The Cipher and the Confession: Louis Kostrauch’s Cold-Blooded Gamble
After allegedly faking a death and burning a house to escape a life of poverty, a conspirator explains how a forgotten cipher key and a betrayal of trust landed him in the Seattle city jail.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Louis Kostrauch is enjoying life in the county jail as well as can be expected. When visited yesterday afternoon, he appeared in the best of spirits and spoke freely of his case and the hunt for his associate, Radloff. The prisoner's appearance has not changed since the morning following the burning of Radloff's house and the discovery of the corpse. Kostrauch stood leaning against the bars of his cage and said: 'I wonder how long they are going to keep me locked up. It can't be more than two months, because it was stipulated when I turned state's evidence that I should have my liberty. I went into this affair to help Radloff, because he is the best friend I have.' Although the police were pressing hard, Kostrauch claims he would not have confessed if Radloff had not ignored his instructions and written letters that fell into the hands of the police. 'I did not think there was a key in existence, because I had burned the diary of my life and other papers written in the cipher before the fire. How I happened to leave the key in the old book I do not know. When I saw that I was trapped and there was no way out, I concluded to make the best of it.' Kostrauch, described by observers as a man of some education and mathematical ability, expressed disdain for his circumstances. 'For myself, I am tired of this country. One can work here for years and be nothing more than a dog.'
“For myself, I am tired of this country. One can work here for years and be nothing more than a dog.”
The 1892 Radloff fire-and-insurance-fraud case gripped Seattle with its lurid details of alleged corpse-switching and international intrigue. It serves as a stark reminder of the Gilded Age pressures on working-class immigrants who felt trapped by extreme poverty and the limited avenues for advancement in the Pacific Northwest.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.