The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1895-07-26
SHE WAS BASELY MlSLED
BY HOLMES.
The Three Children Taken From Their
Mother NominalIy to be Educated by
the Unscrupulous Criminal-The Wom-
ans Feeling Much Worked on.

identity the bodies of the two little
girls found Monday in the cellar of
house there. The children, it is be-
lieved are her own, and it is supposed
they We're murdered by Herman
Mudgett or Fl. H. Holmes, formerly OF
Chicago, now in jail i'll Philadelphia
for insurance fraud.
Mrs. Pietzel believes that the two
bodies found in Toronto are those OF
murdered them. She further believes
that the Children were in Toronto
when she was there searching for
them last winter. She is broken in
health and mind, the victim, she be-
lieves, of a hypnotic influence exerted
bv Holmes.
Holmes. whom | had never met
said Mrs. Pietzel, ''but once before the
death of my husband, seemed from the
time he asked me for the care of the
children until his final arrest to have
peculiar influence over me- | felt con-
trolled by him. He had sway over
ne that | thought natural, since he
had been the intimate friend of my
husband. Besides my husband had
repeatedly told me that l could trust
him, that he was a good man, and that
he would always be true to US. The
children idolized him. There was
nothing that he could not do with
them. Again and again my husband
told me how much he thought of
Holmes and how honorable he was
until came to the same opinion my
self, although at first [ did not like
the man and told my husband so AID
begged him to have nothing to do
with him.
Il saw my husband last on August
"a, 1894. He had gone to st. Louis.
He was then heavily interested with
Holmes in whatever the enterprises
were they had on together, and was
lying sick with my baby. l was very
sick. I could not go to Philadelphia to
identify the body which they suspected
be moved Holmes came to me and
Alice was taken East and she identi-
fed the body. IL was after that that
Holmes told me that the body
was ot that of my husband;
that It was a bogus body made up
to look like him, and that if I
or the children said anything abont it
the insurance company would get hold
of us and we would be punished Sc
verely. / was very sick, and [ be-
lieved Holmes. He talked kindly and
offered to take Alice, Nellie and How
ard away from me and educate them.
He said that he would put them to
school and pay all Of their expenses.
The children loved him, and I was
alone in the world and poor. l let
II take them, and they went away.
at this time and all other times
Holmes acted to me like gentleman.
He constantly kept me under
the impression, though, that | and the
children were to be mixed up with the
bogus body which he said was found
in Philadelphia. He said Pietzel was
still alive, and that would see him
again when this trouble was over. He
wished, though, to save MS from a
rest. After the three children were
722,one moved about the country. ]
began to worry about the children.
.YWanted to see them and wished to
~ (anow where they were. Holmes
/ must keep quiet until the detectives
stopped their work.
when he took me to Detroit it wa
he who registered me there as Mrs
Adams. He told me so when he cam,
up to the room where Bessie, my oldes
daughter, and I were. told him h.
did wrong to put my name 4dowl
wrong, but he explained that the de
tectives must be kept off of the tract
and that I was protecting m,
husband by this. l fnall,
heard the children were at To
ronto, and Bessie, l and the bah,
went there alone to search, but withou
success. Since then l have been work
ing for. the location of the children
with District Attorney Graham o
Philadelphia, Mr.. Geyer, the detective
Of Philadelphia, and the officers Of th
life insurance company have done al
in their power to aid me. You mus
understand that when my children
were first really missing was locke,
up and could not communicate witt
any one. was not allowed to see th
newspapers nor receive mail. Il
Holmes trunk there was found lette
from my daughter Alice to me, whicl
never reached me, showing that M,
mail was intercepted. Since I hav
had my freedom the Philadelphia au
thorities and the insurance compan
have worked to bring my childrel
back to me, and have aided Them S
far as / could.