| OCR Text |
Show EXECUTED IN NOVEL FASHION. Convicts in Keddah Killed Instantly by a Spear Thrust Through the Heart. The sultan of Keddah, in the Malay peninsula, pen-insula, has a remarkable method of carrying out the sentence of death upon condemned convicts. The New York Sun thinks it i? doubtful if this method of execution is practiced prac-ticed iu any other part of the world. The sultan is the ruler of a country containing about t'),(.HX) people. On the morning of the day fixed for the execution the sultan, followed by his ministers, goes about a mile and a half from the palace to a large vacant space reserved for the execution of criminals. crimi-nals. Nothing can be seen it: this place excepting ex-cepting the graves of the condemned and a large tree, which is called the tree of execution. execu-tion. The sultan takes his seat in a chair at the foot of the tree while his ministers group themselves around him on the ground. Then the condemned man is brought forward aud is made to Kneel at a distance of about forty feet. His arms are tied behind his back and he is naked to the waist. The executioner places on the left shoulder of the condemned man a piece of cotton cot-ton cloth. He then takes in his hands the lance of justice, which is very richly ornamented orna-mented with silver, puts the point upon the man's left shoulder and grasps the handle tirmly with both hands. When these preparations prepa-rations are made he looks at the sultan, who is holding the sword of justice in his lap. The sultan suddenly raises his baud, and this is the signal for the fatal blow. At this moment the executioner, who is always a Hercules in strength, with one vigorous blow drives the lance throush the man's shoulder and into his heart, lie dies as quickly as though he had been shot through the heart, and probably is not conscious con-scious of suffering any pain. The executioner execu-tioner then withdraws the weapon and stanches the small amount of blood flowing from the wound with a cotton cloth, in conformity con-formity with the rites of Islam. Usually the body of the victim is turned over to his family, fam-ily, who purify it by ablutions aud hold elaborate funeral ceremonies. Jules Claine, who recently witnessed one of these executions, execu-tions, says that in his opinion the spectacle is not nearly so revolting as that of some other methods of inflicting capital punishment. |
