The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-04-09
CUSTOMS OF KOREANS
Punishment Of Criminals Ex-
tended to Their Families.
ALI. WORK LEI 10 WEE WOMEN


walls Year-Men strenuous Only
For Amusement and sport-FearfuI
fortunes sim Fate Of Evil Doors.
Ernest Won Hesse- Wartegg, the ia.
nous German traveller, husband Of
Minnie Hauck, relates some interesting
facts on Korean life, writes the Berlin
correspondent Of the New York Times.
I'm Korea, as in Morocco he says,
atortures are very common. In the
prisons saw instruments which were
not so fearful as those which two cen.
turtles ago were used in our own eoun-
try only simple sticks and ropes or
the well known 'kang, the neck board
but they put them to fearful use.
Only a few years ago the legs Of con.
demned persons were broken with the
sticks. while the ropes We're placed
twice around the loins Of the victim
and pulled together In such manner
as to sink deep into the flesh. Besides
these tortures, the punishments are ex-
tended to the family Of the criminal
For example, even today the punish
ment for treason is deeapitation Of the
offender and the poisoning or enslave-
ment OF the mother wife and daugh-
ter. The treason Of woman is pun
ished by poisoning. For murder the
punishment is similar II man COM
mlts theft he is decapitated or in lesser
cases banished to lonely island his
property connscated and his wife sold
as slave.
"For the Dissertation % the graves Of
ancestors for ina Korea q cult prevails
similar TO that in China the offender
and all lis male relations 10 the nth
degree are decapitated and his mother
and the other female members Of his
family are poisoned. The poisoning IS
usually done in prison By a dose Of
arsenic. The decapitation until few
years ago took place III a broad, FREE
quented street before the west gates
Of the city. The notice Of death SEN
tence is usually published In the writ
ten States Gazette.
THE police system in Korea is very
elaborate and It is rare that q criminal
escapes unless lie has money enough to
/ an the pocket Of a mandarin Every
male Korean possesses d pass. consist
ing Of a long tablet, on which his name,
position and residence are written. The
tablets Of the common people are OF
wood, Of soldiers horn, of the low no
bility and officials bone The minis
tiers, princes and high nobility use red
| visiting cards: also small tablets of
ivory, for every Korean is compelled to
have such pass Usually he wears Il
with a string around his neck under
his clothes Oh on the lower arm under
the sleeve If at night a pedestrian IN
the street is found without his tablet
he Is at once arrested At receptions
the Koreans introduce themselves BY
lpresenting these passes with deep
bow
ION the public streets one sees only
women of the lower classes, and these
hide their faces when foreign men ap.
proach Only the dancers and singers
appear on the street without a veil.
Women take no part In public amuse-
ments or in out Of door sport. Two
festival days Of the year are, however
given up to them entirely. The first OF
these festivals Is a general bathing
day. usually occurring in August. On
this day In all Of the cities and villages
women and children troop to the shores
Of the river. The second feast day is
devoted to the old women Of the lower
I classes. who for the whole year are
compelled to do the heaviest work, car
ry burdens, gather rags and clean
streets On this day they need not Dc
any work They dress themselves il
clean white clothes and 80 to the quar-
tiers OF the rich, where all houses are
open to them There they receive gifts
Of money and refreshments and are
allowed to wander through the house;
and gardens. On the next day they
return to their usual work on the
day devoted to ancestor worship tn,
women also take part with the men.
Owing to the lazy characteristics Of
the Koreans public amusements il
their life play great role All worh
is left to women The men sleep
smoke, gossip, play cards and dominos
fish, hunt, fly kites and practice witt
bow and arrow. The Koreans In this
respect have acquired great skin, anC
the sport is fostered by the govern
ment. Boxing and wrestling are alsC
industriously practiced, and In a per
sonal fight even the Mantchoos are
not equal to them, while the small
Japanese are pygmies in comparison
Neighboring villages or parts Of city
frequently arrange sporting contests.
Next to the birthday of the king tht
greatest festival day Of the year is tht
commemoration Of victories which thu
Koreans have repeatedly won agains
the japanese No nation is so hated
by the Koreans as the Japanese, whom
they contemptuously call 'woien.' This
hatred cannot be easily eradicated, ant
in case of a Russian victory the Japa
nese VIII have to do with the Kore
ans
somnRmbuIist's Long Trip.
An extraordinary case of sleep walk