Jack the Ripper in the Spanish Press

[Robert St Devil]

Based on an excellent suggestion.

These do not represent my best efforts since these articles have been googlated. Rather they only present a generalization of their content, which remains intact and perceivable. In some instances, an ellipsis is noted, indicating a section of the article that has been removed. I can only state that the removed section is a typical local refrain that offers no significance to the translation. The sardonic is a thread commonly woven into the fabric of each news column; and, Spanish journalists offer no hesitations in appending their news-piece with a quib. In other instances, an ellipsis may represent a section that is similar yet better described in another newspaper. Possibly, at a future date, I may provide accurate translations along with more reports. Also, for now, I avoid articles (the few if any!) regenerated from London newspapers. Spain shared a personal experience with Jack the Ripper, which represents the theme of this thread. Any emphasis is my own.

Of interest. Was the bogeyman of Jack the Ripper created in the foreign press?
Unlike their British counterparts, who permit an ounce of humanity to each of the Whitechapel murderer's victims by publishing the interviews of friends and acquaintances, victimology (I noticed) is apparently lacking from the Spanish press. Rather, Jack the Ripper is a sexual monster, a miserable perverted character whose name alone summons not only a specter of this baneful saint of chastity & promiscuity… but also a supreme failure on behalf of the elegant British police services. For instance, the “last murdered woman” Jenny Kelly was ripped either at night or in the morning; but for certain, she met her doom at the merciless hands of Juan the Ripper. An eventual "however", the Spanish press will soon refer to him by his English-christened name: Jack.

[Robert St Devil]

A Den of Rippers

La Iberia, 31/12/1888
The notorious author of the horrendous murders of women in London continues to speak. The latest news from him in the foreign papers relates to a letter received these days by the Berlin police chief, Herr Richthofien, dated in London and signed by Jack the Ripper. In that letter the mysterious man makes a sinister promise that, given the antecedents, worry the Berlin police, of which the letter says that "we will see if its more advised than the one of London." The letter to which we refer says That in a short time the female ripper, determined to widen the field of operations. He will arrive in Berlin and resume the work undertaken by him in the capital of England.
From Brussels they also telegraphed to a foreign newspaper that in that capital 27 letters of Jaime the Ripper were received for the king, the ministers and the police chiefs, announcing that very soon he will give evident indications of his presence in the capital of Belgium . Thus in Berlin and in Brussels this news has produced a profound impression, which will perfectly explain those of our readers who have followed the history of the horrendous feats of that monster, which already enjoys universal celebrity.


La Republica, 02/01/1889
We read in a newspaper in Barcelona:
"On the French border of the Aran valley a traveler has been arrested who, by the mystery surrounding him, is presumed to be the ripper of women who has planted so much consternation in the Whitechapel district of London. In his luggage, letters and objects have been found that bind him. This important capture was verified by the Spanish authorities, at the instance of an English police officer who followed him on the track. The correspondent who transmits the news adds that the detainee is a distinguished person.”


El Liberal, 21/01/1889
The sad work of the English criminal known vulgarly by the female ripper, has alarmed the provinces of Almeria and Corona, where events that have just occurred have led the simple inhabitants of these provinces to believe that they are by the famous assassin. In Almeria, on the outskirts of Carboneras, the corpse of a girl with an open belly was found. This infamous crime is of great concern to the authorities who have not been able to discover the author or authors of such an inhuman deed. In Cordova three children have disappeared from their homes, the eldest of which is seventeen years old and a two-and-a-half year old girl named Pilar. There is no news of their whereabouts, and it is therefore unknown.
But for women, there is no one to take away from their heads that the ripper is in the neighborhood, and neither the cigarette girls, nor the servants, nor any young woman dares to leave her house when it gets dark, and they bar the doors and windows to avoid the visit of he who has infused so much fear in them. Among the people of the town circulate the strangest versions, speaking even of an anonymous letter addressed to the governor in which the ripper points out to the women who are to be victims of his ferocity. We expect that the governor of the Coruna will be in charge of calming the minds, reminding to the inhabitants of Corunal that according to a telegram of the Agency Fabra, the Ripper Jack is imprisoned in the United States and demanded by the English authorities. As for the crime of Almeria, it is necessary that the authorities do not rest for a moment until they discover the author or authors to stop the well-founded alarm of the neighborhood and to comply with the law


Diario oficial de avisos de Madrid, 23/01/1889
In La Coruna,… the most magnificent versions have been circulated, among which the belief that the author of the abductions is the famous English ripper who produced so much panic in the Whítechapel neighborhood of London


EL Pais, 26/01/1889
In La Coruña they are convinced that the reputed London ripper has disembarked there…


La Correspondencia de España, 28/01/1889
In Ferrol there is still talk of ripper. For many it is already obvious that the famous criminal has walked these days his terrifying personality in the streets of La Coruña. And some people say that he has already passed the Marola and currently lives and drinks in Ferrol…


La Iberia, 03/02/1889
Like the events in Coruña, where a few days ago the presence of Jack, the Ripper, rumor has begun to circulate in Orense, particularly among the domestic ones, which, at night, no longer dare go out to the street for fear of having an encounter with the ferocious murderer. And not only in Orense, but also the strange monomania has spread like a contagion to Hutilva, where it is added that the famous Jack kills women to eat the kidneys, which apparently is an extreme affinity for him.


El Liberal, 11/02/1889
According to the Department of San Fernando, the sensational news of the women's ripper is also in the city…


La Epoca, 17/02/1889
We read in a newspaper that the Tunisian police have captured a gang of thieves and murderers including Jack, London's famous female ripper. It is added that the representative of England near the bey of Tunisia has claimed the said individual, giving the account to his Government of his capture by the Tunisian police.


El Dia, 21/02/1889
The Corunna newspapers say that the women of that capital, who fear the presence of the English ripper, must be relieved because the two-and-a-half-year-old girl named Pilar, who had disappeared from her house, has been found and given to her parents.

[Robert St Devil]

The Recognition of Pigott

La Iberia, 06/03/1889

PIGOTT RECOGNITION
In the express [train] of France arrived yesterday to Madrid a commissioner of the British Police, commissioned to identify the corpse of the suicide of the Hotel of Embajadores and an agent as Interpreter [Mr. Lowe]. These officials, accompanied by the judge of the Southern District, who is the one who understands the case, the clerk of the court, the consul of England and the owner of the hotel, were constituted, shortly after noon, in the Judicial Deposit for practice the diligence of recognition. This one was of short duration, because at the first [sight] the commissioner stated that the corpse before him was Pigott.
The Interrogatories
The owner of the Hotel de Embajadores was questioned in the first place. He declared that he was in the presence of the corpse of the guest who committed suicide in room number 3 of his hotel at the moment when a delegate of the governor of the province invited him to follow him to find out a matter that might interest him.
Then followed the interrogation of Mr. Quinn, which is the name of the English police commissioner. The questions and answers that crossed between the judge and the English commissioner were the ones that we reproduced below:

Judge.-Do you know the corpse in front of you?
Mr. Quinn. Yes, sir. It's Mr. Pigott's.
"No doubt?
"No doubt about it.
"So this gentleman was never Roland Ponsonby?
"No, sir, it's always been Pigott.
"And where did you know him from?
"I have seen him in England and Ireland.
"How long have you seen him for the last time?
"Ten days ago I saw him declaring before the Special Commission of the Supreme Court of Justice, which understands in the proceedings for crimes committed against members of Parliament and other persons constituted in high official hierarchy.
"And you know what Pigott was saying?
"He declared, as a favorable witness to the periodical The Times, in the case, which had been prompted by a series of slanderous letters published by that newspaper, in which he accused Parnell, Mr. O'Kelly, and other members of Parliament as instigating the Humble Society "The Invincibles", which was intended to undermine the lives of other people.
"Where was Pigott?
"I can not swear, I think he was from Dublin.
"How old would he be?
"Fifty-four years
"Do you know if he had a family?
"I think he had some children.
"What did Pigott do?
"He was the director and owner of The Ireman newspaper; Later he sold this newspaper, and lately it is not known what he did, nor if he did something, although it was supposed that he wrote in several newspapers.

At the end of this interrogation, the minutes of the diligence were extended, signing the judge with Messrs. Macpherson, Quinn and Garcia Alba.

The Inspector Mr. P. Quinn
Inspector Mr. P. Quinn is thirty-four years old, and has served for sixteen years in the Police Corps, where he was admitted for having performed, as an unofficial character, important services in London and other towns in England . Since Pigott had begun to appear in the Times-Parnell process, Mr. Quinn received an order to watch over him. He did not miss a single point of view, and gave an exact account of the time he left London and the steps he had taken before leaving the city.

The Autopsy and Pigott Burial.
At the disposition of the Court the autopsy was carried out on the body of Pigott by Dr. Adriano Alonsio Martinez, and then the mortal remains of the suicide were buried in the civil cemetery. The costs of burial have been borne by the embassy of England.

Back to London.
Yesterday Mr. Quinn and the agent who accompanied him as interpreter returned to London, taking with him the revolver that Pigott served to commit suicide, the checkbook, two letters, a handbag, 19 pesetas in cash, the Scapular of which we have spoken and keys recently found, in order to unite all these objects to the summary that is instructed in London.

{On a side note: There was minor controversy if Pigott should be buried in a Catholic cemetery. He was a Catholic, as evidenced by his scapular; however, he had committed the mortal sin of suicide.
Also. Mr MacPherson was the Spanish interpreter..}

[David Orsam]

El Liberal, 21/01/1889... In Almeria, on the outskirts of Carboneras, the corpse of a girl with an open belly was found. This infamous crime is of great concern to the authorities who have not been able to discover the author or authors of such an inhuman deed.

That's interesting Robert - I'm not sure if it's been mentioned in the Ripper literature that there was a Ripper type murder in Spain in Jan 1889.

[David Orsam]

Also. Mr MacPherson was the Spanish interpreter.

The mystery man Macpherson was one of the British Consuls in Spain. I don't think I've ever seen the name of the interpreter, although it might be in one of the reports somewhere.

[Robert St Devil]

Yes, Mr MacPherson is described as a man with a great command of the spanish language. I might assume that he provided the translations between Judge Saavedra and Mr. Quinn. From what I gather, Mr. Lowe was the French interpreter. I have just found the name of the spanish authority who attempted to arrest Pigott in the Ambassador Hotel (El Hotel de Embajadores)

I will have to research that murder to see if any details were provided. Also, I am thinking the reference to La Coruna is indicating Corona.

[Robert St Devil]

El Dia, 23/09/92

Telegram from San Sebastian to a colleague:
A few days ago, an order was received from the Minister of the Interior, ordering the capture of the French subject Laurent du Laugousko, claimed by the French embassy. Extradition was granted. The minister highly recommended this catch. Here it was known that such individual received letters in the mailing list with the supposed name of D. Pedro Moket. Today a gentleman came to pick up the letters for this Mr. Moket. The police stopped him and he went to the inspection, where he identified his personality proving to be the Baron de Mories, Italian title. He said that the person for whom the letters were [D. Pedro Moket] was staying with him at Ezcurra's hotel, where the police immediately found him lying on the bed. The stranger refused to follow the police. Then he begged the police to leave him only three minutes; But as the inspector in charge of his arrest was precisely the same one who had the same order in Madrid for the celebrated forger Pigott, who committed suicide in the hotel of Ambassadors, refused to leave him alone, watching him while he dressed. They bound him side by side, and so he entered the prison at ten o'clock at night. The detainee is a young man of twenty-nine, of a distinguished type. He dress very elegantly. He had arrived from Bilbao, where he had been in the Arenas for fifteen days with the Baron de Mories after having been here a few summer days. When arrested, he was found with 5,150 pesetas. The inspector who has arrested him is called Vissiers. The curiosity of the people is excited by the mystery of this detention. Suppose that this is a serious matter because of the interest that the minister had in the prison of the unknown. His luggage has been stored until tomorrow.

[Robert St Devil]

La Iberia, 21/08/1890

Jack the Ripper
Mysterious disappearance of the Whitechapel killer

Everyone will remember the crimes committed in London by an incognito killer and baptized by the English newspapers with the nickname of Jack the Ripper. The audacity and cynicism of this wretch inspired for some months a veritable terror to the entire female population of Whitechapel. The most insane assumptions and the most unlikely hypotheses were put into circulation by the newspapers of that country, which, in spite of their detailed investigations, failed, as did the police, to establish the identity of the murderer.
Sometimes it was said that he was a maniac who, for a purpose not well defined, engaged in odious surgical operations; At other times he was assured that he was a satyr who sated his monstrous passions on the public women who abound in that neighborhood.
The case was, in summary, that the police searches were useless.
Meanwhile, the crimes were perpetrated on dates indicated in advance by the mysterious Jack.
He often announced through the newspapers that on such a night a woman would be gutted in a certain street.
Then one day Jack disappeared.
No one knew yet what to attribute to his sudden disappearance, had chance not yet made known the outcome of such a tragic adventure.

The Mandarin Aud-Ju.
Last year, the company of one of the principal theaters of Paris went to London to give a series of representations.
As soon as they were installed in a little room in Arundell square, the artists Adrien B ... and Georges C ... organized séances for their leisure time.
Georges, who had long since been initiated into the secrets of that doctrine, evoked the spirits. Adrien, less convinced, was rather curious about his friend's favorite pastime, who spoke almost every night with a Mandarin named Aud-Ju, who was guillotined in Paris in 1793. One morning Georges, who knew English, read with indignation in the Times a letter from Jack the Ripper announcing a new murder by Thursday of the following week.
That letter was addressed to the director of the London police.
Naturally, the fearsome murderer was the subject of the conversation of the two young men, who wondered how such crimes could remain unpunished, and to whom the impotence of the police astonished.
They were still talking about Jack, when it was time to start his session.
Aud-Ju was summoned, and resumed the conversation at the point where he left off the day before, when suddenly Georges, concerned about the Times letter, asked him if he could reveal the place where the murderer was.
Without hesitation the spirit replied:
"Whitechapel ... Betsy Street ... butcher and grocer of groceries."
The precision of the answer frightened Adrien, who felt himself shaken by a nervous tremor and fell faint in an armchair.
Georges looked at his friend without speaking a word, his eyes lost, in a kind of cataleptic stupidity.
The next morning Georges participated in the project which he had conceived during the night.
It was no less than to go and tell the police director the scene of the day before.
The discussion between the two friends was very long.
"If they receive us, I fear much will not happen," said Adrien, "they will call us mad."
Nevertheless, Georges insisted in such a way that he finally convinced his companion.
Moments later they took a cab, asking that he would take them to Scotland Yard.

In Scotland Yard
The police director, who had applauded them many times, received them with the greatest kindness
And Georges gave them the motive of his visit.
At the sound of Jack the Ripper's name, the police director’s face, which had hitherto been laughing, was clouded like that of a man who is talking about something he dislikes in the extreme.
Without seeming to notice this circumstance, Georges resolutely began his story.
When the director heard about Aud-Ju, believing it to be a joke, he became uneasy
When the young comic finished, he answered with a smile:
"I appreciate the intention; But there is a small detail that detracts from the value of your reports; Because Betsy Street does not exist in Chapel.”
"Are you sure?"
“Very sure. The mandarin has been wrong, and now you will be convinced.”
The director rose, rang a bell, and addressed the servant who entered:
"Tell Mr. Wardle to please come." "He is an agent," he said to Georges, "an agent who knows the neighborhood we are talking about in its smallest recesses. Ask him yourselves, " he said, pointing to the officer standing in the doorway with the utmost respect.
"We would like to know," said the young man, "if there is a street called Betsy in Whitechapel. The director says no. I hold the opposite.”
"You're both right, sirs.”
"What do you say?" The director asked.
"You're right," replied Mr. Wardle, "because there is no such street officially named Betsy. But the gentleman is not wrong, because I know an alley that the inhabitants of the neighborhood have baptized in that way in memory of an old drunk who lived their four years ago.”
The three men were astonished.
After dismissing the agent the director said to the comedians:
"I confess it is a rare coincidence."
"And I would swear," replied Georges, "that we will find a store of meat and groceries on Betsy street."
"I'm going to convince myself by sending a detective there immediately."
"Will you let us go with him?"
“With great pleasure, and believe me that even if I do not trust in the result of this diligence, I greatly appreciate the communication you have given me.”

A walk through Whitechapel.
Mr. Wardle, followed by Georges and Adrien, hired a car, which took them to the entrance of Whitechapel, where they all went down into that ignoble neighborhood.
Soon the agent stopped at a very narrow alley with hardly five or six houses in such a state of ruin that the inhabitants lived and slept outdoors.
Some of the more industrious had built huts, in which they camped, with the remains of those ruins similar to those that the shipwrecked build with the remains of a ship.
Following the advice that the agent had given them along the way, Adrien and Georges pretended to stroll like curious in the midst of those unfortunates who, far from fearing visitors, watched them closely. "If we find the carnage and if the man is in it, will you come back to stop him today?" Georges asked in a low voice.
"Without proof, without orders, impossible!"
"You forget that a new murder is announced for Thursday?"
The agent smiled in an indefinable way and said:
"Do not worry. From now until then ... we would have already thought of it [or, we are considering everything.].
They had walked the length of Betsy Street, and as the two actors could not find the smallest tent, they turned to their companion and saw with surprise that he was extremely pale.
Without losing his cold-bloodedness, Wardle spoke loudly and in English so that the suspicious-looking people would hear him. Surrounded:
"You're not going anywhere, gentlemen"
And in a low voice he added to Georges' ear:
"The third house on the right."
With an indifference as well feigned as circumstances permitted, they followed.
The designated house was a kind of dismantled shed and black, as tho it had just suffered a fire. There was nothing left of the roof but the skeleton of the armor. The windows without glass-panes and without frames, allowed them to see the half-sunken roofs through their wide hollows.
The shop was a dark zaquizamí without cover.
Some pieces of meat were mixed about on a table that occupied the center. There were boxes of tea and packages of [spark plugs/bujias] attached to the wall.

Is it Jack?
A man, whose silhouette was vague, was sitting at the table and seemed to be reading a newspaper very carefully.
In order to see in that semi-darkness the man, who was tall, thin and had his hair cut with scissors, had his back turned to the door and the newspaper lifted so that it received a little light.
Georges read the title in astonishment.
It was the Times!
As soon as they left Whitechapel Wardle left the two young men hastily and said to them,
"The director will call if he deems it necessary."

The killer doesn’t word keep his word
Thursday, the day fixed for the crime. Georges, who had not heard of the arrest of Jack the Ripper, returned to the director of the police.
This time he was not received.
He spent the night in mortal restlessness.
The artists to whom this affair was highly passionate were so agitated that they could not remain in the house and, after traveling the city in all directions, returned with fatigue.
As soon as the newspapers were put up for sale, they were bought.
They did not notice any murder.
The murderer had not kept his word.
A week went by.
On the eve of their departure, Adrien and Georges could not resist the desire to return to Whitechapel.
The store was empty.
They asked a woman who had made her home in the corridor and asked her what had happened to the butcher.
The old woman winked without speaking; Then, overwhelmed with questions and seducing her with the offer of a shilling, she murmured with fear:
"He has had a quarrel two days ago with some individuals who have sent him away."
At once Georges in Wardle's phrase came to the memory of Georges :
"From now until then ... we would have already thought of it.
Since that time there has been talk of Jack the Ripper again.

[David Orsam]

Yes, Mr MacPherson is described as a man with a great command of the spanish language. I might assume that he provided the translations between Judge Saavedra and Mr. Quinn.

Ah yes, I see, that would make sense. I was thinking of the hotel inspector whose name I don't think I've ever seen.

[David Orsam]

Then he begged the police to leave him only three minutes; But as the inspector in charge of his arrest was precisely the same one who had the same order in Madrid for the celebrated forger Pigott, who committed suicide in the hotel of Ambassadors, refused to leave him alone, watching him while he dressed. They bound him side by side, and so he entered the prison at ten o'clock at night. The detainee is a young man of twenty-nine, of a distinguished type. He dress very elegantly. He had arrived from Bilbao, where he had been in the Arenas for fifteen days with the Baron de Mories after having been here a few summer days. When arrested, he was found with 5,150 pesetas. The inspector who has arrested him is called Vissiers. .

This is very telling and quite amusing too. It was clearly "once bitten, twice shy" for that officer. He wasn't making the same mistake again.

I've seen his name given in the 1888 reports as Deputy Inspector Visier, so it's certainly the same person.

[Robert St Devil]

hi david. i have other news-pieces to translate regarding Pigott that address this issue. Sr Garcia Alba was the hotel "boss" (apologies, unsure if he was the hotel owner). Judge Saavedra,s court secretary was also present; his name appears in the other reports.

The four men who sign off on the "interrogatories" are Judge Saavedra, Mr Macpherson, Insp. Mr. Quinn and Sr. Garcia-Alba

the name Vissiers appears in future articles in relation to an officer who was responsible for making arrests. I cant state with any certainty now that his name was Nicano Vissiers.

[Robert St Devil]

Ah yes, I see, that would make sense. I was thinking of the hotel inspector whose name I don't think I've ever seen.

i almost get the impression that it was Vissiers and Sr. Garcia-Alba who knocked on Pigott's door moments before he committed suicide.

[Robert St Devil]

Pigott in court

La Ilustración española y americana, 15/03/1889

The Times-Parnell Process

London - An Audience in the Justice Tribunal of Last February 22
The Forger Richard Pigott Declaring from the Witness Bench

[Robert St Devil]

Charles Hutchinson

The “ripper legend” that I remember goes, in January 1889 an English newspaper, citing the Panama Star & Herald, runs an article regarding a Mr. [George?] Hutchinson of Elgin (Illinois) who had been institutionalized in an American asylum & committed a murder against an unfortunate woman in Chicago with a manner similar to Jack the Ripper.
However…
After searching the Spanish newspaper archives for anything-Hutchinson, I found a similar news-article in a Spanish newspaper from early December 1888, which cites an (as-yet-dated) Le Courrier des Etats-Unis. The man in the article is named Charles Hutchinson.
I didn’t dig too far into Casebook to see if any-of-this has been discussed before. I chose to include it on this thread if it might add a historical update rather than to suggest suspicion on anyone. Founded in 1828 by Felix Lacoste, Le Courrier des Etats-Unis was the most famous French-language newspaper across North & South America and the Caribbean [Wikipedia]. The literal translation from the Spanish newspaper for [prostitute] was “public woman”. Any emphasis is my own.

- - - - - - - - - - -

LA MONARQUIA
2 December 1888

FOREIGN NEWS
THE MURDERS OF WOMEN IN LONDON.
Almost simultaneously, a Russian newspaper and another North American have published curious news, according to which, the author of the horrible murders of Whitechapel, in whose [identity] the English police have failed to discover, is a Russian subject or a citizen of the United States.
Here's what the Novosti says:
"The murderer of Whitechapel is a Russian. He was born in Tiraspoe in 1847 and studied at the University of Odessa. In the year 1876 he became an anarchist and emigrated to Paris. There he went crazy. His monomania consists in believing that [prostitutes] cannot be rehabilitated or go to heaven if they do not die [by being] murdered. At that time he committed several homicides in Paris, was imprisoned and declared insane, being locked up in an asylum. A short time before the first murder of Whitechapel he left the mad-house as completely cured, and had moved to London.
Le Courrier des Etats-Unis tells the following:
In Elgin (Illinois) there is the conviction that [behind] the murderous mystery of Whitechapel, of whom much has been spoken, is a madman named Charles Hutchinson.
This Hutchinson stayed in the crazy house of Elgin, and had an amazing ability to make all kinds of objects using a knife. He felt a real passion to go to the asylum slaughterhouse to collect bones to make toys and other objects of caprice with his knife.
He escaped from Elgin's asylum. He was imprisoned some time later in Kankakee, from whose madhouse he escaped as well. He went to Chicago where he killed a [prostitute] woman, mutilating her in the same mysterious way as the victims of the Whitechapel murderer.
Once again he was sent to the asylum of Kankakee after that crime. He ran away again three or four years ago, and since then his whereabouts have been unknown.