River City History: Silent Silas

Image copyright Howard Chaykin.

During this time period, another name famous to River City history also appeared. Silas Fitzpatrick was an enterprising journalist that returned to his childhood home in 1905 after studying journalism in New England. Alongside his wife and two sons, he took over a small newspaper, the River City Star. Infuriated by the fall the city took in the years since he left, he made it his goal to expose “Happy” Harry’s criminal enterprise to the light of day. Over a period of two years, he wrote multiple large scale pieces that exposed the corruption of “Happy” Harry’s regime.

Murphy did not take kindly to a small time journalist interfering with his business. He sent a squad of his best Rippers to end Fitzpatrick’s crusade. They attacked the Fitzpatricks in their home. Murphy awoke just as his wife’s throat was cut by the silent killers. His own throat slashed, he fought off the intruders before plummeting into the nearby river. The killers reported the entire family dead, but Silas survived after being fished out of the water by a local veterinarian, Kazuki Koga. Dr. Koga kept Silas alive, but along with his family, Silas also lost his voice.

Silas used his disappearance to reframe his battle with “Happy” Harry. He would use his past training as an Army scout and martial arts training from Koga to become a different kind of thorn in “Happy” Harry’s side, attacking and destroying many of Harry’s criminal plots. He initially operated under Benjamin Franklin’s pseudonym, Silence Dogood, but upon the discovery of his identity by young society reporter Meredith Mann, he became known as Silent Silas.