Kansas City daily journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1892-1897, 1895-08-03
HOLMES AS AN ASPHYXlATER.
1t Ia Relieved He Made Way with His
victims by Using Deadly Gas of
His Own Make.

Chicago, July 31.-Workmen began to-day
TO saw away the cedar vat whore 1t is said
Trying to see II there IS any connection
between this vat and the big tank that was
uncovered Monday evening. -Four men also
spent the morning digging in the cellar
near the southwestern corner of the build
Experiments were made to-day with the
liquid found in the bottom of the vat in
the cellar of Holmes house, and 1t was
found that whenever mixed with benzine
or kerosene 1t would emit Vapor so deadly
that no human being could live in it,
Whether or not Holme. used the vapor for
suffocating his victims is not known but
the police are inclined to favor such a
The police also discovered to-day the
means by which the mark of n woman's
foot became printed on the inside of the
the microscope the expert got some of the
oil on his hand, and later placed two of
tory. A short time afterwards he noticed
that the marks OF his fingers We're, dis
to rub it off we're futile 1' test f' for acid
in the oil was then made. but without re-
test on this point is to be applied
This discovery will clear away good
deal Of surmise on the part Of the police as
to 70 the e, theory advanced by the. expert IS
oil in bowl, and added either petroleum.
sene, to i, and placed it in the vault"
a deadly gas would be given off inme-
diatcly and all Holmes had TO do was TO
lure his victim into the trap and then shut
the door. Death would soon result. The
explanation of the footprint on the IRON
door is that one of the alleged victims in
her struggles upset the bowl of oil kni
placed her foot In the liquid which Dad
run over the floor. and then in her strug
giles placed her foot against the door, lcav
ing the telltale mark
In addition to the other tests an effort
will be made tomorrow to see If the Vapor
given off by the liquids will burn, IN orGer
to see If the oil was a part of Holmes gas
making machine. This was not done to-
day, as 1t was feared that the vapor might
be highly explosive, and precautions TO
prevent a catastrophe were taken.
The police were to-day informed that at
have left Chicago he did not go any rar-
thor away than the stockyards district.
whore he opened restaurant under tho
name of II. H. Howard. He employed a
number of young women as Mattresses
and is said 10 have had new force nearly
every day. Among them We're two girls
who came from Wisconsin. a few nights
after they began work the neighhorhoo1
was startled by female screams coming
ran to the building and were in time to
meet the two girls as they ran out Of the
hallway leading into the house. They
were clad only in their night clothes, ard
II was some minutes before they could he
quieted sufficiently to tell their story. They
said they had been sleeping together and
had been awaSend by a man who gained
an entrance to their room and who had
placed a wet cloth over their faces. They
thought the cloths had been saturated
with chloroform. Neighbors took the girls
in and cared for them and before the pO-
lice had an opportunity OF arrestng How
ard he disappeared.