The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-01-29
,ERMs $500 PER ANNUMIN ADVANCE.
Modes Of Infiietius Capital Punishment .

10 begin with the ancients, and first of all
.ne Assyrians; the disinterred palaces, besides
,.s e"s 10 light many revelations of their
pon'ica' rehglous and social habits. and the
extent OF their civilization. also show ne their
ue VI treating captive rebels. One, the
most dreadful, was the infiictiop of imnaIe-
ment, put not that impalement which nra-
vailed In later times in the East and auonr
the savaSes OF Africa, whereby the sufferer
was exposed to lingering death of agonv
Assyrlans pointed stake at one end. and
having planted The other end firmly in the
ground, placed the criminal with the pit of
his stomach on the point, and so transfixed
his body. Death must have followed after no
long interval; whereas the implement of the
later Arabs by red-hot hooks piercing into the
shoulder must have proved as horrible a mode
of punishment as could be devised. Usually
the Assyrans either decapitated their GRIM
inals, or crushed their heads with mace
In either case one blow would be enoucb'
The faying of the skin is sometimes repre-
sented, but that was probably done upon
those who had already been put to death.
and not on the living body. The Jews were
sipgularly mercifui ia their methods of exc
cution, being probably restrained by their
divine religion and law. Their usual mode.
that OF stoning, depended entirely upon the
executioners. 1t might be fearfully barbar-
Gus, all the limbs being mangled and crushed
before lie was forced out so it was with St.
Stephen, who offered up more than one PRAYER
during the process; or insensbility might
quickly stay suffering Hanging was also un-
known. This was something like crucifixion,
being not the hanging by the neck, but the
criminal was first put 10 death in some other
way, and it was only his lifeless body that
was so treated by the way of contumely. This
regulation shows that by hanging could not
be meant the crucfixion or impalament of
the living body. Burning with fire was in
hicted upon the family of Samson's wife by
the Philistines, and Judah ordered it when
he suspected his daughter-in-law. The
daughter of a priest who went astray was
condemned to this death by the law of Moses,
but the execution of Achan and his family
shows what the punishment really was. Tie
sufferer was not burnt alive; he was first ston-
ed, and afterwards his body was exposed to
the fire. Decapitation seems TO have been
practised under the kings. 1t was the duty
Of the captain of the guard to execute great
criminals So Benaiah was required to do
his work to Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei; so
mike manner among the Egyptians, Potipbar,
captain of the guard, really war chief OF the
slaughterers. This post was one of considera-
BILE Importance in those days, as 1t was also in
France up to the Revolution. 1t would not
be quite fai- now to compare Potiphar to our
sheriff. Yet in most cases they probably ap-
pointed deputy, just as now the business of
the sheriff is to execute the sentenceof thelaw
although he usually finds deputy to do his
work for him. The Babylonians were natur-
ally more cruel than the Assyrans, PROBABLY
owing to the infusion of Cushite blood into
the composition of their race. Among them
we first hear OF the fearful death of burning
a.