pronounced Gauntlet, a military punishment for felony, or some other heinous offence.

In vessels of war, it is executed in the following manner. The whole ship's crew is disposed in two rows, standing face to face on both sides of the deck, so as to form a line whereby to go forward on one side, and return aft on the other; each person being furnished with a small twisted cord, called a knittle, having two or three knots upon it. The delinquent is then stripped naked above the waist, and ordered to pass forward between the two rows of men, and aft on the other side, a certain number of times, rarely exceeding three; during which every person gives him a stripe as he runs along. In his passage through this painful ordeal, he is sometimes tripped up, and very severely handled while incapable of proceeding. This punishment, which is called running the gauntlet, is seldom inflicted, except for such crimes as naturally excite a general antipathy among the seamen: as, on some occasions, the culprit would pass without receiving a single blow, particularly in cases of mutiny and sedition. But this mode of punishment is now, we believe, rarely or never resorted to, either in the army or navy.

In the land service, when a soldier is sentenced to run the gauntlope, the regiment is drawn out in two ranks facing each other; each soldier, having a switch in his hand, lashes the criminal as he runs along naked from the waist upwards. While he runs, the drums beat at each end of the ranks. Sometimes he runs three, five, or seven times, according to the nature of the offence. The major is on horseback, and takes care that each soldier does his duty.