Let's have a werewolf hunt

In the Burgundy region of France, 1573, a court issued an official authorisation to anyone fancying a werewolf hunt:

"According to the advertisement made to the sovereign Court of Parliament at Dole, that, in the territories of Espagny, Salvange, Courchapon, and the neighbouring villages, has often been seen and met, for some time past, a were-wolf, who, it is said, has already seized and carried off several little children, so that they have not been seen since, and since he has attacked and done injury in the country to some horsemen, who kept him of only with great difficulty and danger to their persons: the said Court, desiring to prevent any greater danger, has permitted, and does permit, those who are abiding or dwelling in the said places and others, notwithstanding all edicts concerning the chase, to assemble with pikes, halberts, arquebuses, and sticks, to chase and to pursue the said were-wolf in every place where they may find or seize him; to tie and to kill, without incurring any pains or penalties. . . . Given at the meeting of the said Court, on the thirteenth day of the month September, 1573."

This rather extreme call-to-arms was in response to a certain hermit, Gilles Garnier, who had been killing and eating local children. Rumours suggested he had done this many times, and villagers claimed he often preferred to walk on all fours. After the above authorisation was made, he was caught quite literally red-handed after making another kill. When put on trial, Gilles claimed that he had been given an ointment by a man in the forest (classic defence), and this gave him the form of a wolf. He said this was essential, as the new powers made hunting easier and therefore he could feed himself and his wife. Gilles clearly believed he had been a wolf throughout the killings, and detailed many children whom he had devoured in this way. He admitted every charge against him, was found guilty ofthe rare charge of 'lycanthropy' (basically being a werewolf) and burnt to death.

Bad elephant

Mary the Elephant was a kindly, law-abiding elephant - a performer in the Spark's Circus at the turn of the 20th Century. Unfortunately in 1916 her keeper, a Mr Red Eldridge, poked Mary behind the ear while she was trying to eat watermelon. Understandably Mary became enraged, threw him against a drink stand and stomped on his head. The locals were horrified and other nearby towns vowed never to allow the circus in if Mary the Killer Elephant was around. At this point Charlie Sparks, circus owner, realised that he had to take drastic action. What do you do with a bad elephant? Hang it of course. In front of a crowd of bloodthirsty townsfolk, Mary was chained by her neck to an industrial crane and lifted off the ground. The first attempt failed when the chain snapped, breaking her hip and annoying her. The second attempt worked, and after a few minutes Mary had met her maker. She was buried nearby and became the first and possibly the last elephant to be lynched.

And in a brief round-up of other bad elephant history... in 1826 Chunee was executed in London with 152 musket rounds and a sword, and in 1903 Topsy (pictured) was electrocuted by none other than Thomas Eddison himself. The video's on Youtube.

Hmm. Surprising the number of ways you can execute an elephant.

"Mounted Ape from Hell"

I love this picture. The thought of a monkey riding a dog slaughtering 14 people changes the way I see the world. Especially a monkey called Terrence. I want to know - who gave him the sword and hat? Surely they are to blame for this butchery.

Scalping

Somewhere on the plains of western Kansas in the summer of 1864, a wagon train was carrying supplies to Fort Union, New Mexico. As they stopped for an evening meal, they were attacked by a group from the Brule Sioux Indians allegedly led by Chief Little Turtle himself. The soldiers charged with protecting the wagon train had been held up and consequently the wagon teamsters were entirely unprepared for such an attack. Every member of the caravan was brutalized and executed in various grisly ways. When a government scouting party found them, they discovered that Robert McGee, a 13 year old driver, had miraculously survived. He was whisked off to an infirmary where he gradually recovered and became one of the few people in history to have survived being scalped.

32 years later, in an effort to gain a pension, McGee waxed lyrical about the event to the Marshall County Democrat. He claimed that Chief Little Turtle “in a transport of fiendishness” had “knocked (him) to the ground by one blow of his tomahawk… took (his) own pistol and shot him…”, fired two arrows into his back and “others of the band in passing, cut him with their knives and poked holes in him”.
And then he was scalped. He even claimed that he later returned to fight against the Brule Sioux and in a strange coincidence bumped into Little Turtle dead on the battlefield and shot him dead.

Anyway, the point is the guy survived having his scalp cut off, grew a spectacular beard in recompense, and consequently looked like this.


Note: One of the other members of the exclusive “I’ve been Scalped” club, Josiah P. Wilbarger (scalped 1833), said it felt like hearing distant thunder.
Think about that.