Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1883-02-08
fhe Steel Maiden.
German letter of D. r. Locke.

CIV PtNsoSt'f f'NN q httiitOoA
OF very curious instrume ments of tort
ure used in Nuremberg hundreds of
years ago. before the days of jails
and penitentiaries, There are thumb
screws of the most approved patterns,
and helmets for gossiping men and
women. a singul larly cheerful piece
Of furniture is a large, heavy wheel,
on one side Of which stands out
large, sharp piece Of iron. In the
glorious days of old an offender who
had to be punished with the wheel
was stripped naked and firmly bound
to plank, face downward. The
piece of iron on the wheel was heat
ed hot, and the wheel was rolled up
and down and across the victims
back till justice was satisfied or the
victim was dead.
Inasmuch as the spike was long
enough to go half way through the
mans body, and was always heated
red hot, the victim generally died,
and justice was entirely satisfied. It
was not as expeditions as the guillo-
tine, but it was Just as certain. The
only man who even survived it was
promptly beheaded for being magi-
clan. That settled him. He didn't
bother qremberg any more.
There are also displayed switches
made of fine threads of steel, which
were laid on the bare back with
great effect. A little of these things
go great way, but on being told
that in the adjoining tower was the
"steel maiden, you get over your
qualmishness. Your party is taken
in charge by guide, who shows
you large assortment of horrors
before you come to the chief one, as
a sort Of preparation. There are
stocks of all kinds, gags for tattlers,
handouts, anklets, and cradle, the
bed of which is filled with spikes, in
which old-time offenders were faith
fully rocked to sleep-a sleep from
which there was no awakening.
There are long tables with screw
at the top and bottom, to which men
were strapped by the hands and feet
the screws then turned till the un-
fortunate man was torn apart. Ir
another room is a large iron cage
In those cheerful days, when a mer-
chant, baker or butcher was founo
selling his goods by false weight OF
measure he was placed in this cage
!. and carried all through the city
with his name and trade fastened
copspicuously in front After max
ing the grand tour he was taken
cage and all, to the river and duck.
ed again and again till it was though
his lesson was sufficient to preven
! repetition. Perhaps some such form
might be advantageous in these
days.
Wife-beaters in those times wer'
! severely punished. They were fur
Z nished with close-fitting helmets
from which heavy weights were sus
pended. They were given a con
spicuous place in the public square
appropriately labeled, and placed il
stocks, with heavy weights attached
to their arms and feet, and ther
! they sat the live-2ong day, subjected
3 to the jeers and ridicule of the time
e Scolding wives were put in cage
with gags in their mouths, and ex
posed in the public square. You ar
t shown all sorts Of beheading block
and gallows upon which noted vii
: lians had gone to their reward
while the walls are covered from tol
e to bottom with pictures Of the prac
t tical operations Of the various in
struments that filled the reom.
5 All this preparatory to the stee
$ maiden, which is kept in a room
t above, precisely as she was in th
days of her usefulness. You ar
f shown what appears at first sight t.
be rude statue Of woman eIumsi
ly hewn out Of wood. The guild
e noiselessly opened it, one door swing
t ing to the right and the other to tn
t left. The statue was hollow an
just the size of the average man. In
side were straps by which the of
fender was bound so that he coul
not move muscle. All the door
;. were lined with long, sharp, stee
spikes, strong and thick.
When the victim was firmly Sc
" cured, the door on the left was slow
. ly but firmly shut, and tRe len
\ spikes went into his body, two bein
= SO arranged as TO pierce his eye;
IT, Then the door On the right was clos
/ ed in similar manner, and he woul
! receive another complement Of spike:
= the doors being closed very slowl
that the tortpe of the man in th
embrace Of the maidep might be pre-
! longed as much as possible, Th
: : very last spike pierced his hear
: : After remaining shut up for a Will,
'e the straps were unloosed from th
:, outside, spring was touched, an
!. the man fell fifteen feet into a cles
= erly-constructed machine that groun
: him up as fine as mincemeat, an
~ dropped him into the river below
making food for fishes.