The Cairo bulletin., 1911-05-13

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 a rec
ognized means of proving an accused
persons innocence or guilt. In a 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
We're dug side by side. They were
each about ten feet long, two feet wide
and two feet deep These were filed
with layers of redhot coal to depth OF
ten inches. The plaintiff. or accuser,
walked over one fiery path and the de-
| fendant 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 somewhat
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 blisters. This exam
nation 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 rhA
winner During the course of the trim
the Judges sat in 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 tho
fire failed to make any impression on
the feet of the competitors. In such
cases they Were both compelled to I'M
dergo another trial by means of the
water ordeal. II 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 a kind of diving
competition. The spot chosen was ell
Their some part Of the nearest river or
else 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
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
pond or river for the competitors to
take hold OF on immersion. These
poles We're placed about ten feet apart
Before the actual trial took place
cockfight 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
| ominous 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
gambed 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 deities and asked
| for their protection and help, each be-
seeching them to help him only and
each promising gifts and offerings
| should 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
Ahey wore bracelets Of unspun thread,
which had been blessed by the priests
and which were considered to possess
protective charm against all adverse
Influences. Finally each one had a
strong rope fastened tightly round the
waist by means of which he could be
hauled out 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 horizontal pole
was placed across the shoulders of
each person, and at given signal
from a metal gong the two poles were
simultaneously depressed by the Off
Gals, 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 sufro-
cation. The 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-
tative the champion diver of the dis
trict, but the Persian outwitted him
by employing as his substitute pro
fessional pearl diver from the Persian