CHINESE DESPERADO'S END.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 154, 29 June 1907, Page 13

CHINESE DESPERADO'S END.

I ■ GHASTLY B!_: CT y T ioN SCENE. abunglin,} he adsman. -eevoltikg pc^. mob tem mutila. Tuqn. "An 'Eye-Witneairc writes in the "Hong Kong Daily following graphic description, of t&7' cx ecnUon of a most daring, bloodthirsty; and notorious criminal, who has tetro risC (i the population along the West Rlv_ rj bej -ond Cantou, and long set the authorities at defiance by his daring and diabolic cunning. The notorious vpjrate I'uan. who has shown himself a*. tltab i e king of crime, and for whose capture a reward of £800 was offered, hasr|t Men!rt j_ been captured and executed. H» W as" the terror of the West River. Attfi_ e head of a large organisation which'Ji d S pies from Canton upwards, he rare]y;;xai led to carry out any plan he had _ie was equally fortunate iv evading' ]___ pursuers. Time after tune, whenSescape seemed impossible, he gave thefiilitary and the police the slip, and renewed, his depredations at some place where>B_ was least expected. I'uan was darin g ;;;_ ut he was brutal; Uo was horribly savage and wantonly cruel and bloodthirsty, jije naa beeil tnown to murder a maa f or j a dol , arj aud whea twenty students front Wuchou with their two teachers, whp:* ere on their way to study in Japan, feli;. lc to his hands a few weeks before hMcjp.ure, he would uot spare their lives though they offered him ail they possessed7 a ud he killed them all in cold blood. Women and children were ruthlessly butchered by him, and in some Instances he tortured his victims before putting them to -death. He plundered villages and massacred the helpless peasantry without the slightest compunction. Hundreds of people have been slain by him. The latest exploit was the massacre of a village not far from Wuchow. A CLEVER AXD RESOURCEFUL SCOUNDREL. His genius, though misdirected, must be admitted. Originality distinguished most of his schemes, which required more than ordinary daring. On a recent occasion he got bis emissaries on board .a certain vessel by having them all dressed as women. What most marks his personality in the fact that Tnan was a member of a distinguished family which occupies a high place in the counsels of the Empire. He is said to have been an officer in the Imperial troops sent to quell the Kwangsl rebellion, but deserted with all his men and preyed on society. However, retribution has o\'ertaken him at last, and, singularly enough, his fall was brought about by a woman. He spared neither sex nor age, and among his victims were his wife and her relatives! • He stole women, and when he tired of them he either sold them or killed them. 'His last feminine companion was a girl'whom he had abducted from her home.;; -She it was who betrayed him into-the-hands of the soldiers. His trial was short and his fate was not long in doubt, iftro;-days later he was decapitated. :-Ji.[THE EXECUTION. —REVOLTING - ---SCENES. The scenes atrhii execution are worthy of mention. •AUiday the city was agog with excitement/}-- Shortly after three the military arrived and took up a position on the PafiMe. Ground, beneath the platform on. whiifc-steod the paraphernalia appropriate to tiftriccasion. The Taotal Wong and- the. Japectant Taotai came in chairs, then aVbiiHl' of soldiers in European uniform, 16d]liy a drummer who beat a sort of dead miiilsS, and finally the bearars caiTyfhgr the'-cige in which the manacled pris6her7,crti'hed. Immediately it was set oh the ground an official jumped on the top of it and hung over it like a cat ready, to'jKjancfj upon a mouse. He produced two knifes. Slipping the sheaths into his girdles-he, proceeded to sharpen them on the bati of the cage. It made ■the European Tbeholders shudder. The doomed man looked up with a sort of idle curiosity, but betrayed no visible emotion. The cage was opened and the prisoner was led'out.. Hlg chains were takea off and he waii- dragged up to the platform. The -ophml which lay on the step* was not administered to him, as is sometimes done In sneh circumstances. Whether he refused it or was not offered it could not be ascertained. His hands were tied behind him and his jacket was pulled beneath his armpits, leaving the upper part of the body exposed. Then he was hurried down the steps and made to kneeL EXECUTIONER'S FALSE STROKE. The execntioaer stepped toward with -hi= two. - handed sword- It flashed in the air and descended swiftly on the bare neck. . A thrill of horror passed through some of the spectators. Even the callous Chinese, who were laughing and chattering throughout the proceedings, hushed for a- moment. The arm that wielded the sword was not strong enongh. The neck nad been cnt only a few inches deep, and the man had fallen forwardnot quite dead, though dying. Another executioner rushed forward and pushed the first out of the way. He steadied himself on his feet and with, terrible precision struck a fierce blow, and the head - rolled on the ground. Bystanders were bespattered with blood, but that seemed, to trouble them little. One man jumped on the quivering body, and three soldier* fired into it. CUT OUT THH HEART. Then the principal executioner, drawing a knife from his belt, plunged It into the corpse. He htcked away the flesh and cut out the heart, which he carried in his hand up to the Taotai. The head had also been placed on some sort of platter and taken to the platform, where It was scrutinised by the officials. Doubtless it would be exposed later in some prominent place, but what happened to the heart—whether it was offered as a sacrifice or eaten, as some said—did not transpire. But the men were not finished with their sanguinary work. They cut up the body, opening the stomach and the legs. It ail seemed horribly callous and savage. The crowd, however, seemed quite unmoved. They chattered and laughed, and gathered round the mangled corpse. After long stares at the gruesome sight, they still seemed loath to leave the gTound, but the little band of Europeans who had witnessed the spectacle hurried away somewhat upset-