The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1862-12-09
A Man Confesses TO the Comm ission
of Thirteen Murders and Many
Hundred Robberies.

4
having been concerned in the commission
Of thirteen murders and many hundred
robberies, Of which crimes he confesses
himself guilty. The number of his trans
gressions is, however, probably far great
er than that indicated in the crowd
ed list already made out against
| him. Among modern criminals, Dumol-
lard alone, who was executed some
months ago in France, can be compared
in the enormity of his crimes with the
monster Maasch. Not only was Maasch,
like Dumollard, guilty of the most cold
blooded cruelty in the numerous MUIR
ders which he seemed 10 take tiendish
delight in perpetrating, but the hideous
manner in which he treated the still
warm bodies of his female victims sinks
him far below the level of the savage or
| the brute.
Karl Maasch was, ii appears, the lead
err of a band of wretches consisting of
himself, his brother Martin, his mother,
an old but active woman, and two labor
ers named Liebeg and Kohlschmidt--and
all these persons were placed at the bar.
Their burglaries and murders had for
five years kept in almost continual alarm
the population around Sodlin, Pyritz,
Lansburg and Stargardt. One of the
most horrifying Atrocities which they
committed was on night in May, 1861,
when Karl Maasch and some Of his band
broke forcibly into the honse ola miller
named Baumgart, at Carsdorf, murdered
the miller and his wife, his daughter,
two sons, and a maid, and. robbed the
house of everything that was portable
and valuable, including, il is believed,
considerable sum of money. The MUIR
ders, too, were committed in manner so
atrocious as to rouse the population into
a frenzy, and the most persevering exer-
! tiOns were made TO obtain clue to the
guilty parties.
The ablest detectives of Berlin were
sent to aid the local police; but the only
person TO whom suspicion pointed, an as
sistant who slept in the house, and who
was the only one who escaped death,
was at last set free, under the conviction
that he was innocent A strange incl
dent however at length occurred. Two
farm laborers of the village of Warsin,
near Stargardt, were one morning walk
ing together on their way to their work
in the field, when it came on to rain.
For the sake of greater shelter against
the wet one of them proposed that they
should proceed to their destination for
the rest of the way by path leading
through the woods. This being agreed
on, the peasants had not been ten min
utes in the forest, when one of them es
pied at some distance through the trees
the upper half of the body of man
sticking up out of the ground Their
hearts leaped TO their mouths. One inn
mediately started off with all the speed
he could put forth, while the other more
self-possessed, retreated more slowly,
keeping his eye fixed on the objects in
question, which gradually sank out oil
sight into the earth.
The peasants instantly made known to
the owner of the estate the strange thing
they had witnessed. The police was
sent for, and number of persons, with
all dispatch, proceeded 10 the mysterious
spot which was pointed out by the la
borers. AT first, il seemed as though the
men must have deceived themselves OF
were carrying on practical joke; for Al
the spot indicated, there appeared 20 be-
nothing like a hole in the earth, a:
the grass covered the ground all round
about. On closer investigation, however
slit was found in the grass in theforn
Of square. IL was The top of traJ
door covered with turf On forcing this
open and descending, large cavity wa
discovered, from which, however, the lai'
! occupiers had already fed
, The hole ITSELF which was rooted witt
trees oyerlaid with turf, was divided int
two rooms, the wall lined with boards
. stove, two or three beds, ladder, vic
tuals, and cooking utensils being pres
[ ent, and making a very snug under
| grond dwelling. In addition 90 thes
: articles, there were present great quaint
: ties of objects identified as having beel
stolen from the various houses in th
neighbOring country, In which bnrelari
Gus robories and murders have been com
! mitted. Axes, free arms, and other wea
pons, as well as considerable numbe
Of thieves tools, were likewise found.
The police now found themselves o
the right track Various circumstance
: the description given by the peasant
of the occupiers Of the cavern, as vel
as indications found in the cavern ilsel
led TO the suspicion that the person s.
seen was none other than the nOtoriou
: workman, Karl Frederick Maasoh, VIII
!, was cojectured to be the leader Of tl
3 band of robbers who had so long inlesi
: ed the neighborhood. Against him an
: his crew the search was henceiorth spe
p cially directed Maasch had been f.
e some time laborer on the estate Of Dea
y son, near Pyriiz, in which neighborhoo
= he was born. He was never marrie'
and had been published frequently Il