, 1861-06-20


gone further into the shadow, and cannot see
, them any more. Iwonder who was with him (;
| Q man, i think"
The boys waited till they were tired, and then
they sauntcred h0me determined to thrash Peter
for having kept them waiting. But Peter tUds
noUer seen again.
Some tune after this servant girl, belonging
to small stOre kept by Russian, disappeared
from village fYe miles from Polomyja. She
had been sent with parcel Of groceries to a cot,
| tage at no very great distance, but lying apart
| from the main cluster Of novels, and surrounded
by trees.
| The day closed in, and hef master waited her
return anxiously, but as several hours elapsed
without any sign Of her, he-assisted by the
neighbors-went in search Of her.
A slight powdering Of snow covered the
ground, and her footsteps could be traced at in
| trrvals where she had dvereed from the beaten
track. In that part Of the road whc the trees
were thckest, there were marks Of two pairs Of
feet leaving the path but owing to the density
Of the trees at that spot and to the slightness
Of the fall Of snow, which did not reach the soil,
where shaded by the pines, the footprints were
Immediately lost. By the following morning
heavy fall had obliterated any further traces
which daylight might have disclosed.
The SerrGRt-gri also trds never seen again.
During the winter Of lS49 the wolves were
supposed to have been particularly ravcnous, for
thus alone did people account ior the mysterious
disappearance Of children.
! A little boy had been sent to fountain to
| fetch water; the pitcher was found standing by
the well, but the boy had VdRiShed. The villagers
turned out, aud those wolves which could be
found wers dispatched. ..
| We have already introduced our readers to
Polomyja, although the occurrences above re.
lated did not take place among these eight how
rls but in neighbOring villages. The reason for
our hav ng given a more detailed account Of this
cluster OF hOus,s-rude cabins they were-will
now become apparent.
| In May, 1919, the innkeeper Of Polomyja
miss, couple Of ducks, and his suspicious fell
upon the brggar who lived there, and whom he
held in no esteem, as he himself was a hard
working, industrious man, while Sw atek main.
tanned himself, his wife, aud children by mendi
city, although possessed Of sufficient arabic land
/ to Weld an excellent crop Of maize, and produce
vg tables, il titled with ordi ary care.
! Az the publican approached the cottage, fra.
grant Whit of rORst greeted nis nostrils.
"l'll catch the fellow in the act" said the inn.
keeper to h'msrlC, t'aling up to the door, and
taking good care not " be observed.
As he threw open the door he saw the mendi.
cant hurrie,lly shuttle something under his feet,
and conceal Il beneath his long clothes. The
publican was Oh him in an instant, had him by
the throat, charged him with theft, aud dragged
him from his seat Judge uf his sickcning hOr-
rOr when from beneath the pauper's clothes rolled
| the head Of girl about the age Of fourteen or
tlteen years, carefully separated from the trunk.
IN short while the neighh0rs came up. The
venerable Swia,ck was locked up, along with his
wife, his daughter-a girl Of sixteGn--and a son,
aged five.
The hut was thoroughly examined, and the
I aN..l nT fvtF aRnd
In vat were found the legs and thighs, partly
fresh, partly stewed OF roasted. Ina chest were
the heart, liver, and entraiis, all prepared and
cleaned aS neatly as though done by q Skillful
butcher; and, finally, uTder the oven was u
bowl full Of fresh blood. On his way to the
magistrate Of the di trict the wreIched nIan flung
himself repeatedly on the ground, struggled
with his guards, and endeavOred to suitOcate
himself by gulping down clOds Of earth and
stones, but was prevented by his conductors.
When taken before the PrOtokoll at Dabkow,
he stated that he had air, ady killed and-assisted
by his family-eaten six persons His children,
however, asserted most positively that the mum.
Der was much grCater than he had represented,
and their testimony Is borne out by the fact that
the remains Of fourteen different caps aud suits
Of clothes, male as well as female, were found in
his house.
The origin Of this horrible and depraved taste
was as follows, according to Swiatek's own con-
feSSion:
In 1886, three years previous, Jewish tavern
in the neighborhoOd had been burned down, and
the host bad himself perished in the flames.
Swiatek, while examining the ruins, had found
the halfroasted corpse Ol the publican among the
charr raiters Of the house. AT that time the
old man was craving with hunger, having been
destitute Of food for so time. The scent and
the sight Of the roasted flesh inspired him with
an uncOntrOllhblc desire to taste Of il. lie tore
off O portion Of the carcass and satiated his hun
ger upon il, and at the same time he conceived
such liking for It that he could feel no rest ill
he had tasted again. His second victim was the
orphan above alluded to: since thcn-that is
during the period Of no less than three years
he had frequently subsisted in the samo manner,
and had actually grown sleek aud fat upon his
frightIul ..eals.
The excitement reused by the discovery o
these atrocities was intense several poor moth
ers, who hal bewailed the loss Of their little
On,s, felt their wounds rc.opened agOnizingly
Popular indignation rose to tn, highest pitch
there was some fear lest the criminal should be
t0rn in pieces himself by the enraged people
US sOon us he Gas brought to trial but he saved
the necessity Of precautions being taken to insure
his safety, for, on the iirst night Of his conine
ment, he hanged himself from the bars Of his
prison-windOw.