The Seaforth News, 1959-07-02, Page 2er Garden Was A
Murder Graveyard
Many of the world's most
wicked women haere deceived
their victims with an air of in-
nocence or an irresistible beauty.
But one of the most evil women
ever keewn, looked. just what she
was — a sub-hurnan dealer in
death.
Amelia Dyer had so egly a face
and body that, when she was
Yeung, other children ran away
and taunted her from a distance.
This, indeed, may have been
the reason for her, evil life in
later years. The insults probably
filled her with hate and made her
exact a terrible price in revenge.
She was a dwarf, just over four.
feet in height, She had a 14rge,
hooked nose and.jutting thin.
But her voice was soft and
melodious, and she could capti-
vate people with her wheedling
speech. Her dark eyes, which so
often glittered malevoleetly,
could, when she wished, exert
an almost hypnotic power.
Amelia lived with her humble
parents in a cottage on the out-
skirts of Reading. Kindly people,
seeing how other children
jeered at her, did their utmost to
help her. Among them was the
vicar of the local church, who
was delighted to discover the
piety of this ugly duckling.
"I find my happiness in higher
things," she said to him when he
found her in the church one
morning, "I have been here all
night, praying and thanking God
for the good people who befriend
me."
Amelia was then fourteen, Her
statement was sheer hypocrisy,
but her semblance of piety had
a quick result. A simple country-
man called Dyer was inveigled
into marrying her, his advisers
pointing out that a good wife was
better than a pretty one.
Amelia gave birth to a daugh-
ter a year later. After that, the
unfortunate Mr. Dyer vanished
and was never heard of again.
Amelia' now had a pleasant cot-
tage, with a big gerden, near the
Thames. What more natural than
that this God-fearing young mat-
ron, whose own daughter was so
beautifully cared. for, should of-
fer help to women less fortu-
nately placed?
And so, in the placid years of
the mid-Victorian age, Mrs. Dyer
set up as a professional foster -
mother.
"I can offer the sweet baby a
comfortable home and a mother's
care," she told inquirers.
Some of the applicants were,
regrettably, in too much of a
hurry to ask many questions.
They were prepared to dump
their babies on this strange -look-
ing woman, whether her claims
were justified or not.
Other unfortunate young wo-
men, crazy with worry at having
an illegitimate baby on their
hands, handed them over to Mrs,
Dyer's care on the strongest re-
commendation of the members
of the local church, The latter, it
must be said, had not the slight-
est suspicion that anything was
wrong.
It is true that a local builder,
demolishing a boat -house on the
river's edge beyond Amelia's
cottage, claimed t,hat he had once
seen the foster -mother stealing
bricks. But it seemed such an
absurd kind of theft that no one
took any notice. . . .
The years went by. Amelia
Dyer became well-known locally
as a woman always ready to care
for unwanted babies. She charg-
ed as little as $15 and as much
as '5150. Few, if any, of the par -
FOR MODERNS — Shawn re-
cently, this crisp, white sheath
for summer wear is made of a
wrinkle' - resistant linen • like
rayon Yellow bel picks up ac-
cent of the vello flowers
OUT OF THIS WORLD — Other -worldly look of the struc-
tures, a•bove, fit the bleak site on which they're located.
' On Unimak island, far out in the Aleutian chain, ,he
g
roup of build ings are ektet of the westernmost link
of the transcontinental DEW—Distant Early Warning—
network. Churohlike dome, houses radar unit. "Dishes,'
left, and curved reflectors, right, are portions of radar
deteotion and beam -costing communications equipment.
ents ever returned to see how
their children were getting on.
Whe'n some did return,
Mrs,
Dyer gleefully informedthem
that she 1/4 had been fortunate
enough to get 'their children
adopted.
"I ,can't tell you the details,"
she said to one young servant
girl who asked about her baby
son, "It has to be secret, because
her ladyship is going to pretend
the baby is hers.
"Your little boy will one day
be a duke, He may marry royal-
ty. But if the .truth were ever to
be revealed. , • ,"
With such nonsense her simple
dupes went away mollified.
Then, on a hat summer's day
in 1896, an angler fishing below
Caversham weir felt a tug on his
line. Winding in his catch against
the force of the current, he saw
that it was a half -submerged
brown -paper parcel. Inside was
the body of a baby.
"Another one," he said to him-
self, "It's disgraceful that the po-
lice don't so anything."
Every angler and boatman on
that stretch of the Thames knew
that finding the bodies of chil-
dren was a common occurrence.
But such was the slight regard
for young human life in those
days that no one had bothered to
report the finds.
This time, however, the angler
took the parcel to the police sta-
tion. There, a keen -eyed sergeant
saw the blurred, faint lettering
of an address on the wrapping
paper, It was that of Amelia
Dyer.
The police visited her cottage,
recalling as they waited at the
door, the stream of babies that
had gone there. But the place
was now, as always, silent and
childless.
Amelia invited them in with-
out any sign of fear. She quoted
appropriate texts about inno-
cence and a clear conscience. But
she was hesitant when asked to
give the names of the people who
had adopted children under her
care.
The upshot was that she was
arrested. Mrs. Dyer's daughter
was also running a baby farm
not far away. She was no mur-
deress, and she soon confessed
that she suspected her mother's
fearful trade.
"I know that some of the ba-
bies died," she sobbed, "I've seen
Ma going down to the river af-
ter dark. She used to take the
bodies in a carpet bag with a
brick in it. She had to, because
there wasn't enough money for
the burial costs."
Under questioning, she admit-
ted that she was aware that the
babies did not always die na-
turally.
"Once," she said, "Ma brought
a baby to my house and said he
was on her way to hand it over
to some gipsies. I went out to
the garden, and when I came
back, Ma was pushing a parcel
under her chair so that her skirts
hid it, There was no sign of the
baby. I was frightened and didn't
say anything. But next day I
asked how the baby was.
"Fine,' Ma answered. 'He's a
nice little lad.'
By then, the baby's body was
miles clown the river.
The police'dug up Mrs. Dyer's
garden. It was like a graveyard,
crarnmed with the tiny bodies of
young babies.
Mrs. Dyer, confronted with the
evidence in Reading jail, refused
to answer, But in mumbling, "My
daughter knows nothing about
it," she inferred that she realized
her own guilt was obviously be-
yond question,
Taxed with the need to show
some remorse and indicate how
many murders she had commit-
ted, she opened her Bible and
began reading it aloud.
She maintained this attitude at
her trial,
She was condemned to death.
In the cell, awaiting the scaffold,
she prayed so loudly that other
prisoners complained of the din.
She was warned that, if she did
not keep quiet, her supplies .of
gin would be withdrawn. That
had the desired effect, for Amelii
Dyer was an alcoholic,
When the chief warder entered
her cell and announced that be-
muse et three other hangings
that day ;:he would be given an -
HEALTH QUEEN—Barbara Lyon
reigns over a food -laden, table
as Miss Health at convention of
the National Restaurant Associ-
ation.
other twenty-four hours of life,
she grinned in triumph and said
that it was divine justice.
But, the following morning,
she became her true self. Almost
helpless from gin -swigging, she
snarled in fury as the warders
approached.
Then, in a voice raucous and
ugly, she bawled her challenging
toast as she drained half a bottle
of neat spirits,
"Here's' to everyone," she
yelled, "off to hell to join ole
Charlie Peace below."
With her own curse of con-
demnation ringing in her ears,
the dwarf was dragged -to the
scaffold.
Eye -Opener
The reasons for the prelimi-
nary sight-seeing trip to Aus-
tralia arranged by a Chicago
newspaper for Stanley Yankus,
are more apparent every day.
The aim wasn't to glorify Mr.
Yankus as an individual. Instead
it was to give him, and many of
the rest of us, a chance to know
more about Australia.
A few days ago Mr. Yankus
talked to Roger Nott, minister of
agriculture' for a big sector of
farm land around Sydney. He
learned that Australia, too, has
had its farm acreage restrictions.
A number of years ago actual
acreage allotments wore assign-
ed to wheat farms there, during
a period of surpluses. The con-
trols were removed when the
surpluses disappeared, But Mn.
Nott conceded that they might
have to be imposed again, if a
surplus wheat situation were to
return.
Mr. Yankus, who returned to
his home Sunday, says he'll have
to "have more time to think
about what I saw" &afore he
makes up his mind whether Aus-
tralia is the place for him. At
least he has some better know-
ledge of the actual facts of Aus-
tralian life.
One thing you have to say
about wheat controls there,
they were more realistic than
those in this country. Here mil-
lions of dollars are paid in gov-
ernment subsidies to large "car.'
porate farmers." In Australia
wheat_ growers were paid a
market price for the first 3,000
bushels they produced; and a
much lower price for all above
that. This could be one big rea-
son that the Australian surplus
problem disappeared in a few
years. Muskegon (Mich.)
Chronicle,
Obey the traffic signs — they
are placed there for 0 1.1 R
$AFETY.
, TARLE TALKS
v -
tire
erreeeze eJaue ArviDews.
"
'Keep • it simple' is my motto
when I have aparty for small
children," the mother of three
said. "Let them play outdoors,
if possible, give them something
easy to play — and don't organ-
ize them too much."
They always like and expect
ice cream and cake — and to
make up for the plain ice cream,
she said, she always tries to
have a cake that will interest
the ohildren and that they can
admire for the few minutes be-
fore it is cut. Here are several
cakes' she has served at these
children's parties.
Carrousel Cake
Frost a 2 -layer cake with
white or pink icing. Dip .animal
crackers in melted, unsweetened
chocolate and allow to harden.
Stand animals upright around
the top of the cake, and insert
in the icing behind each animal
a stick of peppermint candy. For
extra decorations, repeat the row
of animals around the bottom
of ,cake.
Merry -Go -Round Cake
For this, you'll need to get
some miniature colored, plastic
animal candleholders. With can-
dies in them, place at regular
'intervals around the top of the
frosted cake. Behind each can-
'dleholder place a striped soda
straw and have the straws con-
verge at the center. On top,
fasten with a short length of
Scotch tape a big brightly col -
bred satin bow.
* 0 0
Cowboy Cake
A brown frosting is best for
this cake. Put a toy cowboy up-
right in the centre of the cake
and build this fence arotind him
at the edge of the cake: Split
long colored gum drops and stick
a toothpick in the end of each
haLf. Insert them criss-cross fa-
shion around the•eake.
*
The children in your family
who are becoming interested in
cooking may enjoy the cookies
described below which they can
easily 'make for themselves. Pea-
nut butter, chocolate chips, and
graham crackers are the ingredi-
ents, writes Eleanor Rickey
Johnson in the Christian Science
Monitor.
'PEANUT BUTTER
GRAHAM CRACKER COOKIES
3 tablespoons semi -sweet
chocolate chips
6 graham crackers
3 tablespoons crunchy peanut
butter
Spread each cracker with
'about lk tablespoon peanut but-
ter. Top each with about 12
chips. Heat in 325° E. oven 2-3
minutes, or until chips are soft-
ened. Spread quickly over crack-
ers. Cool. Note: Do not make
more than 6 cookies at a time.
Other quick cookies that chil-
dren in the mood for cooking
can make call for crushed corn
chips and semi -sweet chocolate.
These crunchies are dropped and
then chilled.
CORN CHIP -CHOCOLATE
CRUNCHIES '
1 6 -ounce package of semi-
sweet chocolate
11/2 cups lightly crushed corn
chips (measured after
crushing)
Melt chocolate over hot water
in
top of double boiler. Add
crushed corn chips. Drop by
spoonfuls on waxed paper. Chill.
Makes 24 cookies.
Mother may be called on to
help a little with crumb maca-
roons — depending, of course, on
the age of the learning -to -cook -
child. This is a recipe for a party
— it makes 40 cookies.
,CRUMB MACAROONS
1 cup fine bread crumbs
1 oup sugar
34 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
Combine crumbs, sugar, salt,
and nuts. Beat eggs and add
vanilla. Add egg mixture to
crumb mixture and mix well.
Drop by teaspoonfuls on a well -
greased baking sheet. Bake at
350° F. for 15 minutes, or until
lightly browned. Remove from
baking sheet to cooling rack at
once.
*
With their cookies,
your chil-
dren may want to try- making
their own drinks. Milk shakes
flavored with fruit juices are
favorites. To make these, com-
bine in a covered jar fOr shaking
(or beat with a Dover beater) 1
cup cold milk, 1/2 to 1 tablespoon
sugar, 1 tablespoon fruit juice,
and a dash of salt. Choose for
Among Tibetans
I liked the Tibeten$ enore
mously, They are quite cliffeee
ent from the Chinese, with.
whom, despite the close qUartere
in whioh they live, they haver
hardly anything in common.
Againet the background of a
bustling throng of small Chinese
traders, all Uniformly clad in
dark blue so that no individual.
stands out, your eye cannot help
being caught by these hand-
some, gentle giants, Caravan -
men or nomads who have come
in from the interior to sell their
wool and buy tea with the pre-
ceeds, They move slowly.
through the crowd, dwarfing it,
their massive, =smiler frames
lounging along with an easy
athletic gait, In appearance they
are not in the least like the
Chinese. With their deeply tan-
ned complexions, almond eyes,
prominent cheekbones, and
noses which are often aquiline,
they might almost be Ameri-
can Indians.
The Tibetan women,, tall,
well-proportioned, and graceful,
are in general not less impres-
sive than the men. They have
the same prominent cheekbones,
the same almond eyes..., As for
Tibetan children, they can only
be described as adorable, espe-
cially when they are very small.
They wear even in the coldest
weather, either nothing at all or
alternately a miniature sheep-
skin shuba which, bulging un-
naturally round the miniature
bipeds, makes them look like
overgrown little chickens. —
From "Tibetan Marches," by
AndrO Migot.
these milk shakes grape, orange,
raspberry, blackberry, pineapple,
or cherry. Add ice cream to
these, if you desire.
Let the children try this
banana milk shake; it serves 4,
BANANA MILK SHAKE
4 ripe bananas
3 cups cold milk
1 pint vanilla ice cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
Peel bananas, place in bowl
and mash until smooth. Add the
other ingredients; beat with •
rotary beater or shake until welt
mixed, Serve immediately.
* *
Or let them try this peanut
butter milk shake. This serves 1.
PEANUT .BUTTER MILK
SHAKE
1 tablespoon peanut butter
34 cup milk
1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
Mix peanut butter with 34 cup
milk until smooth; gradually add
remaining milk, stirring to keep
smooth. Pour into large jar with
lid; add ice cream; shake until
ice cream is ahnOst melted.
ISSUE 23 — 1959
..„, . ....
DIVING CAR — This parked car in Central City, Colo,, suddenly
did a duck -dive during centennial celebration of discovery of
gold in the area. Car's weight broke through earth crust inta
a 10 -foot -deep, abandoned mine shaft.
MIXUP — One got away from this mirey mess in Minneapolis. Car, right center, was aban-
doned, Gas company truck, ,':'enter, tried to pass Stuck Helper truck, left, got stuck, Diesel
cob, background, became stuck before this soggy saga began, A third gas company truck,
piloted by a driver hep to mud, stayed out of 'rouble,