd more glimpses of her desperately threshing silk covered legs, at times up to her stocking tops & even once or twice of the bare thighs above them.

She twists back & forth swinging on the rope, straining against the noose which is slowly strangling her to death. Her complexion slowly darkens further from red, to crimson to purple, her eyes become bloodshot as capillaries start to burst.

Her struggles become gradually weaker & the noises coming from her mouth grow faint. Her death throes finally cease after what must have seemed to Cat like an eternal nine minutes.

Her body wheels gently backwards & forwards, the intense agony leading up to her death screams out from her horribly distorted features, her sightless bulging eyes stare out over the crowd from a now very dark face, her tongue lolling out of the side of the open mouth.

The spectators began to gradually disperse excitedly discussing what they have witnessed. They all agreed that everyone who saw the hanging of Cat Ballou will ever forget it.

The body was left hanging for a further half hour to ensure that life was definitely extinct. It was then taken down, examined by the doctor to confirm death & handed over to the undertaker for disposal

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