The Elbert County tribune., 1916-12-15
in his neIghborhood, and the facilities

in his neighborhood, and the facilities
for going over Niagara In barrel
were inadequate. but he always hoped
to distinguish himself in one way or
another.
He had made some reputation as a
boy orator ut the University of Erlan-
gen, after which he went 10 Jena, where
his talents attracted no attention, and
this soured him. 1t was ut Jena that
he deliberately made up his mind to be
martyr. and he left for Mannheim
armed with his dagger and deter
mination to kill Kotzebue. He had
planned everything. down to the small
est details. His only excuse for max
ing Kotzebue the victim was that the
latter had ridiculed the students asso-
citation.
And his plans worked out wonder
fully well. After long years of war
and peril, the people were in hysteri-
cal mood, and Sand was hailed as
hero and martyr. In the whole coun-
try there was scarcely voice express
ing sympathy for the murdered author.
The heinous deed was approved in
high quarters as well as low. The
flower gardens of Mannheim were
desolated, that the martyr might have
bouquets. Fortunately the tribunals
were not carried away by the prevail
ing sentimentallsm. On May .. 1920,
the supreme court OF the grand duchy
of Baden passed sentence upon him.
decreeing that he be executed by the
sword.
May 20 was the day fixed for the
execution, and TIE place was n meadow
just outside one of the gates of the
town. The news had spread far and
wide, an immense crowd streamed to
town to see the doings, and the SYM
pathy for Sand was so strong, and so
general, that rescue was feared, and
n strong force of infantry surrounded
the scaffold.
In the courtyard of the prison Sand
was lifted into low open chaise. The
prisoners appeared at the jail windows,
weeping and wringing their hands, for
they also considered him hero, and
he bowed to them and smiled. When
the door of the yard was opened, and
the chaise emerged. sobs and gronns
were heard everywhere. The whole
town was in tears. Not one of all the
millions of tears shed that day was
for KOtzebue, who was barbariously
slaughtered in his own home. before
the eyes of his little son. The Ger
mans usually are the sanest and most
right-thinking of people, but on this
occasion the delirium was universal.
Sands progress to the scnffold was
n triumph. No ten-thousand-dollar
beauty in an American circus ever
made greater hit And the martyr
enjoyed every minute of it. Although
weak from sickness. he played the con-
quering hero. Farewell. Sand I" cried
the sobbing crowd as the chaise moved
along.
The scaffold reached, the sacrifice
was soon over. With one stroke of his
glittering sword the executioner re-
moved the young mans head. Then
ensued scene so remarkable that its
parallel probably never occurred. The
scaffold was ripped to pieces by SOU
venir hunters. Men and women dipped
their handkerchiefs in the martyrs
blood. The executioner sold single
hairs from the dead mans head, and
couldn't hand them out fast enough.
IF ever n mans ambition was rounded
out, that man was Karl Ludwig Sand.
And for n long time after he was
buried fair women carried garlands to
his grave. and his heroic deed was
sung by minstrels, and students wept
when his name was mentioned. But
time adjusts all things, and 1t came to
pass in due season that the burghers
of Mannheim began to appreciate the
greatness of the murdered man. and
then the flowers were carried where
they properly belonged.