An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

His neck was in pain and lifting his hand to it he found it horribly swollen. He knew that it had a circle of black where the rope had bruised it. His eyes felt congested; he could no longer close them. His tongue was swollen with thirst; he relieved its fever by thrusting it forward from between his teeth into the cold air. How softly the turf had carpeted the untraveled avenue-he cold no longer …

…no longer feel the ground beneath his feet. It felt as if he were walking on air, which proved to be an indication of hanging. Peyton Farquhar had taken the best possible way to go through with a hanging. He had escaped, wandered home, and seen his wife one last time before actually dying. If actual death is similar to the death taken by Peyton, then it should be impossible to have a horrible death.