Evening Star Newspaper, May 4, 1930, Page 110

Tt 20 THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MAY 4, 1930. - - —— The “Marquis” Who Was Buried Alive Pledged to Punish Notorious Criminals. "The Ordeal of Torture—In the Woods of Verneuil—The Leap of Death and the Shot for Life. EDITOR'S NOTE.—Outside of the pages of Edgar Allan Poe there are few narratives in fiction that have the terri- fying fascination of this true story of the amasing adventures of the “Marquis de Champaubert.” The “Marquis” was & well known crook who had swindled the French public to the tune of many mil- lions of francs, but temporarily disap- peared from view after serving a long term of imprisonment. The story of the whole astounding affair is here published. Mr. Lees has been at great pains to get the details absolutely correct, and to this end the French authorities have permit- ted him to consult official police and other documents. BY FREDERICK LEES. HE “Knights of Themis” started by announcing that they had in their * power the notorious “Marquis de * Champaubert,” a criminal who had € bragged of stealing 287,000,000 francs, a record in the annals of French swin- dling. As an example to other offenders, the “Knights” said they were subjecting their prisoner to prolonged torture—tests of nerve and courage, each more horrible than the other. They were treating their prisoner like a cat playing with a dying mouse, seeking to - . ‘prolong his mental and physical suffering as long as possible before putting him out of his misery. Handing him a list of six different ‘“‘sup- plices” or tests, each of which might easily lead to his death, they gave him the choice of the order in which he would face them. To -spur him on, his torturers exercised a double ipressure on the unfortunate man; at one and -the same time they threatened him with in- :stant destruction should he refuse to act accord- .ing to their wishes, and simultaneously appealed .to his “knightly courage.” According to one communique, Champaubert, :a powerfully built and athletic man, who in his -youth and early manhood took a great part in _field sports, selected the “supplice du saut” as :the first trial of his strength and endurance. *He was obliged to jump no fewer than three -times across an 18-foot dike flled to a depth of 9 feet with quicklime! He was allowed ra 25-yard run, and to fail by an inch meant -that he would be swallowed up and burnt alive. THIS horrible fate he narrowly escaped at his very first jump, only just clearing the distance. It looked extremely doubtful whether he could undertake a second effort; but to the astonishment of his tormentors he quickly re- covered himself and came up to the scratch. .The second time he jumped he cleared the dis- tance of 6 meters 10 centimeters in perfect .style, and after a few minutes’ rest he accom- plished the same feat for the third time. “When he had finished,” runs the aceount “of the “Knights of Themis,” he recovered his -usual self-possession and with folded arms looked at us in silence and with a certain expression on his face which it is impossible ‘to describe.” ‘The next punishment to which the “Knights” alleged they submitted Champaubert was one which they called “The Ordeal of the Three Winchesters.” “Three Winchesters, loaded with ball, are fixed on a special construction and point to a post to which the ‘Marquis’ Is attached in so isecure a manner that he cannot escape,” says the communique. “The triggers are worked simultaneously by means of a spring attached to a Bickford cord. An electrical apparatus Js timed to sever this cord four minutes after -4t is set in motion, and consequently discharge the Winchesters unless the ‘Marquis,” by means ‘of another Winchester, can snap a thin electric wire which transmits the current to produce the spark which severs the cord. . . . Five shots are allowed the victim. If he cannot within four minutes sever the electric wire he is a dead man.” © The document goes on to state that in order to assure against the possibility of Champaubert using his Winchester against his enemies, a “Knight” armed with an automatic pistol was placed near him and instructed to shoot rim like a dog if he showed the slightest intention of playing tricks. Champaubert’s first shot is stated to have hit the target placed behind the wire, but ~missed the latter by about 4 centimeters. After calmly lighting a cigarette and taking a few puffs, he fired again, missing by 3 cen- timeters. He had no better luck with his third shot, and as two minutes had already elapsed he was seen to wrinkle his brow and turn just a shade paler. A fourth time he aimed; almost immediately pressing the trigger, whereupon “there followed a litile spnapping sound accompanied by a sonorous vibration similar to that which is caused by a mandolin string when it breaks. Once more the ‘Marquis de Champaubert’ had escaped death, - “And extraordinary though it may appear,” continues the narrative, “we were almost glad that he had passed through this fresh ordeal successfully. However, there are still others. He always - chooses the one which appears to be the most favorable to him. Those which follow are infinitely more dange R, THE final communique was as follows: “About 6 o'clock on Saturday night we took advantage of the fact that ‘Marquis’ was cool and quiet in his cell to inform him of the fate which awaited him. We explained that we were going to bury him alive, but that in order to make him suffer the pangs of hunger and thirst we were going to allow him to breathe just enough air to sustain animation. He dis- played his usual extraordinary coolness. What- ever his feelings may have been he did not show the slightest emotion. “At a quarter past 8 we placed him in one of our motor cars, and five delegates ap- pointed for the task took him to the place of burial. Half an hour after midnight we dug his grave—a very shallow one. When the grave was dug we offered him his life, and later his liberty, if he would cease his dissimulation and sincerely promise to turn over a new leaf. But the only reply he would make was to shrug his shoulders and smile cynically. I can still hear him as he laughed in the sinister darkness. Then we tore off his clothes, leaving him only his shirt, and forced him into a rough wooden coffin we had brought with us. For the first time he showed signs of repentance and fear. His teeth chattered and he began to babble almost incoherently. “We then closed the lid of the coffin and lowered it into the grave. Through the large pipe with which the coffin was fitted, so that he could obtain a certain amount of air, we could hear him still babbling as we filled the hole in with soil. Our work was completed by 4 o’clock in the morning. For a time he made a good deal of noise, so we told him through the air- tube that if he continued to shout we should stop up the pipe and suffocate him. This was only said, however, to make him think that we were continually watching. As soon as we could hear him no more, we simply left him to his fate, knowing full well that he could not escape and was bound to die in due course. “We consider our action toward this notor- ious enemy of society as a splendid beginning. We are now going to study the cases of other crooks who, like the ‘Marquis de Champaubert,” have not yet fully paid for their crimes. We shall make them suffer the same death, or other punishment we may devise. When the ‘Marquis’s’ tortures and fate become known to the public—and they are sure to come to light very soon—we believe that they will make other people of his type more careful. We will re- sume our communiques when the next victim fulls into our hands.” The prediction that the victim’s fate would “come to light very soon” was fulfilled with startling rapidity. Another document giving precise details as to where the buried man was to be found came through the post to Mme. Passal, mother of the “Marquis.” MME. PASSAL lived at Elbeuf-Saint-Aubin, in the department of Seine-Inferieure, and she received a letter, signed “Mme. d'Orgeval,” explaining that the writer, who had been pri- marily responsible for the capture of the “Mar- quis,” had now repented and decided to do her best to save him. The letter said: “Your son is buried in the Wood of Verneuil, situated between Meulan and Verneuil in the Seine et Oise. To reach the spot where he lies, on leaving Verneuil you take the macadamized road No. 154, which runs from Verneuil to Meu- lan. Skirting the chateau de Verneuil, you fol- low this road and enter the wood of Verneuil. Still following the same road for about 1,500 to 2,000 meters, you will come to a broad white band with two crosses marked upon it, and another cross engraved in the macadam. “At this spot and °xactly on your lef, an- other road has been begun and abandoned—a road with a deep ditch along the right-hand side. Counting about 220 paces along this aban- doned road, you reach the spot where your poor son is buried. His grave is on the right bank, so that the pipe through which he breathes gives on to the ditch of which I have already spoken. It is impossible to make a mistake. Moreover, here is a plan.” At this point a roughly drawn diagram was given. Then the writer went on to explain at great length the reasons which had impelled her to act in this way; pity and love, she said, had touched her heart., She feared, however, that her action might lead to reprisals on the part of her accomplices, so she had fled in her car, leaving behind at a notary’s a will giving a list of the names of the “Knights of Themis,” in case any fatality should happen to her, On reading this letter, as may be imagined, the mother’s heart was stricken with sudden and overwhelming grief, for it confirmed in every respect a communication which she had received many days before, but which she con- sidered so fantastic that she had put it aside almost without a tremor. So many times before had she received mysterious missives from her poor wayward lad! This was but another of his escapades, she had thought, though after his W DERDANIE RD The grave was dug—I can still hear him as he laughed. recent long term of imprisonment he had faith- fully promised to turn over a new leaf. This letter, dated September 22 and written in Cle- ment Passal’s own hand, ran, in part, as fol- lows: “From X——. - “Sunday Morning, 22 Sept. “My Dear and Beloved Old Mother: “My heart is full of sadness for you as I send you this letter, which will doubtless be the last you will ever receive from me. “At the present moment I am the prisoner of a powerful secret society, whose program con- sists in punishing big crooks who, according to the members, have not paid their full debt to the general public. “I have been condemned to death and must submit to terrible ordeals with that object in view. “The choice of these ordeals it left to me, but there are some which are unsurmountable. Two horrible ones have to be faced today and, as I fear I shall not succeed, I send you this last letter. I have asked that after I am dead my gold watch and the various articles I took with me be restored to you. Treasure them piously in memory of your poor son, who all his life has idolized you. “I regret nothing I have done, although you do not know a twentieth part of my adventures and swindles. I have never voluntarily done harm to the weak and poor, having always at- tacked the rich or powerful who had the strength and intelligence to struggle against me—always a solitary agent. That eases my conscience to the full, and I am full of courage. ...I do not tremble at the idea of death...You can see that for yourself from my writing. “I do not know even where I am and if I did know it would be impossible for me at this time to tell you. On reaching Deauville last Tues- day I was placed in the position of being able to do nothing, and was taken on a run many hours in a motor car to this place. “I embrace you for the last time with the love I have ever shown you—I embrace you to in- finity! “Good-by! Good-by! Be courageous and pardon me. o e Confirmation of this autograph message stared poor Mme, Passal in the face as she trembling- ly finished the one from “Mme. d'Orgeval.” There and then she rushed away to seek the help of her friends. Knowing full well her son’s unfortunate past, she realized that once more he was in the direst trouble. This time her poor deluded Clement seemed to be in im- minent danger of being snatched away from her forever. The two other recipients of the “D’'Orgeval” letter, couched in almost similar terms, had also come to the conclusion that immediate action was necessary. These two men—both inhabitants of Saint- Aubin—who had likewise received letters from “Mme. d'Orgeval” stating that Clement Passal, the pseudo-“Marquis de Champaubert,” had been buried alive, and indicating the exact locality by means of a plan, were M. Bachelet, the village grocer, and M. Pierre Durot, a trav- eling showman. The former, responding to the heartrending entreaties of Mme. Passal, de- cided to lose not a moment in trying to save his friend. Taking the first train for Paris, he reached the Gare St. Lazare late on the evening of October 3. With adl speed he taxied to the house of a certain M. Henri Guyvallet, a friend who was in the motor car trade and lived at 12 Rue Jouet, Maisons-Alfort. Guyval- let himself knew the “Marquis,” whose real name was Clement Passal, and agreed that no8 a moment was to be lost. Getting out his motor cycle, Guyvallet told Bachelet to jump on behind, and away they went at full speed, in the darkness of the night and amidst torrets of rain, in the direction of the Wood of Verneuil. On reaching the macadamized road which skirts the Chateau de Verneuil they dismounted and by the light of the motor cycle lamp sought “for the distinguishing marks referred to in the “D'Orgeval” letter—no very easy task in the pitch darkness and driving rain. At last, how- ever, they came upon the painted or chalked white band and the crosses they sought. Following the trail for some 300 yards, cone tinually stumbling over tree-roots and stones, they came at last to an open space, with a ditch and rudely made paths such as builders’ men make when cutting up an estate into plots. And, indeed, this was a building lot, one of a number in that part of the Wood of Verneuil known as the “Bois de la Justice.” Searching around, with the aid of the lamp, they presently came across the grave. There could be no doubt about it, for out of the newly~ turned earth at their feet protuded the pipe, communicating with the coffin. Bending down to the mouth of the pipe, Bachelet called out in a loud voice: “Clement! Can you hear me? ., .. Clement! Answer, man, for heaven’s sake! . . . Clement? Clement!” Twenty times the agitated man shouted, but there came no answer. Guyvallet began to moan and tremble, and Bachelet, in a broken voice, expressed the fear that it was all over with poor Passal. It was no use wasting any more time, he added; the best thing to do was to jump on the motor cycle again, seek out the nearest gendarmerie-station, that of Ecquee villy, and give information concerning the abominable crime that had been committed by persons unknown. By the time Bachelet and Guyvallet had dragged the chef de brigade of the:Ecquevilly gendarmerie from his bed, made the astounded officer acquainted with the details of the situae tion, and returned to “Justice Wood” with ane other gendarme, armed with pick and shovel, day had just begun to dawn—a gloomy, rainy day, in the pale light of which they began their lugubrious task. HARDLY had they removed a few shovelfuls of earth from the grave before a number of builders’ laborers, working in the neighbore hood, were attracted by the unusual noise in that part of the wood and joined them. Thanks to the joint efforts of the whole party, the coffin was reached within a quarter of an hour. When the last traces of muddy earth had been scraped away this coffin was found to be a roughly-constructed box of white wood, fastened together with screws and long nails. It was so cumbersome and heavy that the laborers had great difficulty in moving it, and only succeeded in raising it to the surface of the aund by means of their picks and long iron The coffin lid was ripped off in a trice, ree vealing the dead body of a man dressed merely in a shirt and socks, and with a pair of trousers under his head as a pillow. Above his head was the mouth of the pipe which led from the coffin to the out air. In addition to this means of keeping him alive for a certain time the rescuers found traces of food, including some sticks of chocolate, which the damp had re- duced to a semi-liquid mass. In one of the pockets of the dead man’s trousers was found his photograph, bearing the Continued on Twenty-second Page