The Portland daily press., 1897-02-15
CANNOT FORGET.
Charles DorL Is Called the Human Camera
and Photograph.

and Photograph.
The harder Charles Dorr, of San
Francisco tries to forget anything the
more indelibly is 1t stamped on his men,
ory. Hs has the most wonderful memo
~ on the Pacific Coast. He is often
called "The Human Camera" and "The
Living Phonograph, $50 faithfully does
his eye aud ear record passing events. Let
this man of wonderful memory once get
a good look at a face and 1t is never
forgotten. This fact, more than one
criminal caught by the San Francisco
police, and positively identified by Dorr,
can sorrowfully but truthfnlly testify to.
II is not by any particular effort that
these wonderful feats of memory are per-
formed, it is simply as natural for him
to soc place. person or thing once and
never forget it, as it is for the ordinary
person to glance at passing crowd OF
strangers and fail to identify any one Of
them two weeks later.
So far as memory goes, Mr.. Dorr would
have been brilliant success as I'D actor.
He frequently goes to see play and
hours after does not hesitate to quote any
part, or even all of it, il called upon to
do so, word for word, although he might
never have seen.cr heard of tine piece be-
fore entering the theatre. He knows eve
ry policeman in San Francisco by sight
and mum her, if not by name. and If yon
tall him the number he will instantly
tell you where that particular officers
post is, what the man looks like. and to
what division he belongs. Fhis same
wonderful memory has been utilized by
Chief OF Police Crowley on more than one
occasion to excellent advantage, particu-
larly when there has been the slightest
dou bt as to the identity of some prisoner.
Mr.. DORIS place of business is near
the old City Hall on Kearney and Wash
ington Streets There he hears every
alarm Of tire aid sees all the policemen
as they are marched out in squads to
take their posts.
Without having ever paid much atten-
ton to INN ediate surroundings he in
stinctively sees and remembers many
things which occur around him during
the day. A bove him in his office is hung
a card on which is shown the location OF
the corner opposite the number sounded
by the fire alarm. 1t did not take him
long to learn where every box was locat-
ed, ard now he can tell the location OF
any one almost without pausing to think.
He also knows the mum be1s of all the
street cars and where they go. Mention
street through which cars pass, and he
will tell you the numbers OF the cars
running on that thoroughfars.
On one occasion wager of $l40 was
made that he could not tell thu location
of an alarm which had just been sent In
from box in the suburbs. He counted
the numbers as they sounded from the
big gong at fire headquarters, "two-four
Observation-Disclosures ann Lyons" re-
marked Mr.. Dorr, without glancing
around when the last alarm had sound
ed. He was right, and the wager was
at once paid.
On another occasion he was standing
OF the corner of California and Larkin
sire ,ts, conversing with a number of fire.
men in the old fire house erected by the
late banker Ralston. Half block Be-
low man ran around the corner. Dorr,
who was the first to see him. shouted,
"There goes crook. The man darted
down Larkin street, followed by police-
man.
At the next corner two pistol shots
broke through the stiffness OF the night
The little crowd ran down the block and
found tho officer walking about as though
nothing had happened. The crook lay
dead in the street
Dorr was called at the coroner's inquest
and the police who knew him had such
absolute confidence in his memory of
fnces that almost entirely upon his testl-
mony the dead crook was identified as
man long wanted for number of
crimes. D1rr's entire knowledge of the
man was gained simply from having
spen him In his store for a moment some
months previously, when he escaped with
few trinkets which he had stolen.
Once Dorr made trip TO Australia,
unon which OCCASION the passengers and
officers amused themselves by making
pools On the mum Der of miles logged by
the ship at the end of each days run.
The money was placed in the Captain q
bands in a sealed envelope containing
the number of miles which each thought
the ship was making. MIR. Dorr was
always lucky at this, and explained it as
follows: 1T simply watched the sea, re-
membered what the ship did coming
down under similar conditions and esti-
mated the run at 408 miles. She made
Just 40y miles.
The possessor of this wonderful mem.
ory is mt an educated man, but a curl
GUS fact about him is that he can spell a
name which he cannot even pronou nee.
On one occasion when the deceased King
of the Hawaiian Islansd was in Califor-
mia on his first visit to this country,
there was much controversy as to the
nounced "King Calico" Dorr bad heard
it spelled once, and won wager from
Claus Spreckles. the Sugar King, by
smelling it correctly the first time. The
prop er spelling being "Kalakaua.
A column of figures is a mere baRatelle
to this man Of wonderful memory. A
s-ron+r r,ur,a hora IF 81 6n11rpc