The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-04-09
CHINESE CRUELTY.
Horrors Of the Place OF Public
Execution.
Tho Terrible Butchery of Criminals Ro-
Earded by tho People rs an Occasion
for Joking and Rcjoicing-
Work of tho ucRdsman.

Some four years ago spent four
days in Canton, the metropolis of
southern China, ON special mission to
investigate Chinese Justice, and tho re-.
suits surpassed my most CHASTITY an
ucipation, says n writer IN Harper,s
Weekly.
What l witnessed was nothing I'M
usual, and is the daily practice Of the
country, but 1 am compelled to tone
down the details to make them pre-
sentable for publication. Nothing but
the strongest spirit of inquiry, sup
ported by an iron resolution, carried
me through the horrors of those DAYS.
and for weeks afterward I suffered
from perpetual nightmare.
The place Of execution, or "Matou. n
as it Is called by the Chinese, is n filthy
yard, long and narrow, like a blind
alley, and, singularly enough, it Is
used as u potter's field when not re-
CURED for execution
On cold January afternoon nr,o-
ceedcd thither to witness the final re-
lease of q batch of poor wretches who
had already undergone q prolonged
On this occasion the death squad
consists of thirteen, who are tightly
bound hand and foot and carried in.
huddled up in baskets slung ON q bam-
boo between two coolies. Onarriyinp
ut the center of the ground these living
loads arc pitched out unccrcmoniouslv,
and Immediately seized by the execu-
TONER and his assistants, who arrange
them i'll two lines in lSnccling posi-
ton.
at q nod from the presiding manda-
rim, and with incredible swiftncss. tho
butchcry commences The assistant
scizes the first victim by the shoulders
from behind, while the executioncr
steps up to his left side, armed with an
enormously heavy short sword with q
broad blade and razorlike edge. With
out any compulsion, the victim, still
kneeling, bends his head forward, and
almost simultaneously it leaps from
his body, severed by one swift stroke
The assistant pushes the trunk over
Forward and shrill burst of approving
ul-yahs" goes up from the crowd.
After the uncertain and clumsy oper-
atoms of the medieval headsman, one
had been led to suppose that human
head required IL great deal of sever
ance; but so adept are the Chinese OK
ccutioners that they seem to display no
moro effort or emotion in cutting Off a
head than they would in looping a
poppy from its stalk.
With fearful rapidity the slaughter
proceeds, and not five seconds clapse
between the fall of each head. Ono
unerring stroke ends each life, and the
victims are so arranged that each can
witness the fate of all those in front of
him before his turn comes.
The crowd is now in the most iovinl
humor' and signifies its light-heartcd
enjoyment by ribald chnff at the ex-
pensc of the remaining victims, who
frequently rctort defiantly, and exhibit
the most stolid Indifference to their
fate
Suddenly burst of merriment arises
in one corner. ~ portly merchant has
approached too near, and his long
white coat is splashcd with blood How
the bystanders taught Was there over
such good joke!
The last few heads are FILLING now,
when my hand is plucked by IN cx-
cited youngster of ten, dancing with
delight, who cries, eagerly: "Ho-tai?"
(lsn't 1t beautifully L rcpress a fierce
desire to throttle him, and in few sec
onds all is over. Justice is wndicnted.
and the crowd quickly disperses, all but
the city gamins, who remain behind to
rehearse the whole proceedings and to
sllylarlk with the bodies.
HO1-rih1n fbc,,r,1> a.
death has, at any rate, being swift and
merciful, but another day the supreme
horror OF Chinese justice is revealed to
us.
For certain offenders, notably parri-
cides and women who kill their hus-
bands, the penalty is the "Ling-chcc,"
or thousand cuts" This is too ghustlv
for detailed description, but suffice it to
say that the victim is firstcrucifled to q
low cross, and then slowly sliced to
pieces with u knife.
So sllillful is the executioncr that al
though his victim soon becomes I'M
recognizable as human being, yet no
vital wound is inflicted till perhaps half
an hour of this torture has elapsed.
when the agony is ended by decapita-
ton.
So superior an entertainment us this
Is naturally rewarded by o full house,
and even greater merriment prevails
than at mere head-chopping displays,
which SAVIOR somewhat of monotony to-
the blase Cantonese.
Mon and Women Patrons.
There is a great difference in man