New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-07-07


Central Park two weeks ago Thursday.
He has not been around here since
last Friday. when he went away with a
trunk. There's lot of stuff around
the place now that you may want"
McCahill and Thompson lost no time
making their way TO the village, which
is about eight miles from Heksville.
Ii is Just such q place as one who
wished TO conduct secret experiments
would pick out.
OFT was waiting for the officers in
the square.
THE lad had lots Of the people
with his bonfres and target practice
at night"
whats in the house ?"
"A lot Of matches without heads,
stuff in bottles, some empty bottles
and all sorts of corks," said OFT
In the house McCahill and Thompson
found what OFT said they would. In
the living room there were the headless
matches scattered all over the place.
There were boxes that had not been
opened and corks by the gross, some
cut as thin as fine nail and bearing
the scars of acid. Some were eaten
through The table cover showed red
where acid had been spilled upon it,,
and pencil, evidently used 70 stir
acids, was SCARED and burned
Revolver Shells Litter House.
Acids. benzine, alcohol and some
larger bottles that had contained acid
were found in the sink From these
the labels had been removed. 80 that
no clew remained as TO where they had
been bought
/ Scattered about the place also were
empty tins and quantities Of canned
food. showing how Holt had lived while
in the place. Apparently ne was a vege-
tartan, for there was no sign of flesh
food Empty revolver shells by the
dozen were about the place, but not
scrap of paper.
This man came here two weeks
ago" OFT said, "and told me he wanted
TO rent r cottage. | do not know who
sent him. He said his name was Tot
ten, and that he wanted TO be in the
country for a while for his health. He
had been working hard, he said. and
! needed rest in some place where
there would not be too much going on
to disturb him.
"a let him have the place, and he
moved in at once. He said that for
the present he would probably be
alone. He was not here long before
everyone around thought him funny.
He was in the house all the time-an
odd thing for a man in search Of health
to do-and the neighbors saw him very
little Then he had a trick of making
bonfres of papers nearly every night
Some of these were so large that they
made the neighbors nervous. They were
afraid he'd start something he couldn't
stop. He kept TO himself-had moth
ing TO do with any one.
B "Then, he used TO come and 60. Some
times he would come TO the house with
a dress suit case that looked from the
way he carried it TO be very heavy. He
would 90 away with it light more often
than not. That hit US as odd, but
then, you know, he was a foreigner
from the way he spoke, and you ex-
pect almost anything from foreigners.
Practlsed Target Shooting.
He used to practise pistol shooting
a whole lot. He would set up targets
near his place and shoot and shoot and
shoot Most Of this was at 200 feet,
some distance for most men TO use
revolver at. ! saw some of the targets
and, believe me, they looked as though
he could shoot some. Summer folks
practise pistol shooting more or less,
but not in the way this man did.
Zone night he came 10 the house
with 2 wagon loaded with something,
apparently quite heavy. Whatever it
was in the wagon, no one could see it,
for it was covered with grain bags.
/ The driver was stranger to US here.
/ The two took the stuff into the house
and the driver went away.
"Totten, or Holt, wore a different
suit that night from the one he usual
/ ly did. 1t was blue serge, and he
/ also wore a straw hat.
Friday morning last he was up
bright and early, and had a black
] trunk weighing about 100 pounds taken
over to the station. He took dress
/ suit case with him, too. That was the.
! last any one Of US here saw Of him. He'
left in time to get the early train
Here Harry Fredericks, the Long ISL
and railroad agent, came into the pict-
| ture.
"The man known as Totten was in
and out Of this place for about fort
! night. Sometimes he bought a ticket to
/ New York Sometimes he bought no
/ ticket. but must have paid his way on
the train wherever be went. | never
saw him with anybody.
"The last day he was here he arrived
/ about 7 o'clock. He had q trunk weigh
inc 100 pounds that he checked through
TO the Pennsylvania station in New
York II was black affair, and, for
! its size, pretty heavy. He also had
hand bag or grip, which ne would not
put down He was nervous, | should
say. and kept walking up and down the
platform as he waited for the train,
For want Of anything else 10 do
spoke to him, and asked him what he
thought Of the war.
lie looked at me sort of earnest
4 like, as if 20 make sure | was not
kidding him. and then spoke up.
"T don't think il is right he said.
Preparedness for war leads TO war. II
ought 10 be stopped
"About that time a passenger came
up to get a ticket, and when | was at
leisure again the man had boarded the
train. That was the last | saw of him.
Albert Guerin corToborated OFT and
/ Fredericks in their identification OF
Totten as Holt.
you know how a newcomer is sized
up in small place. said Guerin. We'll.
1 that is what happened here. They got
Totten's number here right At the start
and marked him down as a queer sort
of a bug Nobody ever saw him around
much in the daytime unless II was going
TO or coming from trains. end his bon
fires at night and his target practice
attracted attention.
There's no doubt whatever that the
man over in Mneola is the fellow We
had here"
81 am sure Of him." Mrs. John Duff
told the officers, because you could not
help noticing him. We didn't like his
fires. Some Of them ~ere too big for
safety. never saw a place where
there was so much paper TO burn. There
was always the danger that the wind