_The Detective._--_His Experience and His Practice._--_A Plan of
Detection Perfected._--_The Work is Begun._
The detective occupies a peculiar position in society, and is a
prominent actor in many scenes of which the general public can have
no knowledge. In his breast may be locked the secrets of many men who
stand in proud pre-eminence before the public, and who are admired
and respected for the possession of virtues that are but the cloak
with which they hide the baser elements of their dispositions.
The canting hypocrite, whose voice may be loudest in chapel or
meeting-house, and whose sanctimonious air and solemn visage will
cover the sins of his heart to the general observer, is well known to
the detective, who has seen that same face pale with apprehension,
and has heard that same voice trembling with the fear of exposure.
That dapper young gentleman, who twirls his moustache and swings his
cane so jauntily upon the promenade, is an object of admiration to
many; but to the man who knows the secrets of his inner life another
scene is opened, and he remembers when this same exquisite walked the
cell of a prison--a convict guilty of a crime.
Through all the various grades of society the detective has wended
his way, and he has looked into men's hearts when infamy stared them
in the face and dishonor impended over them.
His experience has rendered him almost incapable of surprise, or
mobility of feeling. He is ever watchful for the deceptiveness of
appearances, ever prepared to admit everything, to explain
everything, and to believe nothing--but what he sees.
The judicial officer, with the nicety and legal acumen of a thorough
jurist, applies the technicalities of the law to the testimony
submitted to him, but the detective observes with caution, and
watches with suspicion all the odious combinations and circumstances
which the law with all the power at its command cannot successfully
reach.
He is made the unwilling, but necessary recipient of disgraceful
details; of domestic crimes, and even of tolerated vices with which
the law cannot deal.
If, when he entered upon his office, his mind teemed with illusions
in regard to humanity, the experience of a year has dissipated them
to the winds.
If he does not eventually become skeptical of the whole human race,
it is because his experience has shown him that honor and vice may
walk side by side without contamination; that virtue and crime may be
closely connected, and yet no stain be left upon the white robe of
purity, and that while upon the one hand he sees abominations
indulged in with impunity, upon the other, he witnesses a sublime
generosity which cannot be weakened or crushed. The modest violet may
exhale its fragrance through an overgrowth of noxious weeds--and
humanity bears out the simile.
He sees with contempt the proud bearing of the impudent scoundrels
who are unjustly receiving public respect, but he sees also with
pleasure many heroes in the modest and obscure walks of life, who
deserve the rich rewards which they never receive.
He has so often pierced beneath the shining mask of virtue and
discovered the distorted visage of vice, that he has almost reached a
state of general doubtfulness until results shall demonstrate the
correctness of his theories. He believes in nothing until it is
proven--not in absolute evil more than in absolute good, and the
results of his teachings have brought him to the conclusion that not
men but events alone are worthy of consideration.
A knowledge of human nature is as necessary to him as that he shall
have eyes and ears, and this knowledge experience alone can give.
In my eventful career as a detective, extending over a period of
thirty years of active practice, my experience has been of such a
character as to lead me to pay no attention to the outward appearance
of men or things. The burglar does not commit his depredations in the
open light of day, nor in the full view of the spectator. Nor does
the murderer usually select the brilliantly-lighted highway to strike
the fatal blow. Quietly and secretly, and with every imagined
precaution against detection, the criminal acts, and it is only by
equally secretive ways that he can be reached.
Weeks and months may elapse before he is finally brought to bay, but
I have never known it to fail, at least in my experience, that
detection will follow crime as surely as the shadow will follow a
moving body in the glare of sunlight.
From the facts collected by my operatives, and from every other
available source, I was now put into possession of every point in the
case of the murder of Henry Schulte, that could be arrived at, and we
were prepared to define a plan of operation, which, if strictly
adhered to, bore the impress of promised success.
An old man had been foully murdered, and his body had been robbed of
a large sum of money. Money, therefore, was the cause of the murder,
and the recovery and identification of this would undoubtedly lead to
the discovery of the criminal.
The matter, with all its attendant facts, was placed in the hands of
Mr. Bangs, my general superintendent, and of my son, Robert A.
Pinkerton, who resolved to succeed in the undertaking if success were
possible.
The details of our proposed line of action were submitted to the
German Consul-General and to the State's attorney, Mr. Olmstead. The
former, while expressing doubts of the expediency of the plan
proposed, determined finally to allow us to pursue such course as in
our judgment was advisable, while the latter gentleman signified his
hearty approval, as it accorded in many respects with a plan which he
had previously thought feasible in this very matter.
Our relations with these gentlemen were of a nature somewhat
peculiar. The German Consul was acting in a double capacity, and had
two interests to serve. He represented the heirs of the murdered man,
and in that relation he was desirous of recovering the money that had
been stolen, as well as discovering who the murderer was and bringing
him to justice. At the same time, he was expected to render whatever
assistance that was in his power to the unfortunate man who stood
accused of the crime, and who was also a native of Germany, requiring
his protection. The German Consul also entertained a well-grounded
faith in the innocence of Bucholz, and desired that every fact that
would substantiate this opinion should be discovered and used for his
benefit.
The State's attorney, on the contrary, was firmly established in his
belief that the murder had been committed by Bucholz, and none other,
and his desire was that this theory should be proved beyond the
possibility of doubt, in order that he, as the prosecuting officer of
the State, should be enabled to uphold the dignity of outraged law,
and to bring the guilty man to the justice which he believed was so
richly merited.
It was determined, therefore, after a conference with these
gentlemen, that my agents should pursue the investigation in such a
manner as seemed best, and which gave greatest promise of eventual
success.
Armed with this double authority, our arrangements were soon made,
and active operations were instituted. Whether our efforts resulted
in victory or defeat, the sequel will prove.