Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-02-16
KEELHAULING.

For untamed and disgtlstin.
cruelty "kr"lllauing" l. about tin
most horrible punishment that tn
drpraycd mind of man could invent
1t Is described as follows by a cores
pondent at Alexandria. Egypt:
Just before noon the men wer,
brought On deck pinioncd with .hci
arms behind their backs. their hand
before them. and ankle irons con!in
ing their feet. SO that they coult
barely walk. The crew of the shi,
had been called on deck. The officer.
stood on the starboard side. the crew
on tho port. the victims ut the main
mast. The officers We're in the tlount
ing dress Of their service, the men
wore their cutlaSscs. An officer read
the findings that is at least what
We supposed they We're of the court
martial. This WAS Il long ana pro
tr;tctcd ceremony. When he had
! done some acamen went aloft and
made fast 10 the mainstay neiE the
mast two blocks. From this they
rove two stout lines i'll different drec-
tlOnS. These were carried over Inc
side of the ship and weighted with a
sounding lead about forty feet from
the end. Then the lines were carried
arOnnd the stern of the ship and
brought forward, the leads sinking
them under the keel. After tha
they Were hauled on board, the lead,
detached. the two men We're tiri
side by side. and both ropes mad.
fast to them. one rope being tied t.
tn" waist of one. the other ro,r
around the shoulders of the othc-.
The arrangement of the tackles WIS
to drag the men under the ship from
either side by hauling on the fall or
running end of the rope that fell
from the leading blocks Oh the mail-
stay. These ropes, to enable the
hauling parties to walk away wee
led through Il snatch block on the
deck. The crew were then divided.
half of them put to each rope. AID
the two wretches, being led to the
side, were showed overheard. They
both screamed as they fell into the
water, and as the distance from the
gangway to the surface was aui.e
fourteen feet. they must have been
more or less hurt.
But this was only the beginning 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
a solemn time. something like the
Carnival of Venice" in movement,
except the tune was changed. and
stamp, stamp, went the men. We
saw the two wrctches go under. and
then the only movement was the
ropes going through their blocks.
one side paving ont the -thcr coming
i'll. but slowly. We had no mcasurr-
mcnt of the ship, but as the rope
acted directly that is. there were
no moving blocks the distance
around the bottom was exactly that
covered 10y the men as they walked
the deck drawing the rope behind
'H'''.' i'''".' w, ,~r,.r ohio - .-,--l.,
some estimate of the distance, and
we calculated it at fifty feet from
surface to surface. Presently the
two victims appeared on the other
side. They We're hauled quite out of
the water. and the rope hy which
they were hoisted was made fast and
coilcd up ready to pay out again.
An officer-probably Il doctor went
down and examined them The one
upon whom the strain of the rope
had fallen was apparently lifeless
His face was turned toward us; it
was bleeding and torn; his clothes
were hanging in shreds. and his
hands were dripping with blood.
His eyes were opened. but thy
seemed to be filled with blood. The
ships bottom, covered with barnacics,
raspcd upon the poor devils like
nails. The other man seemed to be
His back. as he hung in
the air, was toward lis, 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
away with it, and once more the vic
TINS disappeared. From the time
they went under the surface of the
water until they rcappearcd at the
other side of the ship, was just twenty
four seconds 1t seemed to us to have
been an hour. The first frightful
journey had terminated by their be
ing scratched and torn; at the end of
the second they were mutilated. The
nose of one wretch was torn almost
away, one ear was gone, and the
shreds of the clothing he had worn
clung to him only where they were
held by his bonds. He was blood
literally from head to foot. His com
panion's condition was equally hor-
rible. This time they We're hoisted
up to the rail and swung on board.
Then we 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,
against the ringbolts, the
chains, and every cruel obstruction
until they swung in clear over the
deck. Then they were lowered down
and released. They were both I'M
probably even then dead.
1t may be hoped they were. Death
must have been a welcome release
An inquiry as to the facts made on
board the ship elected the reply that
it was not matter of public concern.
we were offered coffee
and cigarettes. 1t is needless to say
that we did not accept either For
my part, l should have rather seen
the entire ships company shot than
accepted any hospitality at the hands
Of its officers.
The Richmond (Na.) State says:
The fact is the war literature of
neither side is intended for the other.
" hat we write from our standpoint
cannot possibly be very acceptable to
a Northern audience, nor is their side
of the question, as stated by them.
r