Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/582

* HANGING. 5-^8 HANKEL. In a few of the United States electrocution (q.v.) has been substituted for lianging as a less re- pulsive and more buiiiaiie nietSod of capital punishment. The publicity which formerly at- tended the hanging of criminals has, in most civi- lized communities, been done away with. In treason, hanging is part of the statutorj- punish- Djent, coupled with mangling the body, though the Crown may cluinge the sentence into simple beheading, except in the case of women, who are, in deference to their sex, legally exempt from the latter form of execution. The cause of death in hanging is complex. The compression of the windpipe by the cord, the ob- struction of tile return of venous blood from the head, and of the Mow of arterial blood to the brain, the stretcliing or tearing of the nervois structures of the neck, and, in some instances, dislocation or fracture of the vertebrfp, may con- cur in the production of the fatal effect, which, though attended with violent struggles in some cases, is probably as nearly instantaneous as pos- sible. See Strangi'lation ; Execution ; Capital Punishment. Hanging, Drawing, and Quartering was, in English criminal jurisprudence, a mode of exe- cuting the sentence of capital punislnuent on a traitor. It consisted in drawing the criminal to the place of execution on a hurdle, and, after hanging him, dividing the body into quarters. This form of e.xecuting the sentence was substi- tuted by statute (54 Geo. III., c. 146) for the more ancient and barbarous practice (to which the word 'drawing' originally referred) of dis- emboweling the criminal. The more humane and decent method of execution by hanging, without the spectacular concomitants of drawing and quartering, is now employed in Great Britain as well as in the United States. HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON. The name commonly given to a structure of ancient Babylon, famed as one of the seven wonders of the world. It appears to have been a sort of tower or pyramid, rising in terraces, planted with trees, flowers, and shrubs, and is said to have been constructed by Nebu- chadnezzar for the gratification of his Median Queen, because the Babylonian plain seemed dreary to her in comparison with the mountain scenery of her native land. Straljo says the structure was a square, four plethra in area ; it rested on arches supported by hollow pillars of burnt brick, filled with earth, in which the roots of the trees were planted; the top consisted of terraces, and a force of men was constantly em- ployed pumping up water from the Euphrates for irrigation. The account that ascribes the gar- dens to the mythical Semiramis has no historical value. It is thought that the northern portion of the mound Amran ibn Ali which forms part of the ruins of Bal)ylon occupies the site of the gardens. HANGING ROCK, Battle of. A battle fought on the western bank of Hanging Rock Creek, S. C, on August 6. 1780. during the Revo- lutionary War, between about 800 American militia under Colonel Sumter, and an equal num- l)er of Loyalists under Major Carden. The Americans in an impetuous charge at first drove the Loyalists back from their camp, but delaying to plunder, fell into disorder, and. in consequence, were themselves driven back and forced to re- treat. The Loyalists lost 269 in killed, wounded, and missing. The loss of the Americans was not recorded. Consult: Dawson, Battles of the United tilates (2 vols., New York, 1858) ; and Lossing, t'icld Book of the American Uevolution (2d ed.. New York, 185o). HANGINGS. Pieces of textile fabrics, used to cover the walls of rooms, especially of churches, during the early Christian and Romanescjue epochs. They were often of high artistic value. See Tapestky. HANGING WALL. A term used to desig- nate the upper or covering wall of an inclined ore body, mineral vein, or stratum. If the min- eral deposit be flat the term roof is used. In mining it is usually necessary to support the hanging wall either by pillars of ore or masonry, or by props of wood. See Foot-'.ll, HANGNEST. A name often used in books, for the birds of the American family Icteridae, sometimes called "troupials.' but more usually orioles, all of which build pensile nests. (See Nidific.ation ; Oriole.) The Baltimore oriole is the most familiar North American representative of the family, and is commonly known as 'hang- bird' in certain localities. HANGTJL, hun'gool (native name). The Kaslunir stag (GerLiis Kaslimirinnus), which closely resembles the red deer {see Deer) of Europe, of which it may probably be only a local race. The antlers differ from those of the Euro- pean stag in not forming a cup at the crown, which is simply forked. It is a forest-haunting animal, and in summer remains at elevations be- tween 9000 and 12,000 feet, but in winter is driven down into the valleys by snow. The proper shooting season is in October and November, when the stags are full-antlered and seeking the does. They roam widely. HANIFAH', ha ne'fii, or ABU-HANIFAH (702-72). One of the four great ilohammedan Imams or Church fathers. He was born at Kufa on the Euphrates, and became founder of the Hanifites, the oldest of the sects of Mohamme- dans considered orthodox. His teachings were subsequently formulated into a code of Moham- medan law. which is still in force in many parts of vhe Ottoman Empiie. He died in prison at Bagdad, where he had been placed for contumacy in refusing the office of Kadi, offered liim by the Caliph, and declined because he thought himself luiworthy of it. HANKEL, han'kel, Hermann (1839-73). A German mathematician, son of Wilhelm Gottlieb Hankel, born at Halle. He studied at Leipzig and at Gottingen under Ricmann and Mobius, became privat-docent in mathematics at Leipzig in 1803, and professor extraordinary in 1867, and in the same year was called to Erlangen in the same capacity. His chief works were: Zvr aUgemeinen Theorie der Bewegting der Fliissigkeiten (1861); Vorlesungen vber die komplexen Zahlen und ihre Fiinktionen (1867): Die Enttcickeliinq der Muthcnintil; in den letzten Jahrhtinderfen (1869; 2d ed. 1884): Znr Geschichte der Mathematik im Altertum und Mittelnlter (published posthumously. 1874); Die Elemente der projelctirisclten Geometrie in Sf/nthetischer Behandhing (also posthumous, 187-5). For his biography and an estimate of his works, consult Zahn. "Einige Worte zum Anden-