But
even this was not enough to satisfy their savage revenge; they
carried him off to the prison, hammered on hand and foot chains,
placed a long heavy log of wood round his neck, put his feet in the
stocks, and left him there for days, more dead than alive, until
the good pleasure of the Emperor should be known.
An immediate search was made for his companion and for the servant-girl,
his accomplice. The first was already beyond their reach, but they
succeeded in capturing the unfortunate young woman. The Ras and
council immediately assembled, and condemned her to receive, in
front of the Emperor's house, one hundred blows from the heavy giraf.
The next morning the Ras, accompanied by a large number of chiefs
and soldiers, came to the spot to witness the execution of the
sentence. The girl was thrown down on the ground, stripped of her
skirt, and leather ropes tied to her feet and hands to keep her at
full stretch. A strong, powerful ruffian was entrusted with the
execution of the punishment. Each fall of the whip could be heard
from our inclosure, resounding like a pistol-shot; every blow tore
off a strip of flesh; and after every ten strokes the giraf became
so heavy with blood that, it had to be wiped before the operation
could be continued. She never said a word, nor even groaned. When
she was removed, after the hundredth stroke, the naked ribs and the
back-bone were visible through the flowing blood: the whole of the
flesh of the back having been torn to pieces.
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