A SERIES OF MURDERS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1726, 28 December 1887, Page 3

A SERIES OF MURDERS

Vibnsa, October 29.— At Gumv •>, on the Danube, an accident haa rocent'y \< d to the dhcovery of a series of systematic and wholesale murders. The circumstances under whloh they were perpetrated were as follows :— Numerous peasants and workmen from the Interior of Ronmaula have bean ia the habit of crossing the -Danube at the above mentioned port for the purpose of seeking labor lv Bulgaria. Bat on their return journey with their savings, fe»rlrg indlaereet questions on the part of the Roumanian customs officiate, tho travellers bare for a long time past evaded the Utter by landing on a sraaU island m tho Danube, whither they were rowed by Turkish or Bulgarian boatsmen, mostly during the night. From this island it vu possible to reach the Roumanian ihore In different ways, unnoticed by tho authorities. Seme time ago a soldier •ocldentally walking on the banks of the s?er heard terrible screams l«sumg «p. patently from some reeds near this 1bI%nd. After » sllenoe of several hours similar screams were again heard by persons whom the soldier had called to the ■pot. On the police proceeding thither, they found that on both occasions persons crossing the river and landing on the {•land had been murdered by their boatmen, a comprehensive inquiry was now Instituted by the Roumanian Dlrec-tor-Oeneral of Customs, .Polpuoano, the result of whl«h has been to establish with eertalnlty that hundreds of workmen or peasants have been murdered on the bland at the moment of landing, and were then robbed of tbe money and goods they had with them, their corpses being either burled In praveß already prepared or thrown among the reeds In the Danube, Id all canes the murderers were Turkish or Bulgarian boatmen from Rustohuk, who carried concealed under their clothes the knives and daggers with whloh they despatched their victims, one after another, as they set foot m the dead of night, on tbe lonely Island m the Danube,