Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-09-09
TRIALS FOR animals
Curious Custom That Prevailed
In the Middle Ages.
PROSECUTED FOR HOMICIDE.

PROSECUTED FOR HOMICIDE.
A Bull That kilIed,sa Man Found
Guilty, Sentenced to Death and Exe-
euted--Fate Of q Cock That Was
Charged With Having Laid an Egg
Among the many curious customs Of
:she past is recorded a. singular feature
Of the Jurisprudence OF the middle
ages, when animals were indicted for
injuries inflicted upon human beings.
The custom was not abolished in
France until the middle Of the eight
eenth century, and the French court
records show that at least ninety-two
trials took place between 1120 and
1741.
There is some Biblical precedent for
these proceedings, for In the twenty
first chapter Of Exodus one finds, IF
an OK gore a man or a woman that
they die, then the OK shall be stoned
and his flesh shall not be eaten"
An early instance of the custom was
in 1914. when bull escaped from "a
sfarmyard In village In France in the
duchy 81 valois and gored man to
death. The Count OF valois, being In
formed Of the case directed that the
bull be captured and formally prose-
cuted for homicide. This was done,
and evidence was given by persons
who had seen the man attacked and
killed. The bull was thereupon SEN
fenced to suffer death, which was In
ficted by .strangulation, after which
the carcass was suspended from q
tree by the hind legs. &s
In 1886 a sow was executed in the
square Of Falaise for having caused
the death Of child. and three years
later horse was condemned to death
at Dijon for having killed man. In
1857 a SOW and her six young ones
were tried at Lavegny on the charge
Of having killed and partially eaten a
child. The SOW was convicted and
condemned to death, but the little ones
were acquitted on the ground of their
extreme youth and inexperience, the
bad example Of their mother and the
absence Of direct evidence of their
having partaken Of the atrocious feast.
One of the most grotesque Of these
trials took place in Basel when "a
! farmyard cock was tried on the alb.
surd charge Of having laid an egg. II
was contended in support Of the prose.
| cution that eggs laid by cocks were Of
inestimable worth for use in certain
magical preparations, that sorcereI
would rather possess cocks egg thar
the elixir of life and that Satan EN-.
ployed witches to hatch such eggs
from which proceeded winged serpents
most dangerous to mankind.
The prisoners advocate admitted the
facts of the case, but commended thai
no evil intention had been proved ant
i that no evil result had taken place
Besides, the laying Of an egg was al
Involuntary act and as such was moi
punishable by law; also there was NJ
record Of the devil having made com
pact with an animal. The public pros
ecutor stated in reply that the evil one
sometimes entered into animals, as IL
the case Of the swine which drowned
themselves in the sea of Galilee
So the poor creature was convicted
not as a cock. but as sorcerer or per
haps the devil in the form Of a cock
whereupon the bird and the egg tina
was attributed to 1t were solemn.
burned at the stake
Even stranger than this were the
proceedings instituted in 1445 and 14Si
against certain beetles which had made
havoc In the vineyards of ST. Julian
Advocates were named on behalf oil
the vine growers and the beetles re
spectively, but by singular coinci
I dence the insects disappeared wher
& cited to answer for the mischief they
/ had doue, and the proceedings were IL
! consequence abandoned.
That was in 1445. In 1887, how
ever, they reappeared, and a complaint
was thereupon addressed to the vical
general Of the bishop of Maurienne
who named a judge and also an advo
cate to represent the beetles. A com
promise was finally agreed upon
wherein the vine growers consented tt
cede the beetles certain fields to theil
4 exclusive use. Some time after thu
1 beetles, through their attorney, pro
tested that there was right of way
through these fields which would b.
| to their detriment Consequently tn.
case had to begin again, but how 4
ended is not known, owing to the muti
lation Of the records. IF. G. Evans II
New York Post.
j sl. " ~. Lotteries,