Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-09-30

that l later met them at their office on La Sale street. and before leaving them had bought one of the machines which a few days later was arranged in the basement of my building, and had notified the city company that thereafter l should cease to be one of their patrons For two days the new machine perform ed wonders, and recommended it to many of my customers and friends. The third evening, when I was very busy l my store was suddenly enveloped in darkness. l was obliged to turn away my customers and close for the want of hght. From that time until morning I Wrestled with my gas machine. and When P1tezel came to his day's work he found me still perspiring, and, I fear. swearing over it.
 The machine was to him as new toy to child, although he soon assured me that as gas producer it was an ab- solute failure. That afternoon I in structed him to temporarily connect it With the city gas pipe to provide light Tor the evening, and next day would go to the company and make a new an p3eatlon to again become a permanent customer As he finished making tbe connection he remarked that he thought that would be a good permanent ar engagement without going to the gas company. His quiet remark resulted in my having him, the next day, lead the gas from the city main to the machine underground, and in such a way that 1t would not be known without a close Inspection, and this did, not so much to defraud the city as to "get even" With the company who had defrauded me- and few evenings thereafter the president of the company called upon me, and after quietly studying my new light for time spoke to me of it.
 then told him that had bought his machine for the purpose of trying new gas that for years had been experi- mentlng with. Several other visits fol- lowed, aud although I was apparently a7erse to disposing of my new discovery l finally did so, taking in turn, first, aeontract so skilfully worded that there could later be no claims brought against me, and, second, a check for large sum of money. Had matters stopped here, as had at first intended, all would have been we'll, but neglected disconnectinQ froma the city supply from day to day, nntlFfnally an inspector, more energetic than his fellow workers, became aware of it, and this resulted in my very will ingly choosing to pay a $500 gas bill in preference to being openly written up and perhaps prosecuted.
 l first met Minnie R. Williams in the real estate and intelligence office con- ducted by Mr. Campbell, upon Dearborn street, Chicago, near the Manhattan building. This meeting took place in January. 1893, she having engaged Mr. Campbell to procure her situation as a stenographer, being wholly without means at this time, save some mort gagged Texas real estate, valued at be- tween $5, GOO and $6, ,000, exclusive of the incumbrances existing against it. May 22 or 23, 1893, while stopping with me at the Bates House, Chicago (see register there), she was again at- tackled with the same form of mental disorder with which she had told me she had suffered during her trouble in New York. Becoming somewhat better l had her to go to the Baptist or Pres byterian hospital, an institution near the ClybOurne avenue cable limits in Chicago, where her name will be found enrolled upon the books of that institu- tion during the last week in May, 1893, under the name of Mrs. Williams
 We took apartments at 1920 Wright wood avenue, early in June, and about June 20 the sister, Mamie, came to visit her, i'll response to a letter from Miss Williams Her trunk was delivered by Brinks next day, it being another one containing books and pictures that was later returned to Fort Worth. Mamie Williams was never at 701 Sixty-third street. At about this time MT. Edgar Hatch, former New York theatrical acquaintance of Miss Williams, called upon us.
 In October or November I bought new safety vault, i'll the name of the Campbell 6 Yates company, of firm between Madison and Adams street, on Fifth avenue. This vault was placed in position and plastered by workman named Cross late in December, 1893, and few days thereafter I left Chicago, and have never been in the building since, yet it is consistently claimed that my many alleged victims must have met their death by suffocaticn in this vault.
 In February, 1894, at Fort Worth, Benjamin F. Pitezel, while under the influence of liquor, was, as he supposed, legally married to a disreputable wom- an known by the name of Mrs Martin. As soon as he became sober he told me of what had occurred and threatened to kill both the woman and himself. In June, 1894, he made an effort to end his life by taking poison at the hotel of Henry Rodgers, Perkinsyille, Ala.
 In July, 1894, was arrested ln St. Louis, it being my first acquaintance xr;+b ,,risoo oY tails of any kind The