Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1896-04-17
GROWING LIKE SATAN.
The Murderer Holmes Com
fcsscs to Many Horrible
Crimes.
Asserts that he has the Leer, the
Ears, the Exact Similitude
of the Deyi,-Feels that
be is Hopelessly
Lost.


The Noyh american, OF Phila-
delphia, prints what purports to
be sentences from the confession
alleged to have been made by
murderer H. Fl. Holmes. Among
other things, the story says
ain prefacing the confession,
which Covers in full nearly three
newspaper pages, written IN
Holmes own hand writing, and
detailing with a minuteness that
is simply at times revolving, the
archnutilator and author of II
murders, as he admits himself to
be, states with something like
pathos that he does SO simply
that he may obtain enough mon
ey to educate his boy.
Regret is never for moment
expressed, and he comes out bold
" and without Compunctlon IN
his very opening with t1t states
1ucut II was born with the very
devil in me"
Even now he believes that the
evil spirit is the guiding genius
OF hi; destiny. Il" b-l'"Ves t'!2'
he is tally under tj,> sp"'( OF the
damned, a1d despite t:jc aSs"r~
tlons 70 the contrary, that he IS
receiving the attentions OF a n11n-
ister OF God, and is gradually
becoming i'm buea with the spirit
of forgiveness and religion, lie
feels that lie is lost hopclessiy.
lie even goes further.
He asserts that he is gradually
changing ii appearance, III hg-
ure, that his face is becoming
distorted, and he sees whether
in the distortion of his bloody
imagination, which conjures up
hosts Of vengeance calling dead:
or not, his face assuming the
loo., tne eyes the leer, an1 the
very ears the exact si:nilitude OF
the picture Of Sa:a1 himself.
The inspiration to murder
came to he as naturally as the
inspiration to do right comes tc
the ma iority of persons.
"Where others hearts were
touched with pity, mine was
fled with cruelty, and where II
others the feeling was to save life
l rcve1ed III the thought of dc.
stroying the same.
"Not only that, was not sat
isicd in taking it i'll the ordinary
way. | sought devices strange
flntastical, and even grotesque
1t pleased my fancy. 1t gave ln'
play to work my nlurderous Will
and I reveled III it with the Ell
thusiasm of an alchemist who |
hot on the trail Of the philoso
, ph us stone.
81 am convinced,' he declare:
"that since my imprisonment
: have changed woefully an
eru7solne1y from what fornlerl
was in feature and i'll figure.
al mean, III fact, that my fea
lures are assuming nothing nor
or less than a pronounced satan
cal cast; that have become al
,, Aictcd with that disease, rare b'
terrible, with which PLY aicla'
- are acquainted, but over wh'c
they seem to have no contr'
= whatever.
"From what | can see, btl1 y
fully that [ ain growing to r
s>,uble the devil; that the osseol
!, parts or my head and face a
gradually assuming that elonga
ed shape SO pronounced i'll VIII
IL IS called the degenerated hea
at and that the silnilitude is almo
tn completed.
"In fact, SO impressed am
with this belief contlnu
HOLMES, "tilat I am convlrc
that I have no longer anythli
Il human in ME.
Holmes confession from tt
on speaks of his early eSI
riences of his boyhood days
the farm up in Vermont, and t
life he led until he entered C