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

they were thrown TO the gIOuIlu dHo
fettered with straps and chains so that
they could not move any portion OF the
upper part of their bodies. Their legs
were left free. Then they were ordered
to arise and commanded to run up ana
down without stopping. In the en-
trance to the cell stood huge gen.
darme with an ox-goad. At the first
sign of faltering on the part of the
prisoners he raised his weapon and
struck the victim furiously. Before
long the three men were Streaked with
blood, through which their eyes glared.
at their prosecutors like those of mad
men. But there was no mercy for
| them. They fell with fatigue, but were
forced to their feet again and driven
on. So the entire night passed. AL
last their torturerS We're SO tired that
they began to nod. At once a new re-
lay was ordered in, and the three pant
ing, crying, fainting wretches were
| driven on with new brutality. In the
afternoon of that day, having been
driven without a seconds rest, they fell
prone from time to time, and though
the whips fell on them and cut their
| flesh into ribbons, they left it unheeded.
| Then the jailers ran in, lifted them,
and forced them around in the ring till
they had recovered sufficiently to be-
come sensible once more of their an
guish Now, again and again, deep,
hoarse animal-like bowls would come
from the three objects that were reel
ing and staggering and tottering
around on the bloody floor. Then the
jailers would laugh and swing the
Coadc with ropawod viUOr And when
Lieutenant Portas arrived that evening
with a new relay of strong executioners
the terrible dance was going on silently.
There We're no sounds from the three
creatures They were moving on blind
ly now. automatically. falling on and
over each other and rising again to con-
tinue their circle of pain like grim,
awful things not of this earth. And
from that time on no sound came from
those wracked and mishandled bodies
With their skin in shreds from the
goads, with their feet swollen and so
worn that they left the imprints of
| their faltering steps in blood behind
| them, they went around and around
| silently, awfully, corpse-like, through
another hideous day and night. And
| then, one by one, they fell and did not
rise again. They had gone far from OK
| goads and from Lieutenants and gen.
darmes
LET SECOND TRIO DIE SLOWER.
With the next three men the tor
turers used the experience that they
had gained from the first batch. They
gave them the whip torture, too, but
they gave them rest between whites,
that they should not die. Whenever
they fell insensible meat juice was
forced into their threats. And all the
time, from night till morning and from
morning till night, there was repeated
to them the monotonous admonition to
confess. The second batch of three did
not confess any more than the first
batch had done. And when it appeared
that the whip had been used as far as
it could go without killing them new
form of operation went into effect.
The three were thrown into three
separate cells and just left there. No
one went near them. Their wounds
burned them, fever ragged within them,
no one approached them. All that they
could hear was the screams and bowls
of the third batch who were being tor
tured. So they lay for three days. Then
One man lay down on the floor with his
face pressed as closely as possible to
the aperture between the door and the
ground and begged piteously for water:
Just one drop of water, dear, kind
men, for the love of your mothers. Oh,
good brothers, just one drop, and 1
will not ask for more," Another crawl
ed around the walls of his cell and lick
ol icf1 ha
and around he. went with his burning
face pressed close to the Shiny stones
till his tongue was worn raw. There
came no answer from the black CORR
doris to their appeals-only the moan
of some victim in another cell.
So passed another night. And now
human endurance was at its limit. The
three men began to rage and roar and
yell as beasts do. Then their doors
were opened and jailers strobe in with
the officers behind them. They offered
each man bran to eat and raw, fiery
alcohol to drink. Mad with hunger and
thirst, the unfortunate prisoners seized
it eagerly, but of course their dry
throats and palates We're only choked
by the dry bran and those who tried
to swallow the alcohol only strangled
and suffered new agonies.
"A CORNERSTONE
1t was then that one of the three
broke down entirely. He began to cry,
with a wavering, thin voice like that
of a child, and made a confession. No
one can say whether he told the truth
or not He was pronounced guilty then
and there, sentenced to death and drag
ged out and shot in the moat within
five minutes after he had spoken.
That was where the torturers made
mistake. Had they given the poor devil
a drink of water, at least, others might
have been induced to confess. But
since confession meant only instant
DEATH many of the prisoners suffered
the tortures in silence, holding to that
strange human love for life even when
life must have been wholly hideous to
them.
After one victim had been dragged
away the jailerS entered the second
mans cell just in time to catch him
drinking some dirty water that he had
found under the oil of a lamp in his
cell. Before he had brought the pre-
cious fluid to his lips the ox-goad
caught him and he fell insensible. He
recovered. while they were wiping the
sponge, and the suffering man thrust
his tongue out and licked greedily at
the red stream that ran over his face.
The third man was left alone for an
other day and a night. Then an officer