The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-04-23

whose home was in South Boston,
Mass. was found in 1872 tied to the
mast of an old boat af1oat IN the
"cow pasture" marshes. His eye
lids were pinned to his forenead'
his lips had been slit and many pins
we're sticking in his flesh. He was
living and recovered, but was Grip
pied for life, says the ST. Louis Post
Dispatch.
A few days afterward another lit
tie boy was found tied by his thumbs
70 the limb of tree. Another child
was found tied to telegraph pole,
his back jabbed and slit, with salt
rubbed into the wounds. Half a doz-
en- similar outrages were reported
within a week or ten days.
A boy was tied up within a short
distance of the railway station.
All of the victims were boys under
10 years of age, most of them around
6 or Z years. Descriptions OF their
tormentor differed. Some SAID ne
was a man with red beard, others
thought him a big boy. All
agreed that his eyes were peculiar.
A boy he was, and that big boy
was Jesse Pomeroy, youth of IL,
who for forty-one years to date has
borne the doubtful honor OF being
Americas most noted criminal.
He was product of Boston, where
he was born December 21, 1853.
His parents lived in comfort; his
father was a butcher, the mother ran
a notion store. No one suspected
their thirteen-year-old son of pos
sessing criminal instincts. He was
like most boys, rougher with small
playmates than with those his size,
but not to a marked degree,
But when the outrages began and
the little victims had told of a big
boy being their assailant, systematic
efforts to find this boy were mace
One little boy was sure he had seen
the big boy before in his neigh
borhood, but did not know his name.
This started a school principal to
studying the boys in his school. He
hit on one, largely because his eyes
did not match, and that he was
hit inclined to "lord it over small
er ones. 1t was arranged that the
latest victim should come to the
school
g "All eyes 'front.' the principal
commanded. The child looked the
class over and said: HE IS not
here
Just then the principal saw that
one of the boys had turned his head
to the side.
s-Now, all again, eyes front, and
don't one of you turn until l give
permission said the teacher.
There he is, that's the boy
shouted the child the instant his
eyes gazed upon Jesse Pomeroy S
face. ''I know it is. he, for the boy
that whipped me had eyes that didn t
match
Jesse's eyes didn't match: one was
white. The Pomeroy boy was ar
rested. In court he was shown to
be a cheap novel reader, but all the
children read similar novels. Prac-
tieally the only thing in which ne
differed from his playmates was thar
his eyes did not match. He was
never seen to smile and had a mark
ed inclination to extreme secretiVe-
ness.
The boy was sentenced to West
bore Reformatory and became the
subject of deep study by alienlsts
and scientific men generally, who felt
sure he was wrong some way,--a de-
generate insane or something ab-
normal. In truth, public sentiment
was SO aroused that the officials
were more than anxious to md
something sufficiently wrong to keeE
him in prison Indefinitely.
Little Katie Curran, a 9-year-oio
child, living near the Pomeroy store
disappeared in the sprlhg OF 1874
She had been sent by Ter mother ec
buy spool of thread. When defec
ures asked Jesse Pomeroy if she
came to his mothers store, he was
so openly frank that they believed
him.
Yes, she was here he said; she
bought the thread and then went ou'
Of here"
Weeks of search brought no re
suit and another mystery was ao
ded to the list of unsolved things.
Policeman FaXon was on duty OF
South Fourth street, Boston, Aprl
%. 1S74-a few weeks after the