THE SKETCHES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1847, 31 July 1907, Page 11

THE SKETCHES.

THE CHINESE EXECUTION, • 9 FATE OF A PIRATE AND 'MURDERER. BARBARIC CEREMONIES AND SCENES OF HORROR. Writing from Hong Ivoij" on April 12 a correspondent sends a Canadian paper the following account of the capture and execution of a notorious Chinese pirate aud murderer. On the execution ground of the essentially Chinese city of Wuchow, lying oiucKly on tne banns of the famous W est River, the curtain fell on the career of one of the most accomplished and poweriul pirates of China, a man who iiau spilt blood liko water, murdering a whole village, or a band of students on their way to Japan, witn the same callousness, tie was tne spider in a vast network of spies and accomplices, and his former vocation as an army officer, when he deserted with his regiment at the time of the ivwongsi rebellion, enabled him to devise a wonderful secret service whereby every steamer from Canton or xiong ivong was watched, and the value of tno cargo known before its arrival. The terrible tragedy of the Sai Nam ; st year, when pirates disguised as passengers murdered the much-beloved medical missionary, Dr Macdonald, and horrified tho far east by a ruthless carnival of murder on the decks of tho fine British river steamer, may also be placed to the cerdit of this pirate chief, bo greatly was this master of crime feared taat the blood-money on his head amounted to IIX>O dollars, and all tho officials in the districts ravaged by his bands were warned that they would be degraded if this ferocious relative of a distinguished official of the Chinese Empire was not speedily captured. The end was dramatic. A few ’weeks a <T O fie killed eleven members of one family and carried off tho sole survivor, a girl, as one of his wives. When the nine came sue druggea ..., removed ius weapons and, sent woim tne W uciiow officials, Viio despatenea a steam launch full of soldiers to tne place. By chance tiiu writer was able to attend the trial .Lb Wuchow, also tho execution, which :ook place at the beginning of April. ,no occasion is worth describing, as «t marked the close of ono of the most remarkable lives in the history of South China and also gave an excellent idea of Chinese methods of the mild kind. For three hours we waited on the great execution ground of Wuchow. The crowd increased until there were fully five thousand persons present. Wherever the little knot of Europeans went they were encircled by a throng of curious Cnmcse, a novel but not a pleasant experience for anyone new to China and the Chinese crowds.

Suddenly drums beat in the distance, and amidst the strains of Chinese music a band of blue-garbed soldiery appeared, all armed, either with loaded rifles or with levolvers and naked sword bayonets. They formed a cordon round the edge of a raised stone platform, which fronted a kind of covered shed or rough pavilion. Other soldiers, with gorgeous banners, arrived, escorting the richly-decked chairs of tbe Prefect and of the Taotais from Wuchow and other places. The crowd was now so vast that it would have been possible to walk on a pathway of heads, and the spectators were driven back again and again by the soldiers and flagellators, who dealt pitiless blows. The Mandarins "were arrayed in bright robes, and wore the buttons of their rank, two possessing the coveted distinction of the'peacock feather —they wero gathered in tiie front were hundreds of Chinese and Tartar soldiers, iu blue and red, respectively, all armed and ready, and it was noticeable that hands never left tho butts of revolvers, and the naked swords wero ready for instant use. Then the sound of distant drums was heard; muffled drums, drums playing the weird Chinese Dead March, drums which moaned and quivered. Very slowly through the crowd there passed an array of voung soldiers, in white military uniform, marching in perfect order, and inviting comparison with any body of trained foreign soldiery. These were the cadets of the Military Training College, and they showed the fine material out of which China's new army will be officered. At last- amidst great excitement the principal actor in this solemn drama appeared. Picture a rough, massive wooden cage, like a dog kennel, surrounded by guards; inside —a man, huddled and loaded with iron bonds. The cage was (placed on the platform within a foot of tho Europeans. Immediately a man mounted on the top of the kennel, and drew two knives from their cases. It was impossible for the spectators to escape, but their faces whitened, and an Irish captain, who had been a warm admirer of the late Dr Macdonald, muttered strange and fearful oaths, and thought it no lack of loyalty to the dead. Fortunately the anticipated horror was spared, though the reality was horrible. The man on the cage deliberately sharpened the knives on tlie woodwork above the head of the prisoner, while the latter looked up at him without a quiver. The cage bars were loosened and two or three withdrawn. Through this narrow opening the chained man crept, while around stood the guards, ready to kill if a rescue was attempted, for this huddled-up pirate was yet a person of influence and family. We were glad to hear that he had been spared the usual tortures, having freely confessed without persuasion. He was taken to the shed, and there knelt before the Magistrates while his neck and shoulders were bared. On his neck was placed a board with red characters, describing his crimes. Three old bullet scars wero visible on liis shoulders and breast. In spite of the villainy of this master

bandit, it was impossible to' refrain iioin admiring his magnificent courage,. for he never flinched to tho very end, although the customary dose of opium, which was on the stone steps in front of the Magistrate, remained untouched. The ceremony was rudely interrupted, and a sudden order shouted, i>- if it had become advisable, to finish tht play and drop the curtain quickly. The pirato was roughly dragged down oil to tho ground in front of the flagged space, and as ho was taken past the Europeans he turnpd his head and swore viciously at one of the guards. Tnon lie knelt. . . . Every detail oi me scene is burnt in on the minds of the few foreigners present, and one spectator was ill for days afterwards. He knelt and stretched his head afc right angles from the body, but the position aid not suit the headsman, and, admidst a silence in which many held their breaths, a final adjustment was made. A mail in black silk swpf-g his heavy two-handed sword in air and brought; it down. The blow left a red gash, but did not kill. The pirate moved slightly, but held his head still. A second" executioner, with an exclamation, jumped forward as the first raised his sword again, and pushed luni away. With ono clean swing back over the shoulder and a second swing downwards tne end had come. The head rolled away, and tiio trunk fell forward. Immediately three soldiers discharged their rifles into the bleeding remains. Over what followed it is well to pass swiftly. The body was subjected to unspeakable indignities. We could not gauge the accuracy of the report that the heart or liver were eaten by the officials, as some said, uor could we verify the statement that the heart was sacrificed to the good of honesty, as others said, but we could see then the young officers marched past the ghastliness in order to meet the prefect and Taotais. With the noise of rifles and the spluttering of crackers in our ears, and the sight of a great crowd struggling to see that awful “something,” we were sufficiently surfeited with horror.