The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1896-04-16
RESEMBLES THE DEVIL.
The Revolving Confession of Arch-Mur-
derer Holmes.


Philadelphia, April 1S.-The NORTH
American, of this city, prints whar
purports to be sentences from the CON
fession alleged to have been made by
murderer Fl. 81. Holmes. Among othel
things, the story says:
In prefaoing the confession, which
covers in full three newspaper pages,
written in Holmes own handwriting
and detailing the crimes with min.
uteness that is simply at times revolt.
ing, the arch-mutilator and author Of
twenty y-seven murders, as he admits
himself to be, states with something
like pathos, that he does so simply that
he may obtain enough money to educate
his boy.
Holmes writes of his blood d-curdline
atrocities with an abandon that sim.
ply appalls one. Not one grain of re.
morse seems to enter into the construc.
tiOn of this document. He says:
81 was born with the devil in me.
I could not help the fact that was q
murderer any more than the fact that
the poet can help the inspiration to
sing, nor the ambition of an intellec.
tual man to be great.
"This inclination came to me early
in life. remember when a mere lad
my ambition was to study medicine
that might know the relative effects
OF poisonous gasses that I might fully
become acquainted with their uses and
learn to be an expert in handling them.
II am convinced that since my i'm.
prisonment, I have changed woefully
and gruesomely from what formerly
was in feature and in figure. From
what I can see, I believe fully that
am growing to resemble the devil;
that the osseous parts Of my head and
face are gradually assuming that elon.
gated shape called the degenerated
head. In fact, 80 impressed am with
this belief, that am convinced that
have no longer anything human in
me'
Holmes confession from this on
speaks of the early experiences of his
boyhood days on the farm up in Yer.
mont and the life he led until he en-
tered the college to study medicine in
Michigan. It was not until after he
was graduated, fully equipped with
the knowledge of poisons and the
easiest way to sever the simple thread
of life, that Holmes began his career as
a murderer and mutilator. When he
began, he admits himself, he was ruth.
less and never once halted until he
took twenty-seven lives.
"And would have committed six
other MURDERS" he added, chad not
certain occurrences intervened."
Possibly one of the worst, most re-
voting and disgusting crimes this arch
mutilator ever committed was one he
speaks of in a chapter devoted to his
boy-the son of his first wife. The
only explanation he offers is that he
did it simply to crafty his love for
mutilation.
''It was shortly after was mar
ried," he declares, "and our boy was
then but youngster. I called him
from the road where he was frolicking
about like an innocent, with lot of
other lads, and took him out to a rear
barn. don't know what it was that
possessed me, but 1 took surgical
knife along with me. 1t was simply
the craving of the murderer in me that
inspired me to make subject Of my
little one.''
Holmes then tells how he went
through the operation of mutilating his
own son. Finished with that, Holmes
felt satisfied and did not murder his
bOy outright