The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-08-18
BRINGING IN THE VICTIMS.

they stoop and pitch their living burden
out and run off. The prisoners are chained
hand and foot and are perfectly helpless.
The eXecutionor stands by and points out
where each load is to be dumped. He is
dressed exactly like any other cody pres
ent, without any badge of Office whatever.
One after another the condemned men
arrive and are slung out. VIII the pro-
cession never end? How many can there
be9 This is more than we bargained for
At last over the heads of the crowds we
sec the hats Of two petty mandarins, and
behind them the gates are shut The tale
Of men is 10, and the cXecutioncr has ar
ranged them in two rows about two
yards apart and all facing one way. They
seem perfectly CallOus They exchange
! remarks, some of them evidently chatf
with the spectators, and ono man was car
ried in singing and kept up his strain al
most to the last
The CXCcutiOners-ther are now two of
| them-step forward Tho younger tucks
! up his trousers and sleeves and dclibcr-
ately selects a sword from several lying
close by, while the other, an old man,
| places himself behind the front man of tho
nearest row and takes him by the shOul-
| dcrs. Tho younger man walks forward
and stands at the left Of the knoeling man.
The fatal moment has come. There is
an instant's hush, and every one of tho two
| rows of condemned men behind twists his
head round and cranes his neck to sec. l
will not attempt to describe the emotions
! of such u momcnt-the horror the awful
I repulsion, the wish that you had never
come, the sickening fear that you will be
| splashod with the blood, and yet the help
less fascination that keeps your eyes glued
to every detail. The knife is raised. 1t
is short, broad bladed, two handled
sword, weighted ut the back and evident
ly as sharp ~ a razor,
For second it Is poised in the air, as
the executioner takes aim. Then it falls
There is no great apparent effort. 1t sim
ply falls, and, moreover, seems to fall slow
ly. But when it comes to the mans neck
it does not stop. 1t keeps on falling.
With ghastly slowness it passes right
through the flesh, and you arc only re-
called from your momentary stupor when
the head springs forward and rolls over
q
two dazzling jets Of scarlet blood burst out
and fall in u graceful curve TO the ground.
Then the great rush of blood comes and
floods the spot. As soon as the blow has
fallen the second oxocutionSr pitches the
body forward with loud Hough." 1t
tumbles in shapclcss heap, and from every
throat goes up loud ''Ho," expressive of
pleasure and approval Of the stroke.
But there is 10 pause, the cyccutioncr
steps over the corpse to the front man in
the second rank, the knife is raised again,
it falls, another head rolls away, another
double burst Of blood followB it, the head
less body is showed forward the assistant
shouts 'Hough" and the crowd shouts
"Ho." Two men arc dead Then the
headsman steps back to the second man OF
. tho front row and tho operation is re-
peated.
Two things strike you. The brutal mat
ter of factnGss of the whole performance
and the extraordinary ease with which q
| human head can be chopped off, AS O
, whole, it is precisely like drove of pig:
driven into tho shambles and stuck, ant
! in detail it is or seems no more difficult
than splitting a tuTnlp with carving
knife or looping off a thistle with cane
, Chop, chop, chop, the heads roll Off one
| after the other in as many seconds.
, had few minutes conversation with
tho executioner afterward. Decapitation
ho told me, was not the occupation of his
family. 1t is only u perquiste, But the
business is not what it was Formerly hi
used to get SO head for all he cut off
. Now he only gets 80 cents. 1t is hardly
worth while chopping mems heads off al
: that rate. But, then, it doesn't take very
long.