The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-01-26
MEN WHO DISAPPEAR
MYSTERIES THAT BATTLE sHREWD
CITY DETECTIVES.
Interesting Facts and Opinions From the
Chicago Police Department-"A Woman
ut tho Bottom OF IL" Generaliy-The
oueer Case Of John w. Matthews.

Queer Case Of John w. Matthews.
Many a queer tale, moro weird and in.
teresting than any penned by writer's OF |
fiction, Is hidden away In the records OF
mysterious disappearance kept by the |
Chicago police department. Between 800
and 400 men and women drop out OF sight |
every year In this city-disappear as COM
pletely as II the earth had opened and |
swallowed them. What becomes Of these |
people is mystery few detectives care to
attempt to explain. Foul play Is the ex-
PLANTATION advanced by their relatives In
nine cases out Of ten, murder by footpads
being the customary plea, but in few in
stances are the facts such as 10 justify this
conclusion.
Wholesale killings for plumber could not
20 ON year after year without detection.
Sooner or later the bodies of some OF the
alleged victims would turn up or stolen
yaluables would be found In that market
for all thieves, the pawnshop. 1t is be-
cause of lack OF Developments OF this KIND
that officers experienced In criminal mat
| tiers scout the idea of foul play. But peo-
| pie keep on disappearing at an alarming
rate, and the natural question is, What
| becomes of them?
They are not embezzlers or others who
L III
| II the reports received at police headquar-
| tiers are accurate, nearly all of these miss
| ing people arc individuals free from hnan-
| cial or domestic troubles and to all out
ward appearances happily situated in life.
"Men do queer things at times, said
| former Captain Elliott In discussing this
| subject, land of all their freaks that OF
| mysteriously disappearing Is the oldest
Sometimes they really become insane and
actually lose their identity, but as rule
those who disappear are not afflicted men,
tally In nearly every instance where
man of sound mind disappears and no
murder has been committed close investi-
cation will disclose the fact that he has
some real or fancied cause for getting out
Of the way. Wives are always positive
their husbands love them, but 1 have
known instances In which men who to all
outward appearances were devoted nus
bands were really weary of life with their
conjugal mates and quietly disappeared
in order to get rid of them.
"They would not face the scandal OF the
divorce court, and indeed had no cause to
base an action on. Men sometimes be-
come annoyed because their business al
fairs are not in good shape and seek relief
In voluntary retirement. Others, again,
are imbued with love OF adventure, and
after spending years in quiet domestic sur
roundings suddenly become imbued witt
an unconquerable desire to see other phases
of life 1t is possible and even probable
that some Of the people reported as miss
, ing fall victims to footpads, but the mum
} Der is small. Crimes of this kind are cas-
: ily detected, and while the perpetrator
: may not be caught in every instance TIT
? identity of the victim and the fact OF Kill
3 ing are pretty sure to be quickly estab
lished.
P Sudden insanity accounts for man,
mysterious disappearances, but as gen
r eral thing you may charge them up 6
4 women. Many men live double lives, an
T when the situation gets distastefui IL
) only natural they should try to better thei
condition by dropping out of sight so ia
n as one of their female partners Is cor
. cerned.
l. Zone of the uueerest cases OF mysteriou
d disappearance with which the Chicago pt
L lice department has had to deal is that
q John W. Matthews, who quietly droppe
T. out of sight in this city in November
10 1895. and has never been heard from. A
p unusually vigorous search was made IL
IT Matthews because he was an intima'
a friend of Captain Campbell, secretary
et the departments, and the latter intereste
70 himself in seeing that the hunt was
d thorough one. Matthews lived in MOI
l. mouth, Ills, and was q man OF conslde
able wealth. He came to Chicago abo'
W the middle of November wearing ne
suit of clothes and with $500 In casl
Here he met and talked with sever
friends, all of whom afterward remarkt
that he was in fine health and spirit
Is Two days later Matthews was missing, an
s, no trace of him was to be found.
to "The police were baffled, when mir
of reader gave them a clew which led
IL strange disclosures. This person said Ma
rs thews had been suddenly taken insane
%, Chicago and had gone to a hotel in Mad
at son street, near Clark street, where
lie registered under his proper name, but
ey an undecipherable running hand, and hi
tn been assigned to room on the four
IS, floor. Before bedtime, however, he III
NJ taken a car and gone to the lake ne
jackson park, where he drowned himse
as Shortly after this, the mind reader sal
. | the body was washed ashore In the Gal
RI met region, where 1t was found by a fs
r. erman, who appropriated the money al
CHI valuables and then to save himself tro
no BILE buried the remains In the sands
he 1.-THE hotel the spot where the suici
he occurred, the appearance OF the nsherm
ed and the locality In which matthew's DO
VI was ashed ashore were all described WI
much minuteness by the mind reader =
10. story caused great deal Of merriment
on police circles until Captain Campbell
,th sisted that IL should be looked into, and
I'm the essential facts were found to be q
he rect Actual suicide and robbery OF
10, body were never established, and many
it'll Matthews friends think he Is still ali'
on but in other things there was an exae
e's tude OF description that was alarming.
Matthews signature was found on
hotel register, and he Ind been assigned
= fourth floor room, which he had not
yht cupied. Search along the southern 10
am front revealed spot identical win u
go. given by the mind reader as the place W b
+, Matthews had jumped into the water, Q
mo in the Calumet country the officers lou
he the fisherman they were after. There a
,,a Il was easy to make out the mind readt
sas picture of the corpse marked beach VIII
49, t.E