The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-10-01
A CHINESE EXECUTION
HORRIBLE FEATURES OF oRI-
ENTAIL JUSTICE.
Canton's Execution Ground-Sic-
ing Criminal to Death-Strangu-
lation and Decapitation.

ion ground and I had chat with the
executioner, writes Frank G.. Carpenter,
from China. He was nasty, dirty,
blood-thirsty looking fellow, with hair
an inch long standing ont like bristles
over the front of his head and about his
cue. He had not been busy for several
days, and he took delight in explaining
to me the use of the heavy sword and
the scientific cuts which he made with
it. The sword was about four feet long.
1t has blade as sharp as razor and it
is about quarter of an inch thick at
the back and more than two inches
wide He used both hands in swinging
it about, and he told me that my neck
would be an easy one to slice off but
that he would not like to have to cut up
my thin frame by the slicing process.
This execution ground of Canton is
used as crockery factory, and the max
ing of pots goes on when executions are
not in progress. It is narrow court
between two high walls, on the banks Of
the Canton River, and the heads are cut
off in the open air. Upon my asking
what was done with the heads of the
criminals, he told me, through my in
terpreter, that they were often thrown
into jars of quick lime, and thathe would
take one out and show me for the sum
Of 10 cents. In the interest of your
paper I subscribed this amount, and he
pulled out half eaten skull by the pig
tail and showed its ghastly ugliness to
me. There were about dozen of these
earthen jars, at the back of this execu-
tion ground. They were Of the size Of
twenty-gallon keg and wele covered
with paper. They were full of heads
and probably represented q years exc
cutions. AS soon as the head is taken
off it is carried up to the magistrate or
officers in charge and shown, and it is
often exposed in cage or on pole as a
warning to others. The cages In which
the heads are put are of the size of little
bird cages, and when the heads are tied
to trees or poles they hang down by
the cue. ~.
At the back Of this execution ground
stood half dozen wooden crosses. If
you will take piece of telegraph pole
eight feet long and set similar pole
five feet long into it at right angles two
feet from the top you will have the
Chinese cross. It is upon these crosses
that the criminals are bound when they
are to undergo the punishment of Ling
Chi or slicing to death, which is the SEN
tence for all who murder a brother, a
parent, a teacher, a husband, or an uncle.
The criminal is stripped and his feet are
raised upon brick or stone. His cue
is tied up to the cross and his arms are
stretched out upon its arms. A British
naval officer, whom I met at Hong
Kong, described an execution of this
kind which he witnessed few weeks
ago. .
cit made me feel very green at first, !"
said he; 'fbut after it was begun I could
not keep my eyes off of it. have had
the experience over again three times in
my dreams and would not want to see
it again. had the best guide in Canton,
and we saw the execution from the roof
of one of the buildings beside the execu-
ton ground. There were two criminals
and it took about thirty minutes to cut
each of them to pieces. The first cut
sliced off the cheeks and the second the
eyebrows. After these man held fan
before the faces of the prisoners and all
we could see of them was the blood run
ming down upon their bodies. The next
cut was OF the flesh between the hand
and the elbow, and the arteries were first
bound above the places cut so that the
man would not bleed to death before the
ceremony was completed. Then, the
shoulders were cut off; then the flesh of
the thighs, and after this the calves of
the legs. The seventeenth cuts removed
the hands, and the last cut took the head
from the body.
'tIn both cases the men did not faint
away. The pain was too terrible. They
could not cry out, as they were gagged,
and their writings were horrible. The
last cut killed them. It was not a very
safe place for myself and my friend.
There were several hundred Chinese
present, and more hardened-looking
set I. have never seen. They caught
sight of us, and the boys among them
began to yell at us and to take their
fingers and draw them around their
throats, pointing at us as though they
would cut our heads off. Our guide got
frightened, and he took us down and
put us in the cellar of the house through
a trap door, where we stayed for cou-
pie of hours until the crowd had dis
persed. They were very threatening,
and the bloodthirsty sight had reused
their passion to such an extent that If
they had caught hold of us our lives
would not have been SAFE"
Mr.. Cheshire, the Chinese Secretary
of our Legation at Peking, and one of
the ablest Of our representatives in
China, pursued his studies of the Chinese
language in Chinese clothes, living in
o Chinese house and wearing cue. He
went into all parts of the Chinese cities
and into the most out-of-the-way places.
He described to me two executions
which he witnessed-one by strangula-
ton and the other by decapitation.
The Chinese" said he, "prefer to be
strangled rather than to have their
heads cut off. The man who is beheaded
L. oort1, fo f11 tho