The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-10-25
Custom of Burning Effigles,


A very interesting ceremony took place
at Anderson. Ind, few days ago. A
woman OF that city sent out invitations
to all of her friends to come and see her
husband burned in effigy. Needless 10
! say, the Invitation was cheerfully ac-
copied, and the grotesque. and pitiable
| image of the absent spouse was cremat-
ed, 10 the great satisfaction of all pres
emit Any burning in effigy Is an inter-
esting event, sure TO call together all the
children. old and young, OF the country
| SIDE. This latest instance attracts atJen-
| ton on account OF its extreme archaic
favor. If there is truth IN the doc
| trine of TRANSPORTATION OF souls, the lady
! in question must surely have lived at
| one time in old Greece. Theocritus tells
us of sorcerers that pretended 10 work
| evil and even 10 kill the enemies OF their
! clients by means of charms performed
over doll images representing the Offend
ing persons.
The original idea OF an effigy was that
| there existed some sort of sympathy be-
tween the image and the person for whom
it was substituted, and that harm zone
| the former or curses pronounced against
| it would actually result in evil TO the lat
| ter People did TO the effigy as they
would like TO do unto the absent offend
1 er, and were cheered by the hope that
sooner or later their vengetns would over
| take him. These are milder times ana
1 the ordinary mind does not contemplate
| with pleasure the incineration alive OF a
| human being. The burning OF person
| in effigy these days is method by whlcn
| the populace expresses Its contempt LOT
some person. II is an extraordinary and
ostentatious insult and 1t also furnishes
| urbi ch aYaSnprarf0n
! vented. We viii not for moment believe
| that the lady of Anderson would burn her
absent spouse alive could she lay hands
| on him.
Neither do we believe that the gallant
soldiers OF the Second Illinois would Gre
mate Governor Tanner alive, or permit
| anyone else to do so, although they con-
structed a ridiculous scarecrow which
! faithfully depicted their estimate OF his
worth, and made a bonfire OF the same
amid tremendous enthusiasm at Camp
: Cuba Libre Nor have we any idea that
the soldiers hoped that misfortune would
overtake the corporal through the medium
of his effigy It Is said that a certain
tribe of Indians possesses very useful
divinity known the swearing god
This is a ridiculous little image nailed TO
the wall. 1t represents the power of evil.
and il is considered pious act to DE-
nounce it in the most picturesque and
forcible language al ones command II
the Indian bruises his finger or his mus
tang refuses to be caught he clinches his
teeth and makes a dash for the house.
once safely in the presence of the swear
ing god" he shakes his fists. tears his
hair dances with rage, and gives vent
to the most horrible profanity. Then
he feels better.
So with an effigy. One can burn It,
shoot It. throw stones at il, curst 1t,
and nobody will be injured in the least.
but the person conducting the exercises
viii feel better.
That immortal. overadvertised bugaboo,
Guy Fawkes, has been in straw and tat
tiers more frequently than any other hu-
man being alive or dead. Andrew Jackson
and Jefferson Davis were so distinguish
ed within the memory of men now liv-
ing. Those two celebrated Spaniards.
Weyler and Charles Eliot Norton. have
both shared the honor. With the ad
vance of civilization, this ceremony has
become Christian act. 1t is certainly
more humane TO hang up a scarecrow and
throw stones at ! THAN to hide behind
a stone wall and shoot the man himself
or to hitch him By the neck to lofty
limb and drive his horse out from under
him.
Punishment in effigy was legally prac-
ticed in France and with great solemnity
up till the time of the first revolution. If
the man condemned escaped, dummy
was put in his cell, and the entire routine
of the law allowed to take it's course.
The warrant was read to it, and on the
day appointed it was conducted to the
scaffold in the presence of all the legal
functionaries and with all the circum-
stances of the law. Sometimes the same
person was executed IN effigy simulta-
neously in several cities, but that, alas,
did not exempt him from actual punish
ment should he be afterward caught.
There are instances on record where GRIM
inals have paid the penalty of their Of
Tense both in farce and in fact. The An
glo-Saxon race has not taken kindly to
effgy burning as a legal act. Though We
are imaginative enough, We always have
a reserve of stolid practicability unassaiI-
able by superstition. With US this curl
Gus rite crops up in times of great pOpu-
lar excitement. Oliver Cromwell was free
quently burned in effigy. and many cop
les of the coventnt along with him An
old chronicle piously tells OF one occa-
sion wherein the protector was VIGOROUSLY
volleys OF shot were fired off at least 500
In a volley.''
This leads to the observation that burn
ing in effigy has been used very frequent
~ as an expression of religious fervor, and
of course poor old Judas Iscario- has
been the most frequent and long suffering
victim. On Maundy Thursday the people
of Mexico go to see Judas burned and
fire squbs at him. In holy week Po.tu-
guese sailors hang the betrayer OF Christ
20 a yardarm and shoot at him. Then
they pull him down and fan upon him
with clubs. after wrich he is torn limb
from limb and cast into the sea The
Greeks also, on the Sunday after Easter,
hang a scarecrOw before their churches
and fire at il with guns and pistols until
il catches FIRE.
How Walking sticks Are Made
(From Golden PENNY