Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1896-05-14
HOLMES is HANGED j,

Sfags the Penalty the Murder
Ei E# I#G 81 Pitzel fl HI
III d. ll..sza #
Z. .!..e I. /, .. ~ ...
~ Hours Y0n Earth ~ His 4can0ld
speech-Dled Protesting His
Innocence.
philadelphia, May 9.-H. III. Holmes was
hanged Thursday morning. The drop fell
at 1882. 1t was not until 15 minutes later
that he was pronounced dead. His neck.
was not broken by the fall The marvellous
nerve OF the man never deserted him to the
very end. Even on the gcaffold he was prob
ably the coolest person in the solemn as
semblage. IA .
Holmes spent the greater part of his
last night on earth writing letters, At.
inidnisht he went TO bed and slept ;soundly
u mt six O. clock Thursday morning. It
/ took two calls to awaken him. Promptly
arising. he received a. visit from his spirit
ual advisers. Fathers DAILY and Macpeak,
Iof the Church Of the Annunciation They
administered the last sacrament and did
not leave him until nearly nine o'clock.
At 1902 O'clock the sheriff called together
the official jury. and after each man had
answered to his name and subscribed to the
certihcate the solemn narcotic the gallows
was begun.
AS the gathering stood in silence before
the scaffold q murmur came from behind
the partition erected Immediately back of
It.. It was the dolorous chant of the two
PRIESTS accompanying the doomed man
TO the scaffold: They were uttering the:
psalm Miserere." They mounted the
platform. A moment aof prayer followed.
and then Holmes stepped to the front of
the scaffold and. resting his hands on the
rail before him, made his statement Of in
n nc It was received in absolute
silence. III
Pallid naturally after his Incarceration,
there was no other evidence of fear or dis
quiet. He spoke slowly and with measured
attention to every word; a trife low at
FIRST, but louder as he proceeded, until
every word was distinctly audible, ~ 'sv :,
Gentlemen, he said, / II have very few
words to say. in fact would make no
not speaking I would appear to acquiescn
In life In my execution. I only want to
say that the extent Of my wrong-doings
In taking human life consisted in the
deaths Of two women. they having died
at my hands as the result Of criminal oper-
atoms. I wish also TO state,> however, so
that there will be no MISUNDERSTANDING
hereafter, am not guilty. Of taking the
lives of any Of the Pitzel family. the three
children or father, Benjamin F. Pitzel, of
whose death am now convicted and for
which am to-day to be hanged. IT.
p That is all" NJ asaaA
As he ceased speaking, he stepped back
and kneeling between Fathers DAILY ana
Macpeak, Joined with them IN: silent prayer
Tor brief minute or two. gain standing
he shook the hand of aM5those about him.
and then signifled his readiness for the END:
Herman w. Mudgett. better known as H.
H. Holmes, was one OF the most conspic,1-
GUS criminals Of modern times, and IL the
"murderer's confessions which he has
written can only, partially be believed, he
T1rxaa Zoe
mon. His recent ingenious Confession
wherein he claimed to have. killed, q
persons. was disproved, partly, at least,
by the appearance Of. several of:the So
called victims; but Holmes object. In max
Ing the confession was=realtzed the OBJ
which amount is said to have been settled
upon the criminals 1S-year-old son. While
the "confessions' have served tosincrease
the sensationaltsm of the case, the only
capital crime for which Holmes had to an
swers was the killing in this city. on Septem-
Der Z, 1s94.iof -Benjamin Pitzei. His fellow
conspirator. The murder was committed
in the dwelling. NO. 1876 CaAowhill street:
I Holmes was captured in Boston, Mass,
IN thealatter part Of 1884, by Owen Hanscon,
the deputy superintendent Of police. upon;
the strength Of laTi telegram from Fort
Worth. Tex. where he was wanted for,
horses stealing and for other charges OF
larceny. AT that time officials of the FL
deity Mutual Life association, OF Phila-
delphia. were hot on Holmes, trail for de-
ifranding the concern out OF $40, 900 in con
tnection with Pitzels death. the latter be-
ing insured for this amount; and as the
accused believed demonstrating to be a
high crime in Texas. he voluntarily con-
fessed to Deputy Superintendent Hanscom
to the insurance fraud. He did not, for
moment, dream that he was then. suspect
ed Of the murder ct Pitzel,, and he came to
Philadelphia without .Tequisition& papers.
He expressed e: illin gness TO beatricd herr
on the conspiracy charge in preference to
that of horse stealing at Fort Worth, -.
:: Between this time and his trial! for con-
TO which he pleaded guilty. Holmes made
many confessions :. Each, 4timeshe pre-
tended to tell the truth but he sedulously
avoided doing aso.s-N Nobody believed what
Holmes said about Pitzel, and he would
not say anything about the children ex-
siR r. H. sRSS Ma 81 lS 4t
three missing Pitzel children were with
Minnie Williams in London. He even
persuaded Mr.. Graham to have an adver-
tisehnent ina.the shape Ct cipher puzzle
purpose Of bringing Minnie Williams end
the little Pitzels back from EnrPpe. NsThea
dtst fict attorney placed httlE faitha4n What
Holmes told him. but the ''ad'' was pub
!lished as a sort Of last and hopeless eff
fort Whdn the bodies Of Nellie and Alice
Pitzel WERE unearthed in Toronto, Holmes
denied having killed them. r When How.
supdrannuated stove in Irvington, Ind,
Holmes calmly denied any knowledge. of
the lads death. When the murders, OF,
Minnie Williams and her sister wersA dfsl
covered, Holmes said that Minnie killed |
Mamie in p jenlousrfFen5y:I end bel buried
the body in Lake Michigan. He VIGOROUSLY.
denied having put MINNIE to death So as
to- seizure her property. The disappearance
Of Emily Cigrand was traced to Holmes,
&bo orin I'M ho