The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1881-04-21
Torturinp BY Electricity.

New York Sun: According to a dis
patch from Geneva, Russakoff and Jeli-
| boff, the killers of the czar, have been
mercilessly put to torture in the pres
ence of General Loris Melikoff. Russia
koff was electricised by powerful batter
les, and forced by the intolerable agony
he suffered to answer the questions
put to him.
Park Benjamin, the scientific expert,
said yesterday: "The idea of torturing
criminals by electricity is not original
with the Russians. 1t is British in
vention, and was first suggested about
five years ago by an English mechani-
| Cal journal in commenting upon the eX-
ecution of criminals by an electric
shock instead OF by hanging. The
English writer wanted to do away with
| the s'cat-o'-nine-t -tails,n which is admin
| istered in England to garroters and
other criminals of certain classes, and
use the electric battery, as he somewhat
| grimly expressed it, so as to produce
absolutely indiscribable torture (unac-
companied by wounds or even bruises),
thrilling through every fibre of such
miscreants. There was an American
inventor who had a design for infiict-
ing this species of punishment. He fit
ted brackets of iron on the arms and
thighs of the criminal, and placed in
them wet sponges. When connected
with a current of electricity the shock
would by this system pass through the
| legs and shoulders and avoid the vital
part OF the body.
"The torture inflicted by electricity is
of two kinds-by contraction of the
muscles at rapidly recurring intervals
and by burning with sparks. The tor-
=, i i l. -
or COMPRISING, were the straning and
| tearing asunder of the muscles OF this
kind were the rack, scavenger's daugh-
ter and the cages of Louis XIV, in
which a man could not stand up or lie
down. The electric shock exactly re-
verses these conditions. 1t produces an
enormously rapid contraction in the
body of the muscles at very short inter
walls. The degree of pain produced is
about the same. The lorce of the cleo
tricity has to be nicely graded, AS a too
powerful shock would numb or kill.
"The other method is by condensing
number of intermittent sparks on the
flesh. This burns the skin and at the
same time produces contraction of the
muscles. If put to the side of the jaw
it would make every tooth ache"
A distinguished surgeon, of whom
questions were asked concerning the
machine, said;
''The best way to explain it is to give
you actual experience; then you will
know exactly how it feels. Here is a
Faradic induction coil. l pull out this
this electrode to your hand. There"
ooh - exclaimed the inquirer, as a
tingling thrilling sensation ran through
every finger, and his hand closed in an
involuntary grasp.
"Does it hurt ?" asked the doctor.
ga little"
"Well, we'll try again. Now, you
see, L pull this tube further out. l
again touch it to your hand and"
"Whoopr' shouted the victim "take
it awayl'
The feeling was as if the hand was
crushed in vice. Every nerve ached
and tremb bled with pain.
"That hurt, did it? Why, that's
nothing. Here's something of a very
different sort"
He fastened to one wire a small wet
sponge, and to the other wire something
| like paint brush, with the brush part
made of fine wire. He put the sponge
| in the visitors hand, and then touched
| the back of the hand with the wire
4hC pam W dS HC
surface of the skin was scorched, and
the muscles of the hand were contract
ed in a violent manner.
'That is called the electric scourge," "
said the doctor. If it was dark you
could see sparks fly from each wire.
Imagine the effect if the electricity were
ten times more powerful"
"Could any man bear that torture ?''
''I think not; any man would confess
under it, but tits aQuestiOn what conf
dence could be placed in such a confess
sion. A man would confess anything
to escape the agony"
"What could you compare the pain
toP"
ait would be the same as burning
alive.n
"Would it injure the man?"
"No; not unless the pain drove him
insane. If the battery was too power
full it would kill at once. Applied to
some parts of the body the scourge
hurts more than on other parts"
o -