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THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY "MORNING. SEPTEMBER" 5, 1920.
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The Amazing Deception Which Sent the
Mata Hari, Rouged, Perfumet
and Happy, to Face a Fir in
Squad Whose Guns She
Believed Were Loaded
with Blanks
'JYith a gay and voluptuous gesture Mata-Hari burled her face
jxi her orange blossom bouquet, confident that the execution
squad would fire only blank cartridges at" her"
PARIS, Aug. 12.
iVERYBODY has heard and wondered
at the way Mata-Hari, the fascinat
ing Dutch Oriental dancer and spy.
went to her death.
She was gayly dressed and acted as
though she were enjoying a dramatic tri
umph instead' of going to her execution.
Was it the supreme courage of the woman
that led her to face death so gayly? Even
at the time many persons thought it was
not rational that -a woman who had become
a spy for money should laugh at death.
Was it not more probable that there was
some other reason, hitherto concealed, for
her strangely frivolous behavior?
A widely circulated report hat become,
current in France that Mata-Hari bad. re
ceived a promise that she should be al
lowed to escape at 'the last moment, and
that this accounted tor her gay and callous
demeanor.
The report appears to have originated
with some friends of the picturesque and
gallant young Frenchman, Pierre d Mor
tissac, who Is now In retirement and exile
and was a devoted Admirer of the dancer,
'ihose who spread the story are unwilling
to discuss it now, as Xhey fear tt will bring
them into trouble. The French Govern
ment has ordered a searching Investiga
tion into the whole subject, with a view of
finding out what truth there Is in the cur
rent reports, and if they are substantiated
of punishing all persons who were guilty
of trifling with the gravest acts of state.
Mata-Hari, who had been intimate with
some of the richest of the financiers and
"Jeunesse doree" of France, Germany, Eng- ,
land and other countries, was convicted,
after very prolonged proceedings, of sell
ing certain secrets of the tanks and other
military information to the Germans.
Several highly placed Frenchmen made -the
most strenuous efforts to save her life.
In spite of the possible danger to them
selves, . and among them not the least
prominent was the gallant Pierre de Mor
tissac. one of the latest of her admirers.
She obtained an appeal from her first coi
viction by the court-martial, and her exe
cution "was tn consequence delayed about
three months, but the evidence of her
guilt was" so overwhelming, her acts of
treason so numerous that the higher court
could do nothing bnt confirm her sentence.
On October t, 117, the beautiful Mata
Hari, "the woman with the body of a god
dess and the. charms of a demon," was
taken in a military automobile, under a
guard of soldiers, from her prison in Paris
to i the gloomy Castle of Vincennee, the ,
place of execution. It was at Yiacennes
that the traitor Bolo met his fate, and that
scores of spies and traitors no one knows
how niany-faoed the firing squad during
the great war. Vlncennea has a historic
reputation as a place of military execution,
for it was here thai Napoleon Bonaparte
. secretly executed the most popular mem
ber of the Bourbon family, the Duke
d'Enghien.
Mata-Hari was roused before dawn In
her prison in Paris and driven to Vhv
cennes, so that her execution might take
place at sunrise and be free from publie
observation, according to custom. She
was. however, treated with the utmost
courtesy and consideration up to the last
moment more like a princess than a spy.
She was supplied with champagne In abun
dance In' her cell and with dainty meals
' from one of the finest restaurants In Paris.
Blie dressed in her customary costly and
luxurious manner during her imprison
ment. Everything that manicures, hair
. dressers and masseuses could do to main
tain the charm and perfection of her body
was freely permitted to her. Finally, when
the day of execution came, she was al
lowed to array herself in a most dasziing
manner, . ,
I She wore a diaphanous costume of In-,
dian silk trimmed with gold lace. Her lips
were rouged in the approved Parisian
' manner, her eyea were pencilled and her
body perfumed, massaged and pow
dered. In her arms she carried
mark this detail a huge bouquet
of orange blossoms. Altogether
she seemed more like a bride go
ing to a wedding, an exotic Oriental sort
of wedding, than a poor condemned prisoner.-
And here is the reason why the con
demned Mata-Hari wa so gay and deb
onair.. Some one high la authority, it is
whispered, said to her before the execu
tion: "Mata-Hari, w are not, going to kill you.
Ton are too beautiful toj die. 1 could not
present the death sentience from being
passed, but I Bare arranged that ft Shall
not be carried Into effect. When, the sol
diers are called to attention, preparatory
to the order1 to Are, bury your face in this
bouquet of orange blossoms. It will help
yon to maintain your composure. When
yon hear the report of the rifles fall to the
ground, as though you were dead.
"They will fire "blank! cartridges, thai
will not harm even the surface of your
beautiful skin. tDo not make any outcry.
Do not show any fear. I will take care of
you afterwards."
This, then, was the reason why Maiw
Hari faced her dreadful fate, not merely
with calmness, but with brazen gayety.
When she arrived at Vlncennes the mili
tary commandant took her record, accord
ing to the rules. 'fcbe answered his ques
tions with a gay tosa of the head and a
flash of her dark eyes. ' Without delay she
was led to the parade ground.
The officjer in command consulted her
at to how she wished to face the firing
squad. With the utmost nonchalance she
declared that she would remain standing,
with her eyes unbandageld.. Before taking
np her position, as ordered,' she executed
a pirouette with all her old dancer's skill.
Her frivolity amazed the soldiers and filled
them with a certain admiration. Her dis
regard of death has iince then been com
mon talk among old soldiers.
"1 am ready whenever you are, my chil
dren," she called out cheerfully. "Fire
straight at my heart" i '
At the word of command twenty soldiers
raised their rifles to their shoulders, Mata
Hari buried er face in her great bouquet
of orange blossoms with a voluptuous ges
ture, i
"Plre!" rang out ihe command.
Mata-Hari crumbled to the earth, her
body pierced by nearly twenty bullets.
Someone had fooled her. Bnt what was
the meaning of this tragio fooling f
Did somebody tell her she would be
saved Just to spare her feelings, to save
her from the agony of Anticipating death
and to prevent the painful scenes which a
woman might easily have caused? Was It
really kindness thus to deceive her? Was
it the French conception of chivalry that
prompted the act the chivalry that says
a woman should never suffer any avoid
able distress? Was It the plan of some'
official, who aimed to avoid shocking
scenes which could certainly reflect no
credit on the Government?
That the deception was due to one of
these causes' is the opinion of half of
those who have heard of the strange epi
sode. On the other hand, there are others
who believe that the plan to rescue her
',, was the work of a lover;! that it was meant
to be carried through successfully, and
that through some other official's act the
scheme was frustrated." The great prob
lem, then, is to find out if anybody had
?! BflTT to"T h" it was that
Interfered with his scheme.
According to an artist, who moved in
the same circle as Mata-Hari and her
friends, the man who told her that he
would rescue her added these words after
those already quoted: H v
. "After you Uve fallen to the earth the
soldiers will go away. .Then I will pick up
Beautiful Spy
f - lllri
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Two pictures of t Mata-Hari,
the Oriental Dancer and
Most Pangerout Spy of, the
" Warti Whose Death Agony
Furnishes the Mystery That
Is Now Exciting Paris
"The Woman With the
Body of- a Goddess and the
Charms of a Demon,'9
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The Iatrigua of "Lit Tosca" and the Rouan Chief
of Police a Historic Episode That
Closely Resemble the Story
t of Mata-HariV
'" ' Death. -, .
ysv1' lfn-' fat.
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your body tenderly, put It In a coffin, and
transport it over, the frontier into Spain,
where we can live happily. Have no fear,
dear heart.
There is a horrible fascination in specu
lating what must have been the agony of
Mata-Hari when for an tnstant she felt the
touch of the bullets and knew that she
had been fooled. Hew much suffering is
it possible to compress into the brief apace
in which one can feel the deadly Impact
of the bullet before life departs? There
are some who argue that a lifetime of suA
fering can- be condensed into an tnstant.
If that be so, Mata-Hari must have suffered
to the full, tor she loved life to the utter
most, and the thought that she had been
tricked would hare been unspeakable tor
ment If Mata Hart's death -was due to a
functionary who deceived . her would-be
rescuer it bears a curious resem
blance to the famous ' drama of "l
Tosea which Is well known to have
been founded oa actual . events of the
Napoleonic period in Rome. In that case
the singer "Tosea" had obtained from the
chief ef police, in return for' the promise
of her favors, an order that the soldiers
should fire blank cartridges at her con
demned lover. At the same, time the vil
lainous chief gave secret orders that they
should shoot to kil. Thus poor Tosea had
the agony of watching the killing of her;
lover when she was anticipating the de
light of leading him away to safety.
Pierre de Mortlssac, whom the Parisian
club world insists on associating with the
Mata-Hari tragedy, was one of the- most
brilliant figures in Paris. He won the
Cross of the Legion of Honor in thewar
and was desperately wounded. Then he
became known as he latest and most in
fatuated of the many lovers of Mata-Hari.
He has repented of all bis follies and
extravagances and to-day is atoning -for
the past as a bare-footed monk in the clots
ters of the Cartuja of MLraflores, neat
Burgos, fn Spain. ',
Mata-Hari, in many ways the most sin-'
lster and picturesque figure ef the war,
was the daughter A of a Dutch, East Indian
planter and a native woman. She learned
to dance as a temple girl, married a Scotch
baronet, Sir Malcolm MacLeod, whom she
deserted, and then went to Europe. Her
first successes as a dancer were made in
.Germany, and there she attracted a circle
of admirers, including several prominent
noblemen and financiers. It was then that
the Germany secret ferries planned to ua
her as a spy.
HC) 1920. InWrMlioval Teature Scrrlee, Inc.
Great BrlWla BiftU Seee-reS.
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