The Elbert County tribune., 1909-03-25


the Murders in the Rue Morgue" Still
doth Sherlock Holmes lurk in the
darkened precincts of his superheated
rooms. consuming tobacco and daily
Ing with the insidious delights OF
opium. at times taking refuge in the
profound silence for which Poes
hstute analyst was noted, and emerg-
Ing from his reveries master of a new
set of brilliant deductions warranted
TO furnish key to the secrets of any
criminal case presented for his consid-
Grafton. And even as Holmes followed
In the footsteps of Dupin, countless
pordes of imitators camp upon the
trail of Holmes, and we are forced to
the conclusion that the type is pretty
sure to be utilized by authors for the
next so years.
The question naturally suggests it.
self: Is the real simon-pure detective
like unto the member of his profession
who works wonders in the world of
fiction? Put this proposition up to
Wilson Murray. chief inspector OF
criminal investigation of the depart
ment of justice of the province of
Ontario, Canada, and he will answer
emphatically in the negative. The
solving of these seemingly inexplicable
problems is a capital exercise for the
intellect, but has mighty little to do
with practical police work For Grim
inals are not drawn into the meshes
OF the official net by virtue of fine
drawn deductions and opium-bred in
spirations.
Murray served through the civil war
In the navy. He was in the Missis.
sippi, or Gulf, squadron a part of the
time, under Commander Jewett, and
he fought under Farragut and was in
number Of engagements including
the fight at Mobile. From service in
the Mississippi and gulf Murray was
ordered to the great lakes aboard the
Michigan. He continued aboard her
1ntil after the close of the war, and
An December, 1856. he left the Mich
igan and the service
The war left its indelible imprint
on Murray's life, as 1t did on the life
pf many another man. 1t tended to
mold his ambitions and direct them
along the line of what later became
his occupation. His career was not
cast ashore by any dread of hardship
af1oat or any dislike of service at sea-
1t was influenced by an event that is
one of the important, yet little known,
episodes of the civil war: The attempt
of the confederates, in 1864, to cap
ture the U. s. s. Michigan, to take
Johnson island, In Sandusky bay in
Lake Erie, release 1000 confederates
imprisoned there, burn the island, and,
II possible. destroy Detroit, Cleveland
and Buffalo by fire, and strike terror
to the heart of the north. The man
who discovered the plot was Murray,
and it was he who unearthed the iden-
tity of the picturesque leader and was
instrumental in frustrating the
schemes SO cunningly devised.
The war was at its zenith in the
year 1864, when Commander ]. c. Car
ter of the United States navy sent for
Murray and detailed him to special
duty. There had been some vague
rumors floating around of a confed-
crate plot to blow up Johnson island,
liberate all confederate prisoners and
land them safely in Canada across
Lake Erie.
Try to get to the bottom of the
conspiracy, If there is one" said Com
mander Carter. Go to any place and
every place where your judgment leads
you. You have an unlimited commits.
sion. Report to me from time to
time"
Murray went first to Detroit and
conferred with Col. Hill, who gave him
what information he had. 1t was very
meager. At that time Vallandingham,
a member of congress from Ohio, was
in exile in Windsor, Ont, across the
river from Detroit. Vallandingham
was a southern sympathizer. Murray,
garbed as civilian. crossed to Windsor
and settled down to learn, first of all, the
ways of Vallandingham and any other
confederate sympathizers gathered
there. He observed closely all who
called on Vallandingham. Among them
he noted dapper energetic little fel-
low who came and went at Valland-
ingham's headquarters. Murray learned
that his name was l.. c. Cole. and that
he was reputed to be a confederate
agent. Cole was about 3S years old,
five feet seven inches tall, weighed
135 pounds, with red hair and long
mustache. and gray eyes SO small and
sharp and bright that they were the
first feature to draw Murray's atten-
ton to the suspect. Murray finally
overheard scrap of conversation be-
tween Cole and vallandingham that
convinced him the former was an i'm
portant and dangerous person. He
communicated with Commander Car
ter and prepared to follow Coles trail
II 1t led to the end of the earth.
When Cole alighted from the train
in Montreal Murray was car length