Evening star., 1923-08-12
Bites Off Thumb of Another
in KIDNAPPING PIot-U. S.
Army Officer Is Held.
C0NSPIRATORS SAVED
FROM INFLAMED CROWD
Frenchmen Victims; Plan Said to
Be to Get Draft Evader
Punished.
my Iable to The Star and the PhiladeIphia
Public Ledger Cnnrrirh. tnna -f|'

PhiladeIphia
fuolic Ledger. Copyright. 1921
EBERBACH, Baden. August Ii
Grover Bergdoll last night for sec
ond time escaped from an attemnt "a
hionap him and spirit him across the
border into occupied territory for de-
livery to American authorities for
trial and punishment.
bersooll himself was badly injured,
oeihg beaten over the head with 2
ruooer billy while his assailants were
islHs 10 stun and carry him off: one
OF MS aSsailants was killed and an
oeher seriously wounded, while n
'hl'u' tosether with an American off,
GER giving the name of First Lieut.. C.
n Hrlinth, and an American chauf-
teur, Victor Nelson, were captured
ahu barely escaped lynching at the
hdhus OF the enraged friends and
sympathizers with Bergdoll.
Inc attempt was pulled off late l. G.
night in the dark corridor Of the Ho-
tel fost and Krone. belonging to
hefsoohs cousin. while Bergdon was
gong 10 his room about IL o'clock.
Bites on Mans Thumb.
bersdoll after biting off the thumb
OF one OF the kidnapers, succeeded
In drawing his revolver and freeing
himself. Bergdoll. who ostensiblv has
oeen in Switzerland. has for some
tiHie MADE his headquarters at Zin-
shelm, where he felt himself in grant
er security than in Eberbacb bu,
10 see his mother, who recently ar
rived from America
ihree em1ssaries in the kidnapinv
plot. two Frenchmen and one q Pms
sian. have been scouting around E,har-
bach for the last eight days. snving
out the lay of the land. the Russian
remaining constantly In Eberbach
while the two Frenchmen spent tbeir
nights in Heidelberg to minimize sr.-
pielon and avoid danger Their
visits. however, did not escape notice.
The Frenchmen were summoned nv
the police, ostensibly to obtain nav
ment of the foreigners tax" hut
really TO ascertain their identity. and
thereafter a sharp watch was kent on
them.
Last night they succeeded in enter-
ing the hotel unnoticed and Law In
wait for Bergdoll in a corridor lead
ing TO MS room They attacked him
with rubber slingshots and also tried
to drug him. Bergdoll resisted des-
perately. got the thumb of one of his
assatlants into his mouth during the
struggle and bit it completely off.
Kills AssaiIant.
He finally succeeded In drawing his
revolver and shot one kidnaner de.d
and severely wounded the second The
third, who rushed in, made off. close.
iy followed by gendarmes, and ran
down the Heidelberg road toward the
automobile awaiting the kidnapers
The police arrived before it was DOS
sible to get away and arrested Lieut.
Griffith, Nelson and the Russian.
An angry crowd gathered and
threatened to lynch the prisoners. but
the gendarmes succeeded in LANDING
them in Jail.
The Eberbach population is TODAY
still In very ugly mood, and many
III Sot1 ehi hCdiu, ouI udnger or
violence to the prisoners is believed
past.
The kidnapping attempt was well or
ganized. All the conspirators were
armed. and provided with maps of
Eberbach and the surrounding coun-
try, diagram of the hotel, with the
location of Bergdoll's room and a
supply Of narcotics to be used in
stupefying Bergdoll, and enable them
to get him across the frontier as a
drunken friend, if stopped by the Ger
man frontier police.
DENY ACT OFFICIAL.