The San Francisco call., 1895-07-30
FOUND A HIDDEN VAULT.
Another Discovery Made Be-
meath the Castle of
Holmes.
An Iron Box Thought to Have
Served a CHASTITY Purpose
for the Demon.

CHICAGO, I'LL, July 90. = The huge
brick vault underneath Holmes charnal-
house was to-day unearthed by the police,
who are still delving into the earth about
the cellar.
The existence of this vault has been
theoretical until to-day. Many rumors of
such thing have been circulated, but it
was not until the police discovered
Machinist Chapel that they succeeded in
gaining any idea of the location of the
vault. When Chapel accompanied the
officers through the Holmes house yester-
day he indicated the location of the vault
in the southwest corner of the cellar and
early this morning half a dozen men were
put 10 work digging in the place indicated.
At 4:30 o'clock the officers in charge of
the work telephoned TO police headquar-
ters that they had reached and uncovered
long strip of the roof of the vault. Super
intendent Badenoch at once gave orders to-
get the ground in shape that the vault
could be easily opened tomorrow and
then discontinue the work for the day.
The police theory is that Holmes used
this vault for quickliming the bodies OF his
victims and getting them into such con-
dition that they could not possibly be
identified, and that Chapel, the articu-
lator, would not suspect that the bodies
were anything more than cadavers secured
at some of the medical colleges morgues
or hospitals. While the police officials are
not hopeful of finding bodies of murdered
people in the vault they are at the
same time hopeful OF securing evidence to
fully establish just what the vault was
used for, and what connection, if any, the
vault had with the destroyed human
bodies which were carted away from the
charnal-house to that of the articulator.
The finding of the vault made the police
much firmer in their belief that Chapel is
a reliable and valuable aid to them in the
work they have before them.
During the forenoon there was on ex-
hibition in Inspector Fitzpatrick private
Office the skeleton and the trunk that
contained it, which were found through
ChappePs evidence. The skeleton is
that of woman 25 years of age, and the
police think that it is the remains of one of
the Williams girls or Emeline Cigrand.
They have not yet identified the tintype
photograph and the silver piece found
with the skeleton, but established beyond
doubt that the skeleton or half-articulated
skeleton was taken in the trunk now in
their possession from TIE Holmes house in
1892, and that it was delivered to Chapel,
the articulator, by an expressman named
Richardson, who was accompanied by
Holmes and Quinlan.
Janitor Quinlan more fairly in the police
net much to their satisfaction. They know
he is unwilling to tell what he knows, and
are anxious to secure enough evidence to
force q confession from him in order to
fasten the crimes npon Holmes securely.
The skeleton en- exhibition to-day was
taken by Chappei from his home to the
Hahneman Medical College at Thirty
fourth street and Cottage Grove avenue
cleaned cd ho
bones. Whether or not the skeletons are
those of murdered people, it is definitely
known that Holmes derived considerable
revenue from the sale of articulated human
frames to the medical college.
The police to-day found man whom,
they say, admits be was employed by
Holmes to do all the queer brickwork
about the mysterious house. They have
heard his story, and it is of the greatest
Importance, but refuse to divulge the par
ticulars. They have also found a man
named Curtis, who runs small warehouse
and who still has lot of Benjamin Piet-
zePs household goods in his possession.
Pietzel stored them before paying
the visit to Philadelphia which
cost him his life. Curtis had
letters from PietEel concerning the
disposition of the furniture and the police
say they will make a thorough examina-
ton of PietzePs effects tomorrow. The
man Richardson who helped haul Holmes
cadavers, has been lost sight of and the
police are looking for him. 1t is within
the knowledge of the police that Janitor
Quinlan is half-accomplished brick ma
son, and that he laid some brick for
Holmes at the Wilmette House. The
police think he built the vaults beneath
the floor of the cellar and did other brick
work about the Holmes castle at Sixty
third and Wallace streets.