Lew Powell's Frostbitten Feet

[Natty]

(08-24-2012 05:44 PM)MaddieM Wrote:  I read it took Gillette a while to get over the whole episode. He had sleepless nights after Lewis died. You would though, wouldn't you?

Cynics might say that Lewis wept for himself, that he was merely sorry because he'd been caught and was paying the price. I don't think that's so at all. I think he wept more for his family, and his mum in particular. I think he realised the full impact of what a terrible ordeal he had caused them, and how they'd be when they found out. If he did cry for himself, I think he cried because he wanted his mother.

Yes, Dr. Gillette was deeply disturbed by Lewis' execution and suffered from nightmares for weeks afterward. I think Betty mentioned somewhere that he had been able to hear Lewis "gasping for breath" after the drop.

I can't even begin to think of how I'd reacted. My 21st century self would have broken down on the gallows and pleaded for their lives. I would probably develop a trauma for life after such an experience!

I agree with you that Lewis was not weeping for himself! He was plagued by remorse and concern over the perceived dishonor he had inflicted upon his family. He knew that it would break his mother's heart and he realized that he would never, ever see her again. Dr. Gillette was the only person he had that night and he must have felt utterly unwanted and indescribably sad.
Surely, his mother could not come due to the distance and time constraints, but still...... no one else did either. That must have been extremely hard.