St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-18
GHOULS LED BY A WOMAN.
Grave Robbers Whose Leader
Says She Was Once Pet OF
Russian Society.


A gang of grave robbers has been dis
covered and arrested here, one of whose
leaders, as alleged, is man known as
Percy Brown, who claims to be ninety
eight years old. They have had a rem
devious in the northeastern part of the
city, where cellar was constructed as
vault to keep the bodies in, says
the Milwaukee SentinePS Washington
letter. The brains of the gang, it is
said, were furnished by hag seventy
eight years old, Maud Brown, as she
calls herself. If there has been any,
thing lacking to add another degree of
horror to the traffic i'll dead bodies, it
was certainly supplied by the appear
ance of this woman. Her face was con-
cave on one side and convex on the
other. Her nose was long and thin. her
lips Sunken, both eyes sightless.
She was dressed in a faded black
dress, but wore an immense white rib
bon, tied in bow, about her lean and
wrin1led neck. She gives history of
herself which, il true, as her evident
intelligence and culture would indicate,
is as wonderful as any fiction which
human imagination has yet produced.
The story is in part borne out by docu-
mentary evidence and partly by the
woman's conduct, and is related by her
self in substance as follows:
She was born in Russia of wealthy
parents, and at the age of eight years
was betrothed to the president of the
Royal Medical college at st. Peters
burg, where her brother Percy was
then medical student. The president
of the college, who was Seventy-fve
years of age when she married him, took
charge of her education, and she grew
up about the college, perfectly familiar
with the disseeting room and the dead
bodies which were SurreptitiOuSly
brought there.
When she was left widow at seven
teen she was not only cultured
woman, but had the reputation of being
the best English scholar in ST. Peters
burg. The fact soon brought her into
public notice. The Crimean war broke
out and the girl. asleep at her brothers
house, was awakened one night by
hearing conversation between Gen.
Gortschakoff and her brother at the
door of the house. ''You cannot want
my sister?'' said Percy. Il do want
her." said the general. ''She is a
daughter of Russia. and when Russia
calls for her daughters she must be
obeyed." Hearing this the Lady Maud,
as she still styled herself, arose and
joined the men, and Gen. GortSchakoff
explained to her that she was wanted to
go Immediately to the front to translate
the enemy'S dispatches. I'VE are in
tercepting any quantity of them,' said
the general. "but we can't read their
beastly language"
Accordingly, the Lady Maud was
taken to the front and stationed there TO
read the English dispatches, and while
she was engaged in translating some of
them to the Prince Michael shell burst
overhead, mutilating her face and put
ting cut one of her eyes. Being wo-
man of unusually strong nerves, she
did not lose consciousness on account of
this accident, and so was able to hear
the prince eXclaim: Great God! | in
tended to marry this grill" The acct
dent, however, rendered her totally
blind, and she was sent to Leipsic, in
Germany, where she was treated by the
most eminent OculiSt, and in two years
recovered the sight of one eye. For
her bravery on this occasion the Russian
government gave the Lady Maud a
pension of 10 roubles day. After
recovering her sight she returned
to st. Petersburg, where she lived i'm
splendor with her brother until the
death of the Gar Nicholas, when they
WcIc suspicious vi pciiiS iiOSIIle 10 the
succeeding sovereign. and were forced
to leave the country. Then they came
to America, where Percy's talents soon
established him in the lucrative bust
mes of a ''resurrectionst." in which he
was aided by his sister. Twenty wears
ago they came to this city and organ
lied. with DR.. Christian, the most noted
gang of grave robbers that was ever
known in the district. They not only
supplied the local colleges but sent sub
jects all over the country. In 1876.
however, the gang was completely
broken up by the police. and since then
Percy and Maud have carried Oh the
business IN smaller way. Her part of
the work was to go to funerals aud fol-
low the corpse to the grave, and after
wards direct the body -snatchers to the
spot. All the s'resurrectionists'' who
have been arrested are still held. but ne