Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1907-06-27
THE PRISONS IN CHINA
Fearful State of the Criminals
Confined In Them.
ALL PRISONERS FETTEREDs

Some From Cruelty Become In Appear
ance as Wild as Beasts of the Forest.
Punishment, For Purposes of Extor-
ton, That Kills Many.
The first thing which impresses the
European visitor to the Chinese prison
is the absolutely 1imsy character of
the structure itself. If one gets per-
mission to visit the prison in Canton,
and shoals of globe trotters do wend
their way thither after they have seen
the execution ground, it will be found
to be a ramshackIe building of no pre-
tense whatsoever.
The question will be asked, "By
what means are the prisoners held in
safety if the structures in which they
are incarcerated are so f1imsy and in
secure?" The answer, says the East
Of Asia Magazine, is brief. Without
exception the prisoners are fettered.
Many have chains on the legs only.
These are the less dangerous and have
been guilty of the less important
crimes. Others, in addition, have fet-
tiers on the arms, which make it i'm
possible for them to escape.
Lastly, few prisoners were not only
manacled on the ankles, but wore a
chain around their necks, at the dan
Cling end Of which was attached block
of granite. The prisoner would walk
from place to place within the court
yard, but ere he could move beyond
the length of his chain ne must stop
and lift the stone and, carrying 1t in
his shackled arms, drop it again where
he wished to stop.
In addition to the chains worn by
day, all the male prisoners are further
shackled at night. By means Of two
heavy beams, in which holes have been
made for the ankles of the prisoners, a
rude but effective method is discovered
for OBTAINING the prisoners in absolute
security.
The prisoners, who during the day
have been loafing in the courtyard,
are in the evening driven into the
wards and made to lie side by side on
a raised platform. The upper Of the
two beams is then raised, and each
man is compelled to place his ankle in
the hole made to receive it, WhereupOn
the upper beam is replaced, and the
prisoners are held by the feet in these
rude stocks. There is no possibility
of escape. They are allowed bricks
for pillows, and in this uncomfortable
position they pass the hours.
In addition to this, however, special
cruelties are perpetrated on certain
prisoners who, for some reason or
other are exempted from capital pun
ishment. Prisoners there are whose
appearance becomes as wild as the
beasts of the forest; who, with heavy
cangues on their shoulders, are incar-
cerated in a filthy dungeon for the
term of their natural lives. l have
seen them moving to and fro like Gagged
hyenas in their dens at a menagerie.
Their appearance is revolving.
Night and day, as far as [ remember,
both asleep and awake, this heavy bur
den rested on their shoulders, though
how it was possible to sleep therein I
was unable to understand. On the
other hand, in a prison I visited a few
weeks ago I was informed that the
cangue was removed at nights that the
prisoners might sleep. A crowd in the
prison quadrangle, with their unshaV-
en- heads, their unWaShed faces, their
clanking letters, their hopeless looks,
their diseased bodies and their BEIRUT
ed souls, can never be forgotten.
But, although under the recognized
system Of punishment Chinese prison
ers must live life which to us of the
west would be unbearable, it would
not be so to them if they were fairly
treated and were saved from the eXac-
lions and barbarities to which they
are exposed at the hands of their ra-
pacious keepers.
When a prisoner first goes into the
wards the warderS claim his clothes
and his money, and he is left with the
barest rags to cover his nakedness.
He is robbed of all his cash, as a mat
ter Of course. Those who are con-
demned are compelled, under a threat
of the whip, to write begging letters to
their relatives requesting them to for
ward money.
If the unfortunate man hesitates to
accede to this demand, the Warders,
assisted by some of the oldest prison
ers-for it appears that inmates of
more than twenty years residence
have accorded them certain privileges
take the man in hand during the
night. The hands Of the prisoners are
fastened by a rope, and the other end
of the rope is then passed through a
ring which hangs from the roof of the
ward.
The warders then hoist the unhappy
wretch, who is left hanging in midair
by the hands. Should he attempt to
cry out his mouth and throat are filled
with ashes. When the breath has al
most left his body and he is choking he
is lowered and under the terror of re
newal Of this torture he is eager to
promise almost anything.
Many die under this ordeal. But as
it is assumed among the mandarins
that mortality must be high and as no
official probing is ever dreamed of a
general statement as to natural death
is sufficient.