The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-07-19
STONED TO DEATH.
Summary Justice Melted Out In tho 1sasb-t
lcal Manner In fghanlstan.

Summary Justice Melted Out In tho 1sfssS
llcal Manner In Afghanlstan.
"An eye for IN eye and a tooth
for TOOTH" Tho dictum of the old
law still holds good in Afghanistan,
says the Sheffield Telegraph In fact,
the manners, customs and surroundings
of the Afghans of to-day might he pro-
totyped in the pages of the old tcsta-
ment as faithfully as the life of the Is
raelites- The Afghans arc Mohamne-
dams, it is true, but their religion is
built on old law lines and their social
life is as simple and patrinrchal as when
the great lawgiver Moses ruled the dcs-
tinics of the people of Israel
For i'll Afghanistan of to-day oxen
tread out the corn and pillow the fields;
and the pillow itself is counterpart of
the Mosaical instrument Corn is
ground in hand-mills and goatsl1in
serves as u "watcr-bottlc- Household
and farming utensils have changed
nothing during the centuries that have
elapsed since the 1sraelitcs tramped the
desert by the Red sea In short, you
could find n series of "tablcaux vivants"
IN the surroundings of Afghnnistan of
to-day to fill up chapter by chapter the
scenes depicted in the old testament 1t
is said that the Afghnns are one of the
lost tribes, and certainly so far as
logged adherence to Israelitish notions
is concerned they might be.
There Is no installing the Mosafcal
parallel as far as the social customs
present themselves; but 1 was aston
ishcd one evening, during the Russian
scare, when / was on the Afghan from
tier, to see the very sinilitudc of the old
law punishment of stoning to dceth put
in practice.
yelling mob of people came rushing
from AL dircctions toward the outskirts
OF the village of P,lclkta, picking up
pieces of stone by the way and piing
them in little heaps by their feet. I
thought at the time they were going to
have pitched battle, with stones as
missiles. But shortly man came run
ming forward, followed by splitting
hooting mob, shouting: Sag! SuG!n
(dog. dogD. The unfortunate runaway
evidently knew his fate, for his long,
earnest appeal to Heaven as Re stopped
short and threw his arms up was but
the preliminary to his fearful fate-his
final appeal for mercy on his soul, for
from that bowling mob he we'll know
he need expect none.
The man had scarcely time to finish
his invocation, when from all directions
literal shower of stones fell On him
For moment he swayed TO and fro
under tho onslaught Soon the terrible
shower he'd battered him into jcllied,
blood-bcspattercd mass, his very clothes
showing greet rents through which the
blood found vent and spurted freely
lie wuvered for n moment with his chin
bobbing his chest, and then, after
doubling up at the knees end middle,
fell i'll a heap, dead.
Still the bowling mob continued their
terrible fusillalc of stones until around
the already lifeless body cairn was
formed, completely covering In the
corpse. And then the mob clapped
their hands, crowed, and went their
way. THAT dog is done for" said
they. Done for. Yes, it was a terrible
doing; for there under the heap of
stones the mans nerves and muscles
still vibrnted in their post-dcath
struggle, causing the stone heap to rise
and fall as if in labor with thing of
life; rose and fell in their horrible
parturition for few moments until tho
twitching of nerve and muscle ceased,
and ill was still ''ConSummaturn est +"
The murderer Of Afghnnistan has
brcathed his last and his jacet is writ
ten around the tombstone in those blood
marks that bespatter the ground about
his grave cairn.