Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1905-08-16

offs body with q cloth; the skin re-
| dened, and clear traces Of former
punishments became visible.
I stood near the doctor, whose faoo
was flushed with shame.
Ivan Wassjutin." Ivan neared The
horse"
ION with all Clothes" said the exc.
cutioner. It was long while before
he grasped the meaning of the words.
| Lie down." Wassjutin mounted
the horse" astride.
| Take your hands OFF, lie down:
put your arms around the horse"
| WassjutiR embraced the horse" 10
was humiIiating, horribly humiliatins,
to see naked man stretched on that
horse" and awaiting the cruel lash
Chruspel, the executioner, looked like
a dog into the inspectors face.
Thirty rods" Chruspel picked up
bundle Of rods, drew one out Of
the bundle with astonishing agility,
retired a STEP. and waited.
| 60 ahead!" The rod whfstled
through the air once or twice before
the inspector counted one. Then an
other whistling sound, and red stripe
was seen on the Quaking body. 1.-TWO,
three, four, five."
Chruspel threw the rod away and
took up another. He walked over to
the other side of the horse. Five
more blows fell on the other side q
the body.
| Every five blows required another
rod, and Chruspel changed his position
for eacn rod. The sound Of the rod
| whistling through the air almost broke
ones heart, and the interval between
two blows seemed like an eternity.
The inspector counted: Twenty.
nine. thirty"
Wassjutin rose on the horse and sat
astride. His eyes were filed with
tears. Get off"
1.-TWO and a half minutes" said the
doctor.
l thought 1t had lasted an hour.
Then came the Caucasians' turn.
| Chruspel laid them down on the horse
| one after another. He used the knout
on them Gin accordance with the YER.
dict" A look at the inspector ex.
pialned to Chruspel what he was to
DO. He grasped the knout in the
middle, which is the punishment OF
| the half knout.''
Bardunoff trembled and shiyered.
He looked helpless like hunted rab.
bit, and attempted to smile. Chruspel
poked him in the ribs. Lie down."
Bardunof -convulsively clasped the
morse and pulled himself together.
Chruspel swung the knout with an
ominous movement. This was not .
punishment Gin accordance with the
verdict of the court" this was \
private transaction. according to
the customs of the Sakhalin prison in.
spectors.
the room was perfectly still; not q
breath was heard
Chruspel gazed inquiringly at the
inspector. The latter looked about
IoF moment in confusion, glanced at
the doctor and me, and finally made
sign to the executioner ChruspeJ
| grasped the half knout" A sigh Of
relief was heard from everyone in tina
room. Bardunoff's body trembled con.
vulsively. Heaven knows what ter
rible blows the man had expected. For
tine comparatively weak, yet cruel, lash
seemed to him child's play.
Former Methods.
When / used to come to roll call"
Boosted K, Il was in the habit of saw
ing: Good morning, dogs. Good morn.
ing, jailbirds.' And they always re-
pied, joyfully: Good morning. your
honor. For they knew that 1 was In
good humor. If l came and did NOT
call them dogs they knew that some
thing was brewing. When I ordered
knouting they tainted with fear. used to
say: "knouts and spades to dig a grave.
l wanted to make them believe that
I some one would be knouted to death.
My assistants pretended that they were
calming me. The convicts were wal
lowing in the dust before me. and
wept for mercy. But corporal pun.
lshment rs no good. In my opinion
nothing beats solitary confinement
Worse than knouting. Two weeks Of
solitary brings them all to their
senses. Come, and 1 will show YOU"
We entered a gangway which waa
narrow and dark. On both sides were
narrow cages, with tiny windows in
each door. The air in the gangway
made breathing impossible. 1t smelled
like dog kennel. The moment wa
entered the gangway blood-curdline
oaths and cries were heard on an
sides. The convicts howled in frenzy
and attempted to burst their doors. I
was reminded of madhouse and Of
Dante's Inferno.
Let Gussoff out" commanded the
inspector.
The guard approached his cage.
From the cell arose maddened roar:
Don't come near, don't come near.
will murder you!'
We'll, perhaps you'd better leave
him." calmly remarked K.