The Sun.
London, England, 1869-09-27 00:00:00

THE MURDERS NEAR PARIS.

Further particulars of tho Pantin tragedy are to hand.
The young man arrested at Havre on Thursday was not
Gustave Kinck, as reported by telegraph, but an Alsatian
named Traupmann, a friend of the Kinck family. He is
the man who, calling himself Jean Kinck, took the lodging
at the Hotel du Chemin de Fer du Nord, and he is, on hill
own confession, one of the murderers. This phenomena
villain, adopting the current rumour of Paris, which he
took artful means to propagate, says that Kinck, sen.,
planned the murders, and that he, Traupmann, was but
an accomplice with the Kincks, father and son, in the exe-
cution. The manner of Traupmann's arrest at Havre
was almost miraculous. A marine gendarme named
Ferrand smelt him out as if by instinct. He had been
inquiring about the cheapest way of getting out to
America, and was quietly taking a glass of beer at a sailors'
drinking shop, kept by one Manageneau, No. 57, Rue
Royale, when Ferrand, who was going his rounds at ten in
the evening, to drive tardy sailors en board their ships,
saw him, and did not like the looks of him. All the
gendarmes of the land service had been carefully warned
to keep a sharp look out for any stranger visiting Havre
who might answer tho description of the suppositi-
tious Jean Kinck of the Rue Denain. Ferrand
had received no official information but what he read
on the subject in the newspapers. Ferrand asked him
what he was doing in Havre. "lam on the look out for
work." Have you any papers ?" "No." "Well, you
must have a passport." "How so? There is no need of
a passort to travel in the interior of France." "That's more
than I know. As you have no papers you must come with
me to the police-office to establish your identity." Very
well." And then the two went out together and
walked along the Rue Royale, and the Quai aux
Casernes. Presently Ferrand asked his quasi pri-
soner what was his name. Wandergenberque, to
least, that is the nearest spelling that can be made out.
Ferrand observed that it was a queer name, and asked him
if it was really true that he had no papers. "Yes," he
said, " I have some letters in German," shewing them.
Ferrand was by no means satisfied with the German letters,
and said he should have to take him before the Procureur
Imperial, at the mention of which functionary Traupmann
turned deadly pale. Continuing his insidious, but conver-
sational examination, Ferrand said :—" You say you come
for work—what is your trade ?"—" A mechanic. "Where
do you live ?"—" At Roubaix." " And where are you last
from?"—" Paris." The three words, mechanic, Roubaix, Paris
were a revelation to Ferrand. Instead of keeping his own,
counsel till he had his man in safe custody, he could not
resist the temptation of giving utterance to his belief in
his own penetration, and he said—" Yes, and its my belief
that you left Paris by way of Pantin." Thereupon Traup-
mann, in despair—they were on the Pont de Lombardie at
the time—took advantage of a cab passing along the
carriage-road to rush to the left footway, while Ferrand
was on the right, and jumped over the railing cf the
bridge into the dock basin. Who will rave that
man for me ? cried out Ferrand in a st:nttaian
voice. In an instant one of the dock porters, a man
named Haugel, who has already saved four lives, plunged
into the water, and after a violent struggle—for Traup-
mann did his utmost to drown himself and disable Haugel
—the murderer was near enough to a boat to be pulled on
board by Ferrand alive. He was taken to the prison
infirmary, and restoratives soon brought him to a state
which the doctors said was not dangerous. For a long
time he kept his head under the bed-clothes, pretending to
be worse than he was, and to all questions put to him
answered only, " Let me be quiet." At length he said, " I
will tell what I know to-morrow." Upon this promise the
Judge of Instruction let him alone for the night, and now
it is known he has made a full confession as far as concerns
his own guilt.