The Delta independent., 1904-12-30
THE RUSSIAN KNOUT
eARBARoUs PUNISHMENT DONE
AWAY WITH BY CAR.

Or. f1oWaro, an AmeT'CdU T"yoSs"
Has Left a Vivid Picture OF the
crueIties Praetleed on the Unhappy
Inmates Of the Emperor's Prisons.
Russia is rejoicing over the recent
manifesto of the car granting amnes-
ties end decreeing certain benefac-
tions for the oppressed people. But
more than all 1t rejoices that corporal
punishment has been abolished. To
the average American reader the eu'
phemistic term corporal punishment"
is practically devoid of meaning. But
replace the sugared. phrase with the
word "knout" and thing at once hor-
rible and revolving fashions itself In
the minds eye.
The knout is whip Of three thongs
or tails, the end OF each thong being
fashioned into knot. and not tnfre-
quently, particularly when the weapon
vas to be used on hardened criminals.
the knot was partly composed OF
leaden ball. With scourges of this ter
rible kind Russian peasants, soldiers,
officials, suspected offenders, and even
persons in high places have been
whipped.
A little over two years ago the Ap-
pletons published a book entitled,
prisoners Of Russia" 1t was written
by the late Or. Benjamin Howard. In
the following manner DR.. Howard WV
idly pen.pictured the terrible knouting
operation:
Being divested of his manacles by
the guard, the man laid himself full
length upon the kabyla. as directed,
face downward. By straps passed
through perforations in the table, he
was immovably secured to it by the
ankles, legs, chest and arms. About
eight PAGES in front Of the kabyla
stood, from right to LETT, the ccrporars
guard, the governor, the civil surgeon
and myself. Close beside the culprit.
on the left, stood a subordinate of.
hciai, known as the marker. with .
large memorandum book in his hand.
."Ail being prepared, the executionei
entered and tried the knout IN the air,
carefully measuring his stroke. Be.
fore the command to begin was fairly
out of the governors mouth 1t waa
drowned by the shrieks and yells Of
the culprit. quickly began to appre
ciate what had appeared to me mere
ostentatiousnesas in the preliminar,
stroke practice. For. having once
been started, the executioner's strokes
were as steady. as rhythmical, A. pre-
else as II done By steam engine. ant
as unrelenting. Such was the pre-
cision Of them that at the end Of thu
NTH stroke there were exactly fifteel
lines on the culprit's back, scoring a
evenly as II they had been marke'
with piece of chalk.
'sThe force of the blows SO complete
ly expelled the blood from the SUI
face that with chalk the lines coul
not be made whittier. BY the wris
maneuver the blows were applied wit
such carefully graded force that at tn
end OF the first stage the part alread
attacked looked az II covered with q
even sheet OF white paper There wa
not drop of blood.
"The second stage commenced q
the blood began to flow, and as thi
proceeded more and more freely tn
victim appeared to revive and to com
to life again. AS spectacle, this WI
the most horrible part Of the punis
ment, though for the victim it vs
much less painful. At every bio
each Of the three-knotted thongs, III
the claws and beak cs vuItur
pecked out fragments Of drippiI
flesh, which were scattered in all
rections by the backward swing of Il
cruel lash. To avoid them the officer
who we're In white uniforms. and m
self, had to, step back and back for
considerable distance.
after the skin Of the side attack
had been completely detached a
scattered the screams of the pc
wretch subsidized into groans and sol
The excavation. now about the 81
and depth of soup plate. being fill
with overfowinR blood. which pour
over the edge Of the table. the for
of the executioner's blows was mu
deadened. The deeper and deeper
blowing the less and the less was
pain"
DR.. Howard said that there was
halt after the fftieth lash, and Il
the physicians examined the vict
Finding that his life was not in pc
the punishment then went on, in
sickenipg way. until ninety-nine lasl
had been administered. It appe
that the hundredth swing of the Dire
full scourge always 10 omitted as
eyidence1of the czar.s clemency.
Such IL the hideous corporal p
ishment" that Nicholas II. imperlou
declares to be thing Of the pas;
his empire of the north.
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