Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-03-28
TERRIBLE TORTURES.
HORRORS WITNESSED. By AN
AMERICAN TRAVELLER.
One Criminal Slowly Hanged-An-
other Eaten to Death by Ants
Others Decapitated and CHARTERED.


seen the death penalty for crime infict-
ed by rs great a number of methods as
any men in the United States. He is j.
II. Luykanse, who was in the public SER
vice for over. twenty years, retiring from
active duty in 1886. Mr. Luykanse was
in the Danish Navy for about ten years.
and during that time had most varied
experience. He reluctantly consented
to talk about some of the things he had
seen, the subject being brought up by n
preliminary discussion of the probable
solution of the capital punishment prob
lem by the employment of electricity as
provided by law in New York. He said
he had never seen n man gillroted or
guillotined, but had seen many men
hanged, and wildly remembered one
execution he witnessed in the East In
dias. The vessel on which ne was serv-
ing was off the Malabar voast, and hear
ing there was to be an execution for
murder, several of the officers went to
see it. The criminal had murdered
child, the son of rich native, in a
most brutal manner. The child, accord
ing to custom, wore heavy silver anklets,
and these excited the cupidity of the
man, who killed the boy by dasbing his
bruins out against tree, swinging the
little fellow by the feet as one beats the
dust from an old garment or foot-mat.
The tribunal by which he was tried de-
creed that the punishment should be
made to fit the crime, and accordingly
he was ordered slowly hanged. This
sentence was literally complied with,
the fellow being hanged by the neck in
such a manner that it took him nearly
an hour to die, during all of which time
the struggles and contortions OF his body
were most horrible to behold.
In contrast with this lingering misery,
long drawn out, was another execution
by decapitaiion, witnessed by the mar
rator near Homburg. The victim,
notorious scoundrel who had added the
cap-sheaf TO career of crime by murder
ing an officer, was ordered TO have his
head cut off. At the appointed time the
victim took his seat in a chair properly
prepared. 1t was in a yard to which
quite crowd of officials and others were
admitted. The executioner, powerful
man, took his position Just behind and
a little to the left of the chair, after the
victim was seated, precaution being
taken that he should not be seen by the
man whose life he was about to take
He held a short, very heavy and very
broad sword or knife, the hit grasped
by his right hand, the blade resting in
the hollow of his barred left arm. The
victim was smoking a pipe, which he
pulled vigorously while the prelimi
naries were being arranged. At signal
from the officer in charge the headsman
made one step backward, and grasping
his sword with both hands let it swing
down by his side. The victim, during
all this time, sat bolt upright, his UNI
bound eyes gazing steadily in front OF
him. The movement of the executioner
was heard by him, and he said in a clear
voice, "Macht Schwindt" (huTy up,
his pipe dropping from his mouth when
he opened it to speak. Almost before
the words were finished the glistening
blade was whirled around the the execu-
toners head, and the same motion TAX
ing n lateral direction with a swish, sent
the keen steel through the neck close to
the shoulders with n precision of aim
that was faultless, and the severed head
rolled on the ground. A fountain of
blood spurted three feet into the air and
the deed was done.
Some of the most remarkable execu-
lions ever witnessed by the narrator
took place in Canton, China, or, rather,
outside the walls of tho city. At the
time referred to Europeans were not
allowed to reside in the city proper, but
there was an outer or suburban city,
largely of foreigners. In this
outer city was an open space, or com
mon, devoted to the punishment OF
criminals. On one occasion q CHINA
man who had committed a crime pun
ishable by death was brought INTO tins
open space to be quartered. After the
preliminaries, which we're brief and ex-
peditiously arranged, the prisoner was
placed in standing position, with his
legs spread quite wide apart, both arms
extended on level with the shoulders,
and held by man ON each side OF INN.
The chief officer stood directly In front,
and when the prisoner was properly
posed gave a signal to the hcadsman,
who stood a few feet away holding a
sword about two and half feet long.
the blade slightly cmved-a cross be-
tween n shin cutlass and scimetar. At
the signal he stepped forward, and with
n sidewise blow struck off tho victims
head, and then, with lightning like
rapidity, swung the blate aloft again
and brought it down squarely IN the
centre Of the spot from which the head
had been severed, with such force as to
almost completely split the body, which
was still held in an erect position by the
men grasping the extended arms. The
two halves fell apart, and at the same
instant two assistant executioners step
ped forward, and with swords similar to
the one described severed these two
halves at the thighs. This, said the
''was probably one OF the
most bloody death scenes ever witness
ed" =,
Another exceedingly horrible cxecu-
ton was the burial Of man near an
ant-hill. This was also at Canton; The
fellows crime was Of political charae-
ter. A hole was dug near an ant-hili' |
and he was placed in it standing erect.