CONE] SIGN III‘IIOLMES 212119 M111'de1 e1 W1 ites the Story of His ' Many Crimes. sills A CHAPTER IN, SCARLET In It Be Tolls \Vhy He Killed Many Men; \Vonlen and Children—He Found Sat-- isfaction In Slaughter and “’23 Proud of His Monstrous Acts. PHILADEIWPHTA AprilG. ——H. H. Holmes, the greatest 111111-"(Ie1e1 of modern times, has made a confession. In it he tells how and why he put to death no less than 20 men, women and children. He gives all the facts. He writes as calmly and coolly and remorseiessly as he murdered. He neglects no detail. He even gives an ac- count of six murders which he planned, but was prevented from carrying out. It was well known that he put 11 per- sons out of the world. So, when his con- fession is printed, there will be accounts of the violent death of nine people whose absence from their homes and their friends has hitherto been unexp 'ained. He de- scribes in detail the murder of the Wil- liams sisters, of Quinlan, the janitor of . the castle, who “knew too much;” of Benjamin Pitezel—the murder for which he is to hang—and of the Pitezel children. In fact, Holmes, sitting in the shadow of;the. gallows, with the last hope gone, with the time and place of his death fixed beyond a change, has given way to his vanity as a craftsman and has written his life. He, of course,c cannot tell the truth. But he has told it as nearly as possible for a man of his stripe to tell. He will add something to the' knowledge of his life. But he will add nothing to the knowledge of his character. He is to be hanged in May, and his con- fession is to be the last work of his extra-. ordinary career of crime. His little book will have a shelf all to itself in the library of criminology. He announces himself as a professional mur- derer. Each of his murders was deliber- ately, carefully planned, executed with calmness and precision. He has written about them as a great scientist would write of a series of valuable experiments. He was a professional murderer. He had studied murder as a fine art. He pursued it to earn a living, but also for its own sake. He used the whole of his very con- siderable brain ‘power in planning and carrying forward very subtle murder plots and in devising new means of killing human beings. He “points with pride” to his work. He thinks he has fairly earned immortal- ity, and he could not die without letting . the world knowwhat a great man it has produced. He deliberately chose a career of crime when he was a farm boy 11p in "Vermont. He attended medical college to equip himself for the taking of life just as other men go to college to equip them- selves for the saving of life. He was not insane in the ordinary sense of the word. He was simply a monstrous pervert, a criminal degenerate with a moral sense exactly inverted. liIurder as a Fine Art. He tried every sort of murder—poison- ing, suffocation by gases, strangulation with the bare fingers, heating to death with a club—every sort except the crude, noisy murders. He never murdered by ac- cident or on an impulse. He liked to have plenty of time to think it all out, to select the place and the moment. He took a very great pleasure in his work. He was too much of an artist not to realize that haste always lessons pleasure and deliberation always prolongs it. He made love to every woman who came in hisway and was so sympathetic and ardent that they often returned his love. Next to murder, his greatest successes Were in lovemaking. wives in different parts of the country. He was polite, courteous, gentle, even to the very last. The last view his victims had of him was as reassuring and agree- able as any. He murdered with a smile on his face, and, if it was a woman or a child who was engaging his attention, with a term of endearment upon his lips. To a man whose passion was the killing of his fellow creatures by plot and stealth, the natural occupation was that of an in- surance swindler. The profits of that busi- ness are large. The opportunities for clev— er plorting are unrivaled. And if that industry is joined with the industry of murder the combination is most attract- ive. The swindler kills his accomplice, thereby saving the expense and the danger of a substitute corpse, avoiding a division of the profits and also having the pleasure of indulging a penchant for murder. These many cnticements appealed power- fully to Holmes. whose real name is Her- man Webster Mudgctt. He became an in- surance swindler while he was still in the medical school at the University of Mich- igan. ‘ His Apprenticeship In Crime. It would be of no especial interest in a study of this sort to rehearse the facts of his early career. He made a good deal of money and spent it freely. He committed several murders, but they were not out of the usual. He was simply serving his ap- prenticeship. It was not until he estab- dished himself in Chicago that he became the real monster.. He had been looking 33E out for some time for a definite habita- . tippmhere he could pursue his three occu- pations—swindling, murdering and love- " making—at his ease. He was a domestic man, with quiet tastes and no great fond- ness for roving. He felt that if he could build himself a suitable home he could pursue his passion in a most leisurely and agreeable fashion. So he did build himself a home—the famous castle, at 701 Sixty-third street, "Chicago. He selected a site near the World’s fair grounds. The World’s fair was about to open and with so many strangers wandering about he could find many with whom to amuse himself. He must have thought out the plans of the house carefully. It was built with an eye to future uses, yet in such a way that the workmen would suspect nothing. After they had done he and an accom- plice, who was an expert mason, easily made the necessary changes. The finish- ed house wcs an ideal place for doing murder with secrecy and dispatch. It had secret chambers and smothering rooms, a retort for burning bodies, a. quicklime pit, benches and blocks for chopping of corpses, and no sounds could possibly reach the street. Here men, women and chil- -dren wére murdered and annihilated for the money they had with them, for the in- surance on their lives, because “they knew too much, because Holmes was weary of them or for no other reason than that he was fond of murder. He killed his friends. 4 He kilvled his accomplices. He killed his mistresses. Heakilled children. After" hover a year of quiet pleasure he was compelled to give up the castle. He was pressed for money, and as money Advertise in the GAZETTE. .b He leaves several- ‘ THE EVENING GAZETTE" I “ .‘ ‘ ’ ., would not come to him he had to go forth to seek it. Then came the great Pitezcl conspiracy. He married a young and pret- ty woman and spent the intervals of hon- eymooning in killing Pitezel, in choking three Pitezel children to death and burn- ing their bodies an 1 1 11 plot-ling to kill Mrs. Pitezcl and her 011‘_1es'1.d:1'11ghter. He would kiss his 1.: fe.:11d Ie: 1n her for a few hours, strangle a child. out it up, burn its body, hide the ch 31‘er bones, return to his wife, embrace her 111111 lie down beside her to sleep soundly and sweetly “I don t believe in the supernatural, ” he said to a reporter. “If I had done these murders they accuse me of, I am quite certain I should not be troubled by dreams or anything of that sort. I am a sound sleeper. I have never known what it was not to get a good night’ s rest.” VBRNON’S SCHEMES. ._____,._ The Plans of a. Talented Young Chicago Crook to Raise Money. NEW YORK, April 6.—Frank M. Ver- non, a bright Chicagoan, arrested in the latter part of 1894 for swindling Eugene Kelly, Jr., by an ingenious scheme, is again a prisoner at police headquarters. He now gives the name of Harry Worth, 19 years old, of 41 West Twenty- sixth street. He has just arrived from Chicago in the custody of Central Office Detective Manion. His arrest was made in Chicago on a warrant issued by Magistrate Flammer, in the Jefferson Market court, Jan. 13, charging him with grand larceny. The complainants are Charles Haynes, propri- etor of a hotel at 39 West Twenty-sixth street, and Mrs. Job Hedges, wife of the mayor’s secretary, who resides at the ho- to]. Vernon get $250 from Haynes Dec. 10 last and the same amount from Mrs. Hedges on a very plausible yarn. Vernon was a clerk in the hotel. He told Mr. Haynes and Mrs. Hedges that he owned a house in Chicago which was valued at $17, 000 and was only mortgaged for $500. If he could get the latter amount, he said, he would go to Chicago and sell the prop- erty and pay back the money borrowed when he returned. The money was given to him, and he went to Chicago. where he remained until the detective went after him. His story of owning a house in Chicago was a clear “fake.’ Eugene Kelly, Jr. , once befriended Ver- non. In December, 1894, he got a letter from Chicago, which stated that Vernon was dead, and paid a high tribute to the departed youth’s abilities. The letter was supposed to be written by an undertaker, and it stated that Ver- non had been decently buried. He had requested that a gold watch and a (lia- mond ring he sent to Mr. Kelly. The package was to be sent C. O. D. to Mr. Kelly, as he was expected to pay $50 for the burial of young Vernon. He paid the money and found a pack of playing cards in the package. Vernon was arrested in February of last year in this city and sent to the peniten- tiary for one year for swindling Mr. Kelly. WAS SHE FAIR’S WIFE? A San Francisco Teacher Claims to Have Been the Dead liIillionaire’s \Vife. SAN FRANCISCO, April 6.—-A sensation- al story in a local paper states that Mrs. Nettie Craven, a public school principal and witness to the late James G. Fair’s so called “peneiled” will, has a marriage contract in which the dead millionaire ac- knowledges her as his wife. It is also said that Mrs. Craven has deeds to several valuable pieces of real property, including some of the most val- uable property comprised in the Fair es- tate. Another of Mrs. Craven’s valuable possessions is a‘check for $100,000, signed by James G. Fair and made payable to Dr. Marc Levingston, executor of the pen- cil bill. Across the check is written the clause, “Not to be presented until after the probate of the will.” 'Mrs. Craven, it is stated, also has a let- ter in Fair’s handwriting, the contents constituting a republication of the pencil- ed will. The marriage contract is in Mrs. Craven’s handwriting. All of these al- leged developments threaten protracted litigation, and the attorneys of the Fair children are trying to effect a compromise which will satisfy all the opposing inter- ests. Some of the attorneys interested in the, case pronounce the alleged marriage contract, deeds and checks to be forgeries. THE STONE TRAGEDY. Detectives Are After a Tramp Cigarmaker “7110 Is Under Suspicion. CLEVELAND, April 6.——The detectives, of this city are looking for a tramp cigar- maker named Frank A. Brixins, who is suspected in connection with the murder of the Stone family at Tallmadge. The day before the murder Brixins was seen in the vicinity of Kent, and witnesses have'been discovered of whom he made inquiries about the Stone family. Since the murder trace of Brixins has been dis- covered several times, and it is believed he is in hiding in this city. A special from Kent says that Emma Stone, one of the daughters of the mur- dered couple, was several years ago a schoolteacher in Wisconsin. A day or two after the tragedy a telegram was received by a member of the Stone family from one of Emma’s friends in Wisconsin. 1t read: “How is Emma? Have. you suspicions of any one? I have.’ It is said this clew was followed up, and as a result of it an arrest may soon be made that will create a sensation. Seventeen Valuable Horses Burned. BUFFALO, April (is—[The stables of the Buffalo Driving park were destroyed by fire, and with them were burned a number , of valuable horses, which were there in training under Alonzo McDonald for the coming season’s trotting. Seventeen horses are known to have been burned, and it is thought quite! probable that the loss will exceed that number. Among those were several valuable animals, especially Ellen S (211%), which was valued at $10,000. The total loss will exceed $50,000. 'Two \Vere Killed. MAssrLLON, 0., April 6.—Confused by several passenger trains, three brothers named Soncennato, living at Navarro, 0.. drove directly in front of a rapidly run- ning Cleveland, Lorain and Wheeling ex- press train. William and Frank were killed, and the third escaped. The unfortu- nate men were miners. Commissioner Indicted For Forgery. CHICAGO, April 6.—The grand jury has. indicted County Commissioner Thomas J. McNichols for bribery. The specific charge against the commissioner is that he received money for placing a man upon a jury in a murder trial. Weather Forecast. Generally fair; slowly rising tempera- ture; southwesterly winds. Advertise in the GAZETTE. WHAT NOT TO FEED N LION. Even Ordinary Menagerie Adornments Ob- ject to Poker Chips, Nails, Shells, Etc. A young man carrying a ladder stopped in front of the bronze group, 1 “The Lion Fighter," on the Chestnut street pavement of the postoi‘iice, and proceeded to climb up to the lion’s mouth, says the .t’hiladclphia Record. A crowd gathered and stood watching the adventurous youth. boldly plung- ing his hand into the wide-open maw of the big beast the youth drew out a miscellaneous collection of odds and ends, which some humorously-inclined youngsters had fed to the animal from time to time. These articles, which did not seem to have undergone the first process of digestion, included a bottle, half full of beer, a pocketbook centain- ing a “straddle” policy ticket, two red ' poker chips, a silver quarter, piaCcd there by mistake vcly piobably, some nails, peanut shells, cigar stumps and an old copy of the llecOrd. As the lion does not take kindly to food of this sort, Secretary Howell, of the Fair- mount l’ark Art association, begs to in- form donors that their contributions will be returned to them, if they will go to police headquarters and prove their property. ,. After You Try to find a remedy for your Back- ache and have been offered everything from a porous plaster up—or down—to a quart bottle of a mysterious liquid (dis— guised alcohol) you’ll conclude that there is no cure for Back. ache to be had. That's wrong wthere's a new remedy. Baker’s Kidney Pills will cure a1Backache, safely, surely and quickly. It’s the only remedy made that will cure the ache. These pills remove Kidney troubles that cause the backachcs—they tone the vital organs. Ask your druggist. Price 50 cents. A book about Backache and Kidney trouble, sent for the asking. Baker Pill Ca, Hangar, [if e P. H. DWYER. ESTABLISHED 1873 111111311233. 011111111111 OUTSIILEI I am about to renovate my store; in order to do so I shall closefout all my sample Narness,Vlhips, Blankets, etc, at Bargain Prices. This is a real opportunity. \Don’t neglect it if you need a new harness or in fact anything in my line. I can sell youa new harness cheaper than you could get the old one re paired. Here are a few convincers. HARNESS. My $12. 00 halness at $9, 98, 1in 53151100 goods at $12.93, bar- ySg2‘21 00 harnegs at $|5 00 best. My S25 00 hainess at 3:1.0 50 , A, No. 1. WHIPS. 250 kind for I5c, SLOO ' awhide 480, Good whalebone are now$l,00, BLANKETS. Stable. S andard Goods. 953 00 ones for ”.15. S2. 50 ones for $.48. P. H. DWYER‘, Cor. Knight and W?" Sts., . NORWALK. CONN. ‘ .‘4l.._ 1. 1‘53 HAVE ARRIVED. My new line of Spring and Summer Suitings, which will be made up 1n the latest styles and at the lowest possible price consistent wiih good work. Call in and inspect them. . F.KOCOUR, mancamr TAILOR, I? Nanh Main St, South Ilarwalk. ____’i SPRING OPENING. All the Latest Styles in JSPRING MILLINERYM Can now be seen at the par- lors of , MRS. E. DI‘IIEN, 58 Wall Street, Nervvaik, conn. uvm muson's 11mm stuns. THE BO 0* STORE NORWALK New York Office, 442 Broadway. EASTER OFFERINGS Bonnets. Gloves, tapes and Jackets. Neckvear and F11ch Shins, Veilings and Ribbons. The verdict of our customers on our New Suit Room 'and our-display of Ladies’ and children’s Apparel, is this: THAT THEY ARE MOST BEAUTIFUL. GAPES AND JACKETS“ . In Velvet Silk Satin and Cloth $2.25 $2.49 $2.98 $3.98 $4.98 $6.75 $7.50, $8.933, $1’0.50, $12.75, $233.50. ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ CHILDREN’S- SUITS—'77“ $1.39, 1.50, 1.75, 3.75, 4.98, 5.75, 7.98. CHILDREN’S JACKETS 980,- $l.25, L49, l.98, 2.25, 2.50, 2.75, 3.75, 5.75, 7.00. Separate Skirts SI. 98, $2. 98, $3. 75, $4.50, 35. 75, S6. 98, $1.50 to NZ. 00. 'l .3! GlOVGSM ‘ ~ ' , As the agents of Foster Paul’s celebrated Gloves, we claim without fear of Contradiction that we rep-1 resent the greatest house in America. Our display for Easter is the largest and best assorted in Conn. SPEGIAL FOB SATURDAY—4 Button Glace, in‘ Tans, Bedsfidodes, Pearls and ‘White, fancy embroid' , cred backs. Sold everywhere at $1.00 per pair. 740- 4 Button Glace and Su‘edes, in all the new colorings and Foster Hooks, every pair warranted, a0 genuine $1. 25 quality; Saturday, .per pair, SI, 00. 8 inch Mousquetaire Suedes, in black and fancy colors, real va 116 $1. 75 per fair, ”.25. I Men’ 5 fine Kid Gloves, 1n Tans and Blacks, embroidered backs, spring weight, regular $1 50 quality; _ per pair, $1.00. ‘ Men’s Driving Gloves, in Reds and Tans, same quality as Dent’s, but instead of $2.00 per pair, $|,50,, - THE BOSTON STORE, COR. MAIN AND WALL STREETS, NORWALK. I A POI Is your plate glass or safe insured? TEE...— If not, call on me and. ,I will write you a. policy in the Mutual Plate Glass and Safe Insur- ance Company. Glass will break and burglars use dynamite. l C I f F ' 1 You should be insured. A policy in the Reliance Sci Philadelphia; Phoenix of Hartford, Scotland Union of Scotland; New Hampshire of Manchester; Rochester German of Rochester; United States and Pacific of New York; Security of New Hampthire 01‘ Granite State of Perts- mouth will protect you against the tire fiend. W. H. BYINGTCN, Real Estate and General Insurance, Room 1,.»jcazna'firr: BUILDING".
Norwalk Chronicler