Year: 1878


q reminiscence:


ID One morning while l was at Yokoha-
" ma | was informed that criminal was
rs about to be publicly put to death, and
J. the morbid curiosity which has more or
Is less strong hold upon most of us in
d duced me to sally forth and witness the
). execution. This is what saw. When
n reached the place appointed for car
!. rylng into effect the capital sentence.
e the unfortunate convict, a fne-looking
d Japanese, in the prime of youth and
a strength, was standing undesaa huge post
IN the middle of little posse Of guards.
lhe post had crosspiece. Nearlynude.
S ne was standing erect, but as motionless


as statue, while his fearless but dreamy
eyes gazed straight into the distance be-
lore hlm, as if he was looking at some
f far-of object looming upon a horizon


visible onl y to his distracted vision.-
lhere was no token of terror in his de-
tefmrned face, no sign of shrinking in
MS qulescent but tensely strung body.


presently there was movement among


the little knot of those surrounding him.


HIS JallorS moved aside and there strobe


INTO the circle gaunt, repulSive-look
ing native, clad from head to foot in a


dress OF dingy yellow. The execution


er-for 1t was he-waS accompanied by


a couple of assistants, who carried some


nall dozen long, round bamboo rods.


about a couple of fingers thick at their


largest end, and tapering to half that


size at the other, which was sharply point


ed. The rods were laid upon the ground.


and the trinity of death clapped hold of


the living statue before them. natrice


the human effiy, who made no attempt


at resistance, and who, as far as OBJ


served, never even opened his lips, was


grlmly dangling on the post, his arms


stretched out right and left along the


croSS-plece. There was now a Slight


pause. The executioners dallied with


the bamboos, and the poor creature


spread-eagled on the post still looked


INTO the shadowy distance, still was


dumb but thought l could detect a
yellow pallor stealing up his face. Per


haps he was collecting all his resolution
to meet the terrible ordeal he knew was
close upon him. The principal execu-
toner, who meanwhile had selected a
a couple of bamboos to his mind, now
stepped to the left side of his expectant
victim, spat upon the point of one of his
weapons, and with twisting, pushing
motion thrust it easily into the flesh


&c i tsss az all tle
ed. But he made no struggle-he ut
tered no cry. His resolution, his cour-
age were superhuman. l looked at the
executioner. Hewas calmly continuing
to push and wriggle the bamboo further
into the body. In a couple of minutes,
though it seemed much longer, the
bloody point of the instrument emerged
from the top of the sufferers shoulder.
There was a slight exclamation of satis-
faction from the crowd, just the sort of
hum that escapes from those watching a
daring swimmer when his head appears
above the surface after long dive; and
the fiend at the other end of the bam-
boo stopped wriggling, let go his hold,
and stepped back. Now, l thought, he
is going to give the poor tortured crea-
ture his coup de grace. Not bit of 1t.
He crossed to the opposite side of the
post, calmly inserted the second weapon
in the same spot on the sufferers other
flank, and worked away till it, too, came
out above the armpit All this time not
a single groan, not one despairing cry
for mercy escaped the man thus doubly
impaled His head drooped little up,
on his chest, and his eyes were half clos
ed, but he was evidently alive and con-
scious. At this moment, to my amaze
ment, the executioner and his assistants,
packing up the unused bamboos, began
to walk away. ''What," l asked, sis
the execution ended Are they going
to leave the man in that fearful agony?"
ooh, yes, ;" | was told, ''all is over
The criminal is finished with. He will
lie presently-in an hour, two hours,
Or, as he seems very strong, perhaps not
till nightfall; but nobody will touch
him any more The bamboos will be
eft in him, and when he is quite exhaust
ed he will expire" l could bear no
more. was powerless to interfere, but,
sick at heart, turned on my heel, loath
ng the barborous cruelty had just wit
messed, and cursing the damnable civil
zation that permitted it learned after
wards that the unfortunate wretch had
fingered ten hours before Death (Which
in Japan would seem as brutala as JUSTICE
and released him.


His slow death is accounted for by
the fact that a Japanese executioner is
carefully taught to avoid the vital or
gans of the criminal he has to impale.
The more slowly the victim expires, the
greater the reputation of his butcher