Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-03-06

The Smnrtest Thief I'm .Paris-Flrst n
Ganaestcr, ncxt = .Superannuatedl
AnytIing Sni Evcrything-isut In !:
Fclon's Cell ut Last.
On the 18th of January the Partisan
police arrested the famous highway.
man, Jean Jerome Sommer, who had
eluded them for nearly ten years, BE
had been arrested repeatedly, but had
invariably escaped, and at length,
whenever the police Of the French me-
tropolis were unable to ferret out the
perpetrators of mysterious thefts or
burglaries, they had come to say, with
shrug of their shoulders, ssThat's
Sommer's work again =" The great thief
lies in CHAINS in one of the strongest
dungeons of the Conciergerie, and, if
this time again he breaks Jail, he must
be possessed of greater skin and perse-
verance than any of his predecessors in
the annals of thiefdom.
The history of Jean Jerome Sommer
is full of iRterestingadfd exciting Incl.
dents, and had he played his thieving
pranks in the time of Eugene Sue, he
would undoubtedly have been a con-
spicuous figure in
1.-THE MYSTERIES OF PARIS"
Sommer is Al years old, and was
born shortly after the July revolution
in the great fortress of Metz, as his
name indicates, of parents of German
descent. His father was shoemaker,
and was SO poor that he was unable to
do anything for the education of his
son. The latter grew up in ignorance,
and in his thirteenth year was known to
the police of Metz as one of the worst
boys in town. He was arrested repeat
edly and kept on bread and water. but
did not reform. In 1912 he was arrest
ed for completely in a robbery on the
highway, but was discharged for lack
OF proof. The prosecuting attorney
told him that if he was caught again
he should be surely sent to the Bagne.
Thereupon young Sommer went to
Paris. A few days after his arrival
there the February revolution of 1848
broke out, and Sommer was in clover
for many months afterward. He asso.
ciated with gang of old thieves, who,
on account of brightness, used him
very successfully in their depredations,
and the instructions of these Partisan
Fagins soon made Sommer a master.
KICKED OUT OF THE ARMY.
In 1852 he was conscripted AMI sent
to Algeria. During his life in the bar.
racks his comrades lost what valuables
they had he managed to avoid detec.
ton, until one day he stole the purse
of his Colonel, who caught him in the
act. For this crime he was severely
aogged, and with his hair shaved Of
sent back Paris, where he remained
under the surveillance of the police
until 1861, being compelled to report
every day at the Office of the Police
Commissioner of his reimbursement.
In that year he suddenly disap-
Peared-that is to say, he assumed q
disguise which enabled him to live in
Paris, without being recognized by
the most lynx-eyed detectives who
had formerly known him. He dyed
his face and hair, and wore false whis-
kers. Not one of his acquaintances
recognized him when he first appeared
before them thus Transformed. To
test this, he audaclously went to the
Prefecture and complained of having
his pocket picked on the day before.
No one recognized him there either.
He thought he was safe then, and re.
turned to his old trade. He dressed
we'll, and, having handsome face, he
had access to places from which ordi-
nary rogues were excluded. Among
his successful "strikes' was q bur
glary which he perpetrated at the
Austrian Legation, on which occasion
he stole the plate and jewelry belong
ting to the well-known Princess de
Mette1nich. A very large reward was
offered, and Sommer had the hardihood
to call personally upon the Princess to
tell her where the plate and jewelry
had been concealed (by himself), and
the reward was unhesitatingly paid to