The San Francisco call., 1895-11-05
CAPTAIN l. w. Lees Was a Tug.
Boat Owner - His First
Murder Case.
SHEDDING LIGHT ON MYSTERY
A Long Career of Unraveling the
Cunning Secrets of Great and
Petty Criminals.

walk OF lie II the laurel Wreatn is 10 DC
won; one must have the faculty of appli-
cation, persistence, concentration-which
is the keystone of all success; and one
must have, besides all these, natural pti-
tude for the profession, natural talents
peculiar to the work in hand. Men en-
dowed with these qualities, think, may
become successful detectives"
If there is one man IN San Francisco
more capable than all others to speak
knowingly on this subject, that man is he
whose words are quoted-Captain [. w.
Lees, chief OF the detective force OF this
city.
1t was Sunday morning when Captain
Lees permitted himself to be interviewed,
and he gave snatches of his opinions and
theories and personal history between the
orders and duties of a busy day, for he
was making his final preparations to go to
Sacramento and assist IN the prosecution
of the Weber murder trial. Indeed, be-
fore the interview was quite over the
hour had arrived for him to hasten to the
train.
"Why not wait till l come back?" he
said to the interviewer.
Because the public wants to know now
something of the man whose energy and
sagacity has woven the chain of circum-
stantial evidence about Theodore Durrant,"
was the answer.
The captain scowled, but not unpleas-
antly upon the whole to those who knew
him well enough to read the lines in his
picturesque face. 1t is not pretty face
not by many degrees-but it is a face that
the physiognomist and the artist find rich
in material for their respective arts; face
that says most when it is most passive.
Il don't believe the public cares much
about the man: all they are concerned in
is his work" said the captain, reading an
official document at the same time. But
l suppose you newspaper men have to be
humored at times-when you're not trying
to pry into official secrets at all events.
But if you're going to say anything about
the Durrant case, don't forget to say that
have had competent and intelligent helpers
in this case, and that they deserve good
deal of the credit for the results achieved.
There's John Seymour, for instance; he's
been at my right hand all the time; and
there's the"
when were you born, captain?" in
terrupted the interviewer, bent upon get
ting the greatest amount of data in the
briefest space of time and wishing to limit
the interview to the task prescribed
namely, a personal history OF the man
who has crowned a long and successful
career as q detective with an admirable
piece of work that has won the unstinted
admiration of every practiced eye which
read the testimony upon which the great
est and most abnormal of modern crimi-
nails was convicted.
~ was born in $780," said the captain
then he dictated dispatch to the Chief of
Police at st. Louis, or somewhere.
"Where?" asked the interviewer.
E"Lancaster, England - sign it Chief
Crowley" said the captain all N one
breath, the latter half of it being meant
for the stenographer.
81 was a mechanical engineer in nv
early days on the coast. My folks settled
in Brooklyn. n. Y, at place called Red
Hook. 1 learned my trade in Jersey City
and then came out here with John Night
engale and went to the mines Then
came back to the City and went to work at
the Union Iron Works. 1 was in charge
of the outdoor gang, whose work it was to
repair disabled steamers. My brother was
foreman inside. He and I helped to set
up the steamer Mint, the first one ever
turned out from the Union Iron Works
She was shipped out here in parts and we
put her together. Tell Seymour to meet
me at the train (this to the telephone
clerk).
"Where was I? Oh, yes; the Mint. She
ran on the Sacramento River for good
many years. This was in 80, after John
Nightengaleyand l had come down from
Big Bar and the Middle Fork of the Ameri-
can River. Say, you'll have to put this
in chronological order yourself young
man, for I'm giving it to you just as it
occurs to me, and I haven't the time to
think it out consecutively. At that time
Joseph q. Eastland was the bookkeeper at
the Union Iron Works and Major Daniels
was one of the clerks. The firm was COM
posed of James, Michael and Peter Dona.
hue.
After | came down from the mines and
before went to work at my trade took a
trip back home with Ned Bonney. We
went on the steamer Oregon, Captain Pier
son. n. T. Whiting was chief mate. On
that trip down we had such a storm as that
in which the Colima was lost. We finally
made port at Acapulco but the decks were
as flush as this floor.
"While l was East that time married
but my wife did not come out until about
six months after | had returned. had
shipped as first assistant engineer on the
Tennessee for the return trip, but by an
accident l missed the ship. That was the
luckiest accident 1 ever had. The Tennes-
see was lost in storm that trip. came
out on the next steamer. I forget the
name, but can look it up if you want it.
Never mind? All right. Well, after I
left the Union Iron Works bought tug
boat-the Millen Griffiths. Augustus Van
Horn Ellis, a brother of John S. Ellis, was
my captain. I was the engineer. John
Ellis, you know, was Sheriff of this
County. Gus was afterward killed at the
battle of Gettysburg. He enlisted in a
New York regiment.
''Well, 1 finally sold the Millen Griffiths,
through man named Martin Bulger, to
some parties in Oregon. After had gone
on the police force she was lost at the
mouth of the Columbia River.
when did go on the forceP Here's