Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-12-30
DETECTIVES DOINGs.
A Reporter Behind the scenes.


A LEDGER reporter detailed to
write something about detectives and
their ways, recognizes first that they
are always Of interest to the public
according to the innate human prin-
ciple Of antipathy to the curious and
mysterious. Whenever 4 crime is
unearthed, the craving appetite Of the
public for details must be satisfied.
The bare announcement that q mys-
%terious crime has been committed and
the perpetrators caught and punished,
is no news unless accompanied by all
the details, no matter how horrible or
blood-curdling they may be. Yet,
even the most carefully written ac-
counts convey often but a dim idea OF
the labor, both mental and physical,
Of the detectives. Chance is the de-
tectiVes' best friend. He is as much
a gambler in one respect as the dealer
10 q faro bank. Among them, as with
every other class, there are q good
many who owe their reputation to a
happy streak OF fortune in the begin
ming of their career. The necessary
requisites in a good detective are self
possession, energy, pluck, persever-
ance and a sort Of analytical tendency
Of mind. The same trait in q member
Of any trade or profession would make
= mans fortune. Few men possess
them all, and therefore there are few
good detectives. Circumstances which
would pass unnoticed by an outsider
would be a revelation to the detective.
If any one can read sermons in stones,
he can, and more than that, he can
read q whole history in a shred Of
cloth, a button or a pin. 1t is said
one of the most horrible triple muir
ders Of the age was unesrthed by a
French detective, who had for his
start'rg point nothing but the simple
quotation, 1.-THE Prussians are COM
ing" The detective makes Il his
business to become first acquainted
with the manners aud customs Of the
hardened criminals. These foam a
class of society Of themselves, have
their own laws for self-government,
and communicate with each other by
means Of a sort Of gibberish which to
the uninitiated have no meaning what
ever. The detective learns this By
heart, as his first lesson, and gradu.
ally acquires such a knowledge Of the
manners Of the experienced criminal
that he has no difficulty in saying al
once whether a certain piece Of work
has been done bya graduate or a noyic,
in crime. When anovice does ajob, the
detectives are usually thrown of the
track at first by his wild maneuver.
ings, but generally succeed ID tracing
him at last. Criminals are divided
into several classes, each distinct and
separate from the other. Like a mar
who pursues one trade until he il
master Of it, a criminal pursueS one
branch Of crime until his method i
perfection, and then he becomes dan,
gerouS,
Among the numerous classes are
burglars, who are we'll up in hsndlinI
the crowbar and jimmy; safe. bloWers
who bore a safe nearly through one
night, cover up their tracks, and come
back the next aud finish up theil
work at their leisure; mall buzaers,'
men who steal from women; pick.
pockets, who work a wire like a Dol.
iticiani panel thieves, who craw,
fh:cc;lga a sliding panel and leave the
astoundea slumbercr to wake in the
morning and find the door locked anG
his valuables gone; "sbep-lifters,'
generally women In elegant attire
who make a pretense Of purchasing
while they Gil their pockets with cost.
" goods; garroters, whose vice-lik,
grip about the throat stops the Ory o.
the lonely traveller while his packets
are riaedi ecUntePieiters, forgers anG
a host Of others confidence men,
or putters-up of jobs, who impase OF
the credulity Of r%ustiOs, forming 4
large per cent Of the whole.
Detectives have a different way Of
working up crimes committed by each
class. The old way Of reasoning oul
the matter is not SO much in vogue a,
the easier one Of working uH a cas-,
with the aid Ofspies, or stool pigeons
as they are called. AS it takes /
thief to catch a thief" the stoo'
pigeon is generally Of the same stamT
as the mar he is set to- watch.