The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1913-05-08
A REAL SHERLOCK HOLMES.
Detective Work Of Physicians Sur
passes That of Fiction Sleuth.

DR.. De Neuville, a French physi-
clan, who has specialized on the medi
colegal aspects of his profession, has
been telling some true stories of de-
tective work by physicians that equals
the mythical achievements of Sher-
lock Holmes. There are several sides
of the law that bear on medicine and
surgery, and there are various
SPECIALISTS who devote themselves to
one or all of these important rela-
tions.
The specialist who receives in the
United States a good deal more at
tention from the newspapers than
from medical journals is that useful
adjunct to the police force, who is
known as the police surgeon.
Here his duties seldom if ever go
beyond the Office of diagnosing all
ments, attending illness and prevent
ing the spread of contagion. But in
France he oftentimes brings to bear
upon mysterious crimes the acumen
of his trained intelligence and the
knowledge of his practical profession.
He is likely to act as an assistant to
| the detective along the lines of his
expert observation.
Four years ago one of the legal
"doctors'' of the police force received
his notification to accompany gen
darmes to the scene of a death-that
of a woman innkeeper. The apart
ment where the woman had been
found dead had not been disturbed;
the legal doctor had full play for his
faculty of observation. He went all
over the room, and used his miscro-
scope at various places and on sew
eral objects that appeared to interest
him particularly. At last he inquired
the name of the last vessel that had
come in. 1t proved to be the Donna
Maria, from Sicily. He delivered his
opinion, then, without moments
delay or a sign of uncertainty:
"a left-handed man, wearing
slight mustache, murdered this wo-
man. He is probably Sicilian, who
arrived on the Donna Maria. He is
| over five feet six inches in height. He
was acquainted with his victim, hav-
ing been a guest previously at her
inn. So he knew that she often got
drunk. He broke in, killed her be-
| cause he feared she would awaken
while he was robbing the place and
made good his escape. He has in his
pocket now the stump of the candle
he used to light him in committing
his crime. Make swift search for
stranger answering this description
While one of the Havre detectives
hastened to take up the quest, the
doctor gave his reasons for deducing
all these details.
"In entering the murderer cut him
self at the door, and a blood-stained
splinter of the wood makes it clear
that he is left-handed. To one side
of the spot where the blood dropped
on the floor you can see some candle
grease; that is where his candle drip
ped. 1t is obvious that, while he held
in his left hand the weapon he used,
he carried the candle in the right.
When l put the microscope on the
candle droppings I could recognize
them as coming from a Sicilian can
die, having studied very closely the
| Bertillion collection of candles, as
sembled from all parts of the world.
7 now surmise that any one who
would be using a Sicilian candle must
| have Just arrived from Sicily. In
the candle greases there appeared
two small, reddish hairs very differ
ent in their texture from those which
grow in the beard The assassin
must have stood there, holding the
candle after he committed the MUIR
der, biting or twisting his mustache
while he debated his crime and his
next procedure.
It was not long before the detec-
tive brought in Sicilian named Fo-
forazzo, who had been one of the
| Donna Maria's passengers. The doc
tor, having piece of paper ready,
offered it to him. He reached out his
left hand, which was cut, to take it.
When they searched him the candle
end was found in his pocket; and
when they questioned him he broke
| l., o,d oonfocco6 tho m11rdar