The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-11-03

WHICH QNluE ilOfH INV Shh>ess ~ sf'~-~ 49,
rible injuries.
Forcing the unhappy wretches to swal-
low a cup of molten lie I'd skinning them
alive, bit by bit, and stoning to death
were also indulged in.
Few Christians have been allowed to
visit Turkish prison. The one on the
Island of Cyprus, now under Eng.sh
control was visited some years ago by
Archibald Forbes. II sre is what he
wrote of it:
The average Turkish prison has near
ly 600 inhabitants. Amo ng them are NAL
efactors of every dye. Murderers, rob-
bers, political prisoner s ana forgotten
suspects. | have seen OF u few horrible
sights. ihave ridden a sross battlefield
GU which lay five and thirty thousand
dead and dying soldi' rs; l have seen
whole fields full of fam ine-stricken mis-
CRADLES; | have frequ entsd the pest
houses of Metz after the seige, where lay
neglected the wretched victims of black
smallpox and spotted typhus; l have
troaden the corridors of the Grand Hotel
of Paris. heartsick beca use of the fetid
etfluvium from sloughi ing wouids and
hospital gangrene; h ave seen the bod
les of men who have bt zen roasted alive !;
l have been in choler hospital; but
never have 1 witnessed a moro roisome
spectacle than that viii III the foul Turk
ish prison dungeon affo fds.
''Iet the Turks seem TO accept 1t as
matter of course. l ent sred the Konak,
AMI q Turkish officer. with a polite bow,
asked me if l cared to see the prison.
much in the tone tn 1t tho warden at
Hollywood asks the tou rist if he has a
mind to see Queen Mar Us room. as
scented, and he handed me over to little
bow-leeged fellow, W no sat outside q
wicket gate in palisaiing that ran across
the courtyard of the K.Onak.
Dante might have visited this pande-
monlum to gain ideas for his description
T. lN,,t he npt
blessed with sentiment, and there is no
inscription on the gate. Passing through
the wioiet, one entered narrow court
yard, surrounded on three sides by
gloomy walls, broken ny heavily barred
windows, with here and there strong
wooden door. From under each door
oozed gutter of inexpressiole filth, the
rotted sewage of the loathsome dungeon
inside. l was at ono surrounded by
horde of prisoners of vilainous aspect,
all, or near Iy all, m anacled in the most
curlrusly verse fas HONS.
Some wore a heavy chain. one end of
which was astened to a clumsily massive
shackle roun d the ankle, the other tied
up around the waist. Others merely
wore this grim ani,let, with no chain at
tached. Yet ,Sthers had huge link fast
ened to the anklet, which was worn
ened into position by leather garter.
These wJre the liberty men, to whom
so mucn favor is accorded by reason of
long imprisonment coupled with good
conducr-who are not huddled into the
dungeons, but are allowed to loaf out
here in the court. yard.
"A long, gloomy passage opened out OF
one end of the co 1rtyard: and this l en-
tered, encompass i by the concuurse of
Villains and with no other escort than
the little bow legged warden OF the gate.
Into this passage looked several barred
4 1 1I. ,,~I hA- sLAro
glowered and stra ned the closest faces
of the more dangerous prisoners.
What ruffanly faces most of them
were! Faces the expression of which
wolfish, ferocious, hungry for blood, sar
donic, utterly dew ilish-made the flesh
creep. With every moment there was the
clank of chains, for every man wore fet-
tiers. The expires sion. hugging his
chains l have hi therto regarded as
mere categorical figure of speech, but
now 1 was to see tine literal reality. The
crowd around the window gave back. and
there approached % tall, stalwart figure
somewhat bowed down by some heavy
burden that he carried in his arms. He
stopped ana laid his burden down, and
then stood erect-a Hercules of a man
with a face out of which everything hu-
man save the mere lineaments was
erased.
land what. think you, was his burden?
1t consisted of q mass of heavy iron links.
knotted up into great clump p, and fasten-
ed to the mans ankles. Its weigh was
eighty okes, or 100 pounds. When he un-
travelled it and stretched it out on the
grouna saw that it was about fifteen
feet long and resem bled in the massive
ness of its links the chain cable of a
trading schooner.
What has been this mans crime, war
den? How long had he been in prison?
six and twenty years. Had he worn the
chain all that time? Yes. Great ii ca zen !
Ware not death infinitely to be preferred
to such afate? Never to be able to move
throughout all these long years without
hugging to his bosom that huge knot Of
IRON