Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-06
BOOK oF.FATE,

P1ttsburg Press: ~"JOhnSCn's Book OF
Criminals" is known throughout the
country among the police, and on it
hinges the fate Of many a bank breaker,
safe cracker, %pickpocket and burglar. It
is a big ledger that he has been keeping
for years and to-day there are hundreds
of criminals serving time in the various
prisons of this country who were, identi-
fed by the author and a full pedigree
of them furnished. Detective Thomas
G. Johnson, Of the Allegheny front Office
force, has a hobby in this line, and has,
perhaps, the b;st knowledge of criminals
and knows more OF them than any Of
this accomplishment, but when a GRIM
inal Is captured in IN part of the
try and is unknown to the police Of the
town, Johnson is called upon n if he
(the pr~isoner) has been arrested before.
johnson has him in his book of fate and
he goes to the city and Identifies the cui-
prit and furnishes the necessary identifi-
cation.
Ten years ago, Mr.. Johnson began this
work in earnest, but he had been at it
seven Years before, although only in a
rough manner. 1t was only in 1889.
however, that he made it q fad of his
own, n just about that time the state
legislature passed a bill compelling the
prisons Of the various counties to furnish
the nearest police or detective superin-
NC-AuS4lt ~ q i10l y III SOllC VII WCIC
to leave within the month from the is
u of the report. Ever since then the
Allegheny detective has collected these
reports and has the record of all the no.
turius crooks of h country and their
pictures and measurements. He is The
Bertillon of this. n of the state, and
when one asks of a certain noted criminal
Johnson always has his full name, his
aliases, his home address n where he
is sojourning at present on his finger tips
and rattles it off at a great rate. OF
course being close to the Western peni-
tertiary he makes this his main point of
interest and information.
Warden Wright furnishes him with the
names of those prisoners who are to
leave the Riverside hotel during b. the
month and the date of each scheduled de-
parture n If the departing convict is
I'D into the Office to prepare for leaving
the prison. While he Is in prison john
son gets acquainted with his and when
the time of departure comes he leaves the
prison with him and frequently treats
him before he bids adieu and the convict
goes away congratulating himself on
having met Mr.. Johnson, of Allegheny,
little thinking that the "Foxyquiller'' has
ascertained all worth knowing from him
and has his name on his book of fates.
The book referred. is not in morocco bind
ing, nor is it gold lettered. 1t is simply
an ordinary book indexed, and here APP
pears the name Of the thief, and. turning
to the page indicated you find his entire
history.
Detective Johnson has been on the po-
lice force of Allegheny for II years. and
for Is of these years he has been a detec-
tive. He is known as lied" and every
man, woman and child knows him. His
knowledge of ~pickpockets is very extern
| sive. Once he sees a face he never for
gets 1t and it is for this reason that when
| police from other cities want detectives.
- %:uo1e 80 hior ovooy,c ,no ,o,., III 1roo-
an eye on the crooks, that Johnson is
| sent. He was at the last G. A. r. en-
campment in Philadelphia, the Dewey
celebration in New York. and in fact he
! has been detailed on similar missions to
nearly every city in the country.
He has made many important captures
in his time. but when interviewed bv the
Press reporter, he was timid and did not
wish anything sale about him or his
work. Nevertheless he is regarded as
! one Of the shrewdest in this locality land
his knowledge of criminals is authority
for many.