THE HORRIBLE GUNNESS FARM.
The Ripened Fruit of the Matrimonial Agency.
But the giant blossom of this plant of hell is not bigamy, not swindling, not desertion; it is murder, wholesale, ghastly murder. For it is the matrimonial agency, nothing else, which is directly responsible for the unbelievable horrors of the Gunness Murder Farm, at Laporte, Ind., the revelation of the existence of which shocked the entire civilized world as it has not been shocked since the time of the Borgias.
This wholesale murderess invariably lured her victims to their fate through advertisements in a "matrimonial paper," or through an agency. She would insert the usual stereotyped "ad." of the wealthy widow lady who desired a mate, but always a mate with money.
Always being able to produce proof that she was well-to-do, it was an easy matter for her to persuade her victims to visit her at the Laporte farm. She invariably stipulated that they should bring a substantial sum with them.
Arriving at the Gunness farm, the prospective suitors were invariably impressed with the evidences of wealth and luxury. After a stay of a few days, during which time the cunning murderess would find out how much money her victim had, and whether he could immediately procure more in the form of cash, the victim would be invited to supper and his food drugged.
He would then be escorted to his room, where he would soon become unconscious. Chloroform was then administered, the body hurled through a chute to the basement, where it would be dismembered and placed in a gunnysack.
The sack would then be taken out and buried in a convenient spot on the farm. It was an inquiry from the brother of one of the victims, Andrew Helgelein, which revealed the whole horrible affair.
THE DEATH HARVESTER.
A Crop on the Gunness Farm.
It is estimated that this woman, through the aid of the matrimonial agencies, murdered more people than any other human being that ever lived. She exceeded the records of the Benders, Holmes, and even those arch-assassins of the middle ages, the Borgias.
Lombroso Discusses Monster.
Dr. Cesare Lombroso, of the University of Milan, the world's greatest criminologist, in discussing this woman, said:
"In general the moral physiognomy of the born female criminal approximates strongly to that of the male. The female criminal is exceedingly weak in maternal feeling, inclined to dissipation, astute and audacious, and dominates weaker beings sometimes by suggestion, and at other times by muscular force; while her love of violent exercise, her vices and even her dress, increase her resemblance to the stronger sex.
"Added to these virile characteristics are often the worst qualities of women; namely, an excessive desire for revenge, cunning cruelty, love of dress and untruthfulness, forming a combination of evil tendencies which often results in a type of extraordinary wickedness. Needless to say these different characteristics are not found in the same proportion in everybody. One criminal will be deficient in intelligence, but possessed of great strength, while another, who is weak physically, triumphs over this obstacle by the ability with which she lays her plans.
"But when, by an unfortunate chance, muscular strength and intellectual force meet in the same individual, we have a female delinquent of a terrible type, indeed.
"In short, we may assume that if female-born criminals are fewer in number than the males; they are usually much more ferocious.
"What is the explanation? We observe that the normal woman is naturally less sensitive to pain than a man, and compassion is the offspring of sensitiveness. If the one be wanting, so will the other be.
"We also find that women have many traits in common with children; that their moral sense is deficient; that they are revengeful, jealous, inclined to vengeances of a refined cruelty.
"In ordinary cases these defects are neutralized by piety, maternity, want of passion, by weakness and an undeveloped intelligence. But when a morbid activity of the psychical centres intensifies the bad qualities of women, and induces them to seek relief in evil deeds; when piety and maternal sentiments are wanting, and in their place are strong passions, much muscular strength and a superior intelligence for the conception and execution of evil, it is clear that the innocuous semi-criminal present in the normal woman must be transformed into the born criminal more terrible than any man.
"What terrific criminals would children be if they had strong passions, muscular strength and sufficient intelligence; and if, moreover, their evil tendencies were exasperated by a morbid intellectual activity! And women are big children; their evil tendencies are much more numerous and more varied than men's, but generally remain latent. When they are awakened and excited they produce results proportionately greater."
List of the Victims.
Below is given a partial list of the victims of this inhuman monster, as it appeared in the Chicago American, Sunday, April 26, 1908:
Partial Catalogue of Mrs. Gunness' 180 Victims.
- 1. Max Sorenson, Mrs. Gunness' first husband—whom she poisoned.
- 2. Peter S. Gunness, second husband, whom she killed with a meat axe.
- 3. Her infant child, whom she strangled to death.
- 4. Miss Justina Loeffler, of Elkhart, Ind., believed to have been married to Johann Hoch and sent by him to Mrs. Gunness to be murdered and buried.
- 5. Olaf Limbo, Norwegian farm hand.
- 6. Ole Budsberg, a hired man, from Iola, Wis.
- 7-9. Three well-known men of Fort Wayne, Ind., who have disappeared in the last two years.
- 10. A horse trader from Montana.
- 11. Jennie Olsen, eighteen years old, adopted daughter of Mrs. Gunness.
- 12. Henry Gurholt, left Scandinavia, Wis., on March 12, 1906, saying he was going to marry Mrs. Gunness.
- 13. George Bradley, forty years old, of Tuscola, Ill., went to La Porte, Ind., October 20 of last year.
- 14. Olaf Lindboe, farm laborer, of Chicago, employed by Mrs. Gunness.
- 15. Lee Porter, of Bartonville, Okla., quarreled with his wife and answered one of Mrs. Gunness' matrimonial "ads."
- 17. Crippled man from Medina, N. D.
- 18-20. Three children of Mrs. Gunness killed or burned in house—Myrtle, aged 11; Lucy, 9; Philip, 5.
- 21. Body of unidentified woman found in ruins of burned house.
- 22. Strange baby left last fall by man and woman, as told by Ray Lamphere, arrested as accomplice of Mrs. Gunness.
- 23. John O. Moe went to La Porte from Elbow Lake, Minn., day before Christmas, 1906, with $1,000.
- 24. Armat Hartoonan, wealthy Armenian rug merchant of Binghamton, N. Y., who went to La Porte in 1906 in answer to a matrimonial "ad."
- 25. Charles Neuberg, of Philadelphia, took $500 and went to visit Mrs. Gunness in June, 1906.
- 26. George Berry, of Tuscola, Ill., went to work for Mrs. Gunness July, 1905. He took $1,500, expecting to marry the widow.
- 27. John A. Lefgren, aged forty-eight, disappeared from the Chicago Club, and is believed to have gone to Mrs. Gunness' farm.
- 28. E. J. Tiefland, retired railroad man, of Minneapolis.
- 29-30. A Los Angeles college professor and wife—names not yet ascertained.
- 31. Andrew K. Helgelein, Aberdeen, S. D., ranchman, the last victim, whose fate led to the discovery of Mrs. Gunness' crimes.
- 32. Charles Edman, farm laborer, from New Carlisle, Ind. Took $3,000 in savings to Mrs. Gunness' home.
- 33. Frank Riedinger, young German farmer, of Delafield, Wis., went to La Porte in February, 1907.
- 34. Babe seen by a neighbor, Mrs. William Diesslen, which afterward disappeared.
- 35. Unknown young woman visitor, seen to go to Gunness house; never accounted for afterward.
- 36. Unknown man, a widower, and his young son, went to Mrs. Gunness' house a year ago—never seen again. One of the bodies found on farm was that of a small boy.
- 37-57. Twenty-one babies entrusted to Mrs. Gunness' care while she was running a "baby farm" on the outskirts of Chicago all disappeared mysteriously.
- 57-180. Other unknown men, women and babies, who went to Chicago and La Porte homes of Mrs. Gunness, and were never seen again, are estimated to bring the grand total of victims up to 180.
This, then, is the crowning work of the matrimonial agency; this horrid burying ground of dismembered bodies, this ghastly charnel pit on an Indiana hillside. By their fruits ye shall know them. In the dread Gunness Farm behold the ripened fruit of the matrimonial agency.
RIDES OUT OF THE CLUTCHES OF MATRIMONY
She Steers Him Straight for the Lily Pond.