Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-08-16
THE PRISONS IN CHINA
Fearful State Of the Criminals
Confined In Them.
ALL PRISONERS FILTERED.

Some From Cruelty Become In Appear
anee 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
1 Is the absolutely himsy 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 ramshackle building OF no pre-
tense whatsoever.
The question will be asked. t.By
what means are the prisoners held in
safety if the structures IN which they
are incarcerated are SO flimsy and in
secure 2? TheA 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-3
tiers on the arms, which make it i'm
possible for them to escape.
Lastly, a few prisoners were not only
manacled on the ankles. but wore a
chain around their necks, at the dam
Igling 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
4 the length of his chain he must stop
and lift the stone and, carrying it in
his shackled arms, drop it again where
he wished to stop. sz &
In addition to the chains worn by
day, all the male prisoners are further
i shackled at night BY means of two
4 heavy beams, IN which holes have been
4 made for the ankles Of the prisoners, a
rude but effective method is discovered
4 for OBTAINING the prisoners in absolute
a security.
The prisoners, who during the day
q have been loafing In the courtyard,
4 are in the evening driven into the
wards ana made to lie side by side on
q raised plat The upper Of the
1.-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 III these
rude stocks. There issno possibility
LOT 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
a ishment. Prisoners there are whose
appearance becomes as wild as the
beasts of the forest; who, with heavy
4 cangues on their shoulders, are incar-
cerated in filthy dungeon for the
4 term Of their natural lives. have
/ seen them moving to and fro like Gagged
hyenas in ~their dens at a menagerie.
q Their appearance Is revolving
Night and day, as far as remember,
both asleep and awake, this heavy bur
Il den rested on their shoulders, though
4 how it was possible to sleep therein
y was unable to understand. On the
2 other hand. in a prison ! visited d few
weeks ago was informed that the
cangue was removed at nights that the
I, 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
ts1,,
Z ers must live life which to us OF the
! west would be unbearable, it would
1 not be SO to them IL they were fairly
treated and were saved from the. exac.
i tons and barbarities to which they
areTexposed at the hands Of their IA,
pacious keepers.
When prisoner first goes into this
. wards the warders claim his clothes
and his money. and he liz left with thu
barest rags to cover his nakedness
I. He Is robbed OF all his cash, as mat
ter Of course. Those who are con
demned are compelled, under q threat
OF the whip, to write begging letters t.
their relatives requesting them to for
ward money. NJ
accede to this demand, the wafdera
assisted by some OF the oldest prison
ers-for 1t appears that inmates d
more than twenty years residenc,
have accorded them certain privilege
take the man in hand during tn,
: night. The hands of the prisoners az,
fastened by rope, and the other emf
. Of the rope Is then passed through
!. ring which hangs from the roof Of til,
ward.
The Warders then hoist the unhapp.
wretch, who is left hanging In mtdai
BY the hands. Should he attempt b
cry out his mouth and throat are flIe,
with ashes. When the breath has 81
most left his body and he Is choking b
is lowered, and under the terror Of re
neWal OF this torture he Is eager q
promise almost anything
& Many die under this ordeal But q
1T Is assumed among the mandarin
Z that mortality must be high and as n
anclal probing Is ever dreamed OF