Louisiana capitolian., 1880-08-26
THE RANCE BROTHERS.
Their Appearance III Court and
in T'rison-A short Sketch.

following in regard to the Dc Rance
Brothers, who, it will be remembered,
murdered Edwin G. Mix, of that city,
one day last week. They believed Mix
guilty Of having scduced their sister,
and while intlamcd with rcvcnyeful
passions. took his life in q cold and
bloodthirsty manner. Subsequent de-
velopmcnts sccm to Indicate that Mix
wus innocent, some miserable scOunlrcI
having, it is said, assued his name to
accomplish cruel wrong without dan
ger of punishment. The Democrat
says:
After eighteen hours of anguish and
terror in u cell in the fifth prcciuct sta
tion. the three accused, wearing a care
worn and l,assard look, appeared yes
terday before Judge Miltenbergcr, to bc
arraigncd for the murder of Mix. They
all pleaded not guilty, and were escorted
by Capt. Zach Bac|ie'nin and Court 9th
Ger Kathman to II carriage in waiting,
and driven to the parish prison.
On arrival nj tho prison they were
taken to the halland located in the room
styled by the prisoners the ''Star Cham
ber," and in this room that they were
visited by the reporter. Ferdinand, the
eldest brother, is Il man ofsplendld ply
sioue, has It good face and u bright,
black, piercing eye. He wears u slight
black moustaclie and short side whis-
kcrs. At tho time Of the entrance of
the reporter he appeared to be suffering
considerable torture, which showed in
his sunken and blcarcd eyes.
On an old wooden bench sat Armand
Rance, who seemed occupied in picking
his nails. He was quiet, spoke not
word, but appeared to be nervous lie
is we'll built man, with square should
ers, regular features and dark hazel eyes
Reclining i'll an easy position on q cot.
with half of his face hid in one of his
hands, was the youngest of the three
brothers, Henri dc Rancc. He seemed
perfectly unconcerned, and frequently
his countcnancc was wrcatfcd i'll smiles.
Hc is bcarllcss boy Of small stature,
has raven black curly hair, ani Il coal
black eye, which rolls in the sockets,
and bcspcaks plainly the determined
character Of the youth.
They were all unanimous in saying
that they had 40 statement to make be-
yond that whicl,ha been published in the
papers. And here u short sketch OF the
De Rance brothers will not prove uniff-
tcrcsting. There arc four De Rance bro
Tiers, Fcrnand, Armand, Sydney and
Henri. The eldest, Fcnand, has from
boyl,cod been noted for his quick tenn
and violent disposition. Tho quictcst
is Sydney. Fcrnand has had countless
disputes and fights. Two years ago he
shot at Edgar Bouligny on tho steps Of
the French OpOra House during the i'll
tcrmission. He fired three or four times.
Ono ball struck a button oft Bouligny's
vest, and tho other shots hurt no one,
though there were l,.any ladies and gen
tlemcn going up and down the steps.
The difficulty was caused bya previous
misunderstanding between Armand DC
Rance and Bouligny. Ternand shot
again at BouIigny, it is said, during the
constitutional convention election. Ho
He also had shooting affair some
months ago with one of the employees Of
S.rrazn's tobacco factory. Armand and
Henri were also in many scrapes, which,
however, were of minor Importance as
tho world goes.
After this visit the reporter withdrew,
and OH leaving the prison during the
course of his ramblcs met some of the
intimate friends of the Rance Brothers.
They did not hesitate to justify them i'll
the killing of Mix.
They place it upon the grounds that
lie was u married man, and had no bus-
ness where he was, and that, as he had
been warned and needed it not the sn1n-
mary retribution wrcakcd upon him was
deserved
When asked where anything criminal
was proved against Mix they place it
at the door of his brother Franklin, apd
ask him for the answer. They say that
until the surviving brother proves be-
yond peradvcnture his brothers limo
cencc, they, as we'll as all the friends
of the Rance brothers, will stand by
them.
The prisoners say they dare not speak,
for they have tight to make for their
nccks, and they might make ~ state
ment that would prove disastrous III the
future; while on the other hand, Mix
is free to divulge the whole affair
al. sNSNa m