The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1912-07-22


The latter accepted They came to a
house the guest had never before WIS.,
tied. But the moment he entered the
place something about 1t seemed odd
ly familiar to him. toe
1t was not until they sat down to an
elaborate meal that the visitor under
stood the cause of this feeling. The
gold dishes on the table bore his own
monogram, So did the table linen
and the costly hangings of the room.
A second amazed glance showed him
that the furniture, too, was his. He
started up In bewiderment.
Sit down, beg" urged the strang-
er. II robbed your house today of
everything of value and used the
plumber to furnish this little home of
mine. That is why asked you to
dine with me- 1t seemed only fair
that you should have chance to say
farewell to your treasures"
The guest whipped out his sword
and rushed in fury at his host. The
stranger made no effort to defend
himself Leaning lazily back In his
chair, he remarked:
Il am Cartouche.'
At these simple words the guests
rage turned to terror. Dropping his
sword, he ran from the house In panic
bred, leaving Cartouche in the undis.
puted possession of the stolen valua-
bles.
This Is but one Of a hundred anec-
dotes that show the Skill and impu-
dence of Frances most picturesque
Backyard and the fear In which his
very name was held. Louis Dominique
Cartouche was born In Paris about
1898. He had not only a positive
genius for crime. but an equal genius
as a leader and organizer He gath,
cred about him, as mere lad, band
of crooks whom he ruled with cruel
discipline and who were taught to
obey his slightest wish as though 1t
We're divine law
He mapped Paris and it's suburbs
into regular districts, appointing a
superintendent and regular staff of
ruffians to each. He then evolved un-
cannily clever methods of theft and
highway robbery for each of these dis,
tricts until no mans life or posses
sions were safe. By Cartouches per-
feet system the most daring crimes
were committed in open daylight and
went unpublished
"The rich" Cartouche once declared,
five that they may be robbed That
is their one excuse for existence
He spent his wealth as rapidly as
he won 1t. Living In magnificent style,
wearing clothes and Jewels such as
most noblemen could not afford, he
made love to women of royal birth,
entertained duchesses at wonderful
banquets and continued to make him.
self more dreaded by the public at
large than was the plague itself,
1T was recorded" writes a chron-
icler, that the cry. Mere comes Car.
tsuche,' would empty the fullest
street"
iSuhB aAhC ga 0thpIS VI LIS Sun I. Val
touehe at last was captured He showed
no fear. when, after countless hair
breadth escapes, he found himself
fast In the net of the law. He laughed
at Judge and jury, mercilessly taunt-
Ing them, goading them to madness
with singing wit. When his death
warrant was read aloud to him he
halted the proceedings to point out a
grammatical error In the legal paper.
For years he had baffled the police
His arrest, in 1921. was accomplished
by mere chance as he sat drinking in
cafe. SO shrewdly had he laid his
plans that before a conviction could
be secured his trial dragged on for
many months and was the sensation
of the whole country. He was finally
condemned to a horrible death--to be
broken alive upon the wheel"
To the very last nobody believed
that the wonderful Cartouche would
permit himself to be executed. It was
expected that. by some trick of his
strange brain or by a resene on the
part of his followers, he would get
away. lih