The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-10-24
My Amateur
Detective Work.

! eQudi 10 LII iIueE 1 HIS Is IiSHl, tiicuSA
crime does not seem to be prevented
by the rigor of the punishment at
tached. But no punishment can equal
the sufferings of a parent at the kid
naping of a child. The night we miss
ed our Harry and knew that he had
been kidnapped was the terror of my
life. have been shipwrecked, l have
seen those 1 have loved die, 1 lay all
night severely wounded on a battle
field, but none of these has approach
ed my sufferings at knowing my child
was in the hands of men who would
murder him if it became their interest
to do SO.
With the letter that came to me de-
manding ransom, after the shock
that the threats in it occasioned. /
found occupation and in occupation
some relief. l resolved to conduct the
case myself, permitting the police to
work Independently The public, nat
urally interested, must know what Is
being done to recover kidnapped
child, and the news given out, being
published in the papers, keeps the kid
napers we'll informed of their enemy's
movements | therefore sent inquirers
to the police for information and kept
my own counsel The letter | an
swered myself, assured the writer he
could deal with me directly more safe
ly than with any one else and proceed
ed to negotiate with him for my boys
return.
I received several letters one after
another in tolerably quick succession
They We're dirty things, written by an
illiterate person. The third one l re-
ceived was contained in an envelope
that had had no mucilage on the en-
yelope, and it had been sealed by past
ing. The sealer had made a mussy job
Of 1t, getting the paste smudged on
the envelope, and had pressed down the
flap with his thumb. leaving a faint
imprint Added to this, hair had got
in under the flap and was held there
by the paste.
| handled the envelope very gingerly
to preserve the thumb imprint and
sOftened the paste about the hair till
1 was enabled to extract it entire. II
the writer of the letter could be cap
tured, the thumb mark or the hair, OF
both, would serve to identify him.
treasured them, but said nothing abou
them to any one.
We had settled on the amount | was
to pay for my boys liberty, but nei
Their the kidnaper nor l was able t.
suggest method of payment salts
/ factory to him. l was obliged to wal
while he thought out plan for {
transfer of the funds. Meanwhile
was at work. l bought the best micro
scope l could find and examined the
hair. 1t was a red hair and had beer
dyed, having grown a sixteenth of al
inch since the dyeing. | had beer
warned in the letters | had received
that If any attempt was made to tract
any one calling at the postOtfice fo
mail the boy would be killed. Blu
now, having evidence to identify til,
kidnaper desired to locate his where
abouts. l therefore hired a man t,
take position at the postOffice ant
shadow any one calling for my letters
He tracked a girl about twelve year:
old to an alley, where she disappeared
On two other occasions he tracked til,
same girl to the same alley, but SOM
means had been invented to concea
her entrance to any building.
I now hired detective to go int
that alley and look out for a maj
with a dyed beard. He went in Their
as Jew peddler Of the lowest order
> While he was at work the kidnape
settled upon plan by which l Nigh
!; pay the ransom. l was to drive to
4 certain road on a certain night and &
a certain crossing would see a RET
lantern, signal protecting hole II
the road. l was to leave the none,
in a cigar box l would find beneatl
the lantern. If l did this my bo
would be left on the street where h
could find his way home.
On the very day / received this lei
ter my detective came to tell me tina
he had found man with dyed mus
tache occupying room he rented b.
, the week The detective had tried t
get into the room and had failed
indeed, he could not get near it, bein
ordered away OH the story below il
His information he had got from th
janitor Of the building.
All now depended upon whether M
detective had spotted the right MAI
He said he had scrutiniZed every pei
son living in the alley, which was bu
g two blocks long, and had been goo
while finding even one man with dye
n hair, so he felt very confident. At an
J rate l decided to appeal to the polio
to arrest the man. A number of plai
clothes men under guidance of my de
j. tective went to the building he desis
n mated and assembled to the room occt
d pied by the suspected man. The frs
policeman was stopped on the floor bt
low by watcher. but the other police
men coming up forced their wa,
: Kicking open the door of the ROOF
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