The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-09-25
TRACING A BULLET
Calculations OF an Army Oficer Led
to a Strange Discovery.

ting together at headquarters the other
night and spinning yarns to pass away
an idle half hour or 20, and the red
mustached one had been holding forth
on the peculiar ways in which the
source of bullet shots coming from an
unseen direction were traced.
The killing of Goebel had brought
up the discussion, n they We're COM
menting On the attempt made TO trace
the place whence the fatal bullet came
by mean of a tight wire stretched to
various windows Of the Kentucky
capital.
Il think 1 can recall a story that
beats that" said an old detective. af-
ter they had looked at it from all points
of view. Il was down at Hot Springs.
Ark, once when a very peculiar acct
dent happened to a policeman there.
He was, more properly speaking, an
applicant for admission on the force,
and was undergoing a physical exami-
nation. They had him standing up
against the wall, and had just adjust
ed the measuring machine TO take his
height, when zip, Mr.. Policeman clap
ped his hands to his right eye fell
all in a heap. He was picked up al
most unconscious, and an examina-
ton disclosed the fact that he had
been hit just above the y by a par
TALLY spent bullet which had fallen TO
the floor with him.
I'VE doctored him up and found him
only slightly hurt, but everybody was
wondering where in the world that
bullet had come from. No shot had
been heard and no shooting adray had
been reported all that day, put there
vas a young army officer at he reser-
walton there who was pretty We'll
known as an engineer in the artillery
arm of the service. He heard of the
queer happening and became interest
ed in the case. He came down to head
quarters next day and had a talk with
Chief and the upshot of it was
that he was given permission to work
on the affair, as he said he was sure
he could locate the exact spot Whence
the shot came.
The first thing he did was to ex-
anime the measuring machine and he
found it just as it was left when the
prospective policeman a been bowled
over, so he had him get under the bar
again and stand just as he had stood
the day before. When he had rugged
up his own machine he had got the ex-
act altitude of the place where the
ball struck and the direction Of the bull
let in the wound. / can't give you the
technical description, but he worked
at his instruments and worked at his
PAP - and finally told us he was going
to ascertain the trajectory of the bull
let in its flight. He weigher the bullet
and measured it also TO a hairs
bre.dth and planted his machine so
that his needle would be exactly in
the pot where the wound would have
been in the policeman's head had he
stood there. L forgot to say that the
bullet had come evidently through the
window opposite, and outside was a
perspective of housetops with ridge of
mountains way to the back of them.
"Of course we were all mighty Gu
rious and a whole lot skeptical, but
the military chap kept his mouth shut
and worked away nearly all dag. FL
nally toward dusk he jumped up and
put on his coat and told the chief to
follow him. You can wager We all did
and those fellows who were on duty
were sore because they couldn'a go.
DO you see that tall house behind
the water works." aid the officer.
Yes" We.
well, do you see the white house to
the right? Now do you see the edge
of that shanty lying up under h hill
side about half way"
I'VE saw it and told him so.
"All right said he; that's where
the bullet came from: If ii didn' III
set UP the dinners down at the Park
house
We'll. you may believe we all struck
the o pretty quick, even il some of
Us did doubt him, for We wanted to get
that dinner. 1t tool US a an hou
20 max the place, having to do a deal
of twisting about, and at last W. came
to the shanty. The shanty belonged TO
and old fellow who was a unique char
acter and lived there all alone, and he
was suspected of having a stocking
full Of gold hidden somewhere, but
none of us was prepared for the sight
We beheld when the chief opened the
door. Three was the old fellow lying
prone on the fioor and moaning faint
ly. We went UP and examined him,
and there was blood all over his
clothes and a bullet hole in his neck.
THE army chap felt sorry, 1 guess.
but he didn't look it, but We all set
about bringing the old fellow around,
and when we had removed him down
the hillside to a neighbours house, he
rallied all right under n physician
and told us his tale. He aid he had
been set o by Big Mike a notori-
Gus gambler and desperate Of the
Springs, who had been away to races
at Memphis. and had come back broke
just a couple Of lays before.
The old man said he had found him
in his shanty, rummaging among the
mattresses, and when discovered had
drawn a. revolver and let him have Il.
The first shot missed, but the second
put a ball through the muscles OF the
do mans neck and he was almost
dead rom loss OF blood when we found
him. To corroborate the old mans
story a "a calibre Colt revolver was
found in the bushes outside, and this
was the same calibre as the ball hat
had hit the policeman. The army chap
didn't set m to the dinner tina night,
but the chief did, and you can put II
down that We didn't make any more
fun OF that West Point graduate and
his mathematical instruments and
trajectories after that. He owned the
whole town. o. woul have IL he'd