0012

How Sentinels are Punished for Sleeping at Their Posts

When a town has been burned because of a sentinel's carelessness, he is brought before the chief to receive punishment. The chief sits alone, his principal men placed on a long, semi-circular bench near by. The executioner orders the sentinel to kneel down before the chief. When this has been done, he sets his left foot on the offender's back, and with a sharp-edged club made of ebony or some other hard wood, he strikes him a blow on the head hard enough to split open the skull. The same penalty is used for other crimes; while we were their, two men were thus punished.

Monday, 15-May-95 14:17:42 PDT