Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-07-24
SPANISH

New York World: The arrest in this
city a few days of a young woman
whose back bore the marks of of the
three-lashed Spanish whip, and whose
left ear had been shortened" by the exc
cutioner's knife, bears evidence to the
fact that barbarous treatment of crimi-
nails is still praciiced in the South Ameri-
can as we'll as in some European coun-
tries.
Louise Johnson. alias Little LOU
whom the police call the cleverest conf
dence woman in the country, was arrest
ed recently or the charge Of shoplifting.
The police seldom have difficulty in APP
pretending her, for the missing ear is a
tell-tale mark
In this respect the woman's case is
similar to those of a score of other crooks
who have felt foreign prison fortunes and
have been released, marked for life.
The case of the johnson woman is re-
garded by Captain McClusky, chief of
detectives, as probably one Of the most
remarkable in it's extreme cruelty that
has ever come under his observation.
The wife of Big Tom Bigelow, the
English bank robber, young, educated
and beautiful, she was arrested in Brazil
less than five years ago, charged with
rObbing a Spanish countess of several
thousand dollars worth of diamonds.
She had a typical South American trial.
was sentenced to receive 40 lashes on the
bare back and to have her left ear cut
off. Forty lashes usually means death
to a woman, but this did not alone sat
isfy Brazilian justice. That the woman
survived her punishment is remarkable,
but as a criminal she is no longer a sue
cess, for though she wears her hair plas-
tered down over the spot where the knife
passed, she cannot hide the disfigure-
ment.
Some months ago a well-dressed Italian
was arrested by detectives, who regarded
his actions in the banking district as sus-
picious. He was questioned at police
headquarters, but protested his innocence
of criminal intent. He was about to be
released when one of the detectives OBJ
served an ugly scar on the mans fore:
head. On examination it proved to be a
brand. the letter IT" Questioned, the
man confessed that he had been released
from a Servian prison, where he had been
branded as a thief.
Several instances are on record at
headquarters where prisoners have been
proved international criminals by the
marks of the knout and whip upon their
bodies.
A remarkable case was that of Aban
Sassen, a Bulgarian. recently captured
in Boston. Sassen had committed some
political offense in his own country, n
the law demanded that his nose be split.
Sassen was wanted in several cities,
among them Chicago, on charges Of
swindling. and, though a skilled surgeon
had long before sewn up the d~isiigured
nose, the scar from the tip to the fore
head was too plainly visible to be over
looked.
AT the barge office are stationed gov
eminent detectives whose duty it is to
prevent foreign criminals from entering
the country. Here the indelible marks
of the iron and whip often make detec-
ton certain.
Frequently these poo unfortunates
beg for admission, saying that, marked
forever, they cannot live longer among
their own people, and they have come to
America to hide among strangers. Many
were convicted of political offenses, and
these are generally admitted.
Yes, we frequently come across a
poor fellow who has been compelled to
carry the marks of cruel punishment to
his grave said Captain McClusky. "A
marked criminal. like a dead Indian. is
almost certain to be a good crook, for he
has but a small chance of getting away"