Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-05-05
THUMB PRINTS
TWAIN'S IDEA
"PUDD'N HEAD WILSON'S THEORY
ADOPTED BY POLICE IN ALL
THE LARGE CITIES
is THOUGHT INFALLIBLE
Story Of Eccentric Lawyer in River
Town, Created by Clemens, Is
Now Great Aid to
Detectives.

While Samuel Clemens, Mark
Twain" probably produced more de-
lightful and richer humor than any
American, he was deep thinker and
while he expressed his thoughts In
vein of levity, he displayed his wis
dom to the thinker. N
It was Mark Twain, in ont Of his
earlier works, who gave to tie world
the remarkable story Of "Pu }d'nhead
Wilson," and told his story so we'll
and so convincingiy that ! be finger
print system now in vogue ID all Of
the worlds larger cities gained the
first prominence after the appearance
of the book.
It was at Dawson's Landing, on the
Mississippi river, on the Missouri
side, less than half a days ride by
steamboat from st. Louis, that he
laid his scene for his story that cap
tivated the reading public, and was
later given sumptuous production on
the title role.
David Wilson, otherwise "Pudd'n-
head was educated for the law. But
he was failure. It was while he was
waiting for the clients that never
came that he evolved his f1nger-pr1nt
theory around which Mark Twain so
ingeniously wrote his story, that,
filled with 11umor as it Is, contains
ideas that scientists did not scorn to
adopt and cause to be used as the
most infallible manner in which Grim
inals of all lands can be identified.
"Pudd'nhead's'' Methods.
Palmistry was fad Of the idle and
lovable lawyer. He had another fad
without a name. He was chary Of his
nameless fad, because it added to his
repugnant name Of "Pudd'nhead." 1t
dealt with peoples finger marks. He
carried in his coat pocket shallow
box with grooves in it, and in the
grooves strips of glass five inches
long and three inches wide. Along
the lower edge was a strip OF paper.
He would ask persons to pass their
hands through their hair, thus collect
ing on them coating of natural oil,
and then press their finger tips on the
glass, leaving an imprint of each I'm
ger. On the slip of paper he would re-
cord the name, the date and the cir
cumstance under which the imprints
were made. The glass strips were re-
ligiously returned to their places in
the grooved boxes, and preserved.
Among the glass strips that Pudd'n-
head recorded were those of two in
fants, one the child Of Roxy, slave,
and the other the child of her master.
Roxy was 15-16s white, and her child
was 1872 negro: The two babes were
"a much alike as two peas in a pod.
"Pudd 'nhead' filed their finger prints
away.
Finger Prints Convict Assassin
The story developed under Mark
Twain's genius and in the course Of
time there was a murder. A knife was
the instrument. There were finger
prints in blood on the knife handle.
Pudd 'nhead Wilson got in the case. He
got possession Of the knife. Then he
went to his room and went through
the glass strips in the grooved box.
1t was tedious task, for he did not
have them filed away scientifically. as
does the inspector at police head
quarters. But his finger prints were
as accurate, and the identity of the
guilty person was established to the
satisfaction of Wilson.
Then began the detective work OF
ferreting out the real culprit. and
when it was found that it was the
supposed son of Roxy's master who
was guilty Of the crime it appeared an
impossibility. But Wilson was sure OF
his system, and he persisted in his
work and eventually his finger prints
triumphed. Roxy confessed she had ex-
changed the babies in their cradles
and it was proven that 1t was her
child who had committed the muir
der.