The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1871-10-05
Curious Mistakes in Identity.

ONSSAAN
ar, but not unfamiliar one, that the de-
ceased is sworn to as many different per-
sons. By those whose testimony seems
not liable to mistake she is recognized as
a Miss Bo 1lsly, of Newark the full par
ticulars of her submissionto the care OF
DIR. Ascher Rosenzweig are given, the
name and history of her betrayer are
known, and now comes the report OF his
suicide through remorse. On the other
hand, the clearest of circumstantial evil
6ence. and the positive testimony of a
half dozen persons, who point to her
hair, her forehead, the absence ola tooth
and peculiarities of form, seemed to
prove beyond doubt that the body is that
of Figa Rosenzweig, niece of the Doc
tor To compIicate the case still further
appears woman of unimpeachable char
acter, who claims the murdered girl as
her unfortunate and betrayed daughter.
A few weeks since a like case occurred
in New York. A woman was found
dead in the streets and taken to the sta
ton house. In the morning three diff
erent men claimed her as their wife, de-
scribing her clothes, her jewelry and her
person with an absolute accuracy that
neither knavery nor accident could ex-
plain.
This subject is one of the most fasci-
mating of any that occur in criminal juris
prudence. The Identification of the de-
ceased is so necessary to the conviction
of the murderer that such cases much
imperil the certainty of punishment; and
of still greater interest is the fact that
some of them seem to throw grave
doubts upon the security of that mode of
reasoning upon which not only our con-
duct IN daily matters and in the most
critical occasions is based, but to which
we are also indebted for the most of the
important discoveries since the birth of
time. From the volumes of law reports
and from the records Of the detectives
Offices, we might compile page after page
of fascinating narratives upon this single
theme, but our limited space permits US
to give but few examples. These that
we note, however, will be found upon ex-
animation, to throw shade even of ridi-
cule upon that sublime reasoning
through consistency through which
Kepler arrived at his laws of matter,
Newton deduced their formula and with
out which we would be to day almost as
ignorant as in the time when Moses call
ed the moon the second in magnitude of
heavenly lights.
In 1851, Captain John B uckson, mas
ter Of sailing vessel, lived, with his
wife Nance, in Il beautiful little cottage
IN the village Of Seekonk, near Provi-
dence Rhode Island. He was a man Of
spotless character, religious almost to
Puritanism, but also very passionate;
and that Nancy, being greatly younger
than himself and very fair to look upon
should have grown trctful and unruly
did not add much quietness to his tie M
per. They qua,reled often; and late one
evening neighbor passing the cottage
saw through the open window the hus-
band standing over the wife in a threat
ening attitude, with long whip cord in
his clenched hand, and heard also an un
conrollable burst of rage and many treats
of violence.
The next morning the cottage was
closed and deserted. This, however, ex
cited no attention, as John was supposed
to have left on sailing trip, and Nancy
was accustomed to depart frequently
without announcement, to visit relatives
in neighboring town. But that after
noon little dog accompanying a picnic
party In the adjacent woods paved and
howled at heap of sand, until the mer-
ry party examined it and found there the
corpse of Nancy Buckson. The people
of the town focked round the horror,
recognizing the deceased, her clothes and
her jewelry. She he'd been strangled
with cord, and chloride of lime sprin
kled over the body to hasten decompo-
sition. The cottage was searched, ana
a whip-cord found on the floor which fit
ted exactly the marks of the victim s
neck; and in the cellar was a box ofchlo-
ride of lime like that scattered upon the
body,
Buckson was arrested, indicted, and
on the day of the trial that would have
sent him to the gallows, Nancy Buckson
alive and we'll, though cross as ever.
walked into the village, fresh from Wis
1t to distant relatives. The mystery OF
the murder was never solved. The ar.
ticles and jewelry on the corpse were re-
cognized by Nancy as taken from the
buriau of her cottage.
One morning in 1861 a New jersey
wharfnan complained to his boss" that
a barrel of pitch had been stolen from
the pier. The same morning a New
York Clerk of hotel complained to his
proprietor that Mrs. Adah Ricard-once
well known to CINCINNATI under another
name-a woman of marvellous beauty of
form and no small charm of feature. but
trail OF characterized suddenly and in
explicably left without paying her bill. !
The next day there was found floating
in the North River a barrel. and tied to
it by rope around the waist was the
corpse of beautiful woman. clothed on
ly in night-dress and stockings A gag
fastened in the mouth was the only mark |
idenee murder The form was of won
derfas heauty-such voluptuous beauty