The Death Sign That
Defeats Justice
IX Opr* eoert. where Justice sits
rtlkpnwssd. tte very embodiment
at law sad order, sad in the cer
tala i!t-sphere at as authority
ar—ust which bc eu teay raise a
fcaad; here, is this eery city of New
Turh. wttaesae* under uath to speak
(he track rely, tare halted with un
«H*n word oa tip and become aa
•Wlea at the slpht od the tics at
dealt
The tips at death* A Action? No.
A atari**'.#■« motion made to dis
naaiiart the oeertimld* Apain no
A death sips—a reality* As cer
tain aa there are rotate at law. a rlpn
behind —tick larks the murderous
Mite is the taad at a killer of men;
a Mps at aa malips syrniftrar.ee as
Chat of the skull and rroseboaes on
tte black dap at the peak at the
pirmte ship of eld
Thai «*sb was made in New Turk,
la JBetter Fawcett's court, and a alt
■rue rustled a*d teesa* speechless,
•t was trade apaia In Justice O'Sui
Ihai court atd a witaees cowered
au rhsok like one with the palsy
Wk*l Is this s*ru af death* WII
Mar F Firm head of the deteetire
Iwr- as. seated deputy caemtssiofier
sf the poXce department. for years
a secret serrke man. shrewd, re
Owurerfu:. surceasful knows It sflL
H* had see* X. They put one alps
of death os the body of a rtettsB—a
afer at death accomplished for to
fell: tar eespeaace without It would
art strike terror The st*s about
which Ohf Flynn tell# Is the other—
the w tramp
•V WILLIAM J. FLYNN
(Head «T the Baruau of Detectives.
New York City.)
THE death sign, trad egHaalre’y
taatg south, cm Italians and
Sir6!tt*. Is made by placing
Os* ftndctr? of the right band be
twees the Matt The instant the j
•tga M sees by the one for wham it j
Is Intended the finger is withdrawn j
The entire movement rarely take*
near* 'has two or three second*
Often It Is made ta a tingle second. j
aad for thet rtsoua It oaeopts the '
wstlr* of even the sharpest obserrere
When this sign la mad* by a leader or
wjrtsmatJt* of a gang ct bad men
It never falls '• strike terror Into the
bear's at rltsea**. no matter how
bald ar nwnswa they may be I
hare seen wPnessws who had pre
rlOMtff declared their sll’ t gars* to
testify asd who were assured of pro
ferta* suddenly tarn white as a sheet
aad isfwse to after another word
against the prisoner who was oa trial.
The death sign had been given to
them In om court, and hey knew
they weald he killed tf they said an
other word And It l« undoubtedly
true (hot their U««o would be for
teHed If they dfaebtyed the sign Not
%tr* of those gang* are arrant cow
ards. bwt songey or later acme of
their number would murder their rVc-1
tfw
The rood nested southern tlahsns
and SkrfiUxa with whom the folioe
hove to deal are mors superstitious
than any other race of people living
to New fork Sign omen* hove a
ptn-Har *. gsiBro.ee for fhra. The
death sign It a liMium with (hem
They have hoard about It before they
could ever talk They are brought
wp to dread It. jntt as they are
%rtxmht up to dread the Black Hand
No matter where they ore they coat
get away from It. because they can't
gt* away from thetasafve* They
kttt heard of fellow-eocEtrymea who
gmregarded the death sign and met
Hi up 11 la loo So when the death
op u given to them h is Utile won
dm that they tarn white with (ear
and rwfws* to (notify
" ‘ 1 .
employed
j s _ _* token
Iho lad «bs« Italians aad
of (ha man ignorant class
' carry on a iarge part of their inter
-urse by means of gestures A shrug
it the shoulders, the raising of the
eyebrows, a gesture of the arms may
mean more to them than whole sen
tences Then, too, a sign is more
impressive than a spoken or writ
ten word And of course it can be
made more quickly and is far less
i likely to be detected.
The origin of the death sign is ob
scure I doubt if any of the men who
have used it could tell how it orig
inated. It Is very evident that the
p!*> ing of the finger to the lips means
silence—as a sign of silence it is
as old aa the hills Probably the
pressure of the teeth on the finger
! !» significant of the fate that will
follow if the injunction covered in
*te sign is disobeyed. The sign has
been employed in southern Italy al
most as long as tribunals have ex
st<d and it has doubtless been used
many times here In America since
we began to receive so many Italians
•bat a distinct criminal class arose
am< ng them Trials of Italians for
such crimes as counterfeiting. Black
Hand and kidnaping cases in recent
years have brought it to the attention |
>f the public When witnesses in
: »hese case* suddenly refused to tes- |
•ify in open court the judges, the j
prosecutors and the police knew the 1
death sign had been given, but it had
•■eea done so quickly and mysterious
| !y that few knew bow It was accom
i pllshed.
While I was in the secret service
I tad to deal with many Italian and
Sicilian counterfeiters, and in several
i of the cas*.* my witnesses whom I
felt certain would "come through”—
this is police parlance for telling the
’rue story on the witness stand—
stopped «hort In the middle of their
•estitrony. and nothing could induce
them to utter another word. So In
subsequent cases 1 watched the peo
ple in the court room very- closely
! I was rewarded by seeing the
death sign made clearly and dis
tinctly It was made just as I
j described it—a quick motion to the
teeth with the forefinger of the right
^ hand.
Two Case* That Prove
Potency of the Sign.
Marla Kappa, who with Stanislaus
Pat tecta was on trial last December
for kidnaping Oulteppe Longo and
Michael* Rizzo, was given the death
sign In open court. She would have
told her whole story but for that rea
son A member of the gang of Black
Handers who were associated with
*>er gave her the sign and she posi
tively refused to talk further. Noth
ing would move her. She knew if
she made any disclosures she would
be killed Justice Lewis Fawcett, who
tried the case, admitted it. No one
taw the death sign given to her, but
the fact that she stopped in the mid
dle of her lestlmony and turned
deathly white is conclusive evidence
that It was given to her.
If her testimony had not been
halted by the death sign we should
have been able to round up every
member of that gang of kidnapers.
St* knew them and was ready to tell
| all; but when the death sign was !
given to her she knew If she divulged j
i a single came her life would no. be j
safe, even In Jail. So it will be seen !
| that the death sign Is often a serious j
hindrance to our work.
In another kidnaping case the !
I death sign was plainly seen. Rosina *
] Martiueae. a woman held for com
plicity in the case of Pietro Pampi
j neill. had agreed to tell the truth j
, about the affair on the condition that
the charge against her be withdrawn.
Her lawyer and the asistant district
attorney bad agreed to this, and she
took the stand to confess her part la
the crime Even Judge O’Sullivan
askrd her if she was ready to confess
and she answered in the affirmative.
But a moment later her face turned
white and her black eyes grew fixed
and staring, aa though something bad
suddenly fr'galened her Into dumb
ness. She clutched at her throat and
placed her hand before her face as
though to shut out the hideous
! vision.
Impcssfble to Make
Woman Give Testimony.
Suddenly she shrieked: "No. no; I
know nothing! I swear I know noth
ing at all.” Her lawyer jumped to
his feet and told the court that she
had confessed her part in the crime
to him and that she had agreed to
tell it on the witness stand. But the
Martinese woman was immovable.
She would not utter a word except to
deny her knowledge of the crime.
While she was protesting her in
! r.o"ence a policeman rushed to the
i prisoner's pen and caught Pietro Pam
pin 111. the man cn trial, by the arm.
He had seen him give her the death
sign and he so informed the court.
Subsequent attempis were made to
get the Martinese woman to confess,
but without success. Like others who
had received the sign she knew any
confession on her part would be fol
lowed by a hideous death.
Of course, there are scores of writ
ten death signs. The skull and cross
bones has been a sign of death for
centuries. The Chinese have a death
sign with which they mark the house
of a man selected for slaughter, and
1 surpose every race has some sort
j of written sign which is synonymous j
l with death and which has come down j
from the earliest times. To this day j
when an Italian is murdered his rela- j
tives dip their fingers in his blood
; and make a cross with it. The cross,
by the way, has been the symbol of
death in almost every clime and age.
But the death sign we are confront
ed. with today is the quick gesture
which I have described. It is peculiar
, to the southern Italians ana the
Sicilians. I have never known it to
be employed by criminals of any^oth
er nationality, and in my career I
have dealt with men of all races. It
is a serious thwarting of justice, but
I have no doubt that It really means
death for the person who disregards
it. While Italian criminals are cow
ards when it comes to fighting any
one not of their own race, the spirit
of the vendetta is born in them. The
fact that several witnesses who impli
cated their fellow countrymen in seri
ous crimes have been mysteriously
■ murdered not long afterward proves
that the death sign is a dreadful,
horrible reality.—New’ York Sunday
World.
ARROWS THAT CARRY FUME1
—
Method of Starting Fires In Which 1
Miscreant Can Escape Without
Detection.
Arrows bearing a box of matches
and an ignited cloth, and which are
shot from rice fields and dark alleys,
are now known to be the means by
which the firebugs responsible for sev
eral conflagrations during the last
week have accomplished their alms.
A strange feature of the present epl- j
demlc of Incendiarism in Manila has ;
been the utter inability of anyone to
catch the firebugs in the act of firing
houses, and although the police and |
private citizens have been on the look
out for these vandals only one charge
of arson has been filed so far.
The police had a theory the work
was done with arrows and that their
theory was correct was proved by the
discover}' yesterday afternoon of an
arrow which had been shot at 241
Calle Singalong. The arrow was about
inches long and about one centi
meter in diameter.
To it w as tied a full box of matches
wrapped with a piece of canvas which
had been saturated with petroleum.
The arrow was designed so that being
fixed in the bow, or when ready to be
thrown, the canvas was ignited and
the arrow hurled at the house intend
ed for destruction. By the time it
reached its destination the cloth would
be burned sufficiently to Ignite the
matches and an explosion would oc
cur. setting fire to the surrounding
nipa or bamboo. Standing off at a
convenient distance in a paddy field
or a dark street the miscreant would
be a^le to Ignite and fire his arrow
and then escape without detection.—
Manila Times.
Deprivation* Cause Disease.
If from capricious appetite or deprlv- :
atlons certain constituents of food are |
left out. certain diseases will be sure
to follow. To illustrate: The ab
sence of Iron, vegetables, Balts, as
phosphates of lime and sodawlll cause
scurvy. Arctic sailors suffer from this
disease. Anaemia, common among
girls at puberty. Is due from an ab
normal appetite for slate pencils and
pickles for steady diet. Softening of
bones, known as rickets, seen In the
bow-legged, U caused by a lack of the
necessary salts. In health 80 per cent
of the tissues of the body are water.
Hence the first consideration Is to
have plenty of pure water, and to
give the patient all he wants in order
to keep up the average.
To appease this demand for liquids
and at the same time supply nourish
ment, we can give koumyss, gruels,
broths, milk, malted milk, orange or
lemonade. If not forbidden. Keep to
the llqpld diet if patient is at all
feverish.—Woman's World
What Babylonian Ruins Reveal.
The German excavators of ancient
Babylon believe that they have identi
fied the remains of the Tower of Babel,
although there appears to be some
doubt as to which of three structures
constitute the foundation of the real
Babel. Further excavations are to be
made, and are expected to settle the
question. v
The ruins of Nebuchadnezzar’s pal
ace, where Belshazzar's feast took
place, and where Alexander the Great
died, have been shown to cover the re
mains of quay walls built on the river
side by Sargon and Nebopolassar. The
I enormous brick buildings constructed
by the Babylonian architects were
veneered with glazed and colored
bricks In ornamental designs.
Nature’s Provision.
Moles and the mole cricket have
the same problem to negotiate in cut
ting caves In the ground, so here an
Insect and an animal both have the
same shaped forelegs and shovel-ilk*
hands and daws.
/
V
ALPS ARE PIERCED BY ANOTHER TUNNEL
^ ■ ' tzhe' T-iEFrme of fjts. ~ ‘"
WORK on the Lotschberg tunnel, the third longest in Europe, is progressing so well that the opening of this bore
through the Alps has been set for May 1, 1913. At 3:50 o'clock one morning not long ago the two boring
parties met. When the first small hole had been made through the barrier between the two. Chief Engineer
Moreau, in charge of the south party, was handed a bunch of Alpine flowers by Engineer Rothpleti, in charge
of the northern party. Then the chief engineer passed through the opening and embraced his colleague. The
other workers followed. The tunnel, which takes its name from the Lotschen Pass, under which it runs, passes
somewhat to the east of the Balrahorn. a 12.000 foot high peak, and Is over nine and one-fourth miles in length.
The Simplon is three and one-fourth miles longer; the St. Oothard a quarter mile longer. Unlike other Alpine
tunnels, it is curved, its course having been diverted owing to a great disaster of July. 190$. when by an accident,
the Kander river was tapped and the water, rushing into the workings, killed 25 men The result of the work
will be a number of modifications In the international railway traffic of central Europe.
COYOTE IS MALIGNED
Bravest Animal Alive. Declares
Former U. S. Marshal.
_
That is Information Given Out by
Jack Abernathy of Oklahoma. Bet
ter Qualified for Talk Than
Any Other Person.
Oklahoma City, Okla.—The coyote
has been greatly maligned. Instead of
being the worst coward in the animal
kingdom it is the bravest thing in ex
istence. That is the information
coming from Catch-'Em-Alive Jack
Abernathy, former United States
marshal, and better qualified for dis
cussing the coyote, perhaps, than any
other living man.
Recently while discussing coyote
hunting with some friends, Abernathy
gave utterance to some statements
that are surprising.
"There is a mistaken impression re
garding the coyote," he said "1 have
caught a thousand of them and 1
never made one yelp with pain. They
would rather run than fight, but when
they are cornered they fight like the
vc-ry old Nick and die without a whim
per.
“I would rather catch a wolf alive
than a coyote. The wolf is larger, but
the coyote Is quicker.
"The coyote never hunts trouble. I
never had one attack me unless I had
started the fight He sleeps the great
er part of the day and forages at
night I have noticed that they are
braver at night than in the daytime.
“As to their Intelligence—why, dang
It. they're the smartest things living
They are more cunning than a fox.
They can ambush a dog with more
skill than a Mississippi nigger can in
vade a nen roost on a dark night.
Their favorite trick is to 'double' on
dogs when being chased. I had a fine
greyhound killed once by this trick.
Three dogs were chasing a coyote.
The trail led through a rough country
and the wolf, as they are commonly
called on the ranges, led the dogs into
a trap. A half dozen other coyotes
came out from a ravine and took after
the dogs. Suddenly the wolf that was
being pursued stopped and in a mo
ment there was ?he all-flredest fight
you ever saw. They killed one of the
dogs before I could get close enough
to unlimber my Winchester and get
into the game.
"A wolf knows when he Is In danger
and when he Is not. Once I had a
coop of chickens In camp. The coyotes
were prowling about, ao I took the
coop out on the prairie not far away
and surrounded it with wolf traps.
Early the next morning I took my re
volver and went out to see if I had
caught anything. Not a trap had been
disturbed. While I stood there seven
of the rascals snooped up out of the
darkness and surrounded me. They
came up to within ten feet of me and
I began to expect a fight. I drew
away from them, making toward camp,
thinking to unchain the dogs and have
an early morning chase. They fol
lowed. but when they caught smell of
the dogs, they took to their heels.
"There is something queer about
the howling of coyotes. It reminds
me more of Indians dancing than any
thng else. I think the Indians learned
some of their antics from the coy
otes; and then again when you re
member how smart the doggoned
coyote is, it may have been the other
way, he may have caught the trick
from watching the Indians.
"One night, several years ago, I saw
a coyote come loping along until he
reached a little knoll, where he
stopped. He sat up on his haunches
and emitted a ghastly longdrawn
yowl. Silence followed; then another
yowl. In ten minutes u dozen other
coyotes gathered around him. In
stead of sitting up on their haunches
like the first one they circled around
him in a radius of about ten feet In
a kind of a 'hltch-and-a-trot‘ lope,
howling, first a short yelp and then '
a long one. Occasionally the one sit
ting in the middle would let out a
long-drawn .ry. That was the cue
for the others to begin all over again.
, I made a movement and in a moment
| they had vanished like the shadows.”
—
I IS ATLANTIC COAST SINKING?
| Inquiry to Bo Made Tbit Year as to
Theory That There la Drop of
Two Feet a Century.
Trenton. N. J.—Whether the coast
of New Jersey Is sinking about two
feet a century ts to be ascertained
this summer. At a meeting of the
board of managers of the state geo
logical survey. State Geologist Kum
1 mel reported that he had made ar
rangements with Prof. D. W. Johnson
of Harvard university to make the
necessary research.
Some scientists have held that the
Atlantic seaeoast was sinking at the
rate of two feet every hundred years,
and the theory has come to be general
ly accepted. Professor Johnson will
come to this state and prosecute the
study under a research fund estab
lished at Harvard. The result is ex
pected to have an Important bearing
on the coast levels established in this
state 25 years ago.
HENS TRAVEL 12,000 MILES
Descendants of Champion Australian
Chickens Arrive In England—
Hava World's Record.
London.—After a 12.000-mile Jour
ney from Adelaide, South Australia, a
flock of pedigreed white Leghorn poul
try has arrived at the Gartn Poultry
farm. Gian Conway, Denbigshire. The
fowls were obtained from A. H. Pud
man. whose white Leghorns secured
the world's record for egg laying in
the twelve months' competition which
terminated on March 31, 1910, held at
Gattoh. Queensland.
The six hens laid 1,531 eggs, valued
at $30, during the year, which works
out to an average of about 255 eggs
per hen. The hens now at Gian Con
wav are descendants of these birds.
SAFETY HATPIN IS INVENTED
Massachusetts Matron Has Novel
Method of Fastening Bonnet—
Has Tiny Lock Nut.
Cambridge, Mass.—No more dodg
ing the stilletto-like hatpin, according
to Mrs. Harry Eldridge Goodhue of
thiB city, who has conceived a means
of fastening milady's bat to her head
which is not dangerous.
Mrs. Goodhue's invention does not
look different from the ordinary hat
pin except that it has a Uny screw or
lock nut near the Juncture of the
head and shaft. As in the ordinary
hatpin, the point Is sharp, and it would
he as dangerous a weapon as the kind
ordinarily carried were it not that the
pin is made to telescope to any de
sired length.
Money to Burn.
New York.—More than $3,000,000 in
bills was shipped by the sub-treasury
here to Washington to be destroyed
as worn and mutilated currency. The
amount constitutes a record for a
single day.
FLIES DISLIKE BLUE PAINT
- i
Also, Little Peats Are Not Partial to
Hop Vines—Idea Comet
From France.
Topeka, Kan —Dr. S. J. Crumbtne.
secretary of the state board of health,
has learned of two methods by which
the common house fly can be kept
away from kitchens and barns. One
is to paint the barn and kitchen blue,
almost any old shade, and the other
is to grow hops around the doors.
The blue paint Idea came from
France where two scientists. Marre
and Fe, in the course of some experi
ments with flies, found that cow
stables which were painted blue in
side were avoided by flies. It was
also observed that kitchens and din
ing-rooms which were papered in blue
or painted blue also seemed to keep
the flies away as homes within a few
feet where the bide paint or paper
was not used were infested with the
pests.
Doctor Crumbtne is working out
some experiments himself regarding
the growing of hops around the kitch
en doors, A missionary from India
told Doctor Crumblne that hops were
used by the natives of India in the
place of screens. The hop vines were
allowed to grow all over the little
huts, ar.d the people were never
bothered with flies. Doctor Crumblne
and several of his assistants have set
out hop vines around the back doors.
The vines are growing all over the
buildings, and Doctor Crumblne is
watching the vines this summer to
note whether or not the hops are
really effective against the flies.
Dig Up Petrified Turtles.
Cumberland, Md.—Down under the
slate beds and In a sandstone forma
tion found by a contractor while ex
cavating for the new Masonic templ6
on the site of old Fort Cumberland,
has been found a little colony of
turtles, each measuring about three
Inches across. All were petrified.
SHE
SUFFERED
FIVEYEARS
Finally Cured by Lydia E. Pink
ham’s Vegetable Compound.
Erie, Pa. — “I suffered for five years
from female troubles and at last was
almost helpless. I
went to three doc
tors and they did
me no good, so my
sister advised me to
try I.ydia E. I'ink.
ham’s Vegetable
Compound, and
when I had taken
only two bottles I
could sea a big
change, so I took
six bottles and I am
'now strong and well
again. I don’t know how to express
mv thanks for the good it has done me
and I hope all suffering women will
me Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable
Compound a trial. It was worth its
weight in gold.”—Mrs. J. P. Exnnicn.
B. E. I>. No. 7, Erie, Pa.
Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Com
pound, made from native roots and
herbs, contains no narcotic or harm
ful drugs, and to-day holds the record
for the largest number of actual cures
of female diseases we know of, and
thousands of voluntary testimonials
are on file in the Pinkham laboratory
at Lynn, Mass., from women who have
been cured from almost every form of
female complaints, such as inflamma
tion, ulceration, displacements, fibroid
tumors, irregularities, periodic "pains,
backache, indigestion and nervous
prostration. Every suffering woman
I owes it to herself to give Lydia E. Pink
uam’s Vegetable Compound a trial
If you want special advice write
Mrs.Pinkham, Lynn,Mass- for Is,
It is free and always helpfni.
“iSSKi.’SiJ Thompson's Eja Watai
SURE SIGN.
Mrs. Wiggins—Our daughter Mary'*
n lore.
Mr. Wiggins—How do you know?
Mrs. Wiggins—She refers to twi
light as the gloaming.
Politician and Preacher.
A politician in a western state, Iona
suspected of crookedness and noted
for his shifty ways, was finally in
dieted and tried. The jury was out s
: long time, but eventually acquitted
! him. After the verdict was in and
, the politician was leaving the court
1 room, a minister who had been in
i part responsible for the indictment
j and trial approached the politician
; and said: “Well, my friend, you havi
; escaped; but you had a close shave
I trust this will be a warning to you
to lead a better life and deal more
fairly with your fellow men."
“That may be,” the politician re
plied. “That may be; but 1 ain't
pledged to any one.”—Saturday Even
| ing Post.
Wanted an Officer.
The sheriff was snoozing aw&y ia
his seat in the coach, when he heard
some one call out: "Is there an otEeet
in the coach from New Castle?"
“Yes.” replied the sheriff very ea
phatically.
“Loan me your corkscrew, please,
sir.” calmly continued the drummer
Frightful.
“They say she looked daggers at
him?”
“Worse than that. She looked long
hitpins.”
The chief secret of comfort lies in
no1', allowing trifles to vex us.—Sharp
FEED YOU MONEY
Feed Your Brain, and It Will Feed
You Money and Fame.
"Fver sine© boyhood 1 have beew
especially iond of meats, and 1 am con
vinced I ate too rapidly, and faded tc
masticate my food properly.
"The result was that 1 found myself,
a few years ago. afflicted with ail
ments of the stomach, and kidneys,
which ir-terfered seriously with my
business.
"At last l took the advice of friends
and began to eat Grape-Nuts instead
of the heavy meats, etc., that had coo
stituted my former diet.
"I found that l was at once ben©
filed by the change, that I was soon
relieved from the heartburn and indi
gestion that used to follow my meals,
that the pains in my back from my
kidney affection had ceased.
"My nerves, which used to be u»
steady, and my brain, which was alow
and lethargic from & heavy diet ol
meats and greasy foods, had, not in a
moment, but gradually, and none the
less surely, been restored to normal
efflcl mey.
“Now every nerve Is steady and my
brain and thinking faculties are quick
er and more acute than for years past.
“After my old style breakfasts 1 used
to suffer during the forenoon from a
feeling of weakness which hindered
me seriously in my work, but sine© I
began to use Grape-Nuts food 1 can
work till dinner time with all ease
Wnd-'^omfort.” Name given by Po©
vom Co., Battle Creek. Mich.
“There’s a reason.”
Read the little book, “The Road to
Wellville,” in pkgs.
Ever read the above letter? A na
oee appears from time to time. Thev
are ceauiae, true, and fuU at l.-.|
iltCKSte
