The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-18
AN AMATEUR DETECTIVE.

paper:
In one of the Oldest houses on South
Ninth street, near Christian, lives
George Rodman, a man of sixty years,
who is one OF the most interesting
characters in this city. Talking with
John Sharkey, the we'll known detec-
tive, a few days ago about the it.fatu-
tion which some men have for tracking
criminals, he incidentally mentioned
Rodman, and your correspondent
finally succeeded in learning something
about the man.
He is the son of former Market
street merchant, and at his fathers
death, twenty-five years ago, inherit
ed a comfortable compentence and
considerable real estate, which, by
rapid advance in price, has made him
wealthy. He had been great reader
IN his youth and has imbibed a NOR
bid fondness for studying the ways of
that part ofthe community that preys
upon the other. He watched all the
records of crime in the daily journals,
and often rendered service of the ut
most value in tracking important
IL Having VI
of his own, he would pack his grip-sack
and leave on the impulse of the mo-
ment for Boston or Pittsburg to work
up q peculiar bit of criminal work
that delighted his fancy.
This work has been his amusement
for a quarter of q century. Rodman
is a bachelor, who lives in the house
his father occupied before him, the
house in which he was born, though
the neighbors of his youth have all
moved westward with the social tend
ency of the town. An old housekeep-
er attends to the establishment and
he has very few visitors. He has all
the French detective novels at his fin
gers end, and amonghis library saw
all the records of crime, including the
memoirs of the Samson Family" and
the "Newgate Calender" So highly
were his services recognized under May
or Fox that he was appointed spe-
cial detective (under the name of
Smith, it is said), and has ever since
been distinguished by the official hon
or of nominal membership with
"the force" OF course he will not
accept any pay, and his nominal
salary of 81 month was for years in
cluded in the incidental account, and
added by him to the fund for providing
a cot in hospital for disabled police
men. During the past year his health
has not been good and he has remain
ed nearly all the time in the city.
Your correspondent found him in the
chess room of the Mercantile Library
and made an appointment to visit
him at his house.
The long stories that he told me
cannot be repeated here. They were
all part and parcel of the last quarter
OF a century's record of crime. 1t is
needless to say that he has theories
of his own regarding every undetected
crime that has occurred in this coun-
grip murder at Hoboken, for the solu-
ure of interesting theory that ex-
GELS Poe's "Marie Rouget" and ac-
quits Hamilton and Anderson of
any knowledge of the poor girls
death. The Nathan murder of187O he
regards as 'sthe most beautiful case of
this century. He did nothing about
it, however, as he was engaged in Chi
cago at the time, and when he return
ed he found the reward so large that
"every vulgar fellow who could shadow
an OK cart was at work on the case on
his own orsomebody's account" He
declares that the real detective must
be gentleman by birth and educa-
ton. One story that he told, divest-
ed OF many interesting but not vitality
important incidents, will bear telling
Twelve or fourteen years ago a copy
of the Picayune fell into Rodman's
hands, and he there read the details of
the trial of young girl, at New Or
leans for numbering her lover. The
crime was apparently of the most cold
blooded character. Evidence seemed
to show that the young woman, who
previously had borne an irreproach-
able character, had lured the young
man to a secret meeting place and
there knitted him. Rodman was very
much impressed with the case
and especially with the resolute
conduct OF the accused girl when
arrested. She had positively re-
fused to make any statement what
ever. The more the detective thought
of it the more certain he became, with
out any light from the the evidence to
influence him that she was innocent.
He had never been in New Orleans. He
caught up his grip, took the night ex-
press and went. The sickness of a
Juror had caused an adjournment of
the trial for week.
Rodman went to work. No motive
for the girls act existed. That had
been the weak part of the prosecution,
but Rodman's sinvestigationd developed
the fact that the murdered man had
betrayed sister of the accused when
the family lived at Natchez. This was
evidence against the girl, and his faith
in her innocence was sadly shaken.
He was about to return home as he
did not want to supply any evidence
to the State. But he decided to visit |
the girl in prison. He could only look |
at her; she would not say word. He
would then have sworn to her inno-
,ence. He settled down to stay the
case out. In short, after ths girls |
conviction he found the sister,
whose identity had been lost,
and extorted from her the con-
,ession that she had learned otthe ap-
pointed meeting between her pure sis
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