The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-06-19
BROKEN AT THE WHEEL.
A Medieval Torture Inflicted In 1873.
What a Party of Drunken Stu
dents Discovered In the Tor.
ture Chamber of Castle
Eberfels.
The Frozen Corpses of n Mother and
Chfld-The Mutflated Body Bound
10 the Wheel-A seducer's
Horrible Fate.

The village of Eberwald, in lower Saxony,
was up to few months ago, only remarka-
bic for the noble oak forests which surround
it on every band, from the number of bears
in which the hamlet obtains its name and
for its castle, massive and well preserved
medieval heap, perched upon the summit
of a pinnacled crag behind the village and
looking down, like an eagle from its eyrie,
over the billowy sea of verdure which
fills the basin like valley of the Eichenthal.
1t is to-day horribly famous as the theater of
of one of the ghastliest crimes of modern
times, whose examination by the Dresden
Assizes has sent an electric shuddeI through
all phlegmatic Teutoma.
THE CASTLE OF EBERFELs,
or Bears Crag, is al appanage of the Won
Schilling family. one of the most aristocratic
houses of southern Germany. 1t was built
by the first of the race, a hard-riding, deep
drinking predatory old baron of the four
teenth century. at that time the Won
| Schilling rule extended over miles of sur
rounding country, and the baron dispensed
/ all the justice, or injustice, that was dis
pensed in the district. People believed in
ruling with rod of iron in those days, and
as consequence the most important factor
/ in the machinery of the feudal government
/ of Ichloss Eberfels was its torture chamber
/ This museum of inventive cruelty has
heen carefully conserved by the descendants
/ OF its founder, and offers to-day the most
| perfect collection of instruments of torture
in Europe, that of the famous Nuremberg
/ folterkammer (torture chamber) alone ex-
cepted. Thousands of tourists visit the place
annually to inspect this magazine of bloody
4 memories, and eat the baked boar's hams
/ for which the district is famous, on the ter
race behind the tower. The guardian OF the
castle was, up the end of last January an
/ old servant of the Won Schillings named
/ oh uhal fuo1 in hn Ion rx-ft e
son and daughter, the latter
A LOVELY BLONDE OF NINETEEN.
On the 23d of January a party of drunken
students, returning to Dresden from Christ
mas spree at their country homes, were COM
PEELED by broken down carriage to remain
| over night in Eberwald. In the course of a
carou al 1T wa, suggested that they visit the
castle. severe snow storm was raging at
the time. and night was drawing in, but they
held TO their purpose, and securing the ser
vices of village boy as guide, they climed
the crags-only, however, to find the tower
dark and apparently deserted. They finally
effected an entrance by breaking down a
pOstern door.
The living rooms of the Mehrbachs were
untenable and in considerable confusion,
and many articles of clothing were missing,
as were a couple of valises which the boy,
who was familiar with the place, remem-
bered always to have seen there. While re-
marking these facts noise In cupboard
attracted the visitors attention, and they
forced the door. The author of the disturb
ance was a dog, which, from its emaciated
condition, must have spent several days in
furnishing confinement. Further explora-
ton revealed, in niche in the wall of dark
passage, a bundle of blood stained linen,
which was found to contain
THE BODY OF NEWBORN CHILD.
In the room to which this passage led,
wrapped in an old blanket, was the naked
corpse of Bertha Mehrbacb. There were no
signs of violence OH the body. Both it and
that of the child were frozen hard, as if they
he'd been exposed to the cold for some
1 time.
The boy was sent back to the village with
| the news of these horrible discoveries, while
the students, after searching every hole and
corner of the place, turned their attention to
| the torture chamber This is an apartment
hewn in the solid rock on which the castle
is founded, and comprehends nearly the
entire extent included within the circum.
ference of the tower itself. The place is
utterly lightless, and the only ventilation it
possesses is obtained by species of drain
cut through the rock into the terrace. In
spite of the intense cold which reigned
above, the explorers found the vault OPP
pressively warm, while a sickeing stencil
! loaded the air. So fetid was the atmosphere
indeed that it was only by making frequent
| Dreaming eACufSiOuS lutO Tic pure UuIcI I'LL
that the students were enabled to prosecute
their search to the end.
AN ARMY OF RATS
scurried into their holes when the explor-
ers' lanterns glimmered in the darkness, and
swarms of bats, disturbed from their winters
sleep, fluttered stupidity about. AT first the
lantern light glinted only on the various
hideous instruments to whose inhuman use
the place had been originally devoted, dimly
revealing the uncouth and cruel shapes of
rust eaten iron, dangling CHAINS and clumsy
bulks of metal, wood and stone ranged in
rude order around the walls and labeled
with descriptions for the benefit of curious
visitors Finally one of the party, whose
olfactory organs were less sensitive than
those of his comrades, penetrated to adistant
corner, when a cry of horror summoned his
companions to his side.
Before Them bound to a horizontal. wheel,
! or rather, drum, such as is used to reel of
lengths of cable, was the nutilated carcass
of a man.
the mechanism by network of stout cords.
His body was stretched to its fullest extent,
and was simply a mass of mangled and pu-
trifying flesh and bone, which
THE RATS HAD PARTIALLY bEyoURED
From head to foot the skeleton was brok-
en-, not single bone remaining entire The
skull was beaten in. and the lower jaw
smashed but the face, which had in n meas
ure escaped the yoFacity OF the fsmishing
rodents. was tolerably well preserved Many
of the shattered bones were scattered about
where the rats had dragged them. On the
stone floor close by were two bars or rather
broad fiat bars of iron, each about four feet
long and weighing over twenty pounds.
They were befould with blood, and scraps of
flesh adhered 10 them, The floor around the
wheel was smeared with thick crust of
dried gore. Gouts and splashes of blood
were visible, too on the walls and ceiling,
where they had spurted under the blows.
In corner was bundle of clothing
By this clothing and what remained of the
face, the corpse was identified that of
Gottfried Keller, a young forester, whose
father held the position Of chief warden OF
the Eichenthal boar preserves. Keller had
been handsome, wild young blade, deep
drinker and a notorious debauchee. His
popularity among the girls of the district
: - L. b D I'LL