Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1876-03-23
MYSTERIES.


annually disappear from the view and
knowledge OF friends and foes alike, and
Of whom no traces are ever obtained, we
might we'll stand aghast, not only Mt the
terribly long list Of lost and missing In
divide als, but also at the seeming futiIity
of the best directed efforts for seeking and
finding them. A glance at the agony"
columns OF our daily newspapers or the
notice boards of police stations will in
deed show us that the mere disappearance
from home Of individuals II by no means
a rare occurrence, and In many OF these
cases very plain reasons for the absence
Df the rwnaways may be at least guessed
nj or supvosed. But the cases we more
especially alIude 10 are instances OF the
regular @mysierions disappearance class,
in which, for the most parf suddenly and
in every instance without any reasonable
or sufficient cause or excuse, individuals
disappcar from home, from their business
haunts. and from the circle Of their ac-
anaintances and leave not the slightest
trace Of their whereabouts or intentions.
Even what we may call the ultimate fact
of their death H., In the vast majority OF
cases. never asserted or proved; and the
friends Of such waits and 1trays OF society
have not, IA rule, the melancholy assur-
ance or satisfaction OF knowing that the
further hope Of finding the lost III utterly
futile and vain. And thus the date OF the
disappearance in time becomes one which,
M DAYS, weeks and years roll by, carries
with II the cver.increasiDg remembrance
OF M event at once sad and terrible In
the doubt and uncertainty which enshroud
IL
TO tie question, What has become
of them =" detective science may hazard
in answer some speciilations and several
ingenious theories, fitting more or less
exactly the asccrtaincd facts OF each case.
Bun such speculative philosophy In useful
only ms guide 10 the iuqnirers, and
can afford but little help In framing de.
cisive answer 10 the above query. IL has
happened, however, that In some few no
table instances the science OF the medical
lurist ihs aided in the most powerful and
satisfactory manner In calculating the
history Of disappearanccs through It's tcs-
timony TO the identity II discovered re-.
mains with the presumed missing sub.
jects And no records Of fiction could
show more interesting or startling Illus
trations OF the tangled nature OF evidence,
and indeed OF human affairs generally,
than the records OF medlco. legal expert.
ence In respect Of the light which science
brings 10 bear on questions OF the IKE.
ness and identity Of the dead with that OF
the once living. We thus may find, In II
somewhat roundabout manner, one an.
swer 10 the query regarding the where.
abouts of missing men and women: for
when death claims such II frequently de.
wolves upon lhe man OF science ~ say
whether the body IL or il not that OF the
missing person. concerning whom society,
az represented by the family or by the
law, may have made much md anxious
inquiry.
The notable case OF Eugene Aram fur.
nishes tor example, q case IN point. The
deceased or murdered man, named Dan
iel Clarke, n shoemaker Of knaresbor.
ough, disappeared suddenly In the month
ot February, i74b, and on no reasonable
or satisfactory hypothesis could his NIB.
sence be accounted for. Thirteen years
afterward when the disappearance had
weli-nigh been forgotten, the discovery OF
some human bones In cave near Rnarcs-
borough, together with some suspicious
which had been aroused By the words OF
one ilousemnn, Aram's accomplice,
brought, the occurrence again before the
notice of the public. And, as IL well
known, The discovery OF second skeleton,
bearing marks Of violence, IA indicated
by lipuseinan's confession, resulted In the
apprehension OF Aram, and In his being
nrraigDcd at York, In August, 1860, for
the murder of Clarke.
Thus the chain OF circumstantial cvl.
dence was 80 far strengthened. and the
crime traced very near 10 Aram's door.
And yet the most important links In the
chain were supplied by the evidence OF
the medical Jurists, az tending to prove
the correspondence Of the remains with
those oi a man of Clarkc's age and ap-
pearance Aram's defense, singularly
able and lucid, did not avail him against
the testimony of. the anatomical data OF the
last century. Thus his allegation that the
skeleton was that OF a female was entirely
disproved by the medical evidence; and
this evidence also tailed In singularly
complete manner with the account given
by Houseman OF the manner In which the
murder was committed. 30 far, there.
fore, ~ testimony corroborative Of the
facts brought out by ordinary Witnesses
was required to substantiatc the identity
of the remains, medical science lent It's
powerful aid lin clearing up this example OF
4 mysterious disappearance.
While the work OF the mnn of science
in this respect can never be said to vary
In importance, II may nevertheless exhibit
very great variations In the manner In
which II IL carried out, and In the points
TO which its attention IL more especially
directed. A very noteworthy case, start.
ling 10 exceas In some Of Its features, was
tried In London In 1881, and rested, so
tar NJ the identity OF the subject Of the
trial was concerned, ON the presence OF
the front teeth In very old woman. This
woman, Caroline Walsh by name, con
scented, after much persuasion, to live
with q female friend named Elizabeth
Ross, and her husband, In Goodman's
Fields. Walsh arrived At that place on.
Che night OF August 10, 1881; and from
chat date disappeared completely from
public view. Inquiries Immediately made
nv the relatives OF the missing, woman re-
suited In their asoeriaining from Eliza
beth Ross that Walsh had gone, from
home on the day Of her disappearance,
and had never returned.
On the evening o. August 20, or that
OF the day. following. the disappearance,