The Yale expositor., 1896-05-15

spiritual advisers, Fathers DAILY and
Macpeak, Of the Church of the Annun-
citation. They administered the last
nearly o'clock. During their absence
he ate a breakfast of eggs, dry toast
and coffee. At 1902 o'clock the sher-
if called together the official ipry, and
after each man had answered his name
and subscribed to the certificate the
solemn march to the gallows was be-
gun. AS the gathering stood in intense
silence before the scaffold murmuring
sound came from behind the partition
erected Immediately back of it. 1t was
the dolorous chant Of the two priests
accompanying the doomed man to the
scaffold. They were uttering the psalm
Misere. At 1908 they mounted the ia
tai scaffold.
A moment of prayer elapsed and then
Holmes stepped to the front of the scat
fold, and resting his hands on the rail
before him, made his statement of in
nocence.
1t was received in absolute silence.
Two minutes later he had finished his
valedictory. Then at silent signal
from the priests he bent to his knees,
his eyes fixed on the crucifix clasped
in his thin hands. Until 1912 the
prayer continued. Immediately after
ward he arose, shook hands with the
priests and his lawyers and in firm
voice babe them good-by.
Without an instant delay his hands
were bound behind him and the black
cap adjusted. Sheriff Clement placed
the moose about his neck and after an
instant of terrible stiffness the crack
of the bolt rang out like pistol shot
and the man had fallen to his doom.
Consciousness left him instantly,
said the doctors, although his heart
continue feeble beat for lif-
teen or twenty minutes. After
an examination had been made
by several physicians Holmes was pro-
nounced dead and the swinging corpse
was cut down.
Holmes became acquainted with Ben
jamin f. Pietzel in Chicago about 1890.
Pietzel was married man, with six
children, poor, and afflicted with the
engaging in dishonest work if he were
paid for the risk. He was just such an
instrument as Holmes needed, plant,
fairly capable, and sufficiently un-
scrupulous to carry out shady transact
tions plotted by the master mind. They
worked together industriously in many
criminal schemes. In 1892 Holmes
was doing quite business in the for
gerry line. Pietzel was at once mixed
up in it, and was arrested in Terre
Haute, Ind, in January, 1893, for pass
ing some of the forged paper. Holmes
was not quite done with Pietzel, so in
stead Of letting him languish in Jail
he went to Indiana and furnished
straw bail for his colleague, who there
upon ran away. On trip east 1t was
arranged Pietzel should take the name
of b. f. Perry, and house and store
was rented at 1916 Callowhill street,
Philadelphia, in which the latter was
to conduct a patent rights business.
This Of course was to be another in
surance scheme, the amount involved
being $4,000. There is now no doubt
that Pietzel was really killed by Holmes
In the scheme, and an ex-convict
named Hedgepeth was the means Of
exposing the murder. The prisoner
said that Holmes, or Howard, as he
knew him, declared that Pietzel's wife
was privy to the whole conspiracy, and
Howe told him after the discovery Of
the body of b. F. Perry that Howard
would not let Mrs. Pietzel go to Phil