The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1886-01-01
THE MICROSCOPE IN foao=Rles.
Some Interesting Cases of Detection by
Its Use--An Experts Testimony
T3yosh;,o+o,, Cto,1

Some Interesting Cases of Detection by
Its Use--An Experts Testimony.
Washington Star.l
A reporter was sitting in Dr. L. NJ
Schaeffer's Office the other evening talking
with him of the mysteries of the micro
scops DR.. Schaaffsr Is called in as an ex.
pert microseopist in a great many cases i'll
the courts "Tais little instrument i;
very valuable witness sometimes he saii,
a. he put slide upon the microscope ami
addresssi himself to the scribe. "IG is ex-
ceedingly inquisitive and uncovers great
many mysteries, not only of inanimate na-
ture but of men. As its master, / am in.
formel of great many curious things.
Some of the most interesting cases. arc
thoss of hand writing / have made a very
thorough study of this under the micro
scope, both as TO Individuality of form and
various sorts OF ink, AMI the effect of time
and condition upon them. | can very
readily discover forgeries interlineations,
or erasures. l do not think | could be de-
ceiyei in thi; unless the man that did the
work had the same facilities for doing it
that have for detecting it-that is unless
the forger was microscopic
"Ons case in which I testified was where O
man was being sued on a bond involving
100000. He acknowledged that he had
signed bond for one of the parties named
in the bond produced, but claimed that the
the second name hal been added since.
The person he signed for. he said. was re.
liable and trustworthy, but the other person.
was not, and he would never have signed
the bond had his name bean upon it at the
time. All the writing on the document was
in the same hand and appeared to have
been written at the same time Under q
micro cops. discovered by the age of the
ink, that the second name had been added
some time after the paper was signed, and
that ths pronoun him had been changed to
them whenever it occurred on the bond.
"Another case l was callei into was whers
an old mln's name hal been forged to notes
by his son-in-law. Taere were ninety notes
of 1000 each. which the old man pro-
nouncel forgeries, AMI on examining them
I found them to bs such. Without know
ing anything of his habits, knew as soon
as l saw his genuins Signature that he al
ways wrote with goli pen. The forgeries
were ali written with steel psn. and there
were enough points Of difference for me to
be able to distinguish them from the
genuine in every case. In murder
trial in Maryiani there was a curious
case of forgery involved. A faithless wife
some husband out OF the way. The hus-
band remarked one morning. at breakfast
that the coffss tasted strange. A few min
utss later he fell in fit and died. At the
inquest note was produced purporting to
be from the deceased, written just before
his DEATH confsssing that he had taken his
own life.
"Ncbody could be found who had ever
seen any Of the mans writing except his
signature, and that appeared to be all right
on the note. There was nothing to compare
the rest of the writing with / examined
the note very carefully and found that
while the body Of the manuscript was writ
ten freely and naturally, as il by some one
used to writing, the signature was very
black and heavy, and seemed to have been
drawn. Another thing was that, while it
must have taken considerable pressure to
make it SO black (the whole was written
with a psnciD, there was no impression
through the paper. I pronounced the note
forgery. l knew beyond a doubt that it
was The friends Of the widow threatened
to kill the expert, but they gave up ths
note as defense and took up another line,
by which they secured an acquittaL After
it was all over with and the accused could
not be again put on trial, her sister-in-law
Dragged that she had written the note, and
traced the signature from an original by
holding it against the window pane. Ths
hard, smooth surface Of the glass was what
had prevented the encl lines from show
ing through the paper.
The Hudson Bay Transportation Route.
[(hicago Tmesl
A good deal has been said Of late bout
the feasibility Of route through Hudsons
bay for transportation of thu products of
the middle portion Of the continent to
Europe. The project has been commended
on the claim that it would give compare
lively short rail route, and shereby make
transportation cheap. The projectors have
expressed a belief that lines of railroads
from the central portion of the continent,
reaching as far south as Colorado and Kan
saS, would converge upon Hudson's bay.
Lieut.. Fred Schwatka explodes this idea.
He shows that the route could be open but
few weeks in each year. For seven or eight
months the ice is a solid body, and after it
breaks up the channel is often closed by
drift ice, even in July and August Ships
trying to force their way into the open sea
are liable to be caught in dangerous ice
traps. Usually in August, although soma
times not until the latter part of the month,
the straits leading into Hu1son's bay are clear
but it is only little time a. the days grow
shorter till the ice begins to form again.
The period Of open water is so short that, az
Schwatka expresses it, vessel could only
Clash in" for a cargo, and would be lucky
to get out This, in all probability, is cor
rect Judgment Even the routs by our great
lakes is closed five months out Of the year,
and it remains to be demonstrated whether
the Canadian Pacific railway, although ly.
ing south of the country to be trayersei by
the projected road before reaching Hudson's
bay, can be operated in winter with prae-
tical results.