The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-04-28
MISSIONARY.
\ CURIOUS UTILIZATION or CELL
PESTS.
Capturing the Reaches That Infest the
County Prison and Using Them to
Convey Spiritual Comfort TO
Fellow Inmates.
Philadelphis Newal

philadelphia Nevsl
The story Of Baron Trenck, who succeeded
by almost incredible ingenuity, In WhIltng
away the hours Of 9 lifetime Of tmprSon-
ment with comparative content, and more
than paralleled By the remarkable Ingenuity
and curious inventive genius Of DR.. Albert
@. F. Goersen, the wife poisoner and nur-
derer, now in solitary confinement At Aoy-
ameusInz awaiting the fulhIlment Of thS
law. The story Is almost beyond belief, and
certainly nothing 50 remarkable mas eve
been known In the unwritten history OF
prison life in America
Prior to his trial Goersen was man Of
dissipated habits and on that rested ons Of
the strongest pleas Of the defense, that the
murderer was irresponsible. Since his In
generation, however, and under the alb
steminous diet and regulations Of prison life,
he ha; again developed the peculiar religious
fervor he once possessed, and Is now
warmly interested in the future fate Of his
fellow prisoners. With this thought In view,
Goersen applied for permission to read the
Bible to the inmates Of the prison The
request, naturally, was refused. Goerssn-
however, was determined to impart to his
companions in durance his knowledge and
professed belief In the scriptural writings.
and resorted to scheme which in all prob
bility has no sinile IN criminal annals the
world over
Dlhch IOdCueS neEC Tic A1cocSAScAS
listed by DR.. Goersen to convey spiritual
instruction to the benighted prisoners Of
Moyamensing
The county prison is overrun with big
English beetles. The insects are from an
inch and a quarter to two inches or more In
length, and infest every cell in the prison
Goersen, who is of an inventive turn Of mind,
and at the same time remarkable penmAn,
saw In the reaches msdium through which
Il was possible to attain the desired object
To utilize the reaches became his hobby
Filled with this idea, he captured . hercu-
lean beetle, and parting the wings salivated
tiny strip of tiSsue-paper and stuck it, by
the aid of paste ingeniOusly made from
scraps Of bread, on the insects back. On
the paper, written in minute characters, and
with the skin for which Goersen was so much
noted were the words, small but legible:
Although thy sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow.
The insect was then released and scurTied
through crack in the floor. The following
day the doctor captured fifteen or twenty Of
the largest reaches outof the insectional bat
TALON that entered his cell and concealed
them in an ingeniously made box Hiding
the box under his bed, he prepared dozen
clips similar to the first, and, inscrtbing on
each microscopic selection from the scrip
lures, attached them to the backs Of the cap
tive reaches.
AFTER keeping L1S ulSeIGS CU1unSa tOuk
enough to see that the paper slips would
stick the reaches were released, and they,
like their predecessors, quickly escaped
through the cracks and crevices in the floor
and walls of the cell. The result of his ex-
pertinent GOersen awaited with feverish
anxiety.
The lid of a pan filed with scraps was
placed on the floor as a bait Three days
later Goerssn found nearly q score Of
,ao1,a ~, NH,,rr
Carefully he picked them up, one by one,
and examined them
Speaking of his feelings to his keeper
afterward he said his excitement was in
tsnse-
my heart stood still, " he said; Sths tears
stood in my eyes, and I thought the disap-
pointment would kill me. examined over
dozen reaches and could not discover 8
single one with any characteristic that
would lead me 70 believe I had seen it be
fore. Suddenly saw among the mass some
thing white cleaning on the back OF one OF
the bugs Ny breath came fast, and for q
moment I hardly dared 70 look Then,
plucking up courage, I took the white
bsSked roach between my fingers and parted
the wings
Il eembled as though stricken with the
ague, and could hardly sea for excitement I
examined the struggling bug-I knew i'll
had seen It before-on its back, fast and
tight, was still fastened message had sent
10 my unenlightened fellow prisoners
On the back Of the roach, and inscribed on
the strip Of paper, were the words:
BE not deceived; evil associations corrupt
good morals"
But this was not all Written transvsrsely
across the paper, IN a scrawhng and almost
nlegible hand, were the words:
Il no yure rite.-Sined, e.
Goe-sen was delighted. and the p.henou-
ensl success of his ruse made him long for
greater achievements and look for new
worlds 70 conquer.
After the return Of the first messenger
Goersen devoted his attention 70 insects Of
the largest dimensions alone
After several Ineffective attempts he
achieved the remarkable feat Of writing in
infinitssimal characters, on the back OF 3
two-inch roach, clear and distinct tran
script Of the Ten Commandments"
The other day while one Of the official Of
the prison was walking through the corri-
dors, his attention was attracted By Pc
culiar-looking insect 1t appeared TO have
q ~sp0sm,7 and was evidently trying to re-
hsve itself Of the incubus Of 3 strip OF paper
that trailed from its back
The insecE was captured without tBoEble,
and then the aStOnished Official was con-
founded with amazement TO find on the paper
the following text, clearly and distinctly
NEltUS0. LOOK not upon LIE HAAS HAlcA ~
Is red, for at LIST It biteth Ike a serpent
and stingeth like sn adder
It had been written by Gosrsen- The
darkness that had Swallowed his own life
through his weakness and dissipation lad
suggested text that IN the execution OF b.:
peculiar mania found expression as a mes
sage 70 his equally unfortunate and equally
Swallowed fellow-beings
Keep the Cellar warn