The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1877-07-19
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The mandarin nasas slAM anu
the attendant soldier seised the prise
ner'S pig-tail and brought the hame<se
down fnrieasly on his bleeding hack,
Kill me. kill mer shrieAed the
wretch. Il saw no one else You
will aot speak, them said the man-
DARN Jelly, with another gesture, in
obedience 10 which another attendant
stepped forward, hearing an srmful
Of instruments os torture, rincers g
tear OUT teeth and fracture jaws,
thamls>cews, raitans, nlalleis Is break
the fingers, and know nos whsi,
As Ne Al preached the prisanerthis
latter set himself 70 speak with a
friShtfal feverish volatility, - rapid
liz. indeed. that L.. comparatively eA-
pert interpreter though he was, could
hardly follow him. The poor wretch
confessed, gave names, grew incohe-
rent, poured out string of other
names-at haphazard, and without
slightest idea of'what he was saying,
l think.
Horror-str | was about 10
leave the hall when there was great
stir in the audience chamber, and
there entered, smiling, a tall and stout
man of some fifty years, wearing the
insignia Of mandarin ofthe highest
rank. The others left their chairs,
the eat-faced inquisitor assumed an
atiable air, and for five minutes there
| was a chin-chinning, a compliment
\ ing, bowling and scraping a. ceremo-
uiou~ as il we had been nj Versailles
+ in the time of Louis XIV. After this
avalanche of politeness. the mandarin,
: who had apparently only called to
take leave OF his colleagues, went out
acain l,y the door of honor, and they,
taking on their passionles> faces. re-
turned Ia their work.
He u going Ia preside Il, the exc
eution, said L.. make haste. We
found the courtyard thronged with
yellow uniformed soldiers armed with
halt+.ri- and mafchlockS. cavaliers on
Rllle cuffee-cclared ponies. parasols.
banners. goug~. rich sedan chair car
ri..d BY -ix coolies robed in red, all the
e-oftege of a great mandarin, and in
The middle seated an the ground in
baskets. With snlien counienauces
and heavily ironed, d dozen ragged
men. the victims.
Al each moment anew captive Wa
brought up. One by one the pole.
officials logged them out of the cell
each wa. seized aud bound 10y til,
turkeys aud placed in the basket te
l.. carried. depending from bamboo
by two bearers: "a wooden tab TIED
around his neck gave his name and
age. and label pasted upon stick an
pounced the crime for which he wa.
to die, by order Of the Emperor.
1T is some distance To the scene oi
: execution, and we hurried into oui
chairs and act out. As we did so the
hustle and horrid din of the gongs an.
nounced that the procession was form
ing. So great an impression had the
whole affair on my mind this revolt
ing Justice the horrible apparatus,
the culprits logged away like sheep to
the shambles, the masquerade upon the
death march-that as heard the un-
earthly racket and was borne swiftly
through the crowd almost felt myself
i'm the place of one ofthepoor wretches
in the hideous basket being iolted to
the slaughter.
1.-The execution ground is snail,
triangular space ; on one side a. low
wall. on another are some wretched
houses. The Inhabitants pot
tiers and a earpenter-pay no taxes.
They seemed to he miserably poor,
and altogether Indifferent to the scene
ahou, to be enacted. They Use the
field to dry their pottery ware; in
deed as We arrived All old Chinaman
was hurriedly removing pots and jars
from the center to make room for the
executioner and his victims.
AT first sight nothing could be
more innocent and calm than this lit
tie 'potter's field, but on looking
along the wall-horror, what did one
see? a heap of skulls bleaching in
the sun, some boxes and..j jars OF quick
lime in which might he seen scattered
tufts of hair, and crosses from which
depended bits of -titfened rope. TO
those, said H.. they tie prisoners
who are Ia be tortured \ common
mode nf punishment is to cut them Ia
pieces while alive, beginning with the
eyelids, the nose ana the in,-. and
then going on tn the arms and legs
There j. Ah-Fong, the head-man. h,
continued, indicating thickset man
with trousers and sleeves rolled up
and bearing i large -aber. He i al
important parsonage, and leaves thu
. heavy work to his assistant Decap
) itating j. his speiaclty.
: AL this moment the corteye enter
ed the little field; the coolies, out o
breath and sweating, deposited theil
? ladings On the ground; the execution
D err seized their victims. led them /,
the middle OF the space-therr wa.
: barely room. male them kneal one he
fore tn. other in two lines, twenty
!, four prisoners in all; stretched gu
! their necks by raising their pinionet
arms; wrapped around their skull.
! the queues that had been loo-el ~
1 disarranged then waited
e "rhe mandarin did not arrive. FL
! had probably hal some difficulty il
making his way through the crowde,
e streets, and till he reached the groan,
: nothing could he done While wait
: ing for him the head-man examine.
? critically the edge nf his weapon an,
: frightened his CIR lie. and the kneelin:
, prisoners YEARLY twisted their out
stretched neck-. Thu, AT l.s,-t ter
minutes passed. Imagine VIA
thoughts must have passed through
, the brains of these poor devil dnrin.
these ten centuries Of waiting. tn,
mental torture smperad lei, withou
motive and by sheer negligence, t.