The author of this Yizkor book passage Tuvia Fenster describes a blood libel occurrence at the Shumove Village that took place cir 1873. The three young children of Matchei the Forester were murdered in cold blood by his neighbor Bartek. The latter, however, committed the crime in a clandestine fashion, so that nobody knew who killed the children.

The news spread like wildfire that the Jews of Zambrow killed Matchei's children, and employed the blood for ritual purposes (putting it in their unleavened bread). Owing to the acumen and stratagems of the police officer Semyon Gabrilitch (of Jewish descent: Shimeon Ben-Gavriel), Bartek's crime was found out. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, and the Jews were saved from an awful ordeal.

Mr. Tuvia Fenster emphasizes the role played by the Governor of Lomza in detecting the real criminal. We may learn from this that even in Tsarist Russia there were some decent Gentiles aspiring to the detection of truth and loving peace and righteousness.