The Washington times., 1901-07-14
BEHEADING THE BOXERS
Quick Execution of Two Noted
Chinese Anti-Foreign Leaders.
Vivid Description OF the Methods
Used to Garry Out Demands of the
Powers "A CHASTITY Exhibition
which Lasted But Three Minutes.

Used to Garry Ont Demands of the
Powers CHASTITY Exhibition
which Lasted But Three Minutes.
Just before Yuen Chang. member OF
the Tsung-n-Yamen, was beheaded here
in July on account of his alleged pro-for-
eign leanings, he soIemnly warned Shiu
Cheng ri. the Vice President OF the Board
| of Punishments, IL the following Ian
| guage: Today I shall suffer an ignomi-
| nious death because / have striven to
avert calamity from China. In a few
months the foreigner viii occupy Pei1in.
and then you viii undergo a similar PEN
atty on the selfsame spot"
This forecast was realized today. and
as the Chinaman is superstitious and a
| fataiist. perhaps the feeling that it was
/ his destiny may have afforded some sort
/ of consolation to the wretched Shiu Cheng
| vi when he and his colleague. Chi Shiu.
! were being jolted in Pekin carts through
this dusty city to their death.
| Save for the skill OF the Japanese we
should not even have secured anyone for
beheadaI The sad part OF 1t Is that the
allied forces have made it clear to the
Chinese that the Governments of the for
eign devir' collectively are prone to adopt
the same pitiful diplomacy of bluff and
cave in which over and over again has
characterized their individual policy in
| treating with China. Yes; these two COM
| paratively unimpOrtant men, who never
| WIZ be missed by the Chinese. have been
| considered by the allied Powers as suffi-
/ ing to save our face. while their eleven
superiors in crime and position are allow
| ed some of them to submit to a nominal
! banishment and the rest to commit a
4 hypothetical suicide.
The worst that can happen to those
men Is that they should really kill them
| selves, in which doubtful case, In the
| eyes of the Chinese. they will be mar
! tyrs and not degraded criminals. Truly,
a pitiful businessi So I went to see how
| England. France. Germany. America,
Austria, Italy, Japan. and Russia were
| to save their face" by executing the
| only two men they could lay hands on
| out of the thirteen on the famous list.
| In taking leave of the.- kindly custo-
| dian, Colonel Shiba. Of legation siege
/ fame, the doomed men had said: I'VE
| cannot understand the EmperOr's edict:
but if our beheadal will tend toward the
restoration of an honorable peace to Chi
ma we are happy to die. even in this de-
| grading manner"
Then they were handed over to the
/ Chinese authorities and after saying
| goodbye TO their immediate relatives.
took their places in the centre of the
! quiet procession that passed at walking
pace through the thicxly populated streets
| of Pelxin to the place of execution. The
| Chinese soldiers were afraid 20 assume
| the responsibility Of the prisoners while
passing through the streets, and so the
japanese were told OF to escort them to
| the vegetable market-a narrow and din
I gy street in the Chinese city. where exc
! cutions habituaIly take place Arrived at
| their destination, the carts halted in
| front of a roughly constructed tent of
/ sacking stretched across bamboo poles.
where sat the magistrate who was to
read over to them the history OF their
misdeeds and formally confirm the death
/ sentence.
Hard by were couple OF mats on the
| ground. and by them sat the executi0ner's
Observation-Disclosures and dirty-Iookins
| men with unwashed clothes that were i'm
pregnated with the dried blood of pre-
vious victims One Of them stood up.
shouldering the heavy sheathed knife that
was to do the deed, in an attitude resem-
bling a slipshod attention, and another
held under his arm the metal bowl that
was to receive the heads They chatted
with each other and with the crowd. and
the knife-bearer would unsheath his wea-
| pon for the benefit of the kodak fiend.
! who was present in a gre&= -@r:cty. The
| narrow street and the roofs of the ad-
| joining buildings were thronged with men,
| mostly foreigners. Farther of, held at
bay by the foreign guards, was an i'm
/ mense crowd of Chinese.
Every variety of uniform was notice
able, and the few civilians present were
nearly all press men. The executioner-in-
chief, who stood aloof from his compan-
ions, was by no means so repulsive look
ing man as one might expect; he seemed
alert and intelligent. and was neatly
| dressed in crimson trousers. American
and French soldiers acted as police.
Chi Shiu, an elderly man Of full body.
and a member of the Tsung-E-Y Yamen.
was in tie first cart. After the legal for
maIities had been gone through with in
credible rapidity, he walked firmly and
| with dignity TO the farther mat and kneit
down Instantly he was seized. a piece
of string was tied tightly round his head,
his pigtail pulled aside. his clothes torn
away to bare the neck. and his arms seiz-
ed Four men held him while the execu-
TONER raised the heavy knife, and with
one swift drawing cut, decapitated his
| victim.
The head was held alOft for all the
| world To see, ana simultaneously lur III
| ert trunk fell forward to the ground.
There it lay while the executioners. with
| hands ard clothes saturated with blood,
| went in search of the second prisoner.
Shiu Cheng VI whose chief offence
| seems to have been that his father. now
| dead, declared that he would never be
| happy until he had the skin of 2 foreign
! CT as a rug for his cart. was also an
| elderly man, and was taller and not so
| stout as his predecessor. 1t was obvious
that he bad been robbed of all feeling by
drugs. There was no emotion In his face
! as he was dragged along and placed in
| position his mat. 1t was all over in a
| few seconds, and I do not think that
| three minutes elapsed between the secur-
| ing of the first prisoner and the fall OF
the second head. Though rapidly carried
| out and possibly an almost painless
\ death. a Chinese execution is a CHASTITY
/ and uncleanIy exhibition
| Soon. however, the orderly crowd melt
| ed away. save for those who Had curios-
/ ity enough to wait and witness the gre
some operation of sewing the heads on
| to the trunks and the disposal of the
bodies In the elaborate collins. The shops
| soon opened and the normal business OF
| the street was quickly resumed: nor was
| there anything TO indicate that what must
| eventually become historical and is
| certainly the most internationally at
! tended legal tragedy of modern times had