The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1882-10-14
KEEL-HAULING
Details Of the Shocking Punishment
N

UcC6lIS OF the 6uOCklnS uulSuuhChs
Upon Arab Prisoners.
An Alexandria correspondent of the
London Advestiser gives the following
account of the case OF keel-hauling re-
Gently reported: ''Three Arab porters
returning from shooting expedition fell
out, and two of them .endeavored to
murder the third. The two men were
sentenced by the court-martial to be
keel-hauled in accordance with Article 2
of the Egyptian Naval Code. The Alex
andria correspondent says:
'The crew were divided, half Of, them
put to each rope, and the two wretches,
being led to the side, were showed oyer
board. They both screamed as they fell
into the water, and as the distance from
the gangway to the surface was quite
fourteen feet, they must have been more
or less hurt. But this was only the be-
ginning of their miseries. The men on
one side hauled taut the rope underneath
the ship, and then the order to "walk
away" was given. The band played
solemn tune, something like the Gar
nival of Venice" in movement, except
the tune changed, and stamp, stamp
went the rnen.
We saw the wretches 60 under, and
then the only movements was the ropes
going through their blocks, one side pay.
ing out, the other coming in, but slowly.
We had no measurment of the ship, but
as the rope acted directly-that is, there
were no moving blocks-the distance
around the bottom was exactly that COW
cred by the men az they walked the
deck drawing the rope behind them.
Thus we were able to make some estim-
ate of the distance. and we calculated it
at fifty feet from surface to surface.
Presently the two victims appeared on
the other side. They were hauled quite
out of the water, and the rope by which
they were hoisted was made fast and
coiled UP ready to pay out again. An OFF,
cer-prObably doctor-went down and
examined them. The one upon whom
the strain of the rope had fallen
was apparently lifeless, his face
was turned towards us; it was bleeding
and torn; his clothes were hanging in
shreds, and his hands were dripping
with blood The ships bottom, covered
with barnacle, rasped upon the poor
devils like nails. The other man SEEM
ed to be conscious. His back as he hung
in the air, was towards us, but he moved
his head, we thought, and apparently to
beg for mercy.
Evidently the officer reported them
still alive, for when he had come on deck
again the two men were lowered into
the water, and the crew manning the
rope that led up from the other side
marched with it, and once more the VIC
Tins disappeared. From the time they
went under the surface of the water un-
til they reappeared on the other side OF
the ship was just twenty -four seconds.
1t seemed to us to have been an hour:
The first Journey had termin ated by
their being scratched and torn; at
the end of the second they were mutt
lated. The nose of one wretch was torn
almost away, one ear gone, and the
shreds of the clothing he had worn chung
to him only where they were held by
his bonds. He was blood, literally,
from head to foot. His companions
condition was equally horrible. This
time they were hoisted up to the rail
and swung on board.
Then he could see something Of the
action of this barbarous punishment, for
they were not held off the side, but were
scraped up along the ship, striking
against the ringbolts, the chains, and
every cruel obstruction until they swung
in free over the deck. Then they were
lowered down and released. They were
both unconscious, probably even then
dead. 1t may be hoped they were.
Death must have been a, welcome re-
relief.