Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-02-16
The DETECTIVE STORY
Origin and Growth Of the Clever
Amateur Sleuth.

Origin and Growth Of the Clever
Amateur Sleuth.
VOL TAlRE WAS HIS CREATOR.
The Great French Writer introduced
Him 70 the World Of Fiction The
Genius Of Poe and Gaboriau and
Conan DoyIe's Sherlock Holmes.
Most persons who read detective
stories. and most literary critics, too,
believe that this very popular form Of
fiction was invented by Edgar Allan
Poe. They point to his story Of s.The
Purlofned Letter. as being the first of
its kind the first In which is intro
duced the man Of keen mind, OF close
reasoning and Of constructive imagi-
nation, who is able to piece together
certain facts that are known and then
by brilliant deduction to pass from
them to other facts which are not
known, but the truth Of which he Is
able to establish beyond a doubt
Poe himself had a mind precisely OF
this character-th mind Of mathe
matician, subtle, logical and capable
of searching analysis. He once gave
remarkable illustration Of what he
could do as an Investigator Of mystic
rions crime. A young shopgirl named
Mary Rogers was found murdered
under circumstances which excited
great public interest in New York.
The police were completely baffled,
though they advanced theory which
was plausible in part. Poe, taking thea
facts that were admitted, wove them
into story, the scene Of which he laid
In Paris and which he called The
Mystery Of Marie Roget" Then from
what was known he passed by deduc-#
| tive reasoning to, what was quite un-z
known and worked out solution to
the puzzle which no protest. nal de
tective had been able to explain.
Years afterward the confession Of a
dying man afforded proof that Poe
was right and that he had reconstruct.
ed accurately the whole series OF
events which led to the death of Mary.
Rogers. A @
| This remarkable achievement fixed in.
the public mind the notion that this use
OF logic blended with Imagination was
original with Poe. AS matter Of fact,
1 1t Is almost certain that Poe, who was
deeply yersed in French literature, got
! the suggestion Of the method from
reading certain passages in the ORR
entail tale called .zadig," by Voltaires
In this book young man is questioned
Sas to whether he had seen a stray dog
4 and horse that might have passed him
on his journey. In reply he describes
/ very accurately the peculiarities Of
both, though he had not seen them.
/ He had deduced his knowledge from
jobserving certain indications along
the way-the nature Of the footprints
and many other signs which the ordi-
nary person would either not have no.
ticed or would have been too dull to
understand. Here Is really the germ
4 of the conception which Poe SO bril-,
4 nantly elaborated In the story Of The
Purloined Letter, where we find ex.
4 hibited the striking contrast between
the Workin OF usual mind and the
achievements Of q mind of exceptional
power and training.
Poe's central figure, the amateur de
tective, was afterward caught up and
elaborated with great effect by several
French writer's, of whom the chief was
Emile Gaboriau. Gaboriau gave the
{ world the character Of M. Lecoq In the
remarkable novel Of that name. Lecoq
Is a professional detective, but APP
pears in that book as novice, inexpe-
rienced, but full of intelligence and en-.
thusiasm and obliged to work out his
cleWs against the secret opposition of
his official chief, Gevrot, who is jeal-
GUS Of the young detective. In the
j background IS the interesting figure
Of the real amateyr detective, old Fa-
ther Tire-au-C Clair Bring o-light'D, q
Il retired tradesman who studies crime
4 from sheer love Of the intellectual puz-
i zIe which it affords him and which be
solves by purely scientific deduction.
Sir Conan Doyle in creating Sherlock
Il Holmes openly acknowledged his great
indie btedness to Poe. Like Poe's hero
/: Holmes works apart from the official
4 police and is consulted by them when
they are wholly at a loss. Many Of
the Incidents in the Holmes cycle Of
stories were suggested by the inven
lions Of Poe. Yet 1T Is only fair to say
/. that Doyle has gone one step further
than his master. Poe's characters are
Il distractions. They are like chessner
i on the board and excite interest only
because Of the completely Of the prob
= lem which they are made to solve
]. Doyle's characters. on the other hand
are drawn with sympathy and l
shrewd insight into human nature
!. They entertain us BY their whims ant
Individual traits no less than by til.
adventures through which they pass
Thus Holiness addiction to the cocaine
habit, his trick Of smoking great guam
| titles Of shay tobacco when thinking
&nrst a rrnh1pm hiS disliKpf inf woman