June 12, 1899: A police officer with a long memory recognizes a man pretending to be insane as Harry Nichols, who earned a reputation for landscaping during his prison terms at Folsom and San Quentin. He was "one of the old-school burglars"  and "one of the most expert house-breakers ever on this coast." Few people look at  Los Angeles newspapers from this era, but there are some real gems in these pages.