The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-07-30

I
and impressed them as man OF fine
! address To one of his new acqualn-
| fances he made a request Which that
gentleman felt obliged TO decline. He
| asked the gentleman to RENAL letters
| which he was expecting, and to send
| them to an assumed name in Chicago.
The Denver man emphatically refused
| to have anything to do with the matter.
He had Just learned that Holmes had
| registered under an assumed name al
! the hotel and he suspected that some
| thing was wrong.
1T seems that Holmes came to Den
| yer with a woman who was not his
wife and registered under a false name.
| Upon introducing himself to business
| men he gave his correct name. To one
| of those persons he stated that he was
stopping at the Oxford hotel. The
| gentleman called at the hotel and re-
! quested that his card be sent 10 Mr..
| Holmes. The clerk looked over the
rack containing the names of the guests
of the house and replied that no such
| person was in the house. The caller
! upon the clerk recognized in the de-
scription a guest who had been in the
house for several days. The Denver
man afterward charged Holmes with
the deception. Holmes acknowledged
that he was playing an assumed part,
but claimed it was made necessary be-
cause of the woman who was with him.
| The nature of Holmes bushes in Den
Yer is not known. He acted as if on a
secret errand and disappeared as un-
expectedly as he came"
AMIDON SEES PRATT.
Sam Amidon said to a reporter for
the Eagle last night:
Yes, ] have noticed that unfortunate
ly the history Of this man Holmes does
seem TO coincide with that of Frank
Pratt with the exception that 1 do not
think Prat would commit an offence
like that with which Holmes stands
charged
After being shown the above in the
Rocky Mountain News Mr.. and Ami
don continued:
at is a fact that Frank Pratt was
in Denver in 1893. / think ii was on
Decoration day of that year that was
walking along the street and saw Mr..
Pratt.
II said, Hello, Frank is that you?
He was flying high, l tell you. He
had a fine carriage and tandem team
and appeared TO have plenty of money.
acknowledged by Harry H Holmes,
Browns Palace hotel and he set UP
supper in his rooms that must have
cost a hundred dollars. He told me
that on account of the way he had left
Wichita that he was going by an other
name in Denver and he did not wish me
TO call him Frank.
WITH ANOTHER WOMAN ALSO.
Pratt seemed to have plenty of
money and / understood that he was
the especial friend of woman there
in Denver who had plenty of money
but Ibid not learn her name. I never
thought there was anything very bad
about Frank Pratt but Of course he
was a high flyer when he had money.
"Was Pratt ever in TeXas?"
Yes. he went down 10 Texas before
he went from here to Denver and
think he Speculated some down al Ft.
Worth in real estate"
This story of Mr.. Amidon fits the
Holmes story in that the two men, II
they are two men, were in Texas a { the
same time just as they were in Denver
a the same time and encountered the
same difficulties.
NEXT CHAPTER IN THE CASE.
Speaking of Holmes being in Texas
the Chicago Tribune of last Saturday
reports William Capps, the attorney
for heirs for the Williams sisters as say
ing:
THE next chapter in the case was the
filing of deed that purpOrted 70 have
been made out in April, 1898. The deed
was to one \. f. Bond by Minnie r.
Williams and purported to have been
''He invited me to his rooms at
as notary public. Then +. T. Lyman
turned up on the scene and A deed was
fled with the county clerk at Fort
Worth and then il was that H. n.
Holmes. alias Pratt, and Pitzel, ais
i. II. Lyman. and later Ouinlan. fig
ured in the Fort Worth deals. They
sold a small portion of the property
that they had obtained by what are
most apparent swindling methods. For
this small section of the property. which
entire was worth about $50 900. they re-
ceived $500 on another part of the
property they built a building almost
exactly like the one that is on Sixty
third street. except that ii was much
larger. but the same architectural lines
are there precisely.
There is no doubt in my mind but
what Holmes murdered both Of the
girls. Mamie, 7 think was murdered
within a few days after she reached
the city. This was done, I believe, 50
that after he killed Minnie Williams
in whose name all the property was.
there would be no one left, as both OF
the girls were orphans. TO in quire for
Minnie. / have worked on the case
with detectives, and have given it my
entire attention for a long time past
and / have arrived at the conclusion
that both OF the Williams sisters We're
here in Chicago in June or
July, 1898"
PRATT WAS IN TEXAS.
Mark COssitt was we'll acquainted !
with Frank Pratt when he was in Wich !
tia. and to a reporter for the Eagle Mr.. /
Cossitt said last night:
The picture you published Of Holmes I
does not look like Frank Pratt but /
must admit that he seems TO have been |
near Holmes several times. It has al |
ways been my understanding that Prat |
was in Fort Worth and he has talked |
to me about his trip down there"
PRATT'S wIFE'S STORY.
4 reporter for the Eagle called on |
Mrs. Frank Pratt yesterday at her bro /
theirs house on East Central avenue to /
gain some history OF Frank Pratt that /
would explain some Of the incidents /
which seems n put him in the very
places where Holmes attracted atten- !.
ton.
Mrs. Frank Pratt put on her leghorn
hat and sat in a rocking chair in front
Of the Coleman residence under the
shade Of a large cottonwood tree when
the reporter asked 10 see her.
Mrs Pratt is q small slender woman
and a good deal more than ordinarily
intelligent. Whenever anything is said
that seems 10 connect her husband with
the Holmes affair her hazel ewes fash
resentment and she is ready 10 defend
him.
She admits that her husband has
used her badly hut he could never find
in his heart 10 commit crime like those
Of which Holmes * accused.
The reporter wanted Mrs. Pratt ~
give a short history Of her husband.
but she would not consent until + was
suggested that many people now be-
Iieve that Holmes and Frank Pratt
were one and the same person and that
they might conclude that she is Minnie
Williams.