The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-07-22
BY KARL BARON BINDER.
O-s-O~()~Os-O-s-Os-O.sO.s-C
Mukden, Manchuria, June /.

Mukden, Manchuria, June l.
Ten crucifixions and one beheading is
the record of Chinese justice 1 wit
messed today. The crucifixions, though,
are only means for securing" justice;
as to the beheading. it is a means, or
| supposed means, for roofing out the
bandit evil of which all Manchuria is
suffering. The battlefield of justice is
an open square outside the western
gate, in the center stone slab where
! the delinquent kneels to receive the
f! death stroke, and nearby a well, sur
mounted by a half demolished pagoda.
The latter is the receptacle for the
! heads. The bodies, or trunks, are
| thrown into a doorless vault, fodder
for the dogs. Chinese charity puts the
| head, seat of the God-given brain and
| root of the much honored pigtail, out
| of reach of animals; about the rest
of the cut up human beings it does not
| concern itself.
AS the procession with today's vic
| time to pay visit to the open air tor
| ture chamber, situate on the other side
| of a low wall. which we scaled stand
| ing on the backs of our coolies.
! No less than ten Chunchuses Orig
ands) were undergoing torture and
| slow death by crucifixion there-may
never be forced to see anything so
| horrible again. The crosses were Sc
cured horizontally on piles, rising
| bout four feet from the ground
pillar under each of the four ends. The
victims were nailed to the wood with
| one hand and one foot-they must be
| able to eat and drink, says the law.
Yet these terribly tortured human
| beings were innocent in the eye of the
| law, according to the American way of
| thinking. The Chinese law provides
| that no person burst be executed until
and unless he confesses to the crime of
which he stands accused. Today's
| batch of criminals, charged with brig
| andage, had refused to do so-hence the
| attempt to coerce them. For, awful
| as the punishment must be, it is not
| uncomfortable. Witness one man who
stood it for two long years.
| The latter I would not believe, but
| the Dsonsun, Chinese viceroy in Muk-
| den. corroborated the story after con-
+, sulting the official records.
The cross to which the two years
sufferer was nailed stood aloft, over
looking the place of execution. Per-
mission having been secured, through
a large bride, the delinquent's friends
raised the awful instrument of torture
in the hope that the vista of quick
! executions beyond the wall might in
duce their relative to give up his strug-
gle against fate, confess and allow HIM
self to be beheaded. Horrible to relate.
the cruciffed man. though he has seen
many hundreds of heads cut off with
, in the last twepty-four months per
sists in prolonging his myriads of
agonies.
Twice a day his faithful wife sup
plies him with food and drink at the
end of a long stick. His partners in
misery obtain their nourishment more
directly, the jailers placing it within
reach of their free hand. 1 purposely
drop the subject, emitting all details
of what I saw and heard. passing by
the agonized appearance of the vic
Tins of this strange savagery, the re-
hearsal would be unfit reading for
civilized people
correspondent. left behind to watch
proceedings, shouted, "They are com
ing" whereupon We returned to the
place of execution. But only a big
cloud of dust was visible in the direc-
ton of the city. Il called you back
to help me Grive off these COMPOUNDED
dogs, said our colleague, there is a
heap of stones, let's give it to them
L counted seventeen gaunt hageard
| ours feeding off the bodies of three
/ men, executed the day before. With
their teeth they had dragged the head
less trunks from the vault. and despite
our persistent fusiIlade were unwilling
TO let go of their prey. When I left
/ in my ''rikshaw'' an hour later. I no.
tieed a profusion of gnawed human
/ bones, distributed over the square.
PROCESSION ARRIVES.
Suddenly horn signals and TOM
toms a convoy of horsemen. foot SOL
diers and civilians. shining bayonets
and prancing ponies, while above the
throng fioated two enormous black
banners inscribed with Chinese let-
j ters in white. The viceroy's mounted
guards, heading the column. outlined
three angles of a wide, hollow square
While the fourth was formed by in
fantry in black jackets, ditto turbans.
| and with bayonets fixed
Behind the soldiers of the Son of
Heaven came troop of Russian in
| fantrymen, who seemed to regard the
sorry business a festive occasion. for.
! in defiance of accustomed discipline
the men smoked and INDUCED in jests
| of all sorts
! Now two-wheeled cart. drawn by
{! two horses, tandem fashion. The first
| animal bore the executioner. pom