The Lamar register., 1922-10-04
iHISTuRY1S
MYSTERIES
WHO WAS kAsPAR hAUsER1
WHBN the police Of kuremburs
w first discovered this youth, Az
v sy NJ s-AqzR ArRUNpRy y11sNR

MS eyes TO protect them from The
glare of the sun, they at first thought
that he was some Idiot who had -s
capped from sanItnrium. But investi-
CATION soon developed that here was
rnse as unique as that OF the man Ia
the iron mask and resembling II In =
number of ways.
Not only were the boys eyes weak,
but his muscles were as fabby as
those of an infant and the soles Of
his feet were convex, like those of q
baby that has never learned to walk.
lie had to be carried bodily to police
headquarters and even there, the sight
"f the rummnncst objects appeared 10
terrifS him. while the slightest OF
sounds caused him to cover his ears
and Vince sS II his ear drums were
tccust om-d only TO total silence. On
the other hand. his face Indicated
that he was Of good parentage, and
the clothing which he wore was fash
ioned Of the softest, finest materials.
In an effort to discover something
about his Identity. one OF the police
officials cffered him a pencil which
much to the surprise OF those present
'Ksspar Hauser," which. as It after
wards developed. was the only clue
he could give TO his past.
Prof. G. +. Daumer Of the University
II Nuremberg, hearing about the
strange case took the young man to
his hOmc amazed not only By the
fact tha; he could neither taih nor
walk hut that he would eat nothing
hut bread and water. The professor.
however started to educate him at
once and in a surprisingly short time
the youth had progressed sufnrisntiy
to give graphic story Of bis sxpsr
rnces.
For as long as he could remember
he had been confined to . dark cell
into which the sun had never p-ns
trstei. He had been visited once .
day by man who washed and
dressed him and fed him q ration OF
bread and water Il wss this man
who had taught him to write the
words "kasIIar Hauser." which Pro
ressor DauIner believed to be q false
name given TO him IN order to mi.lesd
the authorities and to conceal his real
Identity. Finally, he declared, he had
been blindfnlded and led Int" th.
street where the police had fsgnd him
The young mans story naturally
created vast amount OF comment iD
all sections Of Europe and the Bhuiner
house became the center OF attraction
for the curious, many Of whom main
tanned that they might be able to iden
tify Hauser. but none OF whom were
able TO produce the proof Of their con
tentiOn.
Ths NEXT development In the Inyst-r
iuus chain Of circumstances sur
rounding the youth cHIne about tve
months after Hauser's discovery By
the police when he staggered lnts
Professor DHumer's library. hAlf-bllnd.
I'd by the blood which dripped from
an open gash Ia his forehead. IL was
some time before he recovered con
sciousness sufficiently to state that .
masked man had struck nj him with q
sHber. that he had dOdeed the blow
and that his assailant had he'd before
lac could give the alarm. The infer
rnce which the police drew from the
attack was that the same person who
had imprisoned the boy was now srrlN
ing 10 XIII him. lest h- divulg- the
secret of his birth
shortly Afterward. The case came 10
the attention Of the wealthy Lord
Stanhope, who. convinced that Hauser
was of arlstocrstic and perhaps Of
royal parentage, adopted him and sent
him under guard to tnspach. where
he was educated. Some three years
later. Lord Stanhope arrived In Ans
poch with the intention OF taking his
protege back to England with him. On
the morning OF the day that they were
to leave Hauser received y note, tell
ing him 10 come to certain place
where he would learn the secret OF his
birth. Less than hour later the Eng
iish nobleman heard means from out
side his apartment and. opening the
door, was just In time to catch Hsussr
as he fell blood yelling from = knife
wound in his side He had barely
gasped the words. "Uzen monument
palace grounds" when he fell dead.
Lord stanhope hurried to the UIsn
monument and found there q slip Of
paper bearing. in the young mans
handwriting the cryptic message:
'Ksspar Hauser-murdered at the age
N twentyone Know by this that I
come from the Bavarian frontier On
the river The initials OF nv name arv
NJ L. b"