The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-02-09
Execution by Implement.

ONE morning while was at Yoko-
hama | was informed that a criminal
was about to be publicly put to death,
and the morbid curiosity which has
more or less stronghold upon most of
us induced me to sally forth and wit
ness the execution. This is what | saw:
When l reached the place appointed
for carrying into effect the capital SEN
tence, the unfortunate convict, fine
looking japanese, in the prime of youth
and strength, was standing under
huge post in the middle of a little posse
of,guards. The post had cross piece.
Nearly nude, he was standing erect,
but as motionless as statue, while his
fearless but dreamy eyes gazed straight
into the distance before him, as if he
was looking at some far-off object loom
ing upon horizon visible only to his
distracted vision. There was no token
of terror in his determined face, no sign
of shrinking in his quiescent but tense
ly-strung body. Presently there was a
movement among the little knot of
those surrounding him. His jailers
moved aside and there strobe into the
circle a gaunt, epulsive-loOking native,
clad from head to foot in a dress of
dingy yellow. The executioner-for it
was he-was accompanied by couple
of assistants, who carried some half
dozen long, round bamboo rods, about
a couple of fingers thick at their larg-
est end, and tapering to half that size
at the other, which was sharply pointed.
The rods were laid upon the ground,
and the trinity of death clapped hold
OF the living statue before them. In
trice the human ef1igy, who made no
attempt at resistance, and who, as far
as L observed, never even opened his
lips, was grimly dangling on the post,
his arms stretched out right and left
along the cross-piece. There was now
slight pause The executioners dallied
with the bamboos, and the poor Great
ure spread-eagled on the post, still
looking into the shadowy distance, still
was dumb; but thought could detect
yellow pallor stealing up his face.
Perhaps he was collecting all his reso-
luton to meet the terrible ordeal he
knew was close upon him. The prin-
clpal eXecutioner, who meanwhile had
selected couple of bamboos to his
mind, now stepped to the left side of
his eXpectant victim, spat upon the
point of one of his weapons, and with
a twisting, pushing motion thrust it
easily into the flesh about half way be-
tween the hip and the armpit. The
poor wretch upon the cross turned his
gaze slowly down upon his tormentor,
and his lips slightly opened. But he
made no struggle-he uttered no cry.
His resolution, his courage, were super
human. Hooked at the eXecutioner. He
was calmly continuing to push and wrig-
Gle the bamboo further and further into
the body. In couple of minutes, though
it seemed much longer, the bloody point
Of the instrument emerged from the top
of the sufferers shoulder. There was
a slight exclamation of satisfaction from
the crowd, Just the sort of hum that es-
capes from those watching a daring
swimmer when his head appears above
the surface after long dive; and the
fiend at the other end of the bamboo
stopped wriggling, let go his hold and
stepped back. Now, l thought, he is
going to give the poor tortured creature
his coup de grace. Not bit of it. He
crossed to the opposite side of the post,
calmly inserted the second weapon in
the same spot on the sufferers other
flank, and worked away till it, too,
came out above the armpit. All this
time not single groan, not one de-
spairing cry for mercy, escaped the
man thus doubly impaled. His head
dropped little upon his chest, and his
ewes were half closed, but he was evil
IDENTIFY alive and conscious. At this
moment, to my amazement, the execu-
toner and his assistants, picking up the |