Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1903-10-30
[LITrLE THINGS sg1.RAY cRlMss.



Very 1nsigniicant Matters Leads to
the Detection Of EviIdeers.
Il can easily spot pickpocket In q
crowd" said one OF New york's detec-
tives, who has been attached to the
detective bureau at police headauar-
tiers for the last fifteen years, in CON
versation with reporter the other
day. TT is not necessary that know
my man by sight first before can
spot him. A thief, as rule, you know,
has habit Of glancing frequently over
his shoulder In furtive manner to
see that he is not being watched, and
1t Is by that habit that thief has
often betrayed his occupation to me.
Frequently have had to track
and Identify men whom had never
seen, my only means of Identification
being photograph taken years ago.
This Is usually very difficult to accom-
plish, however, as 1t Is easy for the
criminal radically to change his ap.
pearance. 1t is possible for man to
pose as a sailor, farmer, a Bowery
tough or pastor, within, say, twenty
four hours. Many criminals make a
specially of disguise, and can assure
you they can alter their appearance
to a remarkable degree.
"Disguises, however, no matter how
cleverly got up, do not always conceal
mans Identity. There are, for In.
stance, the color and expression Of the
eyes. These cannot possibly be alter
ed and they have been one Of the most
frequent aids in identifying fugitive
criminals. Another Identification mark,
although not an infaHible one, but one,
nevertheless, by which 1 have on sew.
eral occasions detected a criminal
when other means failed me, are the
cheek bones. Like the color of the
eyes, they cannot be changed.
Descriptions as to the weight and
circumference of wanted man fire.
quently prove faulty and, therefore,
unreliable, as aids to detection. This
is especially 80 where a man has
evaded the detectives for any great
length Of time, for 1t is possible that
during his evasion the criminal may
have lost coed deal of his weight
and corpulency, while, on the other
hand, spare man may have gained
in avoirdupois and bulk.
I'm such cases, however, 1 have in
one or two instances established the
identity Of the man 1 was after by
his ears. AS a rule the worst Grimm.
ais have oddly shaped ears, and no
matter how cleverly they may disguise
themselves they can seldom succeed
in concealing their telltale earmarks
from the detective who has already
made their acquaintance.
"The eyebrows also afford another
means of personal Identity, because
they are invariably distinctive and
characteristic to the trained detective.
About three years ago 1 captured one
of the cleverest crooks-a man who
has served many terms in Sing Sing
by the peculiar slant of his eyebrows.
At the time / arrested him he was
wearing a wig and flowing black
false beard. The disguise might easily
have deceived the. casual observer, but
to me there was one thing lacking to
make it complete. He had forgotten
to alter his eyebrows, and they almost
gave me the clew to his identity.
Clever criminals, after making per-
haps rich haul somewhere, will pay
for effective DISCUSSES. A few
facial artists in New York City could
tell you of the handsome prices they
are frequently paid for make-ups."-
New York Times.