The San Francisco call., 1896-10-05
A BarbarouS Custom Is Broken
Up Alter an Existence of
Many Years.
JA1Ls FILLED WITH FARMERS.
Their Crops Are Rotting in the Fl Ids
and Utter Ruin Seems to
Confront Them.
tcopyrisht1s by the United Associated pressesl

BERLIN, GERMANY, Oct. 4.-The Bava-
ran haberfeldtreiben, a sort of lynch
law organization, has had sudden and
unexpected check. 1t will be remembered
that it was an ancient custom, said to have
dated back to Charlemagne, traditionally
set in motion after the close of the harvest
season with view of settling old scores
with obnoxious persons in the rural dis
tricts. In the olden times it was sort of
rough justice and served its purpose. OF
late years, especially since the spread OF
socialism among the rural population of
upper Bavaria, it has degenerated into a
riotous and moonlighting custom, by
which people were shot, cattle manned
and property burned. During quarrel
few nights ago a former victim OF the
haberfeldtreiban denounced the Burgo-
master of Saulach as a "habermeister."
The Burgomaster promptly arrested the
man for having insulted him in his off,
cial capacity, ana the efforts of his friends
to obtain his releAss have been unsuccess-
full, the Burgomaster having demanded
the sum of 5000 marks bail for his liberia
ton. At that time 2500 men had been ar
rested in the Holzkirchen, Tolz and
Schlierse districts under the charge of
belonging TO the haberfeldtreiben.
The excitement in the localities men
toned is intense in consequence of the un-
expected action of the authorities. The
crops, which before now ought to have
been gathered, are rotting in the fields on
account OF the owners and laborers be-
longing to the farms who are confined in
prison. This state of affairs means seri-
Gus loss and probably total ruin to hun
dreds of farmers and others. The Bava-
rian officials have for long time sought
to apprehend this particular class of
offenders, but up to this time have not
met with any success. In the latter part
of October, 1895, a mob of 259 haberfeld-
ers all of them with blackened faces and
otherwise disguised, met in an open field
opposite the railway station in Sauerlick
one Sunday and held meeting. at which
they elected officers. Some individual
present asked the station-ma t'r if he
though. he had not better ie., -ph for
| assistance to drive the crowd away. The
station-master thought the suggestion a
good one and endeavored to put it in
force, but found that the telegraph wires
had been tampered with so that comm uni
cation with other stations was completely
cut off. The meeting finally broke up
| and the matter rested.
The next night 500 haberfelders assem-
| bled and held a grand court in Strohning,
short distance away. The assistant
| forester at Hafolding and the Postmaster
at Sauerlich were designated as culprits
and a posse was sent out to hale them be-
fore the court. The condemned men were
dragged from their beds and brought be-
| fore their self-constituted judges who read
| a long indictment to them reciting their
| sins. In the meantime the presence of
the haberfelders had become known far
and wide and the inhabitants of the out
| lying villages arose from thier beds and
| hastened in the direction of the scene, but
! they were awaited by the mob. The
| gendarmes in the district were totally un-
aware of the meeting and not single
haberfelder was ever identified. The au-
thorities, with the intention of pun
ishing the inhabitants of the VII
lage invaded by the mob for their
cowardice, quartered company of
soldiers among them, whom they had to
support for the next six weeks. The au-
! thorities tried in every way to get the
ringleaders of the haberfelders into their
clutches but their victims feared to inform
upon them and they were consequently
never apprehended. Now they have been
| brought up with round turn and it is
safe to assume that they will be severely
| dealt with