The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-09-16

This momentary diversion ended, the
trial went on as before. The cute
looking gentleman with the high
keyed voice, it seems, was presenting
| the prisoners case to the mandarin.
AS he finished, with an Impressive
wave of his hand from the mandarin to
the prisoner, the latter rose to his
feet. The mandarin beamed at
MIN with judicial severity through
his glasses and addressed him
Lcurtly. The culprit. if culprit he was,
hung his head and muttered response.
Perhaps it was merely meek assertion
OF innocence, perhaps an appeal for
mercy. Whatever it was, it seemed to
fire the train OF the mandarin's wrath,
and with an explosive order. which was
almost shrek, scathing and condem-
natory, even to me. who couldn's I'M
derstand word, he glared like an owl
through his spec acles.
The prisoner p-ostratsd himself in
token of submission; two policemen
selected fiat bamboo rods AMI a ivanced.
The condemned man meekly pared his
own thighs, with trembling hands; fold
ed his arms across his beast, aud lay
fiat on his stomach. HIS thighs were
already mass of bruises from the last
fogging, administered, probably, about
four days before.
A BRUTAL-LooKING TURNKEY
held his head, another his feet. With
sharp, quick strokes. the two policemen
logged the Frustrated man by
turns, twenty strokes at a time,
until each had had delivered hundred
strokes. Each complement of twenty
strokes was delivered with the accur-
acy of long experience. in the same
place, which made straight furrow of
battered f-en and blood across the
thighs. The .xt twenty made another
furrow Just below. Ten times this pro-
cess Was repeated, the last furrow being
almost in the bend of the knees leaving
the whole length of the thighs a sicken-
ing mass of mangled flesh.
When the wretched ma1 was re-
leased his whole frame was quivering
with agony: he was slobbering helplessly
at the mouth, and his eyes rolled wildly
in their soc Eets. Assisted by the turn
keys he knelt again before the man
DARN, who agalu questioned him. This
time he maintained logged silence.
The mandarin waved his hand and
the turnkey led him to his cell.
AS the poor mangled wretch
shuffied painfully off 1 wondered
whether he was really criminal I'M
willing to confess his crime, or only an
unfortunate witness, unwilling, per
haps honestly unable, to testify as the
mandarin wished him to. Chinese
criminal law requires a murderer to
confess his guilt before he can be CON-
demned 10 capital punishment. Ill
circumstantial evidence is against him,
the unhappy prisoner is usually logged
and tortured every few days until life
becomes such a burden that he is at
length glad to confess in order to have
the executioner end his misery.
Another man was logged, lighter
than his one, an 1 on the back, with |
split bamboo. before the court ad
journed. In the meantime attendants
had brought me tea and a water pipe |
and toba eco. The m andarin now too K |
me into an inner apartment, and while
be examined my passport, an Intelligent |
youth, whom l took to be his son,
amused hims If greatly trying to con-
verse with me by signs.
His judicial functions laid aside, the |
mandarin seemed to melt at once into
the kindliest of men; the eyes that
seemed TO me to glare savsgely through
ais glasses outside were as tender with