a strait jacket. The struggles and cries grew fainter until at last his
head gave a final jerk to hang limply to one side. He shrieked no more.
Insensibility had come to his relief.

During this period the guard never ventured to come to look at him. His
piercing shrieks, howls, and long-drawn out moans told them that he was
feeling the pinch of his confinement to the post. But when these cries
of agony ceased two of the guards came up. Seen to be unconscious, he
was immediately released to fall like a log to the ground. Buckets of
water were hurriedly fetched and the contents were dashed over the prone
figure until consciousness returned. When he had somewhat recovered,
although still inert and groaning piteously, he was propped up against
the post and re-tied into position.

Every time the man relapsed into insensibility he was released to
undergo drastic reviving by the aid of buckets of water, and directly he
came to he was again strapped up. The sentence was "four hours," and it
was fulfilled strictly to the letter, but only the actual periods of
being tied to the post were taken into consideration. It did not matter
whether the man fainted three or thirty times during his sentence. It
was only the instalments of time against the post which in the aggregate
were taken to represent the full term of the punishment.

As may be supposed, owing to the recurring periods of insensibility, the
duration of the sentence became prolonged. In about two hours after
being strung up for the first time the initial spasm of unconsciousness
would occur, although the intervention of insensibility obviously varied
according to the strength and physical endurance of the prisoner. But
after the first revival, and owing to the man being deprived of the
opportunity to regain his normal condition, the lapses into
unconsciousness occurred at steadily decreasing intervals of time until
at last the man was absolutely unable to battle against his torment and
Nature for more than a very short period.

The first demonstration of this punishment did not fail to exercise a
far-reaching influence upon the other prisoners. Major Bach was beside
himself with delight. Even he, steeped although he was in brutality, was
evidently somewhat surprised by the effectiveness of this penalty, and
he laughed loud and long at the shrieks and misery of the unhappy
Zouave. Henceforth committal to the cells was no longer to constitute a
punishment at Sennelager.