New-York tribune., 1874-12-15
THE POLICE ON THE TRAIL.

,,o,,sr ,vrrp uoUsE RANsACKRD, AND EVERY
BEND OF THE WATER FRONT EAfLohEp VIII"
OUT SUCCESS.
The nolico now claim to have been searching Tor
these two men for the last four months ana 10 nave
known beyond doubt that they were the aoduoVors
of Charley Ross According to the description OF
one of the men in the carriage. as given by the
little brother of the abducted child, he had
"mopkev nose" the cartilage being injured in some
way. Beside this very positive popularity OF
Mosher's nose, his eyes were unusually small anu
he had the cast Of features generally described as
an Indian face" The forefnger of his right
hand was partly withered at the first joint and
the finger was rendered useless. From THESE de-
scriptions Superintendent Walling oonjecured that
Mosher was one of the men, and from other lndiea-
tons he supposed that Douglass being Moshers lh'i
mate friend. was the other. On these conjectures
the Superintendent took the most effective measures
that the circumstances would permit. lie detailed
eight notrolmen and Detectives Silleck and Doyle
of the Central Office, who haunted every barroom
cellar and resort of thieves in the city at all hours
in citizens clothes for the sole purpose OF discover
ING and capturing Moshor and Douglass. In follow
ing this chase various Clews led them to places hat
seemed most unlikely to afford any information
They even entered private houses, when proved 10
be of good repute, in the belief that shelter was
afforded the fugitives. They boarded steamers sail
ing vessels and canalboats giving plausible excuses
for the invasion. They took lodgings in sailors
boarding houses, lived in unhealthy cellars, where
thieves congregatcd to perfect their plots ana III
the most dangerous dens pretended to be drunk. AT
| one time the capture would seem to be thing Oh
| certainty, and q moment later the clew was lost
| In police language they overturned more than a
hundred houses in this city in their search without
| fi,po tha man wei
been seen on Broadway near Prince-st, and SIX de-
| tectiyes Law in wait for them about Broadway and
among the dens in Prince and Spring-sts. all night
without avail Again, word was received that two
men and child answering the description
of the fugtives and Charley Ross were
seen in South Brooklyn. They searched the neigh
| berhood very thoroughly and in one house, near
| Greenwood Cemetery, boy was found who an
swered in the main the description OF the lost child
The uncle was sent for and failed to identify the
child. They searched closely about Bay Ridge in
the very neighborhood of the recent burglary. and
seemed indeed to have left no cew. however slight,
| untraced. The Superintendent also had steam
launch manned with men who knew the fugitives,
and in this vessel they cruised aDout
the North River and the Sound in
search of the suspicious craft in which
burglars frequently proceed to places where they
NNN'-~H-
they worked their way into little coves and creeks.
| in any direction where there was faint hope OF
finding their men, Special men, who knew the bur
glars by sight were also detached aud stationed in
Philadelphia, Baltimore. Camden, N. j.. and other
cities. where the authorities supposed they had a
clew ia order that they could assist in the idenifi-
cation of the men u case of capture. The search,
in the light of police retrospect, was one of the
most thorough on record. They did not catch sight
of their men until Detective Seck finally had the
| privilege of identifying them yesterday.
| A letter was received from Bridgeport, several
months ago, describing a small cat-ricged sloOp,
which had been stolen, and which the owner
thought might be found somewhere in the waters
around New-York. The boat found near Bay Ridge,
which the burglars had with them, corresponds
somewhat to this description, and the Superinten-
| dent thought probably the same. Detective
| Sieck said that he knew every vessel IN Now
| York waters. and this one was new to him.