The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-11-17

frosted abroad for another offense.
"a girl found dead held in her
hands some tiny bits of fluff from
a military uniform. These were
identified and the murderer traced.
Even when the victim is still
alive it is best. whenever possible
to go at once for skilled assistance,
rather than attempt to save the
victim with unskilled hands. Out
of doors or even indoors footmarls
neare the scene of the tragedy
should be Immediately covered
with boards or something of the
sort to prevent their being
| trampled out. Windows must not
be closed nor doors, lest finger
mark be thereby destroyed and the
guilty person escape recognition
or the final finger mark proof fail.
The young Sherlock must re-
member, however, that the scene
of the tragedy is not necessarily
the place where the body is found.
The victim may have dragged him
relf some little way or been drag
ged. Then precautions must be
taken quickly to keep the neigh
borhood free of tramping.
"A girl found murdered in a
cornfield could be shown to have
been killed at some distance be-
cause there was no sign of the corn
having been trampled The stalks
lay in one direction aud were mere
ly crushed by the body being drag
ged along"
So, too, out of doors the marks
lof bicycle wheels may be of the
utmost Importance and should, If
possible be carefully covered up
with boards for some little dist
ance. 1t is possible to tell from
the marks what defects there may
have been on the outer cover of
the tire. and it has happened that
exactly these marks led to the dis
covery of man who owned a BIZ
cycle which had similar marks of
defects on the tire. He turned out
to be the murderer.
Then it is desirable to keep peo-
pie back and quickly look around
the whole surroundings of the
scene of the crime for any special
mark.
Tell-Talc Grains of Snuff
For example, some little time
ago, night Waterman was found
murdered near the Elizabeth
church in Berlin. The detectives
found on a rubbish heap not far
off considerable quantities of snuff.
Nnuy lt it.Gt that %
housebreakers and church ROBBERS
was going around and throwing
snuff in the eyes of watchmen and
others. By this means the murder
was traced to this gang.
II the crime has taken place in
doors, it is usually easier to pre-
vent destruction of clues by out
5iders. On the other hand, the
owners or occupiers of the house,
especially women, are likely to as
sumo hastily that the first thing to
do is to wash away the blood
stains and make the place less
like shambles before the magis-
trate comes"
Remember, young Sherlock, that
hCShAAiei iliNi1l, hluSj pt
touched. In one case a criminal
had eaten a piece of cheese and
left the mark of his teeth on the
lind. A dentist was able from that
1it of rind that the murderer was
a man whose teeth must have made
exactly the same marks as thore
IN the. rind, and who probably
never would have been brought to
Justice if it had not been for that
piece of cheese.
1t is obvious from a perusal of
Doctor Wulffen's article that the
great Sherlock did not use his
brains much more thoroughly than
the detectives of the German crimi-
lal police. 1t is also obvious that
The public can greatly assist in de-
.ecting crime.