The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1879-01-08
THE yvIIPPINti.Posr IN CANADA
ls5cicenisag Spectacle III the ST. Thomas
'Jatt--A Wo,ttd- BE Isnvis1.er Punished
'sitjs the Ont o. Mine ItsiIs.

i S5cfscmaMD Spectacle In The St. Thomas
Jatt--4 Wosttd-Be Isnvis1aer Punished
'ptt1s tho Cat o. Nine 1stils.
(St. Thomas Cont. Journal
VIM. Burt, who was seHtanced ut the laai
general sessions to receive tWSspty lashes Of the
cat 81 nine tails besides a NH of one months
/ imprisonment, for committing an ind ecent a.
aault on q sever.-y ear-oId child, was subjected
70 ms punishment yesterday N. 81
i 5 IL was nearly III o'clock when Burt wan taken
from the prison cells. He marched along the
jail corridor with an erect bearing and as Arm
q step as II he were going on parade. The tri-
angle, where the punishment was to take place
had already been ereott a iis the corridor, and and
| was constructed of three propsAof wood about
seven feet high, bound together at the top and
spreading toward the floor on which the base
rested Leather bands were attached at suit
able places on the triangle for purpose Of tying
the hands and feet. The ''cat'' came from
Toronto, and wasa formidable enough looking
| instrument. The nine thongs Of which It wat,
com posed were made Of twisted cord and these
We're tied to a wooden handle about eighteen
inches long. Not moments time was lost in
proceeding to business. The man appointed to do
| the Whlpping--a London ,r1ar--p proceeded at
once to fasten Burt to the triangle after he hsd
| been stripped to the waist. Only about dozen
people were present, including the sheriff. DR..
Van Buskirk, the jail surgeon, and DR.. Ieitch.
When all was ready the sheriff read the sem
tence of the court Then he desired one Of the
turnkeyR to keep count OF the strokes. The
iagellator had taken his stand on the LETT aid
OF Burt, and in the most favorable position TO
bringing the lash to bear with effect He was q
wlry looking customer, and evidently under
stood his business. Burt's face was concealed
from the spectators owing to the back view
which he presented, hnt he had evidently
braced himself for the trial. and his body did
not betray 4uiyer.
One, said the turnkey, and with pre-
llmlnary flourish to increase the momentum
the cat came whizzing down down across
Burts back, leaving the trail Of nine blood red
streaks extending from shoulder to shoulder.
The strokes followed in quick succession, ana
were administered with skillful, biting sweep
that brought each individual thong into effec-
tive play. At the twelfth stroke the lash de-
scended about o couple of inches lower than the
preceding ones, Strike up,'' demonstrated
Burt. and notanother word did he utter until all
was over. Dominor' said he then. His back by
this time had assumed g raw and livid aspect,
but no blood had been drawn, although the
great welts stood out from his shoulders like
blood-vessels ready to burst Heawas released,
and then he turned to the man with the cat
q nine tails and asked: ''Why didn't you
present this he continued, land I have not
deserved it either. wish. sheriff, you would
give Judge Hughes my mpliments for this
christmas present, and I'm perfectly innocent
OF the charge" II can say nothing about
that : replied the sheriff; .'both the judge and
the jury believed you were guilty. 81 am
innocent for all that, !" said Burt, ''and didn't
get fair opportunity for calling Witnesses
Dr. Van Buskirk then applied liniment to
his back which by this time had become
almost black, and he was. soon afterward re-
moved. 't1 W. n
The spectacle was a sickening one. Burt is
about 10 years of age, and served for sixteen
hnw CIV, d
out the Crlmean war and in India Whatever
his moral character may be it is certain that
the man HASN'T an atom of physical cowardice
in his whole composition. a