The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-02-17

events large Drained literary men-tc
be l cannot profess much admiration
for the fussy folk who seem to imagine
that God made our world and the In.
finite worlds around it, life and death.
and the human heart, with its joys and
sorrows and hope of Immortality, for
no other reason than that they should
have something to write about.
Instead Of recognizing that it is only
life and the unintelligible mystery of
( life which make literature of any conse-
quence, they seem to fancy that litera-
ture is the chief concern and end of
mans being. AS matter of fact litera-
ture is to life what dogs tail is to his
body-a very valuable appendage, but
the dog must wag the tail, not the tail
the dog, as some Of these gentry would
have us to believe. The dog could at a
pinch make shift to do without the tail.
but the tail could under no oircum-
stances do without the dog
You may screw pencil into one end
of a pair of compasses and draw as
many circles Of different sizes as you
please, but il is from the other end that
you must take your centers, and what
the pivot end is to the pencil life must
be to literature.
Hence it is my habit every now and
then TO put away from me all that is
connected with books and the making
Of books, and to seek only to live my
life and TO possess my own soul and
this wonderful world about us.
AT the particular date of which am
writing the restlessness which is so
often associated with the literary tenn
permanent was upon me. l craved
change, excitement and adventures, and
these the following up of the clew which
held to the identity of Captain Shan
non promised in abundance.
AS everything depended upon the as
sumption that James Mullen was, as
was stated, Captain Shannon, the first
question which | felt it necessary Sc
riously to consider was whether the in
formers evidence was to be credited,
and l did not lose sight Of the fact that
his confessions, so far from being en-
titled to be regarded as bona fide evil
dence. were to be received with very
grave suspicion. At the best they might
be nothing more than the invention Of
one who had no information to give,
but who hoped by means of them either
to prevent or at least TO stave off for
time the otherwise inevitable death SEN
tence which was hanging Ger his head.
At the worst it was possible that the
pretended queens evidence had been
carefully prepared beforehand by Cap
tain Shannon and communicated by
him TO his agents, to be used in the
event of any of them falling into the
hands of the police. In that case the
statements which might thus be put for
ward, so far from being of assistance to
the authorities, would be deliberately |
with a view to confuse and
mislead.
The one thing which found it utter
ly impossible to reconcile with the theo- |
ries had previously formed about Cap |
tain Shannon was that the informer |
should have in his possession portrait |
Of his chief.
Was it likely, 1 asked myself, that so
criminal would, by allowing
MS portrait to get into the possession of |
MS agents, place himself at the mercy |
IF any scoundrel who, for the sake of an |
offered reward, would be ready to be- |
ray his leader, or of some coward who, |
III falling into the hands of the police, |
night offer to turn queens evidence?
Vas it not far more likely, on the con-
rary, that the explanation of Captain (
,hannon's having So successfully eluded |
he police and kspt the authorities in
ignorance of his very identity was that |
he had carefully concealed that identity |
wen from his own colleagues?
The more l thought about it the more |
lssured l became that so crafty man |
"a man who was not only an artist, but !
| genius in crime-would trust abso- |
utely no one with a secret that concern |
ID his own safety. On the few occasions |
when he would have to come into per-
onal relation with his confederates it |
eemed more than probable to me that |
le would assume some definite and con-
istent disguise which would mislead |
wen them in regard to his appearance
md individuality.
On being asked how the portrait got |
nto his possession and whether it was
good likeness the informer had re-
,lied that he had only seen Captain
Shannon on single occasion, when he |
net him one night by appointment at
Custom station. The portrait had been
ent home to him beforehand, so that |
10 might have no difficulty in recognize
ng the person to whom he was to de. |
liver certain package, and he added
hat, so far as he could see, it was an
excellent likeness.
Some such explanation as this was
Just what I had expected, for if the por.
raft were intended, as / supposed, to
nislead the police / was sure that Cap
ain Shannon would invent some plausi-
Die story to account for its being in the
possession of one of his colleagues. 9th.
,rwise the fact of man for whose ar.
Test a large reward had been offered |
having, for no apparent reason, present.
I'd his photograph to fellow conspira.