In the book, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway gives an account of the Spanish Civil War through the eyes, and the experiences of, Robert Jordan an American expatriate fighting on the Republican side against the Fascists. At one point, Jordan is told a story about the taking of a town by the Republicans early in the conflict, and the forced “gauntlet” that the Fascists in the town are forced to walk as a result. The gauntlet is a practice dating back to native peoples worldwide, whereby someone is forced to walk or run between two lines of individuals that inflict some form of punishment as they pass by, often resulting in death at or near the end of the process.