Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1895-06-14

W.T. DElZV COIQS SAC oA5AA
KIN TX cance of trifles that
GEM6W SW are important clues
$sa1nnas1 to the doings Of the
.sasasadka ~ k1Ia,a criminal cl "a es.
tsN-. Spots of ink, cigar
ashes, marks on the
finger and the par
ticIes Of dust In the folds OF an um-
brella are all eloquent to this obseryant
seeker after truth as revealing times,
places and occurrences In which people
may have been engaged. There Is
whole literature on the muds OF New
York and vicinity, their color and con-
sistency and the various degrees OF al
mospheric moisture under which tney
will be reduced to fluid state, Wnlie
toothpicks and matches as character
istics Of various restaurants and locali-
ties are full Of meaning, says New
York exchange. Now 1t appears, by
what the amateur Sherlock Holmes has
been revealing In moment OF conf
dence, that the dead walls OF New York,
stoops Of houses, basement entrances
and area gateways are the sign-posts
of the criminal classes and that what
look like the rude scrawlings OF boys
are in reality the secret symbols by
which burglars communicate with each
other. Chalk marks under the edge
Of one OF your front steps may mean
that your house has been spotted and
will be broken into on certain date.
rude drawing on the area railings
may to the enlightened eye Of the In
itiated mean: ''This man has a burg
lar alarm on his second-story windows
and keeps a revolver under his pillow,
but the silver is in the buffers pantry
on the first floor and the house may be
entered through the second basement
window, where the latch Is broken.
Who knows but that Garyey, the tramp
who seemingly through ignorance wan
dered into Mrs Astor's house and went
to sleep in one Of the servants rooms,
was in reality directed through some
such message as this pictured on the
Astor fence? The fraternity which has
developed this sign language to such a
high degree Of perfection show consid-
efable ingenuity In It's design, but no
attempt is made at accuracy of draw
ing, as that would attract attention.
The sign-pictures Of the burglars
are made to look as much like
the rude scrawls Of school-boys as
possible. From the notebook of the
amateur Sherlock Holmes some Of these
burglars sign-pictures are herewith
produced. It will be seen that they
convey accurate information about the
interior arrangements Of the houses,
which could only be obtained either
through spy in the guise Of a beggar.
who had gained entrance or through
some of the servants. Three figures
were found scraWled on the gateway OF
one house. The information thus pic.
torially conveyed was to the effect that
the house was tenanted by lady, one
woman servant and a boy page That
he was a boy page was indicated by
buttons on his coat. and the servant was
indicated by short skirt, dotted to
resemble print dress. Another pic
ture in the notebook Of the amateur
Sherlock Holmes was more easily de-
ciphered, as it showed merely a fierce
bulldog guarding the house, a warning
to all members of the fraternity. The
next sign, taken from a house in the
suburbs, was more mysterious and
complicated, but upon study it finally
resolved itself into the announcement
that the man who lived there went out
to business at in the morning and re-
turned at in the evening.
Another picture gathered by the am
ateur Sherlock Holmes during his
painstaking investigation Of this sub
ject showed accurate information, as
was subsequently discovered, upon the
part Of the sign-writer as to the in
terror of the house. It indicated that
there were three electric bells on the
windows, and that one woman servant
was employed. crude drawing taken
from under the edge of a stoop Indicated
that the servant there had been
squared and this house presumably
was just ready to be burglarized Some
of the booty expected to be secured, to-
gether with warnings as to possible diff
ficulties to be met with, were indicated
by ign-pictures of silver spoons, coin
and plate, together with the statement
that the place was AL" but there were
significant sketches of dog, a revolver
and electric bells to put the thieves
upon their guard as to what to expect.
Frequently the burglars, says the anna
teur Sherlock Holmes, put these sign
pictures on houses remote from those
to which they refer, and in this case
the Identity Of the latter is revealed by
mysterious symbols. This was the
case with the rude drawing of house
discovered on street corner. 1t rep
resented tall house with line barbed
with an arrowhead leading to the roof
from the street and indicating that the
best method of ingress was through
the roof The street and number of this
house were also shown by succession
of numerals which only the initiated
could understand.
To the practiced eye of the amateur
Sherlock Holmes, however, the meaning
of this sign-picture on street corner
was plain, as 1t indicated that a house
in that neighborhood had been exam
inea as to its burglarious possibilities.
and that within very short time
robbery there might be looked for.