In the aftermath of a shocking crime, people always ask, why?

Why would someone do something like that?

I'm Candace DeLong, host of the podcast Killer Psychie,

where every week I explain the thoughts, motivations,

and behaviors of the most violent figures in history.

Listen to Killer Psychie on Amazon Music,

or wherever you get your podcasts.

I was once again dreaming of fortune and success

when my hopes were blasted by an attack of a terrible scourge

that brought destruction through the northern mines

during the winter of 1848, 49, land scurvy.

I noticed its first attack upon myself

by swelling and bleeding of the gums,

followed by a swelling of both legs below the knee,

and I was laid up in my tent, a blige to feed upon

the very articles that had caused the disease,

and growing daily weaker, without any reasonable prospect

of relief.

I was almost in despair, with only a blanket

between myself and the damp, cold earth,

and a thin canvas to protect me from the burning sun by day

and the heavy dooms by night.

...