Note 16 — JOURNAL (continued 3)

This mode of executing criminals seems peculiar to the East, and is partly explained by the word itself. The Turkish bowstring, which is amazingly strong, is formed of untwisted silk, generally white, bound together at intervals by threads of a different colour. At either end is a large loop attached to the centre portion of the cord, by a very curious and intricate knot: the executioners slip their hands through this, and having passed the string once round the victim's neck, who was placed on his knees, they drew it in opposite directions with all their force, and thus produced death by strangulation. Since the gradual decline of archery among the Turks, the bowstring has also been falling into disuse; for the original cause of its being adopted as an instrument of criminal punishment was the readiness with which it could be procured, when every man carried at his shoulder the weapon of which it formed a part.