Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-07-19
DAILY

HAHNn, " Elm
DISAPPOINTED GHoBts
A ConsE Az l.Ase tanoovEsED.a
EAs Be4y e Eazi CrsvsssA L.ess At ae
1sOhs-A 0o0anAse oeosy.
Tho body Of tie Esfi OF Crawford and
Balcarres, which was stolen some months
since from the family vault At Dunecht
house, Aberdeenshire, was found in the
groands Of the house. A man suspected
Of connection with the theft was arrested.
The robbery of the Earl Of Crawford's
body was striking instance Of the sue
cess and daring Of thieves, whose charac-
ter and skill were as much mystery to
tho detectives Of Scotland Yard as to the
ordinary newspaper readers. Tho earps
death occurred at Florence, Italy, in De-
cember, 1880, and attracted widespread
notice at the time on account of the emi-
nence of the deceased, and the wealth and
high station Of his family. In her solici-
tude for the safe conveyance OF her hus'
bands remains back to England, the
countess of Crawford gave directions that
. triple casket be made. with an outer
VA10 VI W0luuGs Ou W4lCu = 10IkO OIU0O
was carved in relief. The romans
we're embaimed, then encased in leaden
sealed casket, and special privileges, which
panies, rendered the journey both safe and
expeditions. The conveyance of the re
mains across the Alps was work of very
confidential servant of the deceased they
Rno NkoA $n nnEo A osSNAo0 II ~v,>ov
was chartered to convoy tho body to Lon.
gale in crossing the channel that the coffin
had to be dashed on deck. The removal to
Aberdeen was safely effected. There
another difficulty presented itself. No
hearse large enough to receive the outer
coffin could be procured, and tho outer
shell had to be removed. 1t was, however,
afterwards deposited in the crypt along
side the three coffins in which the remains
were encased. On tho day that the body
was removed from Aberdeen to Dunecht
ono of tho most violent snow storms ever
experienced in Scotland broke out, and to
such depth did the snow accumulate that
on the return journey the hearse was en-
bedded by the wayside, and remained for
several days in tho snow before it could be
removed to Aberdeen, aud the men who
accompanied suffered great harships.
Under these auspices the body of the dead
earl found a resting place at last on the
family estate. '.".
The vault in which the remains were
placed was built under the chapel which
adjoins Dunecht house. The chapel was
visited daily by the earls family and ten
ants, and any interference with the tomb,
it would seem, would have been instantly
observed. But on the night of November
80 the chapel was entered, four heavy slabs
of marble, weighing nearly ton, moved
off the vault, three caskets opened and
the remains of the dead earl carried away.
The leaden casket was sewed in twain, the
lids of the wooden ones neatly unscrewed
aud tho rest of the work ac-
complished by the ghouls skillfnlly
and without the least violence.
The object of the thieves clearly was
money, and the opinion was that they must
have been we'll acquainted with the district.
That several persons were engaged in the
robbery was pretty certain. The slabs
were of Caithness stone, very heavy, being
six feet square and several inches thick.
Dunecht house is about a mile from the
road, and so the thieves might carry on
their operations unmolested by the public;
but the fact of the chapel being connected
with the house made it a matter of Ger
tainty that the theft must have been Per-
petrated during the night. Tho deceased
earl being spare man the thieves would
be able to carry off the body all the more
| easily. On December 1, a labOrer passing
| the spot noticed the disturbance of the
vault, aud it was soon found that the re
| mains of the earl had disappeared. The
most extraordinary feature of the case was
that in May preceding the agent for the
present earl OF Crawford and Balcarres re.
ceived an anonymous letter informing him
that the tomb had been opened aud the
body removed, but regarding the matter
as hoax he took no notice of it and did
not even make inquiries, although during
the summer q strong smell was noticed
issuing from the vault, which was attri-
buted to the decay of the flowers.
Contrary to expectation aud, perhaps, to
precedent, the present earl offered no re-
ward for the return of his fathers body,
but trusted to the resources of Scotland
Yard to discover the identity of the
thieves. Detectives were employed to
follow up every clew, and numerous ar
rests were made, but to no avail At one
time it was supposed that the thieves
had escaped to the United States, taking
the CHASTITY burden with them. Scotland
Vary entered into communication with
New York police, and officers were on the
| alert on both sides of the Atlantic, but it
now transpires the remains were probably
in safe keeping within few miles OF
Dunecht house, and the efforts OF the
police were as aimless as the plans of the
thieves were-well-laid but fruitless. The
surprising conclusion is, that the robbers,
having failed to derive any reward, should
have the audacity to return their booty
to the grounds Of Dunecht house.