While waiting, Chacon was held in a specially built steel cage that was kept under heavy guard. The scaffold on which Chacon was to hang had also been built specifically for him in 1897, though he had escaped before it could be used. A large fourteen-foot adobe wall was built around the scaffold so only people with invitations could view the hanging. When the day of execution came, Chacon had a good breakfast and was permitted to see two of his friends, Jesus Bustos and Sisto Molino. He was also allowed to see the Catholic priest several times that day and after lunch he was given a shave and a new black suit to wear. Chacon was delivered to the scaffold at 2:00 PM and, as he entered the courtyard, about fifty people were waiting to greet him. The bandit chief, who had for over a decade eluded the law, asked for a cigarette and a cup of coffee before death and then began an unprepared thirty-minute speech to the crowd. Speaking in Spanish with an English interpreter, Chacon claimed he was innocent of killing his friend, Pablo Salcido, or anybody else for that matter, but he did say that he was guilty of stealing and "many other things." After a second cigarette and cup of coffee, Chacon requested that he be allowed to live until 3:00 pm, but his request was denied. While walking up the steps of the scaffold, Chacon shook the hands of his friends and admirers. When the rope was in place and the executioner was ready, Chacon's final words were "Adios, todos amigos." On the day after the execution, the Arizona Bulletin reported: "[A] nervier man than Augustine Chacon never walked to the gallows, and his hanging was a melodramatic spectacle that will never be forgotten by those who witnessed it."Cleere, pp. 71–73
