David Herlihy

by The Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer;His Mysterious Disappearance

  Still, one cannot fairly assess Sachtleben's performance without addressing a crucial question: Did he get it right? Was Moostoe indeed the "arch-murderer" of the unfortunate Lenz? Though it is difficult, if not impossible, to make a conclusive judgment from this vantage point, one might ask whether Sachtleben's detailed account was at least a plausible one.

  Perhaps the first question to address is this: Why did Graves's Kurdish informant maintain that Lenz had been shot in the Deli Baba Pass, near Kourdali, if in fact the wheelman had been slain a good thirty-five miles to the east, while still traversing the plain? And why did he cite six Kurds from Dahar if in fact they had nothing to do with the crime? Why, in particular, was Moostoe, the supposed arch-murder, not on the list?

  Of course, we might suppose that the Kurd was simply mistaken, or that he was deliberately trying to throw Graves off Moostoe's trail. However, a number of seemingly independent sources originally cited the village of Kourdali in the Deli Baba Pass as the location where Lenz was killed. The various accounts that Lenz's corpse was left lying on the road seem suspiciously consistent.

  To be sure, the finding of various bits and pieces that presumably belonged to Lenz by the Hopuz River outside Chilkani suggests that he was attacked at that spot. But without an eyewitness to the crime or the discovery of Lenz's body in the vicinity, it does not necessarily follow that he was killed there. One might imagine, for example, that he was robbed and perhaps roughed up, but that he continued afterward in the direction of the pass, perhaps in a weakened state. In that case, he could conceivably have drowned while trying to cross one of the intervening rivers. Perhaps he did in fact wash up near Karakalissa. Or maybe he reached Kourdali later in the day, only to be killed in the manner described by Graves's informant.

  Of course, one can point to the lack of Lenz sightings west of Chilkani as evidence that he never made it far out of that village. Yet it is clear that a climate of fear prevailed across the entire region and that villagers were reluctant to step forward with information. Even the residents of Chilkani initially denied that Lenz had stopped there. So the lack of witnesses west of Chilkani does not necessarily mean that Lenz never made it to the pass.

  And what about Moostoe? Of course, he could have been lying when he claimed never to have met Lenz. Quite a few Armenian villagers, after all, had signed a petition stating that the Kurd had not only visited Lenz at Parsegh's residence on the evening of May 9, 1894, but had verbally threatened the American. On the other hand, Lenz's host, who freely acknowledged that Lenz had passed the night in his farmhouse, pointedly denied that Lenz had entertained visitors that evening. In any event, it seems unlikely that all twenty-two Armenian signatories were present that evening in the Parsegh home and overheard Moostoe's threats. At least some of them, it would seem, were acting on hearsay or simply cooperating with Der Arsen's request to sign his petition.

  Even if Moostoe was present at the Parsegh home that evening, and even if he did accost Lenz, he did not necessarily make good on his threat. Nor was his admitted possession of bicycle inner tubes, presumably once part of Lenz's gear, proof of murder. It may be that Moostoe confiscated the material without killing Lenz, or perhaps he did indeed obtain the tubes, as he maintained, from a third party. After all, his tubes were in theory no more incriminating than the bits and pieces of Lenz's camera obtained by the local Armenians.

  Of course, if Moostoe and his son really were in possession of Lenz's gun and clothing, and if the elder Kurd really did openly discuss his involvement in Lenz's murder, the evidence against the Kurd would have been overwhelming. But neither of these points seems to have been established beyond reasonable doubt.

  What remains a distinct possibility is this: although Moostoe really was a dangerous and violent character, as Sachtleben maintained, and was roundly despised by the local Armenians, he was not the author of this particular crime. It may be that Der Arsen and local Armenians, under heavy pressure from Sachtleben and anxious to exculpate their fellow citizens, saw an opportunity to pin Lenz's death on the detested Kurd and took it.

  Oddly, Der Arsen's oath, as collected by Sachtleben and submitted to Mrs. Lenz, makes no mention of Moostoe or his alleged threats to Lenz. The entire document reads as follows:

  I Der Arsen Hagopian, the priest of Tchelkani, testify that a foreigner traveling on a bicycle came to our village in the later part of April or the early part of May 1894 and remained the night. We had an evening meal and morning meal together, and he gave me some raisins he had with him, and he inquired again and again my name and surname, wrote it in his note book, and after a pleasant visit he started the following morning, shaking hands with me and promising to send me a present from Europe. The following is a description of this foreigner, as near as I can remember. In figure he was strongly built, broad shouldered, the fingers thick and strong, and rather long; his wrists thick and strong, a little taller than Mr. Sachtleben; eyes blue; he wore a small English cap; moustache of a light color and hardly visible; fair complextion; ears large, hair auburn, he wore brown leather leggings. And I positively identify this man as the same one in the attached photograph. At the same time I certify that neither before or after, until this date, has such a foreigner traveling on a bicycle passed through our village.

  signed Der Arsen, November 14, 1895

  Moostoe aside, it seems oddly remiss that Sachtleben, so critical of others, never formally retracted the original accusation identifying the six Kurds of Dahar, based on Graves's findings and lodged with the porte. Rather, the American seems to have been fixated on nailing Moostoe at all costs, even if his alleged accomplices mysteriously morphed into a completely different band of men.

  Perhaps if Sachtleben had taken a slightly less strident approach, not only with the Turks but also with his own government, and a more critical look at his own behavior, he would have gotten along better with the authorities and achieved better results. One wishes, in retrospect, that he had concentrated on finding Lenz's grave rather than on meting out justice in Turkey. Obviously, the return of the wheelman's remains to Pittsburgh for burial would have given his mother and friends the sense of closure they so badly needed. Such a poignant conclusion to the Lenz affair would also have given Sachtleben the measure of success and satisfaction that his failed mission sorely lacked, regardless of how the legal and diplomatic proceedings played out going forward.

  To be fair, Sachtleben faced a colossal and unenviable task in his spirited bid to unravel the Lenz mystery so long after the cyclist's tragic passing, under difficult—if not impossible—circumstances. No one should discount his evident sleuthing abilities. His meticulous notes made in a tiny scrawl reveal a wonderfully sharp and observant mind. To his credit, he was remarkably consistent with his details, even when writing years after the events in question. In my research, I had the pleasure of speaking with two women who actually met Sachtleben late in his life: Relna Wolfe and Nancy Benson. Both recall him as a charming man of extreme intelligence and full of wonderful tales.

  If Sachtleben did indeed get anywhere near the truth of the murky Lenz matter—and it is quite possible that he did—that was truly an extraordinary accomplishment, and one that should have enhanced, rather than doomed, his budding career as an investigator and adventurer par excellence. A brave and resourceful man full of noble intentions, he too deserved a better fate.

  * * *

  Notes on Sources

  Acknowledgments

  Photo Credits

  Index

  * * *

  Notes on Sources

  Nearly all the quotes in this book are based on written accounts. I frequently edited for clarity but endeavored to preserve the original intent as I understood it.

  Prologue

  The prologue is based on a lead article in the Alton Evening Telegraph of October 28, 1952, describing Sachtleben's surprise visit to the newspaper office. I also used material gathered from other articles appearing in the same paper, notably a letter to the
editor from Sachtleben published on April 17, 1943.

  Chapter 1 (Lenz's early years)

  I drew material on Lenz's early years (before 1890) primarily from the cycling column of the Bulletin, a social review based in Pittsburgh's East End. The author, Charles F. Seidell, was a member of the Keystone Bicycle Club. Starting in the spring of 1887, shortly after Lenz took up cycling, Seidell made frequent mention of the young cycling prodigy. For reports on the Erie-to-Buffalo race I culled the Pittsburgh papers as well as various newspapers published in the towns along the route. I imagined Lenz's reactions to the bicycles of Lallement and Stevens, which he undoubtedly saw, at the International Industrial Fair in Buffalo. Several articles suggested that Lenz's interest in a world tour dated from about this period, so it is very likely that the sight of Stevens's bicycle either prompted or intensified Lenz's dream of cycling around the world.

  To sketch the cycling scene in Pittsburgh at this time, I relied on accounts published in Pittsburgh papers and also reports from Pittsburgh correspondents to cycling reviews. Quotes and information relating to the history of the bicycle I extracted primarily from my book Bicycle: The History (Yale University Press, 2004).

  I am grateful to the genealogist Suzanne Johnston for helping me piece together Lenz's family roots. Unfortunately, however, some questions remain. We were unable to determine how or when Lenz's biological father, Adam Reinhart, died. It is almost certain nevertheless that it was the death of his father when Lenz was still a toddler that prompted his mother's move from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. We were also unable to determine Lenz's connection to the Walper family of East Liverpool, Ohio. Although the local newspapers referred to Catherine Walper, John J. Purinton's mother-in-law, as the sister of Anna Maria Lenz, that does not appear to have been the case. According to probate records, the latter was an only child.

  We were also unable to find out anything more about Annie R. Leech, who was evidently Lenz's girlfriend at the time when he left on his world tour. (He stipulated that she was to inherit his estate should his mother be deceased at the time of his death.) It is tempting to speculate that Lenz was planning to settle down with her upon his return to Pittsburgh.

  Chapter 2 (Allen and Sachtleben, having ridden across Europe, prepare to enter Asia)

  To recount Sachtleben's winter lull in Athens, I relied on his diary covering January to February 1891. I am grateful to Gia Aivazian for bringing this wonderful document to my attention. It is one of two diaries written by Sachtleben during his world tour that is now held by UCLA Special Collections. (He compiled several dozen notebooks during the three-year trip, but the others are lost.) For an interesting account of how this document was plucked from a Texas bonfire in the 1970s, see Aivazian's chapter, "Sachtleben Papers on Erzurum," in Armenian Karin/Erzurum, edited by R. G. Hovannisian (Mazda Publishers, 2002).

  I drew additional details about the German cyclist Anton von Godrich from an article by Wolfgang Schoppe, translated by Renate Franz.

  To describe Sachtleben and Allen's trip across Europe, I relied on their reports published in the Penny Illustrated Paper of London and Vélo-Sport of Bordeaux. I also found good supplemental material in various French and Italian newspapers.

  For background information on Allen and Sachtleben prior to their world tour, I mined Student Life, the Washington College review, and Alton newspapers.

  Chapter 3 (Lenz's long-distance rides prior to his world tour)

  To trace Lenz's summer trips from Pittsburgh to St. Louis (1890) and from Pittsburgh to New Orleans (1891), I mined papers from Pittsburgh and from the various cities through which the cyclists passed. The cycling literature, which took note of these rides, provided helpful supplemental information. The recollections of Robert Bruce, published in various motorcycling and cycling reviews, also helped me piece together a portrait of Lenz just prior to his departure on his world tour.

  Chapters 4, 6, and 8 (Allen and Sachtleben's ride across Asia and North America)

  To recount the Asian portion of Allen and Sachtleben's world tour, I drew most of my material from their own account in Across Asia on a Bicycle. Additional details came from several articles in the colonial newspapers of Peking and Denby's amusing report to the secretary of state. An article published in the Russian periodical Niva provided many valuable supplementary details. The author was Ivan Korostovets, a translator at the Russian embassy in Peking who met and interviewed Allen and Sachtleben upon their arrival in that city. I am grateful to Victor Fet for bringing the interview to my attention and for translating it.

  To trace Allen and Sachtleben's American tour, I relied mostly on articles drawn from newspapers published along their route.

  Chapters 5, 7, and 9 (Lenz's world tour)

  To chronicle Lenz's journey across the United States and Asia, I consulted both his own accounts in Outing and numerous articles published by newspapers in the cities along his route, including English-language newspapers based in Japan, China, Burma, and India. Pittsburgh papers once again proved an excellent supplementary source, as they occasionally published all or part of letters that Lenz sent to his friends while abroad. Cycling literature provided additional information.

  Chapters 10 to 14 (the search for Lenz)

  Lenz's disappearance was extensively covered in the American press, starting with the Pittsburgh papers. I copied numerous articles from the local papers on microfilm (drawn from the Chronicle-Telegraph, Commercial Gazette, Dispatch, Post, Press, and Times). I also consulted newspapers from all over the country, often with the help of electronic databases.

  Files from the State Department, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and the British Foreign Service provided rich sources of information on the search for Lenz. Sachtleben himself described his trip to Turkey in great detail in a series of articles published in Bearings in 1897. I gleaned useful information from his account published in the Alton Evening Telegraph of April 3, 1953, as well as from the autobiographies of the missionary William N. Chambers and the British diplomat Robert W Graves. I also benefited greatly from Lewis L. Gould's book Alexander Watkins Terrell (University of Texas Press, 2004).

  Chapters 15 and 16 (Epilogue)

  I tracked the Lenz trial and the claim for an indemnity from the Turkish government through State Department files and newspaper articles. Thanks to Candan Badem, I was also able to review extensive files on the Lenz case held in the Ottoman archives of Istanbul.

  In researching this book, I consulted the following facilities:

  American Bible Society

  Amherst College Archives (Talcott Williams papers)

  Alabama State Library

  Alton (Illinois) Public Library

  Arizona State Library

  Biblioteca Nazionale, Florence and Rome

  Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris

  Boston Public Library

  British Library, London and Colindale

  California State Library

  Carnegie Public Library, Pittsburgh

  Chicago Public Library

  East Liverpool (Ohio) Public Library

  Erie (Pennsylvania) Public Library

  Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh

  Houghton Library, Harvard University (records of the ABCFM)

  Idaho State Library

  Indiana State Library, Indianapolis

  Kansas State Library

  Library of Congress

  Library of Virginia

  Lincoln Library, Springfield, Illinois

  Maryland State Archives

  Minnesota Historical Society

  Missouri History Museum

  Montana State Library

  National Archives at College Park, Maryland (State Department files)

  National Archives at Kew, United Kingdom (British consular records)

  New Jersey State Library

  New Mexico State Library

  New Orleans Public Library

  New York Public Library

  N
ew York State Library

  Ohio Historical Society

  Oklahoma Historical Society

  Redwood City (California) Public Library

  San Diego Public Library

  Seaver Center, Los Angeles Natural History Museum

  (Sachtleben papers)

  South Dakota State Library

  St. Louis Public Library

  State Historical Society of Missouri

  State Library of Pennsylvania

  Tennessee State Library

  Texas State Archives

  University of California at Los Angeles, Special Collections

  (Sachtleben collection)

  University of Oregon, Knight Library

  University of Pittsburgh, Archives Service Center

  University of Texas at Austin, Center for American History

  (Terrell papers)

  Washington State Library

  Washington University Archives (Student Life)

  Wisconsin Historical Society

  Yale Divinity School Library (diary of A. P. Parker)

  * * *

  Acknowledgments

  SO MANY PEOPLE have helped me with this vast project, in ways big and small, that I hardly know where to start. Kathleen R. McBride provided me, once again, with constant encouragement, insightful criticism, and expert assistance with graphics. As always, my family and friends were extremely supportive.

  For the book's conception, I am grateful to the late Irving A. Leonard, who wrote movingly about Lenz's story in The Wheelmen magazine, and to John Kelly of the Washington Post, who brought to my attention, many years ago, the need for a book on Frank Lenz. I am also indebted to Lara Heimert, then with Yale University Press, for wisely advising me to write a general bicycle history before tackling the Lenz project and for connecting me with my superb agent, Scott Waxman, who helped me shape this book's proposal and land a contract with a top-notch publisher.