The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-04-06
The Prince of Nineteenth Century
Butchers writing His Memoirs, In
which He Tells All.
MADE A STUDY OF HOMICIDE
WENT To MEDICAL COLLEGE TO
PREPARE FOR THE WORK
Strange Mixture OF Love and Tender
ness, with Appalling and Cold
BIooded Thirst for Crime.

pITTSBURG. Pa. April 5-The Dispatch
to-day prints the following story from its
Philadelphia correspondent:
Holmes, the greatest murderer of modern
times, has made a confession. In Ii ne
tells how and why he put to death no less
than twenty men, women and children. He
gives all the facts. He writes as calmly
and coolly and remorselessiy he muir
dered. He neglects no detail. He even
gives an account of six murders which he
planned. but was prevented from carrying
out. 1t was well known that he put
eleven persons out of the world; so. when
his confession is printed there will be ac-
counts OF the violent death OF nine people
whose absence from their homes and their
friends has hitherto been unexplained.
He describes in detail the murder of the
Williams sisters, OF the planned murder of
Quinlan. the janitor of the castle" who
"knew too much:'' Of Pietzel. the murder
for which he is to hang, and of the Pietzel
children. In fact, Holmes, sitting in the
shadow Of the gallows. with the last hope
gone, with the time and place Of his death
fixed beyond change. has given way to his
vanity a craftsman, and has written his
life.
He, of course, cannot tell the truth, but
he has told 1t as nearly as possible for
something to the knowledge of his life.
but he will add nothing TO the knowledge
of his character. His little book will have
ipology. He announces himself as pro-
fessional murderer Each OF his murders
WAS deli6srately carefully d planned exc
He has written about them as a great
scientist would write OF series of yalu,,
able experiments He was professional
mn Ia "a a
but also for its own sake He used the
er in planning and carrying forward very
subtle murder plots. in devising new means
OF killing human beings.
thinks he has fairly earned immortality, and
he could not die without letting the world
know what a great man it has produced
He deliberately chose career OF crime
when he was farm boy up in Vermont.
STUDIED FOR MURDER AT COLLEGE.
He attended medical college to equip him.
self for the taking CT life, just other men
go to college to equip themselves for the
saving of life. He was not insane in the or
binary sense of the word. He was simply
monstrous pervert, criminal degenerate,
with moral sense exactly inverted.
He tried every sort of murder-poisoning,
suffocation by gases, strangulation with the
bare fingers. beating TO death with a club
He never murdered by accident or an i'm
IGlse. He liked to have plenty of time TO
think 1t all out. TO select the place and the
his work. He was too much OF an artist not
to realize that haste always lessons pleasure
ana d nSay " s grOSnss such mon
ster mind as MS on any theory of heredity
as It is to explain genius by studying genoa
farm. in surroundings that would compare
favorably with those that have produced the
scberest. most virtuous citizens We have.
There is faint trace of insanity in his
family, but. as ne himself says, it is too
slight to use as basis for alleging. that he
youth, fond Of his fellowoSednss. especially s
character to the end. He was always well
erons With his m money. He made love to ev-
cry woman who came in his way. and was
so sympathetic and ardent that they often
returned his love. Next to murder. his great
est success was In love making. He leaves
several wives in different parts Of the coun-
10 the very last. The last view his victims
had OF him was as reassurng and agreeable
face, and, If 1t was a woman or child who
was engaging his attention, with a term Of
endearment on his lips
his feilcw-creatnres by plot and stealth. the
natural occupation was that OF insurance
sswindler The profits OF that business are
are unrivaled. And II that Industry Is Joined
with the industry of murder the combination
Is most attractive.
APPRENTICESHIP IN CRIME.
The swindlen kills his accomplice, there
by saving the expense and the danger of
substitute corpse. avoiding a division of
the profits and also having the pleasure of
INDUCING penchant for murder. These
many enticements appealed powerfully 10
Holmes-whose real name. by the way, is
Herman Webster Mudgett. He became an
insurance swindier while he was still in the
medical school at the University OF Michi-
gan.
It would be Of no especial interest in a
study OF this sort, 10 rehearse the facts of
his early career. He made good deal of
money and spent it freely. He committed
several murders, but they were not out of
the usual order. He was simply serving his
a a 1t was not until he estab-
the real monster. He had been looking
about for some time for a definite habtation
where he could pursue his three occupations
-swindling. numbering and love making
1T his ease. He was domestic man with
quiet tastes and no great fondness for row.
He felt that IL he could build himself a
suitable home he could pursue his passion
in a most ieisurely and agreeable fashion.
So he did build himself a home-the IA
nous Castle" In Chicago. He selected a
site near the worlds fair grounds. The
worlds fair was about to open and he could
find many with whom TO amuse himself.
He must have thought out the plans of the
house carefully.
1t was built In way that the work
would suspect nothing After they
had lone, he and his accompiice, who was
en- expert mason, easily made the neces-
sary changes The finished house was an
idea place for doing murder with secrecy
AID dispateh- Ii had secret chambers and
snot herring rooms. retOrt for burning
bodies. a a,iicklime pit. benches and blocks
for chopping up corpses. and no sounds
ccy:d POSSIBLY reach the street;
Here men. women and children were
snuriers d for the money they had with