The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1908-07-22
EUGENE ARAN'S LIFE
The Remarkable Career of This
Famous Murderer.
A SCHOLAR AND A SCOUNDREL

The Hero Of Suiwer's Novel and
Hoods Poem Was Really Vile
Criminal Who Abandoned v' and
Children and Knew No Reno. Sc.
Eugene Aram, the scholar and mur-
derer who inspired two Of the master
pieces Of English literature = Hoods
poem and Bulwers novel-was hanged
on Aug. 6. 1855.
Aran was born in 1904 in York
shire. BY the time he was fourteen
years old he was regarded in the neigh
borhood as a prodigy Of learning. BIS
fame for piety and gentleness as 4
scholar spread, and as result be was
invited to knaresborough to open q
school in 1874. There strange de
velopment took place in Aram's char
acter. he formed an association with
q drinking. turbulent crowd of men.
the opposite Of himself. among them
Danie. Clark, who kept a little cob
bler's shop. and Richard Houseman, q
Gax dresser.
In 1745 Clark married q woman with
q small fortune Of $1,000. Immediately
he and bis companions devised
scheme to rob her and her friends.
Clark was to obtain all the goods be
could on credit and hand them over to
Arcm and Houseman. who were to de-
posit them IN safe place. Then after
securing the plunder 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 great
wedding feast and borrowed silver
tankards, salrers, spoons, ETC., from
whoever would lend them. AS fast
as the different articles were obtained
Clark, accompanied by Aram and
Eousesaan, carried them to a place
called St Robert's cave
When Clark had borrowed" about
everything valuable his acquaintances
had to lend, the plotters decided it was
time for him to disappear. So IN the
early morning Of Feb. s, 10, he,
Aram and Eeuseman- went to the cave
to divide the spoils before Clark left
Aram and Clark had Quarreled 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.
Eouseman, terrified at the sight and,
as be said, afraid Of meeting the same
fate, -urned and ran away Aram did
not show particle Of remorse OF fear.
He gathered up the booty and carried
It to his house, where be buried part or
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 II he disclosed
the murder and made him believe he
was equally guilty in law.
Clark's disappearance was not no
ticed for day or two. Tfcn the peo-
pie from whoa he had borrowed
jewelry and plate began to make IN
euiries. 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. Notwlth-
standing this, no action seems to have
been taken by the authorities, nor was
it suspected that Clark had been mur-
dered. The neighbors began to jeer at
the learned schoolmaSter, however, and
Aram suddenly left bis 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 g situa-
ton as usher il a school at Lynn IN
June 1T5S, @ horse dealer who had
known him in Knaresborough met hlna
in the Lynn market. Aram denied his
identity. By singular coincidence,
almost the day the horse dealer accost-
ed the now gray haired schoolteacher,
skeleton was found by some work
men digging a pit in Thistle hill, IN
kparesborough-
ton Of everything that has occurred
to disturb 1t, and Immediately the dis
appearance Of Clark fourteen years
before was remembered. Housenan
still alive, got drunk first and then
Joined the crowd Of villagers looking
at the exhumed skeleton CLARK" he
said with drunken gravity, s'was never
buried here"
The latter, still too drunk to realize
the gravity Of his position, mutte,ed
that Clark's body would be found IN St
Roberts cave. The crowd made 9
rush for that place. and soon skele
ton was exhuned.
"I did not kill him. gasped House
man, now thoroughly sober and terri
fed. ''It was Aram. I had no part
Eouseman was taken to the village
iail, and q warrant was swoEn out FOL
Aran. When the officers took hin
away from the school the pupils cried
The government used Houseman as
witness to convict Aram. The latter,>
speech in his own defense has come
down complete mastery attack OF
circumstantial evidence, showing the
Intellectual power Of the man. Arau
made half confession the night be
fore his execution, followed by an at
tempt at suicide According to rht
custom Of the time, his body wa:
hanged in chains, aid it swung Il
KnaResborough forest until ITS. Year.
later. when the details Of hts crime
were dim, his remarkable career at
tracted Hood and Bulwer, and thus thf
obscure, talented, perverted man be
came q part Of English literature
Exchange.
War Against Consumption.
II nations are endeaVOrlN0 to checi