The Washington times., 1901-09-08
PUNISHMENFS IN KOREA.
A Sample of Justice as Melted Out
By Magistrates.
Half n Hundred workmea Tortured
and Executed for tho Brutal MUIR
der of tho English Superintendent
of . Mine Worked by Americana.


Ordinarily the justice that demands IAN
eye for ar eye and a tooth for O tooth
does not prevail in Korea. and almost
universally y has been the impression
that the Korean Justice meted out to
and for foreigners is thin and watery
affair. containing about as much Of justice
as circus lemonade contains OF lemon
That this impression is erroneous Is owl
dent from the reports Of the trial and
conviction of the ass.ssirs OF +. F. Bran
don. young Englishman. that have just
reac,n~I this country from Korea. In
this case, at least. Korea has exacted fif-
ty pairs OF eyes for one and teeth innu-
merable for those OF the murdered man
Brandon was the assistant superia.ei.;.
ent of a mine operated by Americans In
the Ping Yang district. far In the Interior.
His post was at the mine and he had been
stationed there for months. He was thor
oughly well up in the ways of the natives,
spoke their language. and. while he saw
to II that there was shirlxing and no
waste. he had managed to get along with
out resorting to the brutal methods char
acteristic of other European bosses on
the peninsula. The mine employees. with
the exception of two American engineers
and four Engiishmen. were all natives
|
while the natives made their huts where
they would. The Englishmen and Amer
leans ,Tere well equipped with repeating
rides and revolvers and provided with
ammunition as for siege. the camp be-
ing so remote from the coast
There had been no trouble of any sort
at the time. and when the Americans and
Englishmen expressed a desire to go to
Taboyie, the nearest settlement. to take
part In native religious feast Brandon
unwisely gave them permission to go In
body. believing that he could manage
the native workmen single handed. A re-
ligious festival in Korea Is an occasion
of much drunkenness. When his white
associates had gone the native worEmen
decided to observe the feast themselves.
and Brandon reluctantly was compelled
to give his consent
Runners were sent to Tabovie for
supply of native whisky. and on their re-
turn the camp proceeded as fast as possi-
bic to get drunk When drunk the native
miners are a good people to keep at a
distance-if they happen to be in the ma
tority, as they were in this case. Bran
don saw trouble coming and went to his
quarters. where the guns and aInnuni-
ton were kept. and there he remained
throughout the day. At nightfail there
was net a sober workman within sound
of Brandons voice. Even the cook of
his mess had joined in the general spree.
and the assistant superintendent went
supperless to his bunk. Several times =
during the early part of the night ne
get up and stood outside the hat, and
one of the natives has since testified
that the miners suspected him of an in
tention to steal away to Tabovie. get
his white assistants together and return E
to punish them. He had no chance 10 get s
away unobseved, however. and at IL
o'clock turned in for the night.
1t was late the next afternoon before
the white men got back from Tabovie.
They found the mine deserted Hurrying
to the hut they found Brandon stretched
out dead upon the hoor- His body had
been horribly mutilated. There We're no
signs CT a struggle in the place, so il was
presumed that the drunken natives stole
In upon him while he was asleep and
crushed his skull with blow The stab
wounds and mutilation OF the body were
inflicted in the bunk, and 1t is now known
that each Of the natives engaged in the
raid jabbed his knife into the dead man
before leaving. The body had been rolled
out upon the floor to enable the assassins
to look behind it for the assistant super
intendents valuables. The place had been
rified. All the guns and revolvers and
ammunition had been taken
Three of the white men started back to
Tabovie at once to get word of the crime
out TO the authorities, while the other
three remained in the camp to guard the
body. Pending the return Of their COM
pan.ons, the Inree who were left in camp
made good use % their time in looking
for evidence that would fix the identity OF
the murderers- 1t had been raining for
some days, and in the soft earth they
had no difficulty in following the trail OF
the aSsaSsinS from the hut through the
jungle to little valley. two miles from
the mine, where the families of the ma
tive worknen lived. That trail made it
evident that Brandon had been slain by
his own men, and il told also that there
were fifty to sixty persons In the maraud-
ing party.
when. three days later. a native magis-
trate arrived from Won Son. He was ac-
companied by twenty assistants-seribes
and prosecutors and eXecutors-and
SQUAD of native police. The white men
made known TO him the result of their in
vestigations. and the native police at
once began a reinvestigation on lines sug-
geSted by the whites. In a little time
they arrested sixty-one suspects, and took
them into camp bound hand and foot
with ropes.
before Brandon,s hut. A three-Iegged
stool was placed upon this, and then the
assistants clapped their
hands and shouted ''Hoi yoi" and COM
mand to the witnesses to Honor the
Court The siAy-one prisoners were
ranged in front Of the hut, and the mag
istrate walked along the line, carrying
a European umbrella over his head. while
his assistants were opening court. He
frowned at each prisoner in turn. then
the platform and seated himself
on the three-legged stool
Each of the prisoners in addition TO be-
ing bound hand and foot. had rope
around his neck, and as his name was
called he would be pulled out of line,
thrown down. and dragged by the neck
rope to position in front OF the magls-
irate. He was compelled to grovel while
under examination. and any attempt TO
raise his head would b., met with blow
upon it by a bamboo staff in the hands of
a court attendant.
Some of the prisoners. being members
Of a secret society and bound by oath. re-
fused to testify. These recalcitrants the
ma gistrate subjected to torture. They
were thrown upon their backs and bam-
boo poles inserted from opposite sides
over one leg and under the other. the legs
being tightly bound at the ankles. While
Dne court attendant held the wretch
down, others would throw their weight
Ipon the poles. causing him the most ex-
.ruciatints torture The thongs which
bound him cut into his flesh and the
bones were fractured If ne still remain
ID obstinate. partial strangulation was
escorted to. Thongs were tightly drawn
,round his threat and ne was thrown
iside to suffocate. while the examination
II another suspect was begun.
When ten of the suspects had succumb-
d under torture one of the native miners
made a confession, in the hope of meeting
more sudden death. This man was
5randon's cook: He told of the miners
ear that Brandon intended going to Ia
,ovie for his white men to punish the
lrunken miners, and OF sudden decision
~ the native workmen to kill him to pre-
He said that they had found the assist