Baptistin Travail, bandit dies on the Ile de Ré

This ace burglar whose life is a true adventure novel, was caught and condemned with the La Villette gang
But he had committed, in Bern, a patriotic theft and he was going to be pardoned as a reward, it is said

The death is announced, on the island of Ré, where he was awaiting his pardon or his departure for Guyana, of a famous criminal, Baptistin Travail, a characteristic figure of a rogue, daring as well as intelligent, whose life constitutes a novel of the most curious adventures.
Baptistin Travail, who had traveled the world, failed after numerous adventures before the Assize Court of the Seine, as affiliated with the Villette gang, alongside René Jean, Tissier and Sena, and was sentenced to ten years in prison. imposed labour.

It is not without interest to retrace some of his exploits. Baptistin Travail was the creator of the “band of undertakers”, an association of criminals who carried out their sinful industry in the apartments that death had just visited. One of the members of the gang pretended to be a genealogist lawyer, and, in this capacity, contacted the justice of the peace clerks, who pointed out to him the apartments on which the seals had been affixed.

The house placed under seal was often monitored in a rather imperfect manner and the gang, during the night, pillaged it.
Baptistin Travail was also a wonderful “organizer”. One of the misdeeds which was most successful for him was a theft to the detriment of the Bank of France, on the liner serving the Marseille to Bastia service. Our large financial institution sent “groups” of 200,000 francs worth of notes to its Corsican branch. Baptistin Travail monitored one of these shipments; he took the liner at the same time as the precious packages, on a Friday. During the crossing, the thief managed to substitute a packet of old papers for a “group” of 200,000 francs, without anyone noticing.

Everything was calculated and masterfully ordered by this formidable thug. He succeeded, one day, thanks to his methodical spirit, in greatly embarrassing the magistrates of Nice, where an investigation was opened on the subject of a daring burglary committed in the principality of Monaco. A safe had been broken into and among the fingerprints taken from the furniture, it was found that there were those of Baptistin Travail, well known to the anthropometric service.

Some time later he was arrested. But Baptistin Travail protested his innocence, and declared that at the time of the theft he was in Egypt. In fact, he showed a passport to support his statements, on which one could see the visa of the French authorities in Cairo affixed to the document two days before the theft. The alibi was indisputable; the accused had to be released. In reality it was Travail who had robbed the safe in Monaco, and it was a double who, armed with a passport in his name and wearing his photograph, had gone for a walk on the banks of the Nile.
Another time Baptistin Travail, with his acolytes, accomplished a most daring move. He had planned to rob the India trunk. For this purpose, he had obtained a key opening one of the wagons in which the values were placed. We know that this train only stops at the main stations. An accomplice,

between Miramas and Marseille, operated a stopping disc which forced the train to stop for barely ten minutes. They were enough for Travail and his accomplices to get into the penultimate carriage which was opened with the false key. The thieves quickly examined the contents and seized various packages intended for the Bank of Egypt.

A burglary... patriotic To these bandit exploits that Baptistin Travail perpetuated is added a burglary that he committed without any idea of profit, and the thing seems paradoxical out of patriotism. During the war he was in Berne where he frequented an environment of shady individuals including a certain number of spies. He thus learned that an agent from the counter-espionage service was looking for a document which was known to be in the hands of the Austrian ambassador. Baptistin Travail decided to go and search this diplomat's safe, and one night he climbed into the embassy, reached the ambassador's office, broke the safe and took possession of it. of the coveted document which he gave to an agent of the counter-espionage service.
He wanted to give him a large sum of money; he was refused

Baptistin Formal work. The criminal, who was outside the law, wanted to render his country a selfless service!
Baptistin Travail never took advantage of this gesture, except when after his conviction, feeling ill and not wanting to go to Cayenne, he asked for pardon. The criminal then revealed the role he had played in Bern. The facts were recognized as accurate and it was said that grace would touch the evildoer at the moment when death came, seize him.