The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1895-12-20
CHINESE CRUELTY.
Horrors q the P1scs OF Public
EzscuEton
Th- TsrrSb.s BStes--T -sf Criminals Re-
gHrsed hE the RsoSEs - an oeeasIoa
fer IskiaS azS Ke1oseiag-
Work Of EAs Ez0Gdzmzn.


suits surpassed nv most CHASTITY an
tiipatiOn. says . writer IN Harper's
Weekly
What I Witnessed was nothing un-
us1al- and IS the daily practice of the
country. but I am compelled to tone
down the details to make them pre-
Sentable for p1blication- Nothing but
the strongest spirit of inquiry, sup
ported BY an iron resolution. carried
ue through the horrors of those days.
and for weeks afterward / suffered
from perpetual nightmare
The place of execution, or Nation, I"
zs Il Is called by the Chinese. is filthy
yard long and uarrow, like a blind
alley. and. singulariy enough. II is
used As a potter's field when not re-
gured for execution
On eold January afternoon pro-
eeeded thither to witness the final re-
lease Of a batch of poor wretehes who
had already undergone a prolonged
course OF torture.
On this occasion the death squad
consists Of thirteen, who are tightly
bound hand and foot and carried in,
hud6led up in baskets slung on bam-
boo between two coolies On arriving
At the center oft the ground these living
loads are pitched out uneereEOniously,
and imnediately seized by the execu-
toner and his assistants, who arrange
them IN two lines in q kneeling posi-
ton
At . nod from The presiding manda-
rim and with Incredible swiftness, the
butehery commences The assistant
seizes the first victim by the shoulders
from behind. whae the executioner
steps up to his left side, armed with an
enormously heavy short sword with a
broad blade and a razOrliks edge. With
out any eompulsiOn, the victim, still
kneeIing, bends his head forward. and
almost instantaneOusly it leaps from
his body, severed by one swift stroke.
The assistant pushes the trunk over
forward. and sh<i1 burst of approving
-Hi-Tahs" goes up from the crowd.
After the uncertain and clumsy oper-
sti0ns Of the medieval headsman, one
had been led to suppose that a human
head required great deal of sever
aneei but so adept are the Chinese ex-
ecutiOners that they seem to display no
more 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 elapse
between the fall of each head. One
unering stroke ends each life, and the
victims are 50 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 iovial
hum0r. and signifies its Hght-hearted
enjoyment BY ribald chaff at the ex.
pen<e Of the remaining victims, who
frequently retOrt defantly, and exhibit
the most stolid indifference to Their
fate
Suddenly burst Of merriment arises
IN one corner A portly merchant has
approached too near, and his long
white coat is splashed with blood How
the bystanders laugh Was there ever
such good jokei
The last few heads are falling now
when my hand is plueked by an ex
cited yOungster Of ten. dancing with
delight. who cries, eagerly: sHo-tai?'
isn't It beautifully l repress a fierce
desire to throttle him, and in few sec
onds all IS over. Justice is vindicated
and the crowd quickly sIisperses, all bui
the city ganiRs, who rezain behind tC
rehearse TIE whole proceedings and tC
slzylark win the bodies.
Ho-rSole t2Szga the sight has been,
death has, at any rate, being swift and
mereifsi. but anetle- day the supremf
horror of Chinese justice is revealed tC
Us
For certain offenders, notably parri
eides and wO1zen who ksl their hus
bands. the penalty is the ''Ling-chee,
o. thousand cuts" This is too ghastly
fOr detailed description. but suffice it t.
say thzt the victim IS FIRST erucifed to q
low cross, aad tAea slowly sliced tt
pieces with klife-
So slziIlful IS Cae exeeutioaer that al
though his vissiz7 soon becomes un
recognizable as human being, yet NJ
vital wound is inflicted till perhaps hal
an hour of this torture has elapsed
when the agony Is ended by decapita
ticu-
So superior an entertainment as thi.
IS naturally rewarded by a full house
and even greater merriment prevail:
than at mere head-ehopping displays
which SAVIOR somewhat of monotony Il
the blase Cantonese.