Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-03-22
MYSTERIOUS DISCREPANCIES.

When man commits some crime which
necessitates his fight, or when he wishes to
evade his creditors, the obstacles which
present themselves are almost insurmount-
able. He is recognized in spite of dis
guises. The telegraph heads him off,
whichever way he turns. Every act bears
traces by which he may be followed He
cannot make purchase, or go to hotel,
or buy a railroad ticket. without exposing
himself. The opportunities for detecting
him seem innumerable. In many well
known cases such fugitives have been
tracked from country to country all round
the globe, and have been taken at last,
when they thought their identity most
effectually concealed. Yet notwithstanding
the many methods by which clues may
be obtained to fugitives in these days,
the fact remains that men still occasion
ally disappear as suddenly and COM
pletely as if the earth had swal-
lowed them, and thenceforth the
utmost ingenuity fails to discover the
faintest indication of their fate Several
such cases have occurred in this city, and
three of these at least remain impenetrable
mysteries to this day. Arthur ONeil was
last seen on the street in the neighborhood
of building which had bad reputation.
He was known to have large sum on his
person at the time, and therefore it was
concluded that he had been murdered.
But no trace of him has been discovered,
nor has suspicion lighted on the supposed
assassins. The case of Mr.. Coffin is still
more remarkable. He left his house at
comparatively early. hour in the evening,
and from that moment no man has seen or
heard of him. The mystery of Thomas
Purcell. the publication of the account of
which has at last brought to light the
whereabouts of the missing mans effects,
is as deep as that Of Edwin brood. Here
we find an intelligent, educated. prosper
GUS, sober citizen, who so far as is known
lived peaceful and temperate life, van
ishing from the midst of the community
swiftly and utterly, and leaving behind no
clues which suggest the cause of his disap-
pearance.
In this case there are several circum.
stances which add perplexity to the GEN.
trail fact of the disappearance. 1t seems
to be an assured fact that Purcelrs baggage
was taken from the Western Hotel to the
Mechanics Hotel on the 18th of Septem-
Der, 1879. But he does not appear ever to
have gone to the Mechanics Hotel, and the
fact that he was alive and here on the 26th
of September is proved by the record
at one of the local banks on the latter date
What was he doing between the 18th and
the 10th of September? Who sent his
baggage from the Western to the Meehan-
les Hotel? How was it that he seems to
have lost control over his own property on
the 10Th, and yet to have been in the city
eleven days afterwards? From the Goth
of September all trace of him is lost.
After cashing that check he disappears.
The natural presumption in such case
must be that he was murdered. But how,
by whom, and for what motive, remains
unanswered. He was not man to fire.
quent low haunts. He was not in the
habit of drinking 1t is therefore hardly
among the habitual criminals that the
supposed murderer or murderers should
be sought. Who had an interest in this
mans death. Who would have benefited
by it Did he have enough money with
him to make his murder an object to some
one who had in some way obtained his
confidence And, lastly, can it be re-
garded as absolutely certain that he was
murdered? To none of these questions is
it possible to give any other than specu-
lative answers. The presumption is that
dark crime has been committed, but all
traces of it are wanting.
Experience has shown that not only
strangers, but old and well-known citizens,
may disappear in this way. Purcell was
not known here, but O'Neil, and Coffin,
and Chamberlain were. How is it that
these men could vanish so swiftly and
completely that no trace of their mode of
exit remained! 1t would almost appear
from such examples that the making away
with any man is much easier than has
commonly been supposed. 1t is true that
in cities situated upon rivers there is an
ever present means of disposing of ugly
evidences of crime, or of suicide, but it
does not seem probable that the river was
an agent in any of these disappearances.
All that is known is that these men have
vanished like disembodied spirits that
they were here at One moment, and that
the next they had, as it were, melted into
the air. Occasionally, indeed, we hear
whispered rumors that this or the other
criminal could tell startling things if
he would. But the startling things
are not told, and the mysteries
remain rnsolved. How is it that when
man wants to disappear he cannot, as a
rule, conceal himself, but that when others
wish him to disappear he can be made to
vanish so suddenly and utterly? Or is it
true, as has been alleged, that most dis
appearances are really concocted by the
chief actors in them, and that there
are far more voluntary and deliberate
evanishments than criminal ones? Is
there in the breasts of most of our friends
latent eccentricity which may at any
time develop into an uncomfortable yearn-
ing for concealment and dissolution of ex-
listing ties, or is society so poorly protected
that it is possible for anybody to be
knocked on the head at any moment, and
so effectually made away with that all
subsequent research viii be unavailing
These are puzzling questions, but it is
very clear that the public are interested in
having them answered one way or an.