The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1911-05-06
TRIAL BY ORDEAL.
The Farce Called Justice That
Siam Used to Play.
TESTS OF FIRE AND WATER,
The Accused and the Acouser Each
Had 70 Face the Same Kind Of Music,
and Whichever Way the Case Was
Decided tho Judges Were Winners.

and Whichever Way the Case Was
Decided tho Judges Were Winners.
The modern methods OF justice In
civilized Europe do not include trial by
ordeal. but in the east 1t Is still a rec
oglIized means OF proving an accused
persons innocence or guilt. In coun.
try like Siam. now so closely In touch
with western influences, the ordeal by
fire was practiced generation ago.
This Is the oldest form Of ordeal In
siam. as In any country. When pre-
pairing for the ceremony two trenches
were dug side by side. They were
each about ten feet long, two feet wide
and two feet deep. These were filled
with layers of redhot coal to depth Of
ten inches. The plaintiff. or accuser
walked over one fiery path and the de-
PENDANT over the other. In order to
prevent the parties from unduly hur-
rying over their tasks rods were placed
across their shoulders, and certain Of
the officials leaned heavily on these,
one at the end of each rod. In reality
they partly defeated their own ends.
for the great pressure of the horny
soles of feet unused to boots some what
quenched the fire beneath them. When
the walk was completed the soles Of
the feet were examined In order to de-
tect any burns or bllsters This exam
ination was repeated every day for If
teen days, and at the end Of that time
the man who showed no signs OF being
hurt In any way was adjudged the
winner. During the course of the trial
the judges sat In a specially erected
and gayly decorated pavilion, where
they Toasted royalty, the expense OF
which had to be betrayed Jointly by
the persons engaged in the lawsuit.
1t happened more than once that the
fire failed to make any impression on
the feet OF the competitors. In such
cases they We're both compelled to I'M
dergo another trial by means of the
water ordeal. If both parties got
singed, then they were both held to be
guilty of something or other, and so
they were both punished with heavy
fines.
The water ordeal is kind of diving
competition. The spot chosen was Ell
Their some part of the nearest river or
else Il large, deep pond. The law in
sisted that the spot must be one where
the water was clear and cool and free
from leeches and mud. In the case of
a river there was to be no strong cur
rent. The preliminary preparations
were simple and consisted I'm driving
two tough poles into the bed of the
pond or river for the competitors TO
take hold of on immersion. These
poles were placed about ten feet apart
Before the actual trial took place y
cocklight was held. I'm which the two
birds We're supposed to represent the
two litgants. and the result OF this
preliminary conflict was held TO he
ominOus of the results that would at
tend the serious trial.
This was never omitted, because the
spectators. who were assembled in
hundreds 10 watch the event, always
treated II as n kind of holiday and
gamblcd largely as to the issue of the
day: hence the cockfght was sort
of guide to them In their speculations.
The two persons next addressed them
selves to the water delties and asked
for their protection and help. each he
seechlng them to help him only and
each promising gifts and offerings
should he he successful.
Then they stepped into the water
until II reached up to their necks.
They We're hampered by heavy collars
similar to those sometimes worn by
Chinese prisoners Round their wrists
they wore bracelets OF unspun thread,
which had been blessed by the priests
and which We're considered to possess
protective charm against all adverse
influences Finally each one had II
strong rope fastened tightly round the
waist by means Of which he could be
hauled out of the water, because when
both men We're possessed OF great
breathing capacity II sometimes hap
pened that after prolonged immersion
the competitors We're too much ex-
hausted TO get themselves out Of the
water.
+. When all was ready horizontal pole
was placed across the shoulders OF
a each person. and at given signal
from metal gong the two poles were
simultaneously depressed by the OH
. cials, and so the two heads were
thrust under water. The divers grip
ped their wooden stakes and grlmly
held their heads under the surface OF
the river until one or both found them
selves In danger OF immediate SUMO
/, cation. The man who remained undey
, the water the longer OF the two won
I the day, The trial was subject to Il
time limit
. In certain cases diving by proxy was