Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1886-12-03

SA-Soeo>As hoe SSAo III LIS
teeth, and there was q tremulous motion
in his eyslids. You have observed this
IN people. Those who do il would STAN
mer if they did not wink. There were
no points il the description of the other
which would serve to identify him on the
street. He simply looked enough like
the other to be his brother"
Ispent two weeks in Chicago looking
for my man. and although was well as
sisted by the detectives, my search was
II vain. No one could remember 4 crook
bearing that description. was at the
depot ready to take the train for home.
when ran across 8 Chicago, Burlington
and Quincy railroad detective whom |
had not seen for several months As we
talked about the Blankville murder gave
him description of my men, and had
hardly done SO when he replied:
Il know them both, or at least where
they can be found. 1 saw them in RI
yesterday. and they are often on the
road"
The town he named was about seventy
i've miles from Blankville, on cross
line railroad, and l had not been in it
two hours when located my men. They
were brothers, and one kept bakery
and the other a saloon. Both had the
reputation of being peaceful, law abiding
men, and they had families. 1t there
fore behooved me to go slow, and the ar
rests were not made until they were posi-
lively identified by the livery man, and
l had positive evidence that they were
away from home at the time. In each
case, when making the arrest, was asked
concerning the nature of the offense or
7 AZ :. -.
murder at Rossburg. The prisoners
were strangely silent, and, though seem
ingly anxious about the future, they re-
fused to talk about the case. I took them
to Rossburg, put them in Jail, and in
two or three days they were arranged.
They had sent to Chicago for counsel
but he had not arrived. Temporary
counsel appeared for them, they pleaded
not guilty and in an hour or two were re-
turned to Jail.
You may now ask yourself what cause
l had against the brothers. As looked
it over came to the conclusion that my
work had just begun. They had left
home without noise, if not secretly; had
hired horse and buggy under false pre-
lenses; had driven secretly across the
country under cover Of darkness. They
proofs. 1t was my duty to hunt for
proofs. | went to the bank to have some
questions answered. 1t was in summer
and the front door stood open. new
janitor had just been employed, and as
l entered the cashier Was saying to him
John, get paper and wrap it around
that brick which hol!s the door open. 1t
is no ornament as it is."
INIT lJro T,,l, ~ q a
brick. As the jaxitor lifted it up took
it from his hand, and the next instant |
made g discovery. There was clot of
dried blood on the brick. and in the clot
were sticking several hairs, which l knew
had come from the dead ianitors head.
l had made an important discovery, but
at the same time had ruined my case.
The brick had been in the Office year or
more. The blood and the hairs were svi
dence that it was the weapon used to
strike the janitor with. Then followed
the queries:
'Would men come to rob the bank with
out weapons? Was it likely that the
brick was useS?'
l replied to these in the negative, and
l walked straight over to the Jail and in
the presence of the prisoners, and said:
Neither of you are guilty of tho muir
der of the janitor!"
eve are not" they answered.
You were not near the bank that
night?"
I'VE we're not;
But yet you had secret purpose in
coming here that night"
"We had"
What was it,"
1--WE will not tell
That ended the interview. Mind you,
every man in the community believed
them guilty of murder, and l was the re-
cipient of praise on every hand for what
was termed clever capture. You may
think it strange that | went away from
the Jail fully determined to clear them as
l had been to convict them. The draw
back to good detective work is the hest
fancy to drop false scent, or to admit
that pet theory is wrong. I returned
to the bank and asked for the average
health of the janitor.
He had been heard to complain of pains
around the heart, but otherwise nothing
could be said.
Gentlemen" | said to the bank Off
cials, "your janitor mad gone to his cot
for the night. sudden illness seized
| him, and in his alarm he made his way to
the door to call for help. He had got the
| door open when he fell to the floor, prob
| ably dead, and by his fall his head came
in contact with the brick"
THAT is theory" they answered in a
chorus.
But will furnish the proof. l de-
mand post mortem examination of the
body"
I had hard work to get it, but the re-
suit was that three reputable doctors
found that the man came to his death
from heart trouble.
They mixed in some professional terms
and some Latin, but that was the sub
stance of it. The day the two prison
ers were discharged from custody said
to them:
Il caused your arrest, but l have also
brought about your liberation. Now tell
me what brought you to Blankville than
night"
And you will keep it secret"
"Yes"
"To burn that tannery. 1t belongs to
an estate to which we should have shared,
but we were defrauded of our rights. In
revenge We sought to burn up $4,000
worth of property"
kept the secre. until they were both
dead.