The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-08-30

| discovered gross dishonesty on the part Of
one Of the principal ofFiciais Of the de-
partnent OF the fz<ersor in connection
with secret service funds. and because he
had declared that he would not be q party
to the fraud. -
He was attacked, IKE Labori, by hired
assassin. Of whose identity the police were
aware at tho time. as they were also Of
the name OF the inskigakor of the crime.
Yet they were nver permitted % act.
Only less formidable than this league Of
political bands Of assass4rs are the local
bands Of criminals which i1fest parts OF
Paris.
One OF the most infamous OF these gangs
along the Seine known as Cour La RENE.
| Once this band was led by a woman and
made Its hunting ground the fortiHcafions
ana the adjacent streets and grass plots
The forttfications are exceedingly difficult
70 police. for the reason that the moment
g person has been robbed or murdered his
body can be slipped down into the dry
mote many feet below without noise.
The band haunting the Notifications and
led by the woman was one OF the most
dreaded in all the French metropolis. she
herself. had been In her youth, girl OF
rare beauty. She had q fine education
ana was of excellent birth. Banished from
society by reason OF the deprayity of her
tastes and her disposition toward crime,
she became imbued with sentiments Of the
most fierce hatred toward anything that
was respectablean q well-to-do.
She was notorious for the utterly useless
cruelty which characterized most OF the
crimes perpetratsd by her hand. Eyes
| gouged out, noses bitten or sliced Of. and
other even stfH more dreadful mutilations
constituted the usual accompaniment Of
the robbeFies laid at her door. Her band
s. now recognised and carryink out Its old
time atrocities.
Her band includes the lassooers, which
inspired more than ordinary amount OF
terror. not only TO the people. but TO the
police, from the tact that It included
among It's members cowboys from the
western states of America, and Guachos
on the plains of the Argentine republic,
had be coune acquainted witr the use Of
the Assoc, and of the bolo
BY this means numbers Of people were
stramsaed into insensibilfty before they had
time TO catch even a glimpse Of their adj
versaries. The woman herslf was captur-
ed a couple OF years ago. and Is now liv-
ing in the penal colony of New Caledonia,
where she Is destined to spend the re-
mainder OF days.
The Cour la Refine Band proper consists
Of men well dressed. VINO have none Of
the appearance Of the ordinary criminal
Their hands are gloved, and the cut OF
their coats as well as the shape Of their
hats Is irreproachable as regards che dc
tates of fashion. The trees offer a rather
heavy shade along UCur la Refine. and
the gloom Is intensified rather than d.
minshed by the electric lights. which cast
such deep shadows.
Any wafarer who happens along there
at night Is apt to suddenly find himself
face to face with a well dressed individual
who will request a light from his cigar.
His very appearance is such as to divert
suspicion.
Yek at the very moment when the light
Il being rendered, the victim will sud
denlyoe seized from behind by another
equally fashionably arrayed bandit, and
viii be a1rottled into insensibIlity before
ne has time to utter cry, and without be-
ing able to say positively whether or not
the individual VINO asked him for the light
was the same man who went through his
pockets as he was falling to the ground
Equally elegant in their attire Is that
last and most dangerous OF the seven
bands of criminals known as the Habits
Norris" which may be roughly translated
a sthe Evening Dress band. 1t Is to the
Habits Norris that belonged both Pran-
zini and Prado. each Of whom ultimately
exptated his crimes on the scaffoid.
The men were mostly good looking and
well dressed. They are likel yto have the
buttnholes of thei rcoats adorned with
the r4bons Of some foreign order. They
freuetn the reading and smoking rooms Of
hotels as weal as picture galleries and SIM
liar places of entertainment during the
day. and cafe concerts at night. always
dressed in the very height OF fashion.
They do not disdain the acquaintance of
men, especially 81 the happen to he foreign
visitors. and are only 100 read TO pilot
them to haunts where they can be robbed
In one fashion or another with impunity.
Yet. a. a general rule, they look 20
women as their legitimate prey. In one
maner or another they manage to scrape
an acquaintance with their victims, and
once they have achieved this the rest Is
easy. For woe betide the woman who al
lows even a scrap Of paperetaocmfwypta
lows even a schap OF writing a glove,
a handkerchief or card to fail into the
hands OF one of these adventurers. It is
used at once for purposes Of terrorism and
- - H. So
the good sense TO Immediately appeal for
protection to some male relative there IS
no limit to the depth OF the degradation
10 which she will be dragged
Fortunate indeed is she II she escapes
with her life For when the "Habft noir'
has extracted everything that he can from
his victim by means Of biackmail and ter
ror1sm he usually winds up by robbery,
and sometimes murder.
Usually the victims are foreigners. Some !
times they are people who have been led
into the adventure % depravity. but far
more frequently through ignorance. and
through an inability TO distinguish wen
dressed advenfurer crom @ gentleman to
the manner born
These Habits Noirz'' all hang together.
and keep each other posted as 20 the hab-
It's and ways of the people most likely TO
prove irritable victims They are recruit I
ell from various classes OF society. Pran-
Eini for instance had been edleepfnS
car conductor IN Europe. while Prado was J
the disowned son OF German ambassador
and thhe god son OF q royal prince
A third, who actually became for aSime
the Acknowledged favorite Of old Queen 1
Isara1la ~ Grnir, hnr dan1hteFa and her l