Who was the best witness to have seen Jack the Ripper?

[GUT]

I wonder just what it was about the man's appearance that Mrs Fiddymont found frightening.

Was it merely the blood spots on the back of his hand?

It doesn't seem enough of itself, to me.

[lynn cates]

The eyes have it.

Hello GUT. Great question. But one need look no further than the description of his eyes.

Cheers.
LC

[GUT]

G'day Lynn

Could be, I just wonder if there is a fuller account of what scared her about him floating around that I have not read or absorbed.

[Sam Flynn]

Could be, I just wonder if there is a fuller account of what scared her about him floating around.

That'd be it - he was floating around. Enough to frighten anyone.

Or have I misread you?

[GUT]

G'day Sam

[Sunbury]

I find Mrs Fiddymont interesting as she seems to corroborate Mrs Long,

For example Hutchinson's JtR could equally have been wearing a pink tutu and skipping sprinkling fairy dust for all the relevance his description matters. Yet millions of words get written on the shape of the hat JtR wore (it was probably a tiara).

No one probably ever saw JtR clearly but common sense (to me) would be ask a simple question.

How many among the pantheon of primary witnesses are there that have a secondary witness independently confirm their description?

[lynn cates]

Twinkle, twinkle, . . .

Hello GUT. Thanks.

I paste below the story from "The Star" 10 September.

Cheers.
LC

There are two general clues to the murderer at the present time. The first deals with the famous, or infamous "Leather Apron," whose name is on everybody's lips in the Whitechapel district. The case against "Leather Apron," briefly summed up, is as follows: - That the murders are evidently the work of a maniac, and this man is quite crazy enough to fall within that class. His beastly brutality, manifested in his attacks on Whitechapel street-walkers are quite in keeping with the late fiendish deeds. He disappeared from his accustomed haunts just about the time of the George-yard murder, has not been in any of the lodging-houses in which he has slept for years, and since that murder has been seen only once or twice in a district in which he is known by sight to many. Furthermore a man exactly answering his description was found one night sleeping on the steps in the very house and in the very passage through which the victim of Saturday was led to her death. Jews who are driven to sleep in passage ways are not common even in Whitechapel, and there is little question that the party with the Hebrew face who was found asleep in the passage at 29, Hanbury-street, was the redoubtable "Leather Apron."



THE OTHER CLUE


is that of the man who went into the Prince Albert public-house with bloody hands, a torn shirt, and a bloodstreak on his neck. Mrs. Chappell, who saw the man along with Mrs. Fiddymont, was a customer, not friend of the latter, and the two stories of the man, which were independent of each other, agreed perfectly. Mrs. Fiddymont yesterday added to her previous statement the fact that the back of the man's head was grimy, as if it had been bloody, and had been dampened or spit upon in the endeavor to rub the blood off instead of washing it. The dried blood between the fingers was thus clear, though the back of the hand held only three or four small distinct spots. The man did not look in the least like a butcher, and no theory born of his appearance could account for his bloody hands at seven a.m.

Joseph Taylor also had some facts to add to his account of Saturday. Mr. Taylor is a cautious and entirely reliable man, and freely told all he knew to two detectives on Saturday. He says that as he entered the public-house Mrs. Fiddymont said that a man had just left whom she would like to give in charge on suspicion of the murder. Taylor went out a moment later without any particular intention of



FOLLOWING THE MAN,


whom Mrs. Chappell pointed out to him. The man was going towards Bishopsgate, however, and, as this was Taylor's direction, he increased his pace.

"It was all I could do to overtake him," he said yesterday, "and I am not a bad walker myself. The man walked very rapidly, however, with a peculiar springy walk that I would recognise again. He carried himself very erect, like a horse soldier. He had a ginger-colored moustache, longer than mine and curling a little at the ends. His shoulders were very square and his neck rather long. He was neither stout nor thin, and seemed between 30 and 40 years old. His face was medium in stoutness. There were faint hollows under the cheekbones. One thing that impressed me was that the man



SEEMED BEWILDERED.


He crossed Brushfield-street three times in going from the Prince Albert to the next street, which was Bishopsgate. He clearly did not know where he was going. When he reached Bishopsgate, he stood at the corner and looked up and down the street undecided. Then he made up his mind and started across Brushfield-street rapidly, and kept on down Bishopsgate towards Liverpool-street. I followed as far as Half-Moon street, where my work was, and watched him for some time from the corner, but he kept straight on. I assure you that when I came alongside of him his look was enough to frighten any woman. His eyes were wild-looking and staring. He held his coat together at the chin with both hands, the collar being buttoned up, and everything about his appearance was exceedingly strange.

[GUT]

G'day Lynn

Thanks for that.

[lynn cates]

Hello GUT. Thanks.

The pleasure was all mine.

Cheers.
LC

[Beowulf]

Incredible accounts, Lynn.

What do you think? Really the Ripper?

[lynn cates]

yes

Hello Barbara. Thanks.

If by that you mean Polly and Annie's assailant, yes.

Cheers.
LC

[Beowulf]

Hello Barbara. Thanks.

If by that you mean Polly and Annie's assailant, yes.

Cheers.
LC

I understand where you are coming from. There is no proof of his being the Ripper, murderer of other murders.

But I certainly have never had the, shall I say 'pleasure' of reading that copy before.

Chilling.

Interesting to note his 'ginger' mustache.

[lynn cates]

ginger

Hello Barbara. Thanks.

"Interesting to note his 'ginger' mustache."

Yes indeed. Besides the colour of his moustaches, note the description of his eyes.

Cheers.
LC

[Beowulf]

Worth repeating.

Hello GUT. Thanks.

I paste below the story from "The Star" 10 September.

Cheers.
LC

There are two general clues to the murderer at the present time. The first deals with the famous, or infamous "Leather Apron," whose name is on everybody's lips in the Whitechapel district. The case against "Leather Apron," briefly summed up, is as follows: - That the murders are evidently the work of a maniac, and this man is quite crazy enough to fall within that class. His beastly brutality, manifested in his attacks on Whitechapel street-walkers are quite in keeping with the late fiendish deeds. He disappeared from his accustomed haunts just about the time of the George-yard murder, has not been in any of the lodging-houses in which he has slept for years, and since that murder has been seen only once or twice in a district in which he is known by sight to many. Furthermore a man exactly answering his description was found one night sleeping on the steps in the very house and in the very passage through which the victim of Saturday was led to her death. Jews who are driven to sleep in passage ways are not common even in Whitechapel, and there is little question that the party with the Hebrew face who was found asleep in the passage at 29, Hanbury-street, was the redoubtable "Leather Apron."



THE OTHER CLUE


is that of the man who went into the Prince Albert public-house with bloody hands, a torn shirt, and a bloodstreak on his neck. Mrs. Chappell, who saw the man along with Mrs. Fiddymont, was a customer, not friend of the latter, and the two stories of the man, which were independent of each other, agreed perfectly. Mrs. Fiddymont yesterday added to her previous statement the fact that the back of the man's head was grimy, as if it had been bloody, and had been dampened or spit upon in the endeavor to rub the blood off instead of washing it. The dried blood between the fingers was thus clear, though the back of the hand held only three or four small distinct spots. The man did not look in the least like a butcher, and no theory born of his appearance could account for his bloody hands at seven a.m.

Joseph Taylor also had some facts to add to his account of Saturday. Mr. Taylor is a cautious and entirely reliable man, and freely told all he knew to two detectives on Saturday. He says that as he entered the public-house Mrs. Fiddymont said that a man had just left whom she would like to give in charge on suspicion of the murder. Taylor went out a moment later without any particular intention of



FOLLOWING THE MAN,


whom Mrs. Chappell pointed out to him. The man was going towards Bishopsgate, however, and, as this was Taylor's direction, he increased his pace.

"It was all I could do to overtake him," he said yesterday, "and I am not a bad walker myself. The man walked very rapidly, however, with a peculiar springy walk that I would recognise again. He carried himself very erect, like a horse soldier. He had a ginger-colored moustache, longer than mine and curling a little at the ends. His shoulders were very square and his neck rather long. He was neither stout nor thin, and seemed between 30 and 40 years old. His face was medium in stoutness. There were faint hollows under the cheekbones. One thing that impressed me was that the man



SEEMED BEWILDERED.


He crossed Brushfield-street three times in going from the Prince Albert to the next street, which was Bishopsgate. He clearly did not know where he was going. When he reached Bishopsgate, he stood at the corner and looked up and down the street undecided. Then he made up his mind and started across Brushfield-street rapidly, and kept on down Bishopsgate towards Liverpool-street. I followed as far as Half-Moon street, where my work was, and watched him for some time from the corner, but he kept straight on. I assure you that when I came alongside of him his look was enough to frighten any woman. His eyes were wild-looking and staring. He held his coat together at the chin with both hands, the collar being buttoned up, and everything about his appearance was exceedingly strange.

[GUT]

When I read that post I knew that I had read it before, but for the life of me didn't remember the part about the eyes.