New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1878-01-09
Frenelt Justice.
his black sk

the town of Nontauban, in France;arrest
ed as avagrant 81 Young man OF coed adE
dEess, respectfully attired, and who, all
though bearing none of the external char
seteristics Of a scamp declined to afford
any information as to his antecedentsI
The unknown prisoner would give nothi
ing but his name, whiehs he declared I'd
be Lewis Thomas, bat persistentlY rel
fused to give the police any clew as
to what his family was, where he came
from, or what had been his previous,l life.
Ithappened curiously enough, just then,
that in turning over the leaves Of the of
fetal identification, lists, which are peri
5odlc5lly sent to the different departments
by the Minister oa the interior, the publ
lie prosecutor of the town of Montaubal
discovered that the presence of Louis
Thomas, of whonano,further description
was given, was mNoh desired before. !ht
military tribunals to answer sundry chares
es of being prominently concerned with
the dcings Of the 9omIaune: Our vxa
rant, who had given. this name, was thexd
upon incontinently forwarded to Paris tb
be turned over to the coslst-martial, ba
fore which he was arraigned in the lat5sff
part ofJuly, 1872.
"Doayou answer to the name of Lo,zB
Thomss2" asked tie Colonel presidina
81 co..
"You.decline to- give the court aa
further information as to your lpast ill.,
your family OF your residence?"
81 do.n
"But you acknowledge that you servsf
under the Commune, and to have signA
your name to sunday acquisitions ff
supplies>as an employee Of one of the az
partments established by the Central
Committee Of the insurgents?"
II dol And I take upon myself tlb
entire responsibility of my acts as suohii,
Louis, Thomas was therenpon convlcta
and sentenced to be. transporter, tor LITE
to the penal colony in New CaEedoo1n5fI,
whithen he embarked on the 14th Npt
June, 1873, in a Government transport.
Two years afterward in the month Of
May, 1s75, the governor Of the penal col
ony aforesaid received from one OF the
convicts, Edward Bizore, a,.well-writteln
but voluminous document which contains
ed some interesting, and curious dlsclos-
ures.
81 ann the man. he said in substance,
ssswho, under the name of Louis ThoIafs,
was condemned by court martial No. u
to transportation for having been Con-
cerned in the Commune. Louis Thomas
is not nv name, it never was my name
nor did [ ever know anyone of that name
Daring the events of the Commune was
500 leagues FROM Paris. The reason why
i / assumed the responsibility of acts done
by another. and suffered myself to be
convicted under the name which DID NO
i belong to me, I will now proceed to dls
close.
IT was at one time in the Poatltica
Zouayes, from which I was HONORABLE.
discharged. / belong to thoroughly !.
respectable family in the south OF France e
and my mother, if still living, oaght T
Ibe person Of independent means, re
siding in small house in the nelghborl
hood Of Cahors. During the war vat
4 Germany, Iserved in the Eighth Battal y
of rifles, which was attached to the arm !
& Iof the Loire, under the command OF GeI
Id'Aurelles de Paladines. ! was IN ID
!, battles of Coulmiers and Patry, and wa
e ltaken prisoner in a skirmish near Ve1
$ dome on the 18th of December, 1870.
: was carried to Prussia, and confined m Y
i prison at Erfurth, where remained hy
months. It was not until the end OF Ma
1871 that I finally reached my own coufF
) ~ and regained my mothers house neff
Gahors.
) aBeing the only son Of q widow ! W. I
) Iekempt from further service, and, NJ
1 wishing to be burden to my mother
q came to Paris in search Of emplo mesnrI
! which I soon found. But TO my asto1 q
5 isfment and dismay, one fine day tN'
s policemen came to nay house and arreste
mel because, as they said, ] had omitte
i 70 bmply with The regulations II regar