Sheriff Laird gave the signal by a dropped…
source date: 1888
availability: public-domain

Sheriff Laird gave the signal by a dropped handkerchief at 9:58, and Wilson, who was inclosed in a box out of sight of the spectators, pulled the rope. The drop was nearly seven feet. Pilar’s neck was broken in the fall. Thus the law is vindicated and the death of Thomas Hall is avenged by the hanging of one of the most desperate young murderers ever known in the southwest. There was one thing remark- able about the spectators present, not a single expression of sympathy was manifested for the condemned man during the breathless moments preceding the hanging. It was evident that the murderer had no real friends among the spec- tators.