Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1873-03-21
w oman mem h.aaded IN Germany!


A w oman Dehaaded in Gerinany
Although, the 81 of December last was
bitter cold day. from the earliest hour in. tls
! morning vast crowds Of People filed tn
streets Of the little city Of Stade. on the bapl
II Ut the Elbc river nearly opposite the grea
4 North German seaporG Of Hamburg, BY ],
1o, clock, at least 300 people lad arrived ii
lstade, and the police had the Utmost diff
Guilty inkeepirg order III the surging, multi
ttile. The occasion which had caused al
4 these thousands To mock to stade was the be
iTheading of 4 woman refined, attractive. an(
Intelligent. .'''a . 'fs'5.' s.. ...e.,...t !,
Y The hanis of the doomed woman, was vii
helnlina Woltmai, and the career OF this ex
\ Itfaordinary woman, almost from her earliesl
youth, had been marked by an nncontrolIa
/ bic and wicked temper. When at school she
had knocked ont the eye OF one Of her young
companions. "A few years after she .bcran1e
the governass Of the children ef a wealthy
Handed proprietor, who. had fallen in love
with her and made her his mistress. Hel
/ lovers wife Having discovered the liaison, the
girl poisoned the woman, and there is suspi.
cion that she also caused the death of hel
own child afsHis tgts9 Hsttt8
I She buried herself thereupon for time IN
the whifl Of fashionable dissipation Ia Ham
1 burg, where her extraordinary beauty at
tracied numerous admirers But becoming
very recsless, the police expelled her from the
city, and she went to Brunswick, where an
officer OF the .ducsll army fell in lore with and
eventually married her. She returned his
devotion by poisoning him. She next turned
up In Hanover. where she became acquainted
witha lnerchantinamed Wachter, who mar
| ried her. Wilhelmina resenged her sell
upon the opposing parents By poisoning
Them {. bag gJ.98 Haas ffaHa
Tile cholera ragged at the time, and, in con-
sequence, it remained aasecret tor years.
Waehter soon afterward became bankrupt
and deserted his wife, who went to Stade and
married aliWidower named Woltman. who
had two children These also became the
victims oflhe murderous passion of their
stepmother, and then her criminal career
:
her antecedents closely examined into, and
her victims exhumed. Her trial took place
at Stade Oh the I'd OF October, and the result
was that she was convicted and sentenced to
death. 4ols48sI5 H. ~
Paster Deckor made, on the morning Of
the day on which she was to be executed. a
determind effort to move her stony heart.
The woman was fastened to the wall by q
chain ten feet long. which was attached to
her left wrist. After listening to the rever-
end gentlemen for two or three minutes. she
made sudden; attack on him com peIling
him to beat a hasty retreat. Rel fenberg
the executioner, saluted his victim respect
s..llsr and informed her who he was. Nv hat
do you want OF, ,me?3 she said to I1r Irads-
man, fixing her large. lustrous eyes inquir
ingly upon him. !. : want 20 prepare you
for the scaffoId, - ne answered. ..Oh," she
said, carelessly, ri am prepared "Not
quite,'' lie reioined.s He then unclaimed her
hand, and begun to Cit off her hair. Then
he drew heavy fur cape over her shoulders,
and the toilet for the scaffold was finished.
He thereupon left her cell, and the nex-
visitor was the warden OF the prison, who
asked her If she wished anything. .'only a
glass Of water she said, dryly. Itwas then
about half past 1, and her last moment rapid
y drawing nigh. .as1z1 a .. y.
Ten minutes afterwafd tlle Judge ana
Clerk of the Criminal Court appeared before
her, and the death warrant was read to her
a last time. The presiding Judge urged her
ii, feeling words to confess her crimes and
make her peace with God. She responded
by shaking her head impatiently, They lett
her, and then the headsnian and his assis-
taflts took her to the scaffold. When she
appeared in the open air, the biting cold
caused her to shiver but she bore the glance
OF the thousands Of eyes, which the multitude
riveted upon her without ainching., sat.,i..,
The scaffold was coarse, wooden struc.
tdre, about eight feet in diameter Wiihel
nina Woltman ascended with a firm STEP.
and walked to the fatal block in its middle
without betraying any nervousness The
warden OF the prison asked her il she had
anything to say. .kss'No.i no, = she answered.
anerily. Make haste. make haste! = The
next moment two assistants OF the execu-
tioncr caused her to- kneef In front Of the
block. They took the fur capv from her
shoulders and pressed her head 'rpon the top
Of tie block, to which they fastened y ~
means OF a leather strap She sileuk constil-
sively for momentsor two, until the execu-
|tioner,,a who had meanwhile taken his
flashing AZ from 4 sort d scabbara, hastily
stepped up TO her. Hs took his position. at
taie left side of the block, lifted up his ak and
struck heavilyupcn the beautiful white ~
III tlle woman. lae had done his work well,
for the head fell down in front of the block,
while the trunk raised itsetf cUnyuisivsfy, =
stream of dark zed. blood sponting IN the aiy,
The headsman xnd his assistants sprang 70
one sidesof the scaffold, N. order not to be
istaiAed BY the bleod.of the murderess. i -.
Y sfatsgf ~ Tf;tTsf.t. u
ssOf,, General sherman ''lescIa aimetla lady
bent upon exciting admiration even Of that
outs sboken hero, itellime whom did YOU seq
i'm y6ur travels insd Europes that you
liked better than mea', and she rolled up, her
Eeyes &C himsei f;As great many peerle,
madam II brnsq uelY and candidly replied the
General. n ss fs ssfsasss 4sssg.s,ss4
-l.Don't You take rathertoo much spirit
f,,f 1 sii,rle narils,' asked kind man Of one
who had been Infringing pretty freely. beg
El pardon. Sir; have been married these fsn
vears p, was tie snswer. ~ ''.ss.'s 81. Is