lHUl/IANlllllllfllNGED
H. H. Holmes Meets a. Richly Merited
Fate In Philadelphia.
ARCH MURDERER 01’ THE AGE
Statement on the Gallows In \Vhich the
Incomprehcnsible Degenerate As-
sertcd That He Vi'as Responsi-
ble but For Two Deaths.
PHILADELPHIA, May 8.—H. H. Holmes
was hanged in Moyamenslng prison today.
The sky was gray and threatening and
there was a chill wind as the procession of
witnesses walked through the convict gate
of the prison. Once t rough the convict
gate there Was a stop made in the court-
yard, but not for long. On the witnesses
went into the keeper’s room, where the
necessary spectators stood around in
bunches of three and five and even more,
‘while every bit of authentic news from
Holmes was eagerly listened to. '
It was a little after 10 o’clock when the
sherifl’s solicitor, Grew. called out, “Hats
off and no smoking!”
The jury impaneled to view Holmcs’
'last moments on earth were formed in 'a
long line, two by two, and the neWspaper
men 'and the others also took the same
formation.
Assistant Superintendent Richardson
led the procession which filed down the
corridor upon which are situated the cells
of the convicted prisoners.
The outer doors of these were tightly
closed. Their inmates could not hear the
sound of the footsteps of the men on the
H. H. HOLMES.
stone fiaggings. About midway of this
corridor was the black painted death trap.
It was six minutes after 10 o’clock when
the halt was made opposite the gallows.
Men spoke in whispers. It was told that
the gallows platform was eight- feet from
the ground and that the uprights were ten
feet in height. The little rope which hung
all innocently enough with the noose over
the loop of one of these uprights was said
to be made of the finest hemp.
The gallows faced to the north. From
the south end of the corridor there pres-
ently was heard a chanting. Instantly
there was the most intense quiet on the
part of the waiting throng.
“They are coming,” said one man pres‘
ently. Slowly the sound grew in volume.
and gradually one could hear the measured
foot pats up the fatal steps. There loomed
into view first Sherifl Clement and Prison
Superintendent Perkins. Next, just be-
hind them, came Holmes, carrying in his
clasped hands a little silver crucifix.
On either side of Holmes was a priest.
Assistant Superintendent of the Prison
Richardson followed the priests.
The l’itezels’ llIurder Denied.
The "Miserare" ceased when the proces-
sion stood upon the platform. Holmes’
face was pale—deathly pale—as he stepped
forward a trifle, but his nerve was never
more in evidence than when helooked out
on the faces of the men who were there to
watch him die. He was clean shaven ex—
cept for his mustache. '
His clothes were made of a dark gray
material. His shoes were as Well shined
as if he were about to take a stroll on the
avenue. . From his cutaway down nothing
was out of keeping for the street except
that around his neck, muffler fashion. was
a white silk handkerchief.
And it told the whole story.
Holmes’ voice was clear, and its tones
were true and firm as he said:
“Gentlemen, I havea very few words to
say. I would make no remarks at this
time except for my feeling that by not
speaking I would acquiesce in my excell—
tion by hanging. 1 only wish to say at
this instant that the extent of my wrong-
doing in taking human life consists in the
killing of two women. They died at my
hands in criminal operations. I only state
this now that there shall be no misunder-
standing of my words hereafter. I am~
not guilty of taking the lives of the Pitezel
family, the three children or‘ the father,
Benjamin F. Pitezel, for whose death I
am now to be hanged. This is all I havel
to say.”
Holmes retreated a stop. He knelt down
and looked steadily at his crucifix. The
men with him on the little black platform
bowod their heads. The attitude was one
of prayer.
When Holmes arose to his test, he looked
steadily at each man around him in turn.
They were waiting for one more act. The
condemned man appreciated what was
wanting.
Quickly he shook hands with the sheriff,
the prison superintendent, his assistant.
the hangman and the two priests. Then
he looked down at the boards of the plat-
form and took his position. '
lie was not standing in exactly the
proper spot, so the hangmnn pushed him
by the shoulders possibly half a dozen
inches to the east.
Then be stretched out Holmes’ right
arm to see that there was no tightening or
binding in his coat sleeve. Holmes placed
his hands behind him, and as the sherifi
and Superintendent Perkins walked down
the steps the sheriff snapped the steel
bracelets to Holmes’ wrists.
He took the noose from the upright and
with speedy fingers adjusted the knot back
of the left ear of the man about to die.
The Plunge to Death.
As the black cap was drawn over his
face a voice from under it said in low but
distinct‘tones, “Make it quick.”
The hempen rope was pulled taut. The
hangman left the platform. At its edge,
standing on the highest. siep, Were the two
priests in their white vestments. '
“Goodby, ” said Holmes as he stood
alone.
The sharp click of the trap was all the
answer he received. '
His body shoe Straight downward, One
little kick, and what was left of the mur-
' derer was at rest. .
There were comparatively few persons
Advertise in the GAZETTE.
l
although he tried to conceal it.
gathered on the outside of the county
prison during the early part of this morn-
ing, and the morbid throng which the
prison ofl‘icers expected would be drawn
there because of the hanging of Holmes
was lacking. The fact that Holmes would
be hafiged within the prison walls made
the sightseers’ mission fruitless, but the
notoriety of the case, it was believed.
would, attract a large crowd. Access to
the prison prior to the entrance of those
permitted to witness the execution was
not allowed, and nothing could be learned
about Holmes’ condition or how he passed
the ht.
' The persons holding tickets of admis-
sion to the jail began to assemble as early
as 8:30 o’clock, and at 9 o’clock they
passed within the iron gates.
Lawyer Samuel P. Rotan, who defended
Holmes, was asked last night if there was
a possibility of Holmes committing sui-
cide. Mr. Rotan said decidedly: “Not a
bit. I am positive he would not kill him-
self if he had the means to do it. He has
declared so to me at least a dozen times,
and I believe he means what he says.”
One of - the reasons given by Mr. Rotan
for Holmes not wanting to die by his own
hand is the position in which 'such an act
would necessarily place the prison author-
ities.
“It would get them into trouble,” Mr.
Rotan says Holmes declared, “and proba-
bly cause them to be charged with a‘
neglect which might. result in the loss of
their positions."
Mr. Rotan declined to say whether or
not Holmes intended to make any restitu-e
tion to Mrs. Pitezel or provision for any of
the three women to whom he was mar-
ried. Pressed upon this point, the lawyer
evaded any reply for a time and finally
said that he was not in a position to make
public what the condemned man had di-
rected him to do.
Holmes’ Probable Legatee.
If any one gets anything from Holmes’
estate, it will probably be Miss Belknap,
who was the second woman the murderer
married. She is living at Wilmette, 1115.,
a suburb of Chicago, and has with her the
('ryear-old daughter of whom Holmes is
the father. This little girl last week wrote
the condemned man a brief letter couched
in childishly pathetic terms.
Although in erecting the gallows only
bolts and screws were used and little or no
noise was made, Holmes’ acute ears made
him aware of what was being done soon
after the work started yesterday, and the
knowledge made him nervous and uneasy,
Only to
the Rev. Father Bailey, his spiritual ad-
viser, and Mr. Rotan did he speak of the
scafl‘old, and to them he said but a word
or two. ' -
All the arrangements for the burial of
Holmes have been intrusted by the mur-
derer to Mr. Rotan. The place of inter-
ment, it is understood, has already been
selected, but those who are most likely to
know where the grave is to be will not
divulge the location.
Mrs. Pitezel has decided to remain in
Philadelphia until she is certain either
that she can secure some of the money of
which Holmes defrauded her or that all
hope of obtaining restitution is lost.
There is an obscure chance that the
murderer may have made a will, and the
wronged woman hopes in that event to
obtain at least part of that to which she is
entitled. Thomas Fahy, Mrs. Pitezel’s
lawyer, haglittle hope that Holmes has
made restitution to his client. .
Arthur McDonald, the United States
government criminologist, arrived here
last night from Washington to attend the
execution. Mr. McDonald had paid sev-
eral visits to the condemned men since his
incarceration and had made a careful
study of the criminal.
He says that he believes that Holmcs’
crimes were due more to conditions than
heredity. He is of the Opinion, he says,
that Holmes was in many of his crimes a
victim of circumstances.
HOLMBS’ LIFE “STORY.
\Vith the Manner of a Gentleman He
Committed Almost Every Known Crime.
Herman Mudgett, alias Henry Gordon,
alias Edward Hatch, alias H. S. Camp
bell, alias Frank Wild, alias Fred Wil-
liams, alias J. M. Howard, alias B. T.
Lyman, alias H. p M. Pratt. known with
horror to the civilized world as H. H;
Holmes, medical student. apple tree agent.
schoolteacher, capitalist. petty thief. straw
bendsman. bicycle stealer, all round swin-
dler. firebug. forger, bigamist, abortionist,
liar by choice. betrayer of women and
even of little girls and murderer of men,
women and children—how many heaven
only kDOWS—must rank as the arch crimi
nal of the nineteenth century, and the
world’s history of criminology must be
raked over pretty thoroughly to find a hu-
man being so well endowod with the at.
tributes of a fiend as the man whom out-
raged law today hanged by the neck until
he was dead. If Holmes—to call him by
the name which he has made a criminal
synonym by adopting—could have ren—
dered a life for each of those that he
wentonly snuffed out he would have been
launched into eternity from the scaffold
at least 0 times, probably 11, and, accord-
ing to his own statement, made With the
image of the noose in his eyes, full occurs.
The murder of Benjamin F. Pitezel, for
which Holmes was hanged, was commit-
ted in September.1894. The crime was the
culmination of a conspiracy to defraud the
Fidelity Mutual Life association of Phila-
delphia of $10, 000, the amount of a policy
on Pitezel's life. The swindle was success-
fully accomplished. Pitezei and Holmes
became acquainted in 1800 at Chicago.
Pitezel, who had a wife and six children.
was poor and willing to participate in dis-
honest transactions if sufficiently paid.
The two men began by forging papers of
various kinds. Pitezel was arrested for
forgery. but eIcapod, forfeiting $1,800
worthless bail, which had been given by
Holmes. They then operated in Fort
Worth. Tex., and in St. Louis, from both
of which places they were subsequently
forced to flee. After leaving St. Louis the
insurance swindle was planned. A‘ $5,000
policy was first taken out in the Washing.
ton Life Insurance company, but this was
allowed to lapse and the Fidelity policy
' for $10,000 was substituted, the applica-
tion being made at the Chicago'agency.
The plan was to get a body and palm it
oil as that of Pitezel. 'In August. 1804,
the two men went to Philadelphia and
rented an old building at 1316 Callowhill
street, where Pitezel was to start in the
patent business under the name of B. F.
Perry. The two men were often seen to-
gether. On Saturday night. September,
1894. Pitezel was seen for the last time
alive. He had been drinking a good deal
during the dry. On the following Monday
his dead body, badly burned. was found
on the floor in a back room in the house. '
A broken bottle which had contained ben-
zine lay near the body, and there was a
pipe partly filled with tobacco. The police
believed that an explosion had accidentally
occurred, and no theory bf murder was
advanced by them. The autopsy, however,
showed that death had resulted from chlo-
reform.
About three weeks later .Ieptha D.
-.-—Advertise in the Gamma. .
.f"?
4
Y
Howe, a St. Louis attorney. went to Phil-
adelphia, asserted that the body was that
of Pitezel, and, on behalf of Mrs. Pitezel,
in whose favor the insurance policy was
drawn, took steps to collect the money.
Holmes, who had introduced Pitezel to
the insurance agent, was sent by the com-
pany to Philadelphia to identify the body,
which he did. The policy was accordingly
paid.
Some time later Marion 0. Hcdspeth, in
jail at St. Louis, said that Holmes, while
in an adjoining cell, had told him of a plot
to swindle an insurance company and had
mentioned Pitezel’s name. This led toan -
investigation and the subsequent arrest of
Holmes in Boston, where he was living
under the name of Howard. He was tried
in Philadelphia and convicted in Novem-
ber, 1895.
This is the story of the murder of Pite-
zel, for which Holmes was hanged, but it
is practically certain that he was also
guilty of killing at least eight other per-
sons. Alice and Nellie Pitezel, whose
bodies were found in Toronto, he undoubt»
edly killed while working to secure the
insurance money from their mother. His
other victims were: Howard Pitezel, killed
in Indianapolis; Julia L. Conner, his
bookkeeper, and Pearl Conner, her daugh-
ter; Emeline G. Cigrande of Anderson,
Ind.; Minnie R. Williams of Fort Worth,
Tex., and Anna Williams, her sister. Be-
sides these, which have been definitely and
almost conclusively traced to him. there
are at least a dozen other cases which have
been laid at his door.
I John Ruskin published his early writ-
ings under the pen name “Graduate of
Oxford.” the selection being obviously
influenced by his place of education.
SOME DOGS OF HIGH DEGREE.
In England and Wales. there are 155
licensed packs of foxhounds, having
6,230 couples. In Scotland there are
nine packs with 326 couples, and in
Ireland 17 with 365 couples.
Mulhall says that the largest-known
dog was'a St. Bernard called “Plinlim—
mon,” exhibited at Birmingham in 1886.
The height of this animal was 35 inches,
and his weight 214 pounds.
A trained bloodhound has been known
to follow the track of a man on hose-
back, and when the rider passed
through bushes the animal jumped up
and smelled at the leaves touched by
the feet of the horseman. '.
56 YEARS ESTABLISHED.-
GRAND AND UF’RIGHT.
Nearly 100,000 Manufactured.
EASY WW EXCHANGED.
REASONABLE PRICES.
FISCHER PIANO WAREROOMS,
'Io Fifth Ave" COI'. lath sh, NI YI
Write for Catalogue.
aseracc W4
Are your
- hildrcn ’
As IVcII Dressed
As they might be for the money you
are paying? Are their Hats as fash-
ionable? Their Suits as becoming?
Their Shoes as comfortable?
If they are clothed here, where Chil-
dren’s outfitting is the special busi-
ness, you can be absolutely certain
that they are, and they need not be
dressed expensively either; for in-
stance this
n.
<9—o—c—
Dainty Blouse
Frock,
two pieces
'.-‘ ”Maud cui‘i‘s finished with a
, 'r "- @S lace edged milk) of the
i material. A double
ruffle. similarly trim-
med. extends down the
front: full skirt and
slel-vcs.
4 & 6 rr. sizes, SL15-
8t.» 1251‘. sizes. $135.
is an cxampl e.
f60-62 West 231533. N-Y-l;
W—o—oa‘ ~—«v~.~ -.; . «re—«9+
5‘22. H . E} W' Y E R
Iiiii’l' or sscs-rusorrl.
suessuou SALE sun. or.
CHSTBMERS ALL SATISFEEI.
SALES LABEE.
VEililiST-ul‘i SBGGESS.
Here are a few reasons:
HARNESS oILs.
34c quail. Were 75c.
[9c pint were 45c. .
Labels a. little worn, torn, ctc.
Oils are A No. 1 though,
Standard goods.
IlSTERS.
98c were $1.50.
14c were $1.25.
59;; Were $1.00.
38c were 750.
Equally useful for house, ear.
liage. store or barn. Always
useful. Never so cheap.
I still drum upon those $9.98 liar-
nesses. 7 They’re weith 1t,-
every cent.
Also five drummer’s samples single
harness, “’1“ go at $1.98.
Made to sell at double. They
are a bargain, all new. Have
been carelessly handled.
p. H,‘ DWY'ER,
I
-,.N()nw,ALK-- GAZETTE."
Bus un30_re.Nuwa| .
NEW YDRK QFFIGE‘, 442 BROADWAY.
First-class Goods
at
Popular Prices.
Dry Goods
WelliBoughi
Ire llalf Sold.
\
«refit-HIS WEEIif—gea'
We make some of the most
REMARKABLE REDUCTIQNS
'In the Prices of Superior
SILK, DRESS
. -——AND————
"J
We prefer to do this new, practically in the height of the season, for
the reasons it means great money-saving to our customers. and, at the
same time, clears out stocks promptly.
l0 ps. Fancy Dress Goods,
253 quality; We shall sell at
cents
per
yard
20 ps. Mixed Suiting,
12%0 quality; we shall sell at
cents
per
yard
If! ps. Novelties,
. 500 per yard: we shall sell at
3%
Black Mohair Figures,
750 per yard; we shall sell at
cents
yard
52-in Large Fig. Mohair,
for Separate Skirts, $1 50 qual-
we shall sell at
i. 00 per
. yard
per
yard
Light Grounds India Silk,
$1.00 per yard; we shall sell at
' cents
per
yard
Lighl col. French Novelties,
75c per yd; we shall sell at
Printed Warp Jap. Silk, 3:5
75 per yd; we shall sell at
Changeable Silks,
39c per yard; for this week,
v cgpts certs €15, cents
yard 52rd a gaeEd
ALL OF‘ OUR , Ieauliful Japanese Silk,
IMPORTED D B ESS PATTERNS, In medium shades. for 'Waists and
I" SILK AND wom- NOVELTIES, Dresses. 500 quality, for this sale,
We Shall ”lake u in Per tent acts
. ; yard
THIS
WEEK ONLY.
IN THE IiG CLOAK ROOM
_____/
This spring We have had a great many ladies ask for low-priced Capes and Jackets.
As we did not buy many of them, most all of our goods it ere of the better quality.
We shall, ll'llS week, make an offer to our customers that Will please them.
PER CENT OFF!
All Ladies’ and Children’s Garments that
are new marked $5.00 or over,
DQMESTEC Goons."
Best Indigo I’rints, Cc quality, for a
run, 35c
Heavy Wrigh: unbleached 4-4 .‘ hect-
mg, 5;... '
9 4 Unbleached .: liccii. g. Egg-c.
6-4 L’lcaclml Sheeting, £53.
75 dozen All~llntn Toot-ls, 19c qual-
ity and size, for me.
20c Turkish Bath Towels... bleached;
we shall sell 2 for 259.
Ready-made Pillows, 5-4, at we ea.
{etdy made Sheets, 8-4, at 49:: ea.
LINENS.
94 Heavy ail-linen Sheeting, 750
I
quality, for 59¢.
54 inch linen, good linen, for 15¢.
56 inch all-linen Damask, 49c qual-
ity, BBC. .
All-linen Tray Cloth, white and col’
ored borders, Ins each.
A. WEEK OF WONDERS. _
Short Stories!
Ladies’ I‘ufi'eta Glioves,wmth 390,240
_ Ladlcs’ Full Seamless Bose, worth
17c, l lc
Ladies’Tsn and Fancy Hose, worth
390, 250
Ladies’ Combed Yarn Vests, Worth
500, 250
Men’s Summer Shirts and Drawers,
wozth 39c, 25c
Few Words!
I‘Ich’s Black :} Hose, worth 190,
I2ic.
Men’s French Bel. Shirts and
DraWern, worth $1.00, 750. .
Boy’s Champion ‘Vulb‘lfl, (vest made)
wonh 75c, 47c '
Ladiee’ Handkerchiefs, wmth 5c, 30
. Ladle-5’ Batik, liltlnl, WU] fill 500, 250
Ladies’ Silk Bells, worth 500, 25c
Big Valdes!
Double Satin Ribbon, No. '12, worth
25c. l6c
Dress Trimmings, worth 25c, l l0
Comfort Powder, worth 25, l 5c ' '
Box Writing Paper and EnveIOpes,
worth 15c, 9c ‘
Eau De Quinine, bottle, worth 750,
49c - '
Scissors, worth75c, 38c
For spring'house renovating we have the best assortment of. window shades in the
city, from 25c up.
/
150-pairs of the bankrupt stock of lace'curtainc left, 59c to 9.00per pair.
New Chenilles and Tapestry Porteriers, ‘
Wehave not space to mention the big drives in our kitchen department.
__ M" -'
u BflSlflN 3m
‘Cor. Knight and Wall Steal
.Cu. Main and Wall 33,
Norwalk Chronicler