The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1873-08-22


but to his friends and the police hav-
ing been informed of his disappearance,
search was instituted. Handbills were
posted, and advertisements published in
the papers, one of which appears at the
head of this article. But all to no pur-
pose. The flying rumors of his having
been seen here and there were traced
and hunted down, and found to be with
out any tangible basis. And little by
little the conviction settled upon the
minds of his relatives and friends that
he had met with. foul play at the hands
of some person or persons unknown.
About four o'clock on the afternoon
of Sunday, the 25th, the next day but
one after the disappearance, Prof. Web
ster called ON Rev. DIR. Francis Park
man, to say that he had seen by the
Transcript only the evening before, that
DIR. George Parkman was missing, and
he came to inform the family that he
was Mt his rooms in the Medical College
by appointment on the Friday before,
about half-past one, at which time and
place he had paid him money-$4S3 and
some odd cents was the amount. He
had some papers in his hand, said
Prof. Webster, "and took out one and
dashed his pen across the paper. Then,
he went on to say, DR.. Parkman went
out and left the College, walking with
great haste, and going, as he thought it
possible, to Cambridge, to cancel the
MORTGAGE matter which, on receiving
the payment, he had promised to
see to.
This information, the first which the
family received of this interview of the
missing man with Prof. Webster, served
to confirm the worst apprehensions. 1t
seemed reasonable to suppose that on
leaving the Medical College he had been
followed by some one, waylaid, and
murdered for his money. Acting on
this presumption, the search for the
body was carried on with renewed vigor.
The whole west end of the city, in
which quarter the greater part of DIR.
gone over with the utmost thorough
ness. 1t was thought that he might
have been enticed into some of the
tenement houses which he owned, and
killed by one of his tenants. These
houses were hunted high and low. The
river was dredged. On Monday, mere
ly as matter of form, the Medical
College was searched. Prof. Webster
was in one of his rooms when the Off
GERS presented themselves, and, though
the door was locked, opened it, admit
ted them, and accompanied them into
his laboratory below. The visit was a
brief one. The officers came again the
following day, and on reaching Prof.
Webster's apartments were received by
him with the same politeness he had
manifested the day before. They told
him that they had no suspicious of him,
but were only obeying general orders,
which was entirely true. The neighbor-
hood was being searched; for forms
sake the Medical College must be,
where the missing man had last been
seen. Prof. Webster made no objection
to their looking through his rooms, but
wished that nothing might be turned
over" There was a small room divided
off in the rear of one of the apartments
which one of the officers made move
ment as if to enter. Prof. Webster
remarked that that was a room in which
he kept his valuable and dangerous ar
ticles, and the officer accordingly drew
back, with the remark that he did not
care to "get blowed up" The various
features of the premises were examined
with what seemed sufficient care, but no
discoveries of Importance were made.
The appearance of things was entirely
natural. In one place was a furnace,
the fire in which was brightly burning
In the southwest corner of the room
stood large tea-chest, which on being
opened, was found to be filled with tan,
layer of minerals occupying the top
Some of the officers took up the miner
ais and looked at them with passing
curiosity. The stairs which led to the
lower laboratory on the cellar floor were
noticed to be spotted in one place, but
as if by water. In due time the search
at the Medical College was completed,
and the officers left, to prosecute their
investigation in other quarters. Not
one of them seemed to have had any
suspicion as to the facts.
There was one man, however, whose
suspicious had been awakened. This
was Elijah Littlefeld, for a number of
years the janitor of the college building.
The following train of circumstances
prepared his mind for the conviction
which slowly took possession of it, that
Prof. Webster knew something about
DIR. Parkman's disappearance.
On the 10Th of November, the Mon
day previous to the fatal Friday, he had
been present at an interview between
Prof Webster and DIR. Parkman in the
rooms of the former. He was assisting
the Professor at the time in some chem
ical preparations, and overheard i'll part
the conversation which took place be-
tween him and DR.. Parkman. 1t re-
lated to a mortgage and other money
matters, and was marked by something
like hard words. 1t was evident that
the two men were not on amicable
terms. Later on the same day Prof.
Webster had questioned Littlefield
about vault under the entry floor, de-
signed as receptacle for the remains
of subjects from the dissecting-room in
the same building his questions relat-
ing to its exact situation, to the way in
which access had been had to it at a
certain time previous for the purpose of
effecting repairs, to the possibility of
getting light into the vault, etc, etc.
He said in explanation that he desired
to get some gas out of the vault with
which to try an experiment. The day