Читать книгу Convict Life at the Minnesota State Prison, Stillwater, Minnesota онлайн

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A student of this subject can tell a person's age more accurately by observation of the ears than by any other way. Even women, who, in other respects, preserve the youthfulness of their appearance to an advanced period are apt to betray their maturity through this organ, which acquires a sharp definition of contour, a tiny wrinkle [pg 19] appearing just in front of it. Some people are able to wag their ears slightly,—another indication of primeval animal traits: Our remote ancestors unquestionably wagged their ears, and every human being today is provided with ear-wagging muscles. In most individuals, however, these muscles have become so far rudimentary that they are useless for wagging purposes.

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Our new arrival is still in the hands of the record officer; his next introduction is to what is known as the “finger-print” system, which method has but recently been inaugurated at the Minnesota State Prison. All prisoners are at first compelled to have “photos” taken of the balls of their fingers, the procedure being very simple. The recording officer has an inking-stone and brayer similar to those used in a print shop for “pulling” proofs. He inks the stone, grasps the outstretched finger of the new arrival, the underside or ball of his finger rolled a full turn on the stone, and then given a similar roll on paper blanks provided for that purpose, which are filed away in a cabinet with the Bertillon records for future reference. These blanks are frequently consulted for the purpose of identifying escaped or suspected offenders.