Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1869-05-11
Cartouehe.
BY JAMES PARTON.

cnllu Steallng some trllllng artlcle, Sne
is very apt to say: M lF zfz. q
Remember, my child, Cartouche
began by stealing pins" a 1ea f
Cartouche, in fact, is about as fa-
miliar a name to French boys, as Jack
Sheppard is to the youth of England
and America. 1t is but another name
for an adroit, audacious robber.
Louis Dominique Cartouche, born
at Paris in 1893, was the son of re-
spectacle master mechanic, who was
possessed of considerable property,
and was disposed to give his children
suitable education.
Louis, while he was still mere
boy, was turned out of school for
stealing. 1t was in vain that his IA
ther endeavored to cure him of this
propensity, or, as we now term it, the
disease Of kleptomania. Before he
was of age, he was banished from his
fathers house, and turned loose to
prey upon the world. Now, a youth
in France who has been expelled
from school and from home for steal
ing, has but one possible mode of
gaining livelihood, and that is to go
on stealing.
1t seems that he had heard of a ia
nous band of robbers then operating
in the North of France, and this band
he set out to join. Being admitted
one Of the brotherhood, he soon ex-
celled them all, and brought home
many fine prize to headquarters
His courage, his ingenious devices,
his singular GOODNESS in danger, and
his great strength, so won the admir-
alton of the band, that they chose him
for their chief. Normandy soon be-
came the dread Of travellers and few
persons yentured to go far in its high
ways unless they were protected from
robbery by a strong escort or an emp
ty purse. Thus business became dull
in that region, and Cartouche remoy-
ed to Paris, where he formed a new
troupe of bandits, who committed
enormous depredations upon the shops
and wayfarcrs of that city.
We often see complaints in the
newspapers Of the inefficiency of our
police, and particularly Of late, since
an aged man was murdered in front
Of his own house at seven o'clock in
the morning. But, a hundred and
fifty years ago, highway robberies
were committed almost every day in
the streets of Paris and London.
may 60 farther, and say that, sirty
years ago, there was no large city
where life and property were half as
! safe as they now are in New York.
For two or three years, Cartouche
and his band were the terror of Paris.
J His comrades, it is said, conferred
upon him the power of life and DEATH
: and the principle was established
: among them, that any of them should
be put to death who betrayed the
J band or one of its members. 1t ap
= peared upon his trial, that CartOuche
, was averse to the shedding of blood
2 but he did not hesitate to lay violent
hands on any one suspected OF treason
! to the band. There was found one
: day in the streets of Paris, man who
: had been murdered, and cut to pieces
| in frightful manner. His nose was
4 cut off; he had been disembowelled
u and his body was otherwise mutilated
. There was fastened to his coat card
upon which was written in a very
\ good handwriting:
o "Here lies John, the Dead Man
y who has been treated as he deserved
7 Those who do what he has done, ma,
! expect the same fate"
This was the bloody work of Car
d touche; the victim being man VIII,
It had once been a member of the band
d and had betrayed its haunts to th
v police. The city was already terri
e fed beyond description with robber,
: and violence, all of which was attrit
L uted to the dread Cartouche; but thi
It last atrocity created panic, and re
l. doubled the efforts of the authoritie
p for his arrest. Indeed, so much wa
d spoken of Cartouche, and he battle
it for so long time every effort to caI
IS ture him, that many people suppose
d there was no such person, and that b
d was mere creation of the popula
rt terror. At least, l read the follow
: ing in diary kept by gossippin
+ old lawyer of the time;
IN October 18th, 1921. Great new
g, in Paris | have spoken above of
le man named Cartouche, famous rol
a Der, whom they hunted everywher
= and could not find. People though
1T he was fable; but his existence
IN only too real for him. This mornin
~ at eleven o'clock, he was taken; bl
is never has any thief had so much ho1
er or, the Regent himself having give
d. special orders for his arrest"
ut 1t seems that after all he was b
I'd trayed by confederate, soldier {
gh the guard, who was given the choic
a either to betray his chief, or to go I
gs prison and be broken on the whee
ed Forty soldiers surrounded the hou
en- in which he was known to be. Wht
ed the commander of the party entert
k the room in which Cartouche was,
he saw upon the table six large pistol
ne all of which proved to be loaded, al
Id he discovered the terrible robber 81
Id ting upon his bed-doing what, {
ew you think, good reader? Mendia
has troaOsers!i
He was taken without difficulty,
as he made no resistance. He mere
,h- said that he was not the man who
*, they called Cartouche, but that
= name was Jean Bourguignon.
ID was conducted to prison, where
10 was thrust into a dungeon, chaint
m. hand and foot to a pillar, and fo
. men stationed at the door. A fe