Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1874-05-08
w 4 GERMAN HEADHMAK
BUSINESS DULL m PRUSSIA-A LATE
ARRIVAL IN NEw YORK.

Among the passengers recently n.
rived from Germany was Mr.. William
Francis Charles Sharfenger. formerly
q headsman of his Majesty the King
Of Prussia. This renowned ex-ofhcial
is now flfty-fve years of age, and dur.
ing his career as an executioner IN
Prussia he cut of forty-six heads.
To q reporter Of the New York Sun
day Mercury, who called upon him the
other day, he said: "Hard times and
ridiculous obloquy caused me and my
<hree daughters to leave the old c0un-
try. BY shard tines mean the new
criminal code Of Germany. Nothing
could be more ill-advisede than that. !
and my four colleagues thought so as
soon as the German parliament was
foolish enough to pass it. What have
been the consequences Why, sir, in
the past twelve months there have
been more murders committed in Ber-
lin alone than formerly were perpetra-
ted in the whole monarchy. But, sir"
he added sorrowfally, "all this is prin-
cipally the fault of his majesty the
Emperor. Old William disGkes to
sign death warrants. He studies over
them long, and, worst of all, he never
wants a woman to be beheaded. Two
years ago l had an old girl, who had
poisoned her husband, just where I
wanted her. i went with my simple
ments' to Cullen to dispatch her, and
just when 1 arrived there o dispatch
arrived from Berlin committing her
sentence to penal servitude for life;
and l had already cut off her hair!"
the reporter ventured to question,
how many heads Mr.. Sharfcnger had
cut of altogether
"Let me see, said the x-headsman,
his victims off on his fingers;
q forty-fve-nO forty six"
Chow many Of them were women =
asked the reporter. S-4
"AbOut a dozen, and / wished there
had been less of them. They gave
me more trouble than all the men.
The first person of that kind had was
an old lady with her son. They had
poisoned the father. l thought the
mother ought to have her head cut off
first; but the clerk of the court di.
rected me otherwise, and so / had to
cut (scknieden) the young man first.
His mother took it very badly. I could
hardly get her in good shape on the
block"
"What were your emoluments in
Prussia ~
"Three hundred thalers, and beside,
had in my district all the SHINING Of
allen cattle. I had, however, money
# my own, both my grandfather and
ather having been in the business.
)h, they had good time Of it; my !
grandfather alone had two hundred |
xecutions."
1.-TWO hundred executions!n
eyes, and the half of them he broke
n the Wheel"
"Did you ever break anybody on
he wheeli"
"No; the worst did was cutting
nth the sword, and little did like it,
Dr. it is an uncertain way of doing it.
live me the axe, and the head flies off
Ike nothing"
The reporter asked him if his stvic-
ms" were generally afraid of him.
II had but two that died game, and
hey were old soldiers. In 1847 / scut'
inc fellows in the Marine Werder Dis
ict, and we never had murder since.
hey do better in Poland; they whip
flows there so bad they don't know
here they are"
" But they 10 not kill them -
edo not kill them 9" exclaimed the
ID headsman scornfully; "few Of them
survive, indeed! The Russian lash
as good as an axe. But hardly any
O(ly hears IF tl,o cu1nrit,s death