The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1908-07-22
EUGENE ARAM'S LIFE,
The Remarkable Career of This
Famous Murderer.
A SCHOLAR AND A SCOUNDREL

The Hero Of euiwer's Novel and
Hoods Poem Was Really a Vile
Criminal Who Abandoned Wife and
Children and Knew No Remorse.
Eugene Aram, the scholar and MUIR
derer who inspired two of the master
pieces Of English literature Hoods
poem and Bulwer's novel-was hanged
on Aug. 6, 1855.
Aram was born in 17O4 in York.
shire. BY the time he was fourteen
years old he was regarded in the neigh.
borhood as a prodigy of learning. His
fame for piety and %gentleness as a
scholar spread, and as a result he was
invited to Knaresborough to open a
school in 1874. There q strange de-
velopment took place in Aram's char
acter. He formed an association with
a drinking, turbulent crowd of men,
the opposite Of himself, among them
Daniel Clark, who kept a little cob
bler's shop, and Richard Houseman, q
fax dresser.
In 1745 Clark married q woman with
a small fortune Of $1,000. Immediately
he and his companions devised a
scheme to rob her and her friends.
Clark was to obtain all the goods he
could on credit and hand them over to
Aram and Houseman, who were to de-
post them in a safe place. Then after
securing the plumber Clark was to de-
camp, leaving his wife to shift for her
self, and the property was to be sold
and divided among the three men.
Clark went about procuring a wide
variety of articles on credit. He pre-
tended he was about to give a great
wedding feast and borrowed silver
tankards, s~alvers, spoons, ETC., from
whoever would lend them. AS fast
as the different articles were obtained
Clark, accompanied by Aram and
Houseman, carried them to a place
called st. Roberts cave.
When Clark had borrowed" about
everything valuable his acquaintance
had to lend, the plotters decided it was
time for him to disappear. So in the
early morning Of Feb. 8, 1745, he,
Aram and Houseman went to the cave
to divide the spoils. before Clark left.
Aram and Clark had quarreled a good
deal during the progress of predatory
operations. At the entrance to the
cave the quarrel was renewed, and
Aram pushed Clark away and rained
down tremendous blows on his head
and chest. Clark fell dead.
Houseman, terrified at the sight and,
as he said, afraid of meeting the same
fate, turned and ran away. Aram did
not show a particle of remorse or fear.
He gathered up the booty and carried
it to his house, where he buried part Of
it IN the garden. He buried Clark's
body and heaped stones over the grave.
In the afternoon he went for House.
man and threatened him If he disclosed
the murder and made him believe he
was equally guilty in law.
Clark's disappearance was not no
tlced for q. day or two. Then the peo-
pie from whom he had BORROWED"
jewelry and plate began to make in
quiries. Suspicion was directed to
Aram in some way. The village au-
thorities searched his house and found
a bundle containing battered plate and
clothing stained with blood. Notwith-
standing this, no action seems to have
been taken by the authorities, nor was
it suspected that Clark had been muir
dered. The neighbors began to jeer at
the learned schoolmaster, however, and
Aram suddenly left his Wife and chill
dren and walked to London.
For fourteen years his family heard
nothing of him. He spent the greater
part Of the time wandering about from
place to place, at last finding a situa-
ton as usher in a school at Lynn. In
June, 175S, a horse dealer who had
known him in Knaresborough met him
in the Lynn market. Aram denied his
identity. BY a singular coincidence,
almost the day the horse dealer accost.
ed the now gray haired schoolteacher,
a skeleton was found by some work
men digging a pit in Thistle hill. in
Knaresborough.
A country town has a keen recollec-
ton Of everything that has occurred
to disturb it, and Immediately the dis
appearance of Clark fourteen years
DcAOA0 "dS ICAlcL4DcICu. nOUocLIull
still alive. got drunk first and then
Joined the crowd Of villagers looking
at the exhumed skeleton. CLARK" he
said with drunken gravity. twas never
buried here"
The latter, stu too drunk to realize
the gravity Of his position, muttered
that Clark's body would be found in st.
Roberts ave The crowd made q
rush for that place. and soon a skele-
ton was exhumed.
II did not kill him." gasped House
man, now thoroughly sober and terri.
fed. 1T was Aram. I had no part"
Houseman was taken to the village
Jail, and a warrant was sworn out for
Aram. When the officers took him
away from the school the pupils cried
The government used Houseman as q
witness to convict Aram. The latter's
speech In his own defense has come
down complete-a mastery attack on