The Washington herald., 1908-07-03

Trailed by the bloody imprint Of his
left hand. left on the window sill OF the
house he had broken into, VIII Carter
a negro. forty years old. OF 70 Dingman
place northwest. was arrested at 1875
o'clock last night by Central Office De
tective Bob Barbee. The negro is locked
mp at the Sixth precinct station, and will
be charged with housebreaking.
The circumstances leading TO the arrest
Of the negro rival that Of the yellowest
and most mysterious of detective stories
Sherlock Holmes and The Thinking Ma
chine" are left far in the ruck
A likeness Of the bloody print on the
window sill and door-jamb OF the house
was taken by the sleuth. He then inter
viewed every possible suspect. lie wore
a pair Of white chamois gloves. the right
one sprinllled plentfully with powder. He
shook hands with every suspect. When
he came 10 the right man. the telltale
prints were left on his glove.
Burglar Alarm Calls Police.
An automatic burglar alarm I'm the for
mer residence Of the late Judge and
United States Senator Louis +. McComas.
OF Maryland. at POI Wyoming avenue
northwest. sounded a warning In the Of
fee OF the Mutual District Messenger
Company. at 11l4 Connecticut avenue.
shortly before J. o'clock yesterday. Ell
wood Phelps. one Of the men employed
in the Office. hurried to the house which
for some time has been unoccupied. In
the basement he found a negro cutting
the lead pipe from the gas meter. He
talked with the man and then went 10
the door with him and called for a police
man
When Phelps made an outcry. the ne
gro struck him and tried 10 run Phelps
held on, and the two had a desperate
fight. The negro. "a powerful man. more
than six sect tall. finally struck Phelps a
blow In the face that Knocked him uucon-
sCious.
After disposing Of the messenger. the
negro ran through the house and tried
20 get out Of a side door. lie was unsuc-
cessful and tried a window. Il was
locked. and he burst the glass with his
left hand. In breaking the glass he
inflicted a deep cut i'm his wrist lie was
too large 10 get through the window.
and tried the door again. finally breaking
that glass. He then opened the door and
ran out.
Bloody Print on Jamb.
In leaving the house. the negro put
his hand on the door -jamb, leaving the
bloody imprint thereon The blood
concealed and left perfect photograph
Of the intruder's hand.
Detective Barbee was notified OF the
crime at y o'clock. He hurried 10 the
house and talked with Phelps He search
ed the place and found nothing missing.
While making the search he smelled gas.
and descending into the cellar. found
that the gas was escaping from the pipes
hat had been cut by the negro. At the
risk of his life. Barbee. assisted by
Phelps. put a stop-cock on the pipes and
stopped the flow Of gas.
Barbee then searched the basement. At
he rear door he found the bloody i'm
print on the window sill was another
lllDlllll- II ADOh UuL n NHOEl LlIllt 10 Ol-
ain a fac-simile Of the imprint, and ne
hen started TO find the owner OF the
land
1t was learned that the house was I'm
,harge Of the American Security and Trust
Company. From the bankers he learned
hat Louis Turley. a white man. was the
From Turley he learned the
names Of all the negroes that had ever
,een employed about the place About
wenty persons were visited and exam
ned. Some fitted the general description
# the intruder. but the bloody fingers
Imprinted on the window sill did not cor
espond with theirs.
Powdered Glove Tells Tale.
Late last night, when the field had
narrowed down to two or three persons. /
3arbee went to 10 Dingman place and
isked for the master of the house He
,almed himself off as a contractor, and
,arter readily came to the door and
alked with him.
When the negro appeared. Barbee shook
iands with him. He wore a pair OF white
hamois gloves, saturated with powder. !
The negro's dirty fingers left a clean and
lear outline on the glove. BY a pocket /
ashllght Barbee examined the prints 1
hey looked familiar. He compared them /
With the imprints left on the window SILL |
hey were the same. He then examined |
he negro's wrist. There was a deep |
ash In II.
''You had better come along with me-" |
@ said. Il am from headquarters"
The negro was taken to the Sixth pre- /
onfessed. His excuse was that he was
runk