The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-07
EXECUTIONS IN CHINA.
LATEST OF THOSE SCENES OF
SHOCKING BARBARITY.

MAycStN OL Law
San Francisco Letter in Cincinnati En-
Quirer.
A thrilling account Of what will prob
ably be the last official execution OF the
Chinese government in Hong Kong is
given by Capt. Selby of the steamer Cop
tic, who arrived here this week 1t took
place in the Kowloon district, just across
the river from one of the most restless
of the vegetarian towns. The mandarin.
who had power of life ana death. feared
the vengeance of the freuds of the con-
demned, and sent him across the river
for execution.
The condemned man had run amuck.
had killed an English officer, and the willy
Monaghan mandarin. having heard of the
case, asked for the custody of the pris-
oner, Just to- take care of him."
And he did" said Capt Selby, 'in one
of the most nerve-tingnng manners I ever
saw.
1T had been one of those blazing hot
weeks in Hong Kong, and we had tried
in all sorts of ways to amuse ourselves.
We had made trips up to the peak, We
had tried the tea boats and absorbed bran
Wy anu SOOd NtlOuSH 70 HOdl the OODllc.
Suddenly, one afternoon just after tiffln.
We heard a terrible Hal va up the street
| We all rushed out to search for the cause,
of all the excitement, and there we saw
wild and much frightened mob scurry-
| ing down the thoroughfare 1t seemed to
me that every nation OF both hemispheres
| was represented In that terrOr-stricken
| crowd-Hindus, Parsees, Lascars and Chi
nese-and every mothers son of them with
| the same fear of death plainly written
| on his face.
soon the cause of the commotion hove
| in sight. He proved to be an opium crazed
| Chinese, frothing at the mouth. his queue
unbraided and his eyes almost popping
| out of his head. | can Tell you he was a
| sight that would make any man think
| of the old adage about discretion being
| the better part of valor for the man was
| not only mad, but he was armed with a
| modern long barreled revolver, which he
| was using in a most reckless manner. He
| was blazing away at every body in sigh,
! and it was a surprise 10 all Of us that he
| did not succeed in killing at least half
a dozen people in as many minutes How
ever, on account of his wild aim, he only
| managed to land one good shot
Have you ever seen a mad Asiatc run
ming amuck? Well. if you have not I can
| tell you that 1t is no laughing matter. A
mad dog is as harmless as house kitten
| proper cure. of course, is TO shoot him
as you would mad dog-but the police
| always prefer 10 capture them alive il
| possible. 1t saves all the trouble of ar
| investigation afterward as to the cause
of death etc.
Killed an English officer.
This maniac had fired but four shots
| from his revolver at the frightened moi
when he ran plump into the arms of two
| police officers, who had come up d side
street TO head him off. The crazy crea.
ture squirmed like an eel IN the brawny
arms of one of the officers, and fnalls
succeeded in freeing FITS gun hand
'Quick as a flash he turned his weapon
full upon the assisting officer. There wa:
a flash, a report, and a loud scream. The
poor bobby fell to the ground a corpse
He was shot clean through the heart HI.
companion, not bit daunted by this aw
full result, had by this time secured ugh
grip on the madman's throat, and he neV
er loosened his hold till the fellow wa:
choked into insensibility. This was nc
easy matter, either, for that wild Tartar
seemed 10 have the strength of two Of
three ordinary men, and am sure it tool
at least five minutes to squeeze all tn,
fight out of the why little creature, ant
then it took two men 20 MAKE HIM loose'
his hold on the pistol
There was a great lot of kiyi-ing in the
Chinese quarter that day. An unknown
Chinese had murdered a lookye police
mani on the public street. What woulC
the Fan qui Qoreign deviD do with tha
man? Who is the bod fellow, anyway
Is he Cantonese, or away up river man
If he be an up river man possibly tn,
mandarin may ask for his body.
"Well, the whole matter was quickly
settled next day. for the mandarin die
come TO town. I was fortunate enough 1,
get glimpse of the magistrate as he rod,
along the streets on his little white pony
and with all his affected dignity l coult
not suppress a smile a the ludicrous fig
ure the fellow cut perched up on the up
per deck of that scrawny mite of a nativ,
pony l am not romancing particle wher
II tell you that his knees We're drawn M
as high as the horses shoulders, and h,
reminded me of the pictures l used t,
wonder over in my childhood of JOIN
Gilpin on his famous ride, only that thi
man was content with a more dignifet
pace, for the horse was never allowed &
exceed a modest walk.
This official was very well known Il
residents of Hong Kong. for the prsone
was turned over TO him without much Ger
emony Everybody seemed convinced tina
he would do the right thing with the ae
cused.
THE mandarin afterward explained tina
the prisoner was a very bad man; that h,
was a charcoal burner by trade, and tina
he mad murdered one of his mates abou
a year before. He informed all who wer
interested that the man was of no con
sequence anyway. as he was only Hal
Kah man, and that these fellows COM
of small tribe which has fought every
thing with hands and feet for the las
100 years. And they never win, so l an
sure they are no good, said the grea
man.
Next came a trial Of the prisoner TO
the murder of a police officer. 1t was
very simple affair Witnesses for the de
Tense there was none, neither were the,
asked for. One or two Of the police VIII
had witnessed the shooting were calle
to give their testimony, which they did Il
very honest and straightforward man
ner; then the court was cleared. Not
word about the decision, for everybod
knew what it was to be.
That night 1t was whispered about tn
clubs that there would be some fun acros
the bay next day, and you may depen
upon 1t every man about town was read
bright and early TO see the fun, as the
l H.