The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-08-14

| One man who was subjected to a Ia
| trilla" is in Barcelona now. When he
was taken in by the police he was
stalwart, athletic young fellow VINO
| could carry with ease the heavy flour
| bags of the country, which weigh 4oo
pounds Now, declared innocent, ne
| looks like a broken octogenarlan, MS
body is bowed, his hands tremble, ne
! can hardly crawl, and that only Win
a cane He says that more than once
| he ran at the walls of his cell with ms
head in order to escape by dying.
| After ia trilla" had been used till 1t
palled on the sporting spirit of the
| Lieutenant and his associates they de-
vised a new pleasantly. Having drag
ged the victim till he was insensible,
| they carried him into a brazier, where
| there were many irons heating Slowly.
| Then they revived the patient so that
he could watch them heating the irons
till they were red. Having done this,
| they drew the instruments over his mu-
| tilated body till all the wounds mad
been scared. If man tainted the OPP
Grafton was stopped till he recovered
| his senses again.
| When it was considered advisable not
| to let the other prisoners hear the
| screams of those who were being tor
tured the victims were gagged with a
| wooden cylinder about six inches long
and -tenths of an inch in diameter,
| which was forced into their mouths-ln
| itself no light pain. A, cord was at
tached to this gag like bride, ana
with this the prisoner was Led around
| his taller giving him a sharp jerk
Whenever he faltered. Sometimes these
gags were removed purposely, SO that
| the groans and bowls of the sufferers
| might reach the ears of the other prls-
| oners and warn them of what awaited
| them.
| The thumbcrew was used so freely
that it was looked on merely as mat
| ter of detail Racking and fire were 9TH
er forms of producing pain that were
| considered merely predatory. Nameless
forms of mutilation were incidents IN
| the course of torture. instruments hao
been especially devised for these nor
rible operations. So exquisite was the
| pain produced in this way that many
prisoners died from the shock 1t pa
pears that one of the features of the
| Inouisition was lacking-there was no
surgeon present at these modern hor-
| rors to say when the prisoner had been
hurt enough.
If all forms of torture proved I'M
available to force confession the final
| cruelty came. Practically it was not
| only torture, but execution, too, for 1t
was hardly possible for a man to live
after having undergone it. Those who
survived did so only to remain hope
| lessly insane.
This torture was that of the helmet.
The victim was tied in a chair and a
long tube was thrust into his mouth
and down his throat. This was for the
purpose of saving him from death by
suffocation. Then the helmet was
clapped over his head. Through tight,
ening of thumb screws the various
parts of this steel hood could be forced
together, especially at the temples.
This was a simply awful form of pro"
ducing insupportable anguish. Often
the squeezing was continued until the
temples were crushed in. The lips OF
the victims were actually torn from the
face. The scalp was peeled off by
sharp edges of the helmet as it. was
screwed together. Parts of the skull
were depressed till the brain seemed
afire Nose and eyes were practicaliy
destroyed, so that nothing was left Of
them.
These tortures lasted for thirty days
| No wonder the people of Barcelona
having heard the tale at last in a form