RAS-1973 — Page 149

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with bamboo strips round the ankles, above the knees and round the belly. Their arms were then lashed out to the cross pieces, and lastly their heads were firmly secured to it by two or three turns of the bamboo strip across the eyes and in the mouth, this last acting as a very efficient "gag". The executioners who superintended the securing each of his own man and who seemed to have several assistants, apparently volunteers who enjoyed the job, now got their knives---broad-bladed about 10 inches long-and bared their arms to the elbow; their trousers were already confined by leggings and they had taken off their shoes. Each one, when all was ready, stepped back and took a critical look at his man; one of them gave an enquiring shout to the Mandarin at the gate, probably asking for orders to go on. The Mandarin gave an answering wave of the hand, and the most sickening brutal performance I can imagine commenced.

I cannot give correctly in detail how it was all done; after the first few seconds I could only take occasional looks at what was going on. Even now, writing an account of it—24 hours after—gives me "the shakes". I don't think any of our party looked at it through—but between us all we saw it all and we compared notes afterwards.

The first executioner at work was the one who was "doing" the culprit furthest off from us—about 50 yards. The first two cuts were over each eye and temple—gashes which turned a great piece of flesh down—then one down each cheek, then one over each shoulder and upwards under each arm-pit, one in each upper arm and one in each fore-arm, and then he hacked off the right hand with one blow; then a great piece was cut out of each thigh and over each knee, and I think the privates were cut clean off; then the furthest off had his stomach slashed open and the executioner got hold of his entrails—this man had to receive a greater number of cuts than the other. So the other executioner, when he had finished his slashing and was waiting, drove his knife up to the hilt under the right breast bone of his victim, and in one of my looks I saw him holding the knife there, working it about, while an assistant held an ordinary palm leaf fan in front of the poor wretch's face, in order, I suppose, to hide his contortions, for he was not yet dead, as I could see by the working of his hands. Both victims were by this time smothered in blood and hanging to the crosses, only kept up by the lashings. The next and last thing I saw was the first man cut down from the