Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1897-10-30

tad bsen insuburdinate wa 49, 4, -
epoTe wheel and forced to step upon It.
His legs were drawn apart until they SPAN
ned three spokes. His arms were stretched
until there were three or four spokes be-
tween his hands Then feet and hands
were drmly bound to the fellies a tho
wheel II tho soldier was to be punished
moderately, he was left bound In an up-
tight position on tho wheel for five or six
hours.
II the punishment was to b severe.
the ponderous wheel was given . quarter
turn after the soldier had been dashed to
r. which changed the position of the man
oeing punished from an upright to . hor-
izontal ono Then the prisoner had to ex-
srt all his strength to keep his weight from
pulling heavily and cutting ON the cords
shat bound his upper arm and leg to the
wheel have frequently seen men faint
while undergoing this punishment, and I
have known men to endure it for hours
without murmur, but with white faces
and set jaws and blazing eyes. To cry
out, to beg for mercy, to protest, insured
additional discomfort in the shape of q
gag, rough stick being tied into the suf-
fering mans mouth. Tying ON the spare
wheel was the usual punishment in tho
artillery service for rather serious offenseS,
and no man wanted to DO tied up but once.
There was another punishment which
was much more severe than the spare
wheel, and which, because it was apt to
cripple the man physically, was very rarely
employed. This. was known as tying on
the rack. Back Of every battery wagon is
heavy, strong rack on which forage Is
carried. 1t stands out about two feet he
hind the wheels, Its edge ia not over a,
inch thick. The soldier who was to suffer
the fortunes of the rack was led to IL. His
hands were dragged forward as far as thcv
could be without lifting his feet from the
ground, and there they were bound to the
fellocs Of the wheel. Then one foot was
lifted and bound to the felloe of one wheoI
then the other foot was bound to the felloe
of the other wheel. The whole weight Of
the soldier was thrown on his chest, which
bore heavily against the sharp edge Of the
rack. 1t is almost unnecessary to say that
gag was slipped into the prisoners
mouth to prevent articulation before he
was strapped on the rack. No man could
endure the supreme pain inflicted by this
torture without screaming. have seen a
strong and determined man faint in less
IMAM ten minutes under the strain Of this
- usesA PeAAAAShiiAouos W ~ Cu0
down and never again twirl sponge staff.
nave nearu men beg to be killed rather
IMAM 10 ne tied on the rack.
10 DO bucked and gagged? Yes, that
vas severe, but not dangerous. 1t was
nigniy olsagreeabie ana painful, too. If pro-
1ohged, ana at All times calculated to mako
q mans eyes stick out OF his head as lob
sters eyes do, and then tho appearance Of
man WINE undergoing the punishment
was mighty discreditable. Tho soldier
oDou' " W puckeo ana gagged, generally
drunken or noisy soldier, was forced to
sls on tne ground his knees were drawn
uP 70 MS cnin' tnen MS hands were drawn
AorwaEV 10 ms snins' ana there were So
Cufcly Douno soeetner. long stick was
tnon thrust under his Knees and over his
arms. gag was then securely bound in
nus mouth: A soldier VINO was bucked
ana gagged could not hurt himself or any
one else. no could not speak, but he could
make articulatc sounds indicative of his
suffering, and he invariably made them
before no was released"
1.-The frst duty of q soldier Is obedi-
ence, " said an officer at Fort Sheridan to
. Chicago Times Herald reporter. "N
were ordered by my superior officer to ride
my morse up an utterly impossible caiH, j
would mako tho attempt to do it, although
l knew the feat was utterly impracticable.
That it was impossible would be the fault