The Osceola times., 1886-06-12
TELL-TALE INK MARK.
Led to the Detection of a Muir.
derer.

st~ Q6ror.
a few evenings since . St. Paul
|neer Press reporter stepped into
all retail establishment on a side
7 bet of st. Paul to make the purchase
d cigar, and after securing the weed.
y turning to leave, when the proprie-
remarked "Some time ago no
(, ed an item in your paper which said
ID in San Francisco they photographed
J thumbs of Chinese, and that there
bmed to be a greater difference in
Dir thumb nails than in their faces
bw, that is wrong impression of the
liter 1t is the underpart, or sole, of
thumb which is photographed, as
lines and circles in the skin are not
same on any two persons in the
iverse. This fact is not generally
own; but. if | am not mistaken, is
Zen as a subject of Illustration in
hrk rwain's Life on the Mississippi
(which a murderer is ferreted out, but
the end the wrong man pays the
halty of the crime. For many years
vas in the detective business, and in
e case the only clue | had was the i'm
Int of mans thumb. 1t is not
IN long story. and if you are not in
orry ! will tell you about it.' Being
W1uested to relate the incident, he re-
med: AT the outbreak of the war,
enlsted from Illinois; and after re-
wing my discharge at Memphis, |
Gonde my way up the Mississippi to
N situated on the river-the name of
q place | will omit for various reasons
<for the purpose Of visiting relatives
fore returning TO New York, my
natve State, where | had been offered
q position as head of a detective
eency. The city where | was visiting
ben had population of perhaps eight
. ten thousand inhabitants, and by TIE
Ume set for my departure | had cult
0nted quite an extensive acquaintance,
1mong whom was a very eccentric1old
Dan living alone with his granddaught-
u, a young lady just verging into
Eomanhood and between whom there
Eas a strong attachment Very little
Vas known concerning them, but from
D. young lady herself | afterward heard
y very remarkable history concerning
Der parents and grandfather. They had
Formerly lived in Virginia, where the
pd man had been highly connected.
His only child, a daughter, married,
ogainst his wishes, a shittless, lazy fell
low, and was disowned by her father,
bcr mother having died several years
before. This man. finding that he would
get none of the fortune which rightfully
to his wife. soon tired of her,
and before they had been married
sear, he kicked her out of the house on
b winter night. She returned to her
Gathers house and asked forgiveness.
but he was relentless, and in a week .
time she died in the almshouse after
giving birth to a daughter. When il
was too late the old man repented of
The manner in which he had treated her
and took his little grandchild and left
for the West, hiding from the disgrace
10 which he had subjected himself.
Buying a home, he devoted his life to
the education of his grandchild. The
house in which they lived was situated
on high bluff overlooking the river,
and was gained only by narrow path
running up the side of a bluff.
This path, must confess, | had trav-
ersed almost daily for some time pre-
vious to my intended departure-not
for the purpose of viewing the scenery
after reaching the summit, but for the
pleasure of an hours chat with the old
mans granddaughter On one of these
occasions the young lady told me that
one of the peculiarities of her grand
father was that he had for years kept
quite a large sum of money in the house,
not trusting the bank for its safe keep
ing, and that she was always in fear Of
her life in consequence. This story i
had heard from my own relatives, and
was not greatly surprised when, on my
way to the teamboat landing one morn
ing to secure passage to st. Louis, l
heard that during the night some one
had broken into the old mans house,
murdered him as he lay in bed and
made his escape with the money. This
news banished all intention of leaving,
and | at once hastened TO the scene of
the tragedy and prevailed upon the
young lady to accept the hospitality OF
my relatives until the matter could be
Strengthened up, which she thankfully
accepted. then set to work to ferret
out the murderer. The entrance and
exit had been made through a window
IN the rear of the building, and, while
looking for tracks under the window,
notice black mark on the sill which had
been painted white. Upon close examina-
uon ltproved to be the imprint of a man S
thumb. The manner in which it came
there was easily explained. The money
which had been stolen was hidden in a
common writing desk in the old mans
bedroom, and in the hurried search for
The treasure the assassin had overturned
a bottle of ink, getting some of il on
ms hands, and in leaving the house had,
oy this means, left the mark. This, !
soon discovered, was the only clew
mad but, poor as it seemed at first, it
aiterward proved TO be good one. l
Immediately sent word to the agency in
New York asking to be released from
the engagement, and then settled down
70 work on the case. The first thing /
eid was to saw out the piece of the WIN
9ow sill on which was the stain, and ]
Kept the piece of wood secreted in my
1unk. The only chance for me ever 70