The Osceola times., 1876-10-07
A DALMATIAN DETECTIVE.
The Wonderful Exploits of Member oi
the London Police.

the London Police.
One of the most remarkable of the
London police is Druskowitz. No one
looking at the short, blonde -mustachtd
and rather dandyfed young man would
suspect him of being the cleverest of de-
tectives. He is about thirty-four years
old, but looks less. His father was a
Dalmatian. He himself speaks any
number of languages, and is thus nearly
always sent abroad where any case occurs
in non-English speaking country need
ing the services of an English detective.
In Londen his special work is among the
foreigners, who.g there as fugitives from
justice. 1t is generally found that such
persons betake themselves to special 10.
calities. Usually they lie hiding for a
Few days, but they soon find it impossi-
BILE TO remain indoors any longer and
80, having shaved off their boards, if
they had one, or putting on false
beard il they had formerly shaved, and
wearing wig and spectacles, they sally
forth at night, and, being in want of
amusement, they betake themselves to
the Alhambra. That is favorite resort
of foreigners in London, and Drusko-
WITT is therefore frequent visitor there.
He appears much interested by the per-
formance, but his thoughts are elsewhere.
He is watching some one individual in
the audience, follows him when he
leaves, tracks him to his hiding place,
and then sets to work to find out who he
is. Woe to the man who really is a
criminal if Druskowitz be on his trail.
There is little chance for him. Drusko-
witt has an extraordinary moral in
fuence over criminals it is something
like that Of the rattlesnake upon bird.
He carries no arms, yet he does not fear
to go up to an armed and desperate man
and arrest him aud, though armed and
desperate, he succumbs. Druskowitz was
engaged nine years ago in remarkable
case. In 1866 Vital Douat, a Bordeaux
wine merchant, went 70 Paris and insured
his life for sum equal TO $4,000.
Shortly afterward he went to London in
order to escape the consequences of a
fraudulent bankruptcy. Some time
later his wife, clad in widows weeds,
presented herself at the insurance office
with the necessary legal documents at
testing her husbands death. There was
nothing suspicious in the papers. Never
theless, the company determined to
make some inquiries before handing over
the amount of insurance. Druskowitz
was called in and he ascertaned that on
December |, 1866. some one named Ber-
nand had called at the registers Office in
Plaistow and registered the death of
Douat, and it was entered as due 10
heart disease. Druskowitz found out
the undertaken who had conducted the
funeral, and learned that everything had
been properly ordered and paid for, and
that the funeral had been pei formed at
Leytonstone by the Catholic priest. One
thing seemed strange. The coffin had
not been sent to any private house, but
direct to the cemetery. Further in
quiry failed to discover any doctor OF
the name attached to the certificate OF
death. The next step was to obtain an
order for exhumation, and the coffin be-
ing opened there was found, not the
body of Vital Douat, but bleck o
lead. Further inquiry ELECTED the fac,
that Douat had b en- present at his owy
funeral and afterwards gone to America
whence he supplied his wife with thu
documents intended for the insuranc,
company. Some time afterwards he re
turned to Europe, went TO Antwerp
bought ship, sent her to sea with a 10
of rubbish, and having previously in
sured her for large sum, had he
burned. Arrested and brought to trial
he was visited by Druskowitz. who fcl
sure that this was the man be wanted
Douat was found guilty and oondemne,
to imprisonment with hard labor, bu
the French government claimed hir
under an exWadition treaty, and he wa
tried on the charge of fraudulent bank
ruptcy, found guilty, and sentenced t
penal servitude for comparativel
sholt period.