Year: 1878

JUSTICE.


One Horrible Method d0fAdministcring e


1t In Japan


| Hornet Annual.


One morning while was at Yokoha
ma, was informed that criminal was
about to be publicly put to death, and
the morbid curiosity which has more or
less stronghold upon most of us in
duced me to sally forth and witness the
execution. This is what / saw; When
reached the place appointed to carry
into effect the capital sentence, the un-
fortunate convict, fine looking Japa-
nese, in the prime of youth and strength,
was standing under huge post in the
middle of little posse of guards. The
post had crosspiece. Nearly nude, he
was standing erect, but as motionless as
statue, while his fearless but dreamy
eyes gazed straight into the distance
before him, as if he was looking at some
far-off object upon n horizon visible
only to his distracted vision. There
was no token of terror in his determin-
ed face, no sign of shrinking in his
quiescent but tensely strung body
Presently there was movement among
the little knot of those surrounding him.
His jailers moved aside and there strobe
into the circle gaunt, repulsive-look-
ing native, clad from head to foot in Il
dress of dingy yellow. The executioner
for it was he---was accompanied by q
couple Of assistants, who carried some
half dozen long, round!b !bamboorod
a couple of fingers thick at their largest
end, and tapering to half that size at
the other, which was sharply pointed.
The rods We're laid upon the ground,
and the trinity of death clasped hold of
the living statue before them. In tricc
the human efligy, who made no resistance,
and who, as far as | Observed never even
opened his lips, was grimly dangling on
the post, his arms stretched out right
and left along the cross-piece. There
WAS now slight pause. The execution
ers 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 yellow pallor stealing up his
face. Perhaps he was collecting all his
resolution to meet the terrible ordeal
he knew was close upon him. The
principal executioner, who meanwhile
had selected couple of bamboos to his
mind, now stepped to the left side of
his eXpcctant victim, spat upon the
point of one of his weapons, and with
twisting, pushing motion thrust it easily
into the flesh about half way between
the hip and the armpit. The poor
wretch upon the cross turned his gaze
slowly down upon his tormentor, and
his lips slightly opened. But he made
no struggle-he uttered no cry, His
resolution, his courage were superhu-
man. | looked at the executoner. He
was calmly continuing to push and
wriggle the bamboo further and further
into the body. In couple of minutes,
though it seemed much longer, the
bloody point of the instrument emerged
from the top of the sufferers shoulder.
There was slight exclamation of salts
faction from the crowd, just the sort of
hum that escapes from those watching
a daring swimmer when his head APP
pears above the surface after long
dive; and the fiend at the other end of
the bamboo stopped whiggling. let go
his hand and stepped back. Now, I
thought, he is going to give the poor tor
tured creature his coup de grace. Not
bit oft. He crossed to the opposite side
of the post, calmly inserted the second
weapon in the same spot on the suffer-
er's other flank, and worked away till it,
too, came ont above the armpit. All
this time not single groan, not one
dispairing cry for mercy escaped the
man thus doubly impaled. His head
dropped u little upon his chest, and
his eyes were half closed, but he was
evidently alive and conscious. At this
moment, to my amazement, the execu-
toner and his assistants, picking up the
unused bamboos, began to walk away
do 1ro tLoN o,o;no, IN Inoro tha ,,o,,