Myth#3: The young Cartouche was a mouche, an informer.
The truth: After he had run from home, Cartouche found himself alone in Paris, where he survived by gambling and stealing purses. The peddling biography says he then went to see the Lieutnant-General of police of Argenson to “offer him to give away all the bandits of Paris for one écu per day.” So Cartouche was a mouche (a fly), an informer? “How come Cartouche,” asked B. Maurice, “who had worked on his own (as stated by the peddling book, ndr) (...) could give away anyone? He didn’t know any bandit then. (...) Plus, informing wasn’t his thing. He remained faithful to his friends, even when tortured, up until he reached the scaffold where he realized they were the first ones not to keep their words (they had sworn to rescue him but didn’t show up).” And the torture he endured, the brodequin, was painful enough to break the will of the bravest.
Myth#4: Cartouche worked with several distinguished people.
The truth: The young, beautiful and evil Jeanneton-Venus was the first mistress of Cartouche. After she was tortured and just before she was executed in 1722, she confessed her crimes; and she spoke for thirty-two hours! Most of the villains spoke before being executed as their confession was an ultimate stay of execution—their confessions were called Testaments de Mort, Death Wills, and were regarded as trustworthy, being the confessions of people on the edge of death—yet, some might have added one or two crimes to the list of their misdeeds just to gain a few valuable minutes. Anyway, Jeanneton-Venus gave dozens of names, including a few distinguished ones. An observer of the time, one M. Barbier, left an impressive manuscript about the events of his time that was quoted at length by B. Maurice. He wrote: “The day before yesterday, upon an uncertain denunciation (of Jeannaeton-Venus), several Ladies with a crew were asked for; the exempt (officer) didn’t let them harness their horses and made them walk. It so happened that the Grande Jeanneton didn’t know them; their names had been mistaken.” This, stated B. Maurice, could explain the rumours claiming that Cartouche had acquaintances in the high society; and that distinguished people had been part of his troops. “We read,” stated our author, “in the last confession of the criminal: Asked whether he knew some distinguished young people in his troops, or if any had ever asked to work for him, he answered: no, none.”
Myth#5: Cartouche acted as a hit man for the Regent.
The truth: In May 1721, the corpse of an unfortunate poet named Viguier was found in the streets of Paris. As a poster tied around his neck by his murderers read, he had been mistaken for one Lagrange-Chancel, the author of Les Philippiques, a critical satire written against the Regent. Some thought Cartouche and his crew had killed the wrong man on the Regent’s order, and that the latter, tied by this debt of blood, was doing all he could to prevent Cartouche from being arrested! “The rumours that were spreading all over Paris,” states B. Maurice, “were of the highest gravity. They turned the Regent himself into an accomplice of Cartouche. (...) Of course, Cartouche made a reference to these rumours when, during his confession at the Hôtel de Ville, he spontaneously declared: That he had never received any money from anyone to kill anybody, that he was unaware of any of his companions having received such an order, and that he wouldn’t have tolerated it.” The honour of the Regent was safe!
Myth#6: Cartouche was given away by Duchâtelet after he was arrested.
The truth: Duchâtelet was a top lieutenant of Cartouche, the most vicious one too—who was said to have once washed his hands in the blood of a victim. The peddling biography said his landlord who had spotted some bloodstains on his clothes eventually denounced him. “They never had to arrest Duchâtelet,” affirmed B. Maurice, “he came all by himself!” Not only did the villain meet the commissioner of Police, but he also met the Regent in person, who was deeply involved in the case. “He put his conditions and had a letter of immunity in hand when he concretely betrayed Cartouche the following day.” Duchâtelet led the bowmen to the inn where Cartouche was staying—he never had the opportunity to resist arrest, this time. “We must be fair to all,” stated B. Maurice. “According to the energetic expression of Duchâtelet, Cartouche had become impossible. Drunk with absolute power, he seemed ready to sacrifice the whole crew to his own safety. The slightest word or suspicion, owed you to be stabbed and killed. His men had learnt to fear him more than the bourgeois, or even more than the police themselves.”
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