davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call., 1897-11-28

NAV be formulated whereby society may
be in some measure protected against the
spread of such destructive degeneraCy.
ItiS LAID down that thc first generation
OF confirmed inebriates. which proceeds
from the periodic, is paralyIic, the second
suffers rachitis-rCkAts-or the white
blight, and the third is inflicted with
mania, constant or intermittent, and not
infrequently OF priapic homicidaI phase.
The theory is perfectly confirmed in the
case Of Vacher. HIS grand father died in
deirium tremens and his father has the
rachitis.
AS will appear from a study of Vaoher
he is an extraordinary reryert in that his
own claims 10 maniacai obsessions are
not borne out by the facts. Scarcely can
he be described as mad, homicidal or In
sane, in the accepted meaning of the
terms as applied to persons who should be
Gagged for life, because he is never uncon-
scious of his acts. He followed q system,
or rather moved along the lines of de-
sign rendered easy of execution by na;-
ural circumstances and the incaracity
and obtuseness of the country police and
prosecutors. He sought his victims in
obscure places, deliberately gratified his
diseased imagination and left peculiar
The San Francisco call., 1897-11-28

shed with him, for they have been re-
yea.ed only after weeks OF patient and far
reaching inquiry, and, for that matter, are
not all told yet.
Arrived at Belley, the prisoner was con-
fronted by several witnesses who had seen
the tramp suspected of having killed the
shepherd boy, Victor Porlaler, two years
previous. They insisted on the ideniifica-
ton OF him. despite his denials. When
the magistrate Informed him that he was
t) be conducted at once to LYONS and
faced by the witnesses who remem bered
the mysterious wandering assassin OF
Courzieu-la- Gira audiere, the wre chs nerve
forsook him and he announced that he
was ready to confess his crimes.
The frightful narrative shocked all
France, though the primary confession
was by no means complete. Vacher closed
mis- list OF horrors with the twelfth victim,
avowing that his memory failed him if he
was guilty OF any other atrocities.
During the intervening weeks the num-
ber of the butchered inuocents has in
creased until the melancholy register ex-
ceeds thirty.
An epitome of his first confession runs
as follows:
Louise Marcel, age 13-After having left
The San Francisco call., 1897-11-28
lie Tueur de BergersP'
The butcher of Shepherds !"

Exc!aims the Partisan feuilletonste: 4:
This man will be described in the annals
of crime as the most frightful assas- in
that ever lived. His heinous offenses sur
pass in horror ali those of his lugubrlousIy
notorious predecessors"
France produced Giiles de Retz, the
legends OF whose diaboicai career inspired
the creation of Blue Beard in literature
She had a COurtier Of the throne con-
demned to solitary life imprisonment,
who was liberated in the overthrow of the
Bastjle, ana afterward wrote during The
Revolution two volumes in glorifcation of
his maniacal propensities and the motive
which actuated him TO kill.
She had 4 Dumollard who literally
slaughtered twelve servants ana nurse
girls without other provocation than this
mania of satyriasis, before the guillotine
got him.
To these and the many lesser criminals
+ the same type France has produced,
the slums of Whitec chapel added another
whose identity is still myth.
Yet 1t is conceded by the French au-
thorities that both as to the mum Der of
victims and manner OF assassination the
The San Francisco call., 1897-11-28

butcheries, and the only punishment he
suffered was thirty day confinement at
Bauge as an irreclaim Bile tramp. Return
ing later to this nelghborhood, he caicu-
lated on escaping the notice of the mag
istrate by circling around the environs of
Tournor
Here the dilatory Nemesis Of his fate
laid IN wait for him. In the woods he
was proving through was a young cas-.
seuse, or wood breaker, gathering twigs
and branches. Her husband, engaged in
similar labor close by, but concealed by
an island of willows, Vacher did not see
as he rushed In mis- frenzy upon the wo-
man. Her affrighted scream was quickly
answered by the husband, whose appear
ance put Vacher to flight. A hue and cry
brought sturdy assistance to the pursuer,
anc the assassin was overhauled and cap
trred. He made no resistance, and in his
own defense pretended that he had merely
tried to perpetrate an amorous joke.
Vacher, in this instance, had not in
fiicted any wound on his intended victim,
aud nothing more serious than few
months detention might have been the
penalty for his attempt but for the shrewd
surmise OF the examining magistrate
that he was one and the same with a
mysterious miscreant whom the prosecut-
ing officials OF an adjoining department
were seeking.
Joseph Nacher was born al Beaufort,
Canton OF Roybon, Novem Der 49, 1869, and
is, therefore, % years old. His parents
were countryfolk, in moderate circum.
stances.
The San Francisco call., 1897-11-28

inal Of the century, every accusation and
deposition of witnesses confirming the
belief that there mad been run to earth IN
France a new kind of assassin whose
bestiaiity was unexampled in the history
Of medical as we'll as criminal jurispru-
dence. Confronted with The proof, he
began to confess, and in the same voice
pleaded conscious madness, or, rather,
boasted of il, and then attributed his in
spiration to butcher and dehle to the Al
mighty. An analyst at this juncture de-
scribed him as having 'sympathetic
physiognomy, with striking expression
OF intelligence and doclllty in his eyes.
Once Vaoher admitted his guilt, ne gave
himself up 10 the enjoyment of his hide
Gus notoriety, displaying the EGG tism and
pride of dep avity common 10 the monde
script class of criminals of which he is
The San Francisco call., 1897-11-28

when in repose, ic ocntorted in converse
ton. One side o. he face is immo bile.
while tie other 81 laces cCnvulsiveiy as
he speaks. The eyeids on the left side
are partly closed and rigid.
The eau e of the muscular paralysis is
the presence in his head of two bullets,
placed there IN an unsuccessful attempt to
kill himself, after having been thrown
over by young woman who had engaged
herself to marry him. At the same time
he tried to kill her. On account of this
affair he was placed in the insane asylum,
where de remained only ten months.
1t was after Vacher lett the Saint Rob-
ert institution that he CAV himself en-
tirely TO q life OF vaga bondage, although
1t seems that prior to his enlistment in
the army he had an inclination TO wander
far away from home. and the symptoms
The San Francisco call., 1897-11-28

In 1890 he was enlisted in the Sixtieth
Regiment of the line at Besancon, and
during the three years of his service he
seems to have conducted himself with
credit, for he was q commissioned
officer during the greater part of the term,
and enjoyed the favor and confidence of
his superiors in command.
Since his pprehension. however, many
OF his former comrades in the army have
testified to acts of brutality and bad con-
duct they were restrained from reporting
because of his frequent boasting that he
enjoyed secret influence which would
protect him against any accu sation, and
enable him 10 punish his accusers.
While in the army he became the fance
of the young woman at Beaune. For a
reason only intimated, she declined TO
marry him when he was discharged. He
The San Francisco call., 1897-11-28

of mania had appeared in his morose and
murderous disposition. He describes this
earlier state of mind in his address 10 the
public. Once he entered upon the mad
tramp, the revolving tragedies in ,he trail
of which were 10 electriy and puzzle all
France-without money, without re-
sources-he went from village TO village,
from farm to farm, begging, offering to
work for a little clothing and food, and
rarely laboring more than few days in
any one place. 1t was in these peresrina-
tions that be sought in The mountain by
ways, sheepco.es and communal fields tie
youthful keepers of the focks and herds
whose happy pastoral existence he ended
with his knife.
During the years of his murderous wan
derings he was never suspected of his
The San Francisco call., 1897-11-28
the farmer.

the farmer.
During the investigation OF Vach3 >7nn1I
procureur of the republic received
ous letter from the mother OF !
that lives IN La Varenne-en- Arg -
Her daughter. Therese Ply, 10 years old,
had been set upon in the forest OF Areonne
and brutaIlv murdered. The butchery was
unmistakably the work OF Vacher. AT first
he denied, then admitted he was guilty.
Day by day after the original confession
when terminated in the pretense of ex-
hausted memory, other crimes. all dis
closing the same method and motive-ln
their character as distinct as those OF the
Whitechapel madman-have been placed
10 Vacher's unexampled record OF fiend-
ishness. Among others he has been led
10 recall by the force of proof is the MUIR
der OF Aline Alaise, a girl OF 10 years,
which he committed in 1896, near Bor-
deaux.
Some of the latest crimes imputed to
Vacher, the bodies recovered having the
unmistaka bic marks of his systematic
mutilatioD, are reported as follows from
the offices OF the prosecutors in the sekT'
eral districts named:
Viilefranche-A woman of 35 assassinA
ated in the woods of the commune Of
The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-02-05
MODELLING a STATUE.
How tho Modern Sculptor Hoes His In
tcrost;ng Work.

How tho Modern Sculptor Hoes HIS In
tcrosting Work.
From the lump of clay which his fin
gers have flattened, trimmed, rounded
off, the little model issues forth as
nucleus, from which it's gigantic broth
er is to come. With the proportions
laid out in the small one, the sculptor
sketches his iron framework for the
full-sized model. On a platform Of
heavy beams he constructs this frame
work, which, when complete, has an
anatomical look about it; but it would
be difficult matter to find in the SEEM
ingly crazy arrangement of twisted iron
and the wire ropes, with blocks of wood
tied on them, anything resembling
anatomy.
The skeleton frame has to be exceed
ingly strong; for should any part give
way later with the weight of the damp
clay, it would doubtless involve the be.
ginning of the work all over again.
With the frame complete and tested
as to its strength the clay is built up
around it, careful attention being given
to each minute detail, especially to the
anatomical ones From the beginning.
in the use of the clay, it is essential to
keep it damp, and all through the con-
struction water is applied through
hosepipe with sprinkler attached.
This wetting down is extremely i'm
portant, for should the clay get dry, 1t
would crumble like dirt, or crock, thus
running the work.
The figure of the general is modelled
nude, and brought to high finish. A
live model is employed for the purpose,
and he poses astride dummy horse in
the position the sketch and miniature
model call for. After the figure is fin
ished, even to the curve of each muscle,
equipments are put on the dummy
horse. and the model dresses himself in
the generals costume and again takes
the pose. The sculptor then proceeds
to dress the general and his horse.
With his many different tools he slowly
shapes the clothing in the new clay
that he has ruthessly slapped on the
exquisite modelling underneath. Bit
by bit the various garments assume
form and develop under the ready hand
of the master, every little fold or crease
being carefully worked up. The like
ness is the most important part. how
ever. and great attention is paid to the
face. In this it is necessary to COM
, bine so many things beside likeness
that the task is at times almost dis
couraging. Harper's Round Table.
The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-02-05
-
IN THE STATES.

Horses have become so cheap in some
parts of Missouri that a two-year-oll
colt of good pedigree sold at auction at
Rich Hill for 500.
The keen political discrimination of
a Todd county (Ky.) turkey was
learned after its death when Mckinley
button was found in it's crop.
Pending the adoption of plan to dis
pose of impounded and unredeemed
dogs at Macon, Ca, by electricity, an
experiment has been made upon rats
1t was successful
Pumpkin pie for the season is assured
in Mercer county, KY, where 64-pound
pumpkin was grown. Its circumfer.
ence was five feet and eight inches.
For stealing from deaf mute car
penter some of the tools of his trade,
another deaf mute, against whom three
others of the silent people testified,
has been sent to Jail at Kansas City.
Instead of his usual Sunday evening
sermons. clergyman of Chapman,
Kan., is reading to his congregation Il
continued story. entitled: Jake, the
Merchant" which he wrote himself.
After long and luxurious yawn one
morning Westwood (Mich.) man
couldn't close his mouth. His jaw had
been dislocaied He was so frightened
that since it was set he doesn't dare
even to smile broadly.
The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-02-05
THE CITY OF DAMASCUS.

From Damascus came the art of in.
laying wood and steel with silver and
gold, called damascening, this methot
of decoration being used to beautif,
boxes, bureaus, swords and guns.
Everyone has heard of the wonderful!
Damascus swords, the secret of tht
make having been lost when Tamerlan,
carried off the artists to Persia. TIL,
swords are remarkable for their keeu
edge and wonderful elasticity.
From Damascus come the ddmson
our blue plums, and the delicious apri.
cot of Portugal called damasco, damask
linen, the damask rose, which was il,
troduced to England in the time oi
Henry VIII.
Damascus is the Oldest city in til
world. Tyre and Sidon have crumbled
Palmyra is buried under desert sands
and Nineveh and Babylon have disap.
peared, but Damascus alone relnaina
as it was in the days of Abraham, n cen
ter of trade and travel.
Damascus is an island of verdure in
desert with martial and sacred as.
sociations extending through 80 cen.
turtles. 1t was near Damascus thar Saul
of Tarsus saw the light. The caravans
come and go as they did 1000 arsago.
and the merchants of the Euphrates
and Mediterranean still crowd the mar.
row streets.
The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-02-05
BRUTUS WAS SMART.
Knew When the Conversation Touched
on His Battle with Bruin.

writer in the American Field tells
of fight between black bear and a
mongrel cur that could boast not of
lineage or personal appearance. He put
up game fight, however, only to be
worsted in the end by powerful stroke
of bruins paw. When the bear was dis
patched by the dogs master it was
found that Brutus, the dog, was very
badly used up, and he presented sorry
appearance. He was carefully nursed
back TO health and strength again, and
proved useful in many a hunting eXpe-
dition. Some time after the dogs adj.
venture with the bear, one of the party
Col. B.-left home and remained
away for several years. When he re-
turned he found Brutus an Did dog, bear
ing his honorable scars with the sedate
dignity of worthy pensioner. AT first
the dog did not recognize the colonel;
the memory of old association seemed
blotted out. One day, after having
been home about week, Col. B. and his
brothers were sitting together talking
of old times, while Brutus lay near by,
apparently doing. During the CONVEX
sation the incident wherein Brutus was
SO badly used up by the bear was
brought up; that memorable hunting
exploit was gone over, ard the cour-
ageous conduct of the dog extolled as it
had been years before. The old dog re-
manned quiet while the events of the
first bear hunt were being discussed,
until his fight with bruin was reached.
At this point Brutus jumped up and
sprang toward Col. B. in demonstrativc
recognition, showing that he had heard
the conversation, and that his memory
had been awakened by the recounting
of the unfortunate experience with the
bear
The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-02-05
FOR THE FARMER.

the wool of the Dorset Horn lamb is
especially valuable for it's wilderness
and softness. 1t furnishes, therefore,
no small item of profit in the rearing of
these lambs.
Prof. Lodeman has been experiment.
ing with old and fresh Bordeaux mix
ture, and he finds that the freshly made
mixture is far more effective, as it is
impossible to keep that which has stood
long from settling.
Each frame of comb in bee hive
should occupy about w inches of space,
and in spacing the frames it should be
done with eXactness, so that the frames
will be W inches from center to CEN
ter.
The best churling temperature is
&c degrees in summer, and Ga degrees
in winter. you feed much cotton seed
in winter you can go to GO or 10 degrees
and it will do no harm. The lower the
better.
A farmer said at an institute that
bis yield of corn last year, running from
100 bushels per acre down to SO, was eA-
actly proportional to the time the ma
nure had lain on the surface before be-
ing turned under, ard his experience
with last years crop was the same.
The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-02-05
AGP4ACE ::,2Al ITEMS.

I'ic letter Il a;s in Hebrew named
&ns'h . hedge, al hy solne authorities
Translated stils. i is supposed that
HE form OF the lalte. was an imitation
OF the steps thiouGa which entrance
was gained into IN iuclosed field.
Peer the Great. among other changes
ieadt in the customs and manner of his
people, also inst ,ute1 a reform in the
alphabet. Finding the number of let
teys greater tnan he considered neces-
sary. he fixed the alphabet at So.
The Hebrews cslled R Resi-, the
forehead, and the Phoenician form of
the letter closely resembles in outline
the upper part OF the head, the hair,
eyebrows. eyes. b, ginning of the nose
and tips of the ears being plainly Wis
ible.
Whether the Phoenicians borrowed
their alphabet from the Jews, or
whether the Hebrew alphabet was de-
rived from the Phoenician, or whether
both came from the Egyptian, are mat
tiers about which scholars are not
agreed.
was Shin, the tooth, and in its ear
lest form was, no doubt, picture of
the front tooth, the Phoenician char
acter bearing a strong resemblance to
two or three of these Indispensable add
juncts to comfort in eating and digest
ing our food.
The hieroglyphic writing, from which
1,o1. L..
derived, was in use at least 5000 B. c.,
but the recently discovered inscrip-
tons at the City of Nipur, in Assyria,
carry back the origin of writing to a
point 1000 years B. C.
The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-02-05
VERY SMAnI Soy.
Thought the Horse Had No Right to Be
FoolharlY.

Foolhardy.
Canine intelligence is a something
that has oftentimes been the subject
upon which fiction has been founded.
The queer antics of the dog, and its
seemingly keen perception at divers
occasions, are things that have brought
many a philosopher to conclude that
this species of the dumb brute is we'll
nigh human.
At one of the evening entertainments
of the Carver combination common
poodle dog, if it did not show true un-
Outstanding of the situation, certainly
verified the sympathetic qualifications
that have SO often been attributed to its
kind. During the entire performance
he seemed as interested as any of the
spectators. 1t closely watched the ath-
letes mount the tower and make their
high dives, followed them in their airy
fight before striking the water, and
seemed to smile all over when they arose
uninjured to the surface of the water.
But what seemed to attack its sensibili-
ties most was the act of the diving
horses. AS soon as il saw that one of
the horses was being led around to the
incline at the back of the tower, by
which they ascend to their place, it be-
came restless, and commenced to whine
pitifully. 1t seemed to strike it that
this was not as it should be: it grasped
the unnaturainess Of the feature, and
expressed sympathy the best it could.
Tt painted, and the whine GREW stronger
The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-02-05
The Anti-rioket scalping Move.

Washington, Feb. 3.-Charles R.
Skinner has addressed letter to Hon.
James S. Sherman, member of con-
gress from New York, requesting him,
in the name of the National associa-
ton, of which Mr.. Skinner is presi
dent, to assist B. d. Caldwell, chair
man of the Western Passenger associa-
ton, in his efforts to promote the eff
forts now being made towards the
suppression of ticket scalping.
Senator George May Soon BE Taken Home,
Washington, Feb. 3.-Weather per-
hitting and no relapse, Senator George
of Mississippi, who has been critically
i'll, expects within the next two days to
return to his home in Mississippi. DR..
Sherman reports him to-day as ms
proving.
The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-02-05
Cheshire Alumni Association Banquet.

New York, Feb. 3.-The Cheshire
Alumni association gave banquet at
the Waldorf last night About seventy
five former students of the Episcopal
Academy of Connecticut, better known
as the Cheshire academy, were present,
among them the following: Prof. An
drew w. Phillips of Yale university,
Herbert Is. Turner, Fred n. Bassett,
Col. James b. Coryell of Williamsport,
Pa; Rev. Edward S. Lines of New
Haven, Conn; Gustavo Preston, Col. P.
II. Corr of Providence, and Charles L.
Mcneil of Torrington, Conn. The
alumni and invited friends thoroughly
enjoyed the banquet, and during the
evening many old friendships were re.
newed
The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-02-05
THE ERRINe BURGLAR.
.cquitted, He Is Found at His Old Ways
Again.

.cquitted, He Is Found at His Old Ways
Again.
A curious romance of burglary and
filial affection is told in the French
newspapers. says the New York Jour-
ual. 1t has generally been supposed to
be almost impossible to escape from the
French penal settlement at Cayenne.
and the perils to be confronted in the
forests both from animals and natives,
not to talk of starvation, appalled, the
eonvicts to such an extent, that they
never even thought of attempting
hight. This theory has just received a
severe shock, the description of no less
than 80 recently escaped convicts hav-
ing been circulated to the police by the
minister of the interior.
One or two have already been cap
tured in France. Among these is GER
tain Petitiean, who is accused of new
misdeeds. Petitjean escaped from
Guiana some time ago. for no other rea-
son. he said. than to come and embrace
his old mother. who lives at Bagnolet.
lie was arrested, but in Difference to
public opinion, which was impressed by
his filiai affection. he was set at liberty
and allowed 70 remain in France.
A short time ago robbery took place
IN the Boulevard Diderot. in Paris. and
by tracing back the stolen goods four
persons were arrested They were all
carrying knives. knucklcdusters and re-
volvers. and made most desperate
fight for their liberty. Once in prison,
however, they confessed they belonged
to large gang whose chief was Petit
jean. Hence the latter's arrest.