St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-02-24
THE STORY OF JOSEPH LEsURQUEs.

The judicial blunder which sent Le-
xsurques to the scaffold grew out of his
fatal resemblance to a villain named
Dubosc. 1t is famous in the annals of
French jurisprudence, and is celebrated
and exciting dramas on the French
stage. :.
Joseph Lesurques was born at Douai,
of respectable parents. He entered the
army at an early age, and served in the
Aupergne regiment until 1883. when he
was honorab y discharged, and soon aft
-er married and settled in Douai.
He acquired small fortune during
the Revolution by lucky speculations.
and removed with his family to Paris
late in 1875. where he took up his abode
with his cousin, Andre Lesurques, pend
ing repairs on the house that he had
hired. He was still living with this
Andre when the CRIME was committed
for which he suffered.
On the morning Of the 9th Floreal,
AN Nv. (28th April, 1886, some peas
ANTS found the mail-coach that ran be-
tween Paris and Lyons abandoned in
the woods, near the hamlet of Lieur-
saint few leagues distant from Paris.
One of the horses was missing; the
other was still harnessed to the vehicle.
Near by, among a mass of papers
smeared with blood. lay the dead body
sof the position, and little further on
that of the courier; both disfgured by
dreadful wounds, that, together with the
sframpled grass, gave evidence Of des-
perate struggle The peasants imme-
-diately alarmed the neighborhood, and
summoned the proper officers. who pro-
seeded to an investigation.
A few steps from the victims they
found several articles that had evidently
belonged to the murderers, namely, a
-great-coat with a narrow dark blue bor-
der, q broken saber with its sheath, the
sheath of a large knife, another saber
sheath, and plated spur with chain
attached, which had been broken, and
mended by means of a bit of large cord.
The blade of the saber was red with
blood, and bore the legend,
"L'honneur me conduit,
Pour le .salut de ma patrie,"
"a strange sentiment for a highwayman
TO carry about him.
The time of the murder, as nearly as
could be ascertained, was nine O clock
of the night before. The courier s
papers showed that on setting out he
had had in his possession ten thousand
francs in coin and several millions in
;assignats, all of which were missing.
An inquest was next held, when it ap-
peared, from the testimony OF several
witnesses, that for men on horseback
had been along the road, on the after
moon Of the 9th of April, as far as
+ INT 1,Yrfe hnrnYrHs md hot
these same men, in company with fifth.
ihorseman, had returned towards Paris
in the night. 1t also appeared that the
coach had carried but one passenger, a
man wrapped in "a great-ccat with a
marrow dark border" who had taken
his seat beside the courier at Paris.
This man was nowhere to be found.
He was clearly an accomplish, who had
made good his escape on the missing
horse, and was the :. fifth horsemann OF
the witnesses. A bloody saber was pro-
.duced that had been picked up on the
road near Melun. 1t fitted exactly the
odd sheath found at the scene OF the
murder Finally. the volunteer who
had mounted guard in Paris at the Bar
riere de Rambouillet, between four and
five O. clock, on the morning of the 2Sth
of April, testified to the entrance into
the CITY, at about that time, of five horse
men, riding at full speed, upon horses
reeking with sweat and almost spent.
The police now took the matter in
hand. After securing the missing post
horse, which was found astray in Paris.
near the Place Royale, they proceeded
to look up the other four. They soon
discovered that at about five o clock, on
the morning Of the 2sth of April, a man
named Ceurriol had left at a certain
tavern in Paris four foaming horses,
which he and another man had taken
Away again at seven o'clock; that this