Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1911-05-26
TRIAL BY ORDEAL.
The Farce Called Justice That
Siam Used to Play.
TESTS OF FIRE AND WATER.
The Accused and the Accuser Each
Had to Face the Same Kind of Music,
and Whichever Way the Case Was
Decided the Judges Were Winners.

Decided the Judges Were Winners.
The modern methods of justice In
civilized Europe do not include trial by
ordeal, but In the east 1t Is still rec
ognized 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-
fenGant over the other. In order to
prevent the parties from unduly bur-
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
soes of feet unused to boots somewhat
qnenched the fire beneath them. When
the walk was completed the soles Of
the feet were examined In order to de-
tect any burns or blisters. This exam
ination was repeated every day for ff
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 feasted 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 were both compelled to un
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
ther some part Of the nearest river or
else large. deep pond. The law In.
sisted that the spot must be one where
| the wafer was clear and cool and free
| from leeches and mud. In the case of
q river there was to be no strong cur
rent. The preliminary preparations
were simple and consisted in driving
two tough poles into the bed Of the
take hold Of on immersion. These
poles were placed about ten feet apart.
,, Before the actual trial took place
corkfight was held. in which the two
| birds were supposed to represent the
! two litigants. and the result Of this
preliminary conflict was held to be
| ominuus of the results that would at
| tend the. serious trial.
This was never omitted. because the
| spectators. who were assembled IN
hundreds to watch the event, always
treated It as kind of holiday and
gambled largely as to the issue of the
day: hence the cockfght was a sort
of guide to them In their speculations.
| The two persons next addressed them
selves to the water deities and asked
| for their protection and help. each be-
seeching them to help him only and
each promising gifts and offerings
shonld he be successful.
= Then they stepped into the water
until 1t reached up to their necks.
They were 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 were considered to possess
a protective charm against all adverse
Influences. Finally each one had
strong rope fastened tightly round the
waist by means of which be could be
hauled ont of the water. because when
both men were possessed of great
| breathing capacity 1t sometimes hap
pened that after prolonged immersion
| the competitors were too much ex-
hausted to get themselves out OF the
| water.
When all was ready a horizontal pole
was placed across the shoulders OF
each person. and at a given signal
from Il metal gong the two poles were
simultaneously depressed by the OIL
cialS. and so the two heads were
thrust under water. The divers grip
ped their wooden stakes and grimly
held their heads under the surface of
the river until one or both found them
selves In danger Of immediate sufo-
cation Tue man who remained under
the water the longer Of the two won
the day. The trial was subject to
time limit
In certain cases diving by proxy was
allowed. and then general search was
made for able and willing substitutes.
There is story extant. says Ernest
Young In the London Taller. Of how
a Persian trader quarreled with
Burmese about some commercial fraud.
The Burmese engaged as his represen-
tarivp the champion diver of the dis
trict. but tte Persian outwitted him
by employing as his substitute a pro-
fessional pearl diver from the Persian
cuff In 1899 This form of trial was in
vogue In the north Of Siam.
There are hat three classes of men
the retrograde. the stationary and the