The Devil in the White City

PART II: AN AWFUL FIGHT

Convocation

His gout: Moore, Burnham interview, 6.

“almost in whispers: “The Organization, Design and Construction of the Fair,” January 7, 1895, 56, Moore Papers.

Its center was an octagon: Rand, McNally, 49–57.

“a panorama: Ibid., 126.

“I don’t think I shall advocate: Moore, Burnham, Architect, 47 (In Moore, Burnham interview, 4, the phrasing is slightly different: “I do not think I will advocate that dome, I will probably modify the building.”)

“one grand entrance: Burnham to Sullivan, February 11, 1891, Burnham Archives, Business Correspondence, Vol. 1.

“the tension of feeling: Burnham and Millet, 29.

“quiet intentness: “The Organization, Design and Construction of the Fair,” January 7, 1895, 56, Moore Papers.

“Drawing after drawing: Burnham and Millet, 29.

“The room was still as death: Moore, Burnham, Architect, 47.

“You are dreaming: “The Organization, Design and Construction of the Fair,” January 7, 1895, 58, Moore Papers.

“I never expected: Different versions of St. Gaudens’s remark appear in the literature. I’ve combined elements of two. See Burnham, Design, 39, and Hines, 90.

“We should try to make: Olmsted to Burnham, January 26, 1891, Olmsted Papers, Reel 41.

“What we shall want: Ibid.

“I mean such as Malay proas: Ibid.

“mysterious poetic effect: “Memorandum as to What is to be Aimed at in the Planting of the Lagoon District of the Chicago Exposition,” Olmsted Papers, Reel 59.

“through the mingling intricately together: Ibid.

“a display of flowers: Ibid.

“to slightly screen: Ibid.

The overall effect: Ibid.

“that army our hundreds: Olmsted to “Fred” (most likely Federick J. Kingsbury, a friend), January 20, 1891, Olmsted Papers, Reel 22.

“How is it possible: Lewis, 172.

“We must push this now: Chicago Tribune, February 20, 1891.

“Examination of the facts: Director of Works Report, October 24, 1892, Burnham Archives, Box 58, File 12.

“There will not be a brick: Chicago Tribune, March 20, 1891.

Atwood stood him up: Moore, Burnham interview, 7.

He was an opium addict: Ibid.

RUSH: Chicago Tribune, May 16, 1891.

“a family of twelve: Chicago Tribune, February 20, 1891.

“That un-American institution: Inland Architect and News Record, vol. 17, no. 5 (June 1891), 54.

P. T. Barnum died: Chicago Tribune, May 30, 1891.

“I think it quite necessary: Chicago Tribune, February 14, 1891.

Cuckoldry

Lovely, dark Gertrude: Chicago Tribune, July 26, 1895.

“of an easy-going innocent: Chicago Tribune, July 21, 1895.

“Some of my friends: Chicago Tribune, July 26, 1895.

Holmes proposed to sell: Chicago Tribune, July 21, 1895.

Holmes even wanted Ned: Chicago Tribune, July 26, 28, 1895.

“Separation couldn’t come: Chicago Tribune, July 26, 1895.

He heard her footsteps: Ibid.

“I told her after I left: Ibid.

At night, after the first-floor stores: This is speculation, but I base it on the following: In Mooers Holmes was known to pace at midnight, suggesting he was not a restful sleeper. Psychopaths need stimulation. The kiln would have been an irresistible attraction. Admiring it and igniting its flames would have reinforced his sense of power and control over the occupants above.

Vexed

“You must not think: Burnham to Margaret, March 15, 1892, Burnham Archives, Family Correspondence, File 4.

“Among the trees: Burnham and Millet, 36.

“practically an unknown: Inland Architect and News Record, vol. 22, no. 1 (August 1893), 8.

They laid a platform: Ibid.

Edison suggested: Chicago Tribune, May 12, 13, 1891.

General Electric offered: Baker, Life, 158–59.

“We are at a dead standstill: Burnham to Hunt, June 2, 1891, Burnham Archives, Business Correspondence, Vol. 2.

“The delay you are causing us: Burnham to Hunt, June 6, 1891, ibid.

He ordered: “List of bedding plants to be ordered either in this country, or from Europe,” July 13, 1891, Olmsted Papers, Reel 59.

“It was bad enough: Ulrich, 11.

“He is the arbiter: Chicago Tribune, May 14, 1891.

“incongruity: World’s Fair, 851.

“President Baker wants: Chicago Tribune, July 21, 1891.

C. F. Ritchel of Bridgeport: Chicago Tribune, October 12, 1889.

“As the cost: McComber’s tower idea: Chicago Tribune, November 2, 1889.

The engineer urged: Chicago Tribune, November 9, 1889.

In August 1891: Chicago Tribune, August 5, 1891.

The engineers were outraged: Chicago Tribune, August 16, 1891.

“How soon: Bloom, 117.

“The more I thought: Ibid.

“I could not: Burnham to Dredge, November 18, 1891, Burnham Archives, Business Correspondence, vol. 4.

“The criticism now: Burnham to Dredge, November 24, 1891, ibid.

“was about as intelligent: Bloom, 119.

“anxious to get: Sandweiss, 14.

“You are a very young man: Bloom, 120.

“I do hope: Allen to Palmer, October 21, 1891, Chicago Historical Society, World’s Columbian Exhibition–Board of Lady Managers Archive, Folder 3.

“When I think of the days: Weimann, 176.

“‘I think it would be better: Ibid.

“A severe breakdown: Ibid., 177.

“I suspect that even Codman: Olmsted to Burnham, December 23, 1891, Olmsted Papers, Reel 22.

In December: Burnham, Final Official Report, 78.

“A few questions of design: Interim Report on Construction, “To the Editor of the Chicago Herald,” December 28, 1891, Burnham Archives, Box 58, File 9.

“the failure of the fair: Lewis, 175.

Remains of the Day

Holmes left no firsthand account of the method he used to kill Julia and Pearl Conner; nor did he describe how he managed to subdue both victims, although he did at one point state that Julia had died of a “criminal operation,” meaning an abortion. I constructed the murder scenes in this chapter using a combination of sources: fragments of known evidence (for example, the fact that he possessed two cases of surgical instruments, equipped his building with dissection tables, and favored chloroform as a weapon and bought large quantities of it); the detective work of other investigators of the Holmes saga (Schechter, Franke, and Boswell and Thompson); statements made by Holmes after the murders; psychiatric research into the character, motives, and needs of criminal psychopaths; and testimony at Holmes’s trial as to how a person would react to an overdose of chloroform. The Conner case and the anatomical moonlighting of Charles Chappell received extensive news coverage. In addition to the specific sources cited below, see Chicago Tribune, July 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 1895; New York Times, July 29, 1895; Philadelphia Public Ledger, July 23, 27, 29, 30, 1895; Boswell and Thompson, 81–86; Franke, 98–101; Schechter, 39–44.

In November 1891: Schechter, 43–44.

Julia and Mrs. Crowe: Chicago Tribune, July 29, 1895.

dark amber bottle: Merck’s Manual, 28.

She gripped his hand: Trial, 166, 420–422.

On Christmas morning: Chicago Tribune, July 29, 1895.

“The gentlemen were acting: Chicago Tribune, February 27, 1890. See also March 2, 1890, for a tantalizing but likely apocryphal story of a St. Louis man buried alive—allegedly in a deep coma—only to have his body stolen by medical students. The students discovered his true condition with the first incision and quickly deposited him on the steps of the St. Louis courthouse, where he awoke with a painful and inexplicable cut across his abdomen. Or so the story went.

“Yes, the party: Chicago Tribune, March 24, 1890.

“The body,” he said: Philadelphia Public Ledger, July 29, 1895. The article also cites the $36 price.

They found dishes: Franke, 101.

“I last saw her: Mudgett, 33.

A Gauntlet Dropped

The ranks included: Hines, 74–75.

A rising union man: Burnham to Geraldine, February 24, 1892, Burnham Archives, Business Correspondence, vol. 6.

“inaccurate or ‘slouchy’ work: Burnham to Cloyes, January 6, 1892, ibid., vol. 5.

“it seems to me: Burnham to Ulrich, January 6, 1892, ibid.

“You will please dismiss: Burnham to Geraldine, January 6, 1892, ibid.

“Guarded by sentries: Wyckoff, 248.

“ho, boy: Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 278; Wyckoff, 11.

He “was eminently engaging: Anderson, 53.

“the architects of America: Untitled typescript, Ferris Papers, 1.

“cut to the quick: Ibid.

superintendent of sheep: Chicago Tribune, July 14, 1892.

“We are now organizing: Burnham to Davis, November 12, 1891, Burnham Archives, Business Correspondence, vol. 4.

“I think it is pretty well understood: Chicago Tribune, January 5, 1892.

“The time was well spent: Burnham to Margaret, March 15, 1892, Burnham Archives, Family Correspondence, Box 25, File 4.

Late in March: Burnham to Margaret, March 31, 1892, ibid.

“Mr. Davis has not been to see me: Chicago Tribune, April 9, 1892.

The congressmen, Burnham wrote: Burnham to Margaret, March 31, 1892.

“spectacular advertising: Bloom, 120.

“I could tell: Ibid.

The Angel from Dwight

In addition to the specific citations below, for this chapter I relied on detailed coverage of the Cigrand case in the Chicago Tribune and Philadelphia Public Ledger, as well as broader accounts of the case in Boswell and Thompson, Franke, and Schechter.

H. Wayne Morgan’s detailed historical essay on Leslie Enraught Keeley’s alcohol-treatment empire, ‘“No, Thank You, I’ve Been to Dwight,’” in the Illinois Historical Journal, offers a charming look at a bygone rage.

See Chicago Tribune, July 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 1895; Philadelphia Public Ledger, July 27, 29, 31, 1895; Boswell and Thompson, 86–87; Franke, 102–105; Schechter, 48–51.

In the spring of 1892: Schechter, 48.

Gold was the most famous: Morgan, 149.

the Chicago post office: Ibid., 159–160.

“he was too valuable: Mudgett, 122.

Thousands of people: Morgan, 157.

“passing through the line: Ibid., 154.

“No, thank you: Ibid., 158.

the story Pitezel now told: Schechter, 48, 49.

“a flattering offer: Chicago Tribune, July 30, 1895.

Emeline accepted: Ibid.

“White pique hats: Chicago Tribune, August 7, 1895.

“got to talking: Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1895.

“a handsome blonde: Ibid.

“I told her: Ibid.

“She was one: Franke, 102.

“It was not long: Ibid.

son of an English lord: Schechter, 49.

“I was charmed: Chicago Tribune, July 30, 1895.

Dedication Day

“All over its surroundings: Ulrich, 19.

“Would you object: Burnham to Olmsted, November 20, 1891, Burnham Archives, Business Correspondence, vol. 4.

“a few tents, some horses: Burnham to Buchanan, December 19, 1891, ibid.

“They propose: Burnham to Olmsted, February 5, 1892, ibid.

“unreasonable, unjust: Roper, 434.

“When Olmsted is blue: Rybczynski, Clearing, 247–48.

“They had picked: Bloom, 122.

“a tolerable idea: Olmsted, “Report by F.L.O.,” April 1892, Olmsted Papers, Reel 41.

“It seemed to me: Olmsted to John, May 15, 1892, Olmsted Papers, Reel 22.

The Paris buildings: Olmsted, “Report by F.L.O.”

“I am having: Rybczynski, Clearing, 391.

“I can only conclude: Olmsted to Codman, May 25, 1892, Olmsted Papers, Reel 22.

A doctor, Henry Rayner: Roper, 439.

“You know that I am: Olmsted to Codman, June 16, 1892, Olmsted Papers, Reel 22.

“every day more or less: Olmsted to “Partners,” July 21, 1892, ibid.

“childish, vulgar, flaunting: Ibid.

“there is nothing in America: Olmsted to Codman, July 30, 1892, ibid.

“The finest combination: Olmsted to John, May 15, 1892, ibid.

“Everywhere the best ornamental grounds: Olmsted to John Olmsted, May 19, 1892, ibid., Reel 41.

“Let us as much as possible: Olmsted to “Partners,” July 17, 1892, ibid. 172. “I think more than ever: Olmsted to Codman, April 20, 1892, ibid.

“The standard of an English laborer: Olmsted to Codman, April 21, 1892, ibid., Reel 22.

“The only cloud: Olmsted to “Partners,” July 21, 1892, ibid.

“I could see them: Bloom, 122.

“I suggest you be more civil: Ibid.

“At present,” he said: Ibid.

“Too fragile: Barnes, 177.

“The wind: Chicago Tribune, April 28, 1892.

“largely on account: Moore, Burnham interview, 8.

“His genius was betrayed: Monroe, Poet’s Life, 103.

“I was urging: Hines, 101.

“I don’t see it that way: Moore, Burnham interview, 8.

“ordinary white lead: Millet, 708.

“the Whitewash Gang: Hall, 213.

“with the utmost vigor: Burnham to Geraldine, March (illegible) 1892, Burnham Archives, Business Correspondence, vol. 6.

On Saturday evening: McCarthy, “Should We Drink,” 8–12; Chicago Tribune, March 1, May 8, 9, 13, 20, 1892; Burnham, Final Official Report, 69–70.

“You had better write a letter: Moore, McKim, 120.

On Wednesday, June 1: Photograph, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, June 1, 1892, Burnham Archives, Box 64, File 34.

Two weeks later: Photograph, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, June 13, 1892, Burnham Archives, Oversize Portfolio 13.

The contractor: Chicago Tribune, June 15, 1892.

“I have assumed personal control: Burnham to Olmsted, September 14, 1892, Olmsted Papers, Reel 59.

“I had no precedent: Anderson, 53.

“monstrosity: Barnes, 177.

“I was more disabled: Rybczynski, Clearing, 391.

“I am still tortured: Olmsted to John, October 11, 1892, Olmsted Papers, Reel 22.

“Of course the main work suffers: Olmsted to John, undated but received in Brookline, Mass., October 10, 1892, ibid.

The dedication had been anticipated: Schlereth, 174.

“Ninety thousand people: Wheeler, 846.

“both orators waving: Monroe, Poet’s Life, 130.

That winter she burned: Ibid., 131.

Prendergast

On November 28, 1892: Prendergast to Alfred Trude, Trude Papers; Chicago Record, December 15 and 16, 1893, in McGoorty Papers; Chicago Tribune, December 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 1893.

“My Dear Mr. Trude: Prendergast to Alfred Trude, Trude Papers.

“I Want You at Once”

“I have on hand: Ferris to Rice, December 12, 1892, Ferris Correspondence, Miscellaneous, Ferris Papers.

that this wheel: Anderson, 55; Miller, 497.

Chappell Redux

The gift delighted: Franke, 102.

“She seemed delighted: Ibid.

“It had seemed to me: Ibid., 103.

Later there was speculation: Chicago Tribune, July 30, 1895.

“Oh, she’s gone away: Franke, 104.

“This will tell you: Ibid.

The announcement read: Ibid., 105.

“Some days after going: Mudgett, 247; see also Mudgett, 246–249.

“Oh, he is a fellow: Franke, 105.

“lady of refinement: Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1895.

“The day after: Franke, 104.

Soon afterward: Chicago Tribune, July 31, 1895; Philadelphia Public Ledger, July 31, 1895.

“This,” said Dr. B. J. Cigrand: Philadelphia Public Ledger, July 27, 1895.

“I had at last: Chicago Tribune, July 31, 1895.

That the name Phelps: Chicago Tribune, August 7, 1895.

That on January 2, 1893: Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1895.

That a few weeks later: Schechter, 51.

Somehow a footprint: Chicago Tribune, July 28, August 1, 1895.

To explain the print’s permanence: Chicago Tribune, August 1, 1895.

“The Cold-Blooded Fact”

“The winter of 1892–3: Rice, 10, 12.

George Ferris fought the cold: Anderson, 58; Untitled typescript, Ferris Papers, 4; regarding use of dynamite, see Ulrich, 24.

“No one shop: Untitled typescript, Ferris Papers, 3; Anderson, 55, 57; Meehan, 30.

Together with its fittings: “Report of Classified and Comparative Weights of Material Furnished by Detroit Bridge & Iron Works for the ‘Ferris Wheel,’” Ferris Papers.

“You will have heard: Stevenson, 416.

“It looks as if: Olmsted to John, February 17, 1893, Olmsted Papers, Reel 22.

“I have never before: Olmsted to Ulrich, March 3, 1893, ibid., Reel 41.

“This seems to be an impossibility: Bancroft, 67.

Acquiring Minnie

I base my conclusions about Holmes’s motivation on studies of psychopaths conducted throughout the twentieth century. Holmes’s behavior—his swindles, his multiple marriages, his extraordinary charm, his lack of regard for the difference between right and wrong, and his almost eerie ability to detect weakness and vulnerability in others—fits with uncanny precision descriptions of the most extreme sorts of psychopaths. (In the late twentieth century psychiatrists officially abandoned the term psychopath and its immediate successor term sociopath in favor of antisocial personality disorder, though the term psychopath remains the favored everyday description.)

For an especially lucid discussion of psychopaths see Dr. Hervey Cleckley’s pioneering The Mask of Sanity, published in 1976. On page 198 he cites “the astonishing power that nearly all psychopaths and part-psychopaths have to win and to bind forever the devotion of woman.” See also Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed., 645–60; Wolman, 362–68; Millon et al., throughout but especially 155, which quotes Philippe Pinel’s appraisal of psychopathic serial killers: “Though their crimes may be sickening, they are not sick in either a medical or a legal sense. Instead, the serial killer is typically a sociopathic personality who lacks internal control—guilt or conscience—to guide his own behavior, but has an excessive need to control and dominate others. He definitely knows right from wrong, definitely realizes he has committed a sinful act, but simply doesn’t care about his human prey. The sociopath has never internalized a moral code that prohibits murder. Having fun is all that counts.”

Also in Millon et al., at page 353, a contributing author describes a particular patient named Paul as having “an uncanny ability to identify naïve, passive and vulnerable women—women who were ripe for being manipulated and exploited.”

For details of the Williams case I relied, once again, on an array of newspaper articles, and on Boswell and Thompson, Franke, and Schechter. See Chicago Tribune, July 20, 21, 27, 31, August 4, 7, 1895; New York Times, July 31, 1895; Philadelphia Public Ledger, November 21, 23, 26, 1894, December 22, 1894, July 22, 24, 27, 29, 1895: Boswell and Thompson, 86–90; Franke, 106–109; Schechter, 58–63.

Silver Ash Institute: Chicago Tribune, July 27, 1895.

as many as seventy-five: Chicago Tribune, July 25, 1895.

Tobey Furniture Company: Chicago Tribune, July 27, 1895.

French, Potter Crockery Company: Ibid.

Merchant & Co.: Chicago Tribune, July 30, 1895.

At the nearby Normal School: Chicago Tribune, June 26, 1892.

“a baby face: Boswell and Thompson, 87.

Born in Mississippi: For various details about Minnie and Anna Williams’s backgrounds, I relied heavily on the Chicago Tribune of July 31, 1895.

Throughout 1889: Exactly how and when Holmes courted Minnie is unclear, but it’s certain he traveled to Boston to see her and that he did so often enough to have won her adoration. The Chicago Tribune of July 29, 1895, describes Minnie’s first meeting with Holmes. See the Tribune of July 20, for other details, such as the date Minnie went to Boston for her education in elocution and a sketch of her subsequent travels, including her loss of $15,000 in an ill-starred attempt to establish a theatrical group. See also Philadelphia Public Ledger, November 22, 1894, July 27, 29, 1895.

“a remarkable aptitude: Mudgett, 45.

Anna was skeptical: Schechter, 61.

“I received her wedding cards: Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1895.

She did so on: Chicago Tribune, July 27, 31, 1895.

He established’: Philadelphia Public Ledger, November 21, 23, 1894.

“He induced me: Philadelphia Public Ledger, July 25, 1895.

no record of their union: Philadelphia Public Ledger, November 26, 1894.

Dreadful Things Done by Girls

“money would be so plentiful: Kiler, 61.

“The crowds poured in: Bloom, 135.

Bloom thought a moment: Ibid., 135–36.

Bloom regretted: Ibid., 135.

“it is not quantity: Dedmon, 223–24.

“the mayor will not frappé: Ibid., 224.

“A Mouse Colored Ass: Ibid.

“Outside peoples already concede: Hines, 108.

“how to broil: Hollingsworth, 155.

“The breakfast table: Ibid., 12.

“If the article is black: Ibid., 581.

“Take one part muriatic acid: Ibid., 612.

“Don’t sit between: Ibid., 701.

“Injections of tobacco: Ibid., 749.

“interspersed,” as one visitor put it: Miller, 420.

Clarence Darrow regularly: Tierney, 140.

“You ought to begin: Lewis, 36.

“What dreadful things: Tierney, 84.

“His friends all noticed it: Miller, 440.

His quirks: Johnson, 81–88; Poole, 158, 160, 163, 169.

“the most remarkable man: Miller, 438.

“a most admirable pig: Abbot, 212.

“My Dear Mr. Trude: Prendergast to Trude, Daniel P. Trude Papers.

The Invitation

Holmes suggested: Schechter, 61.

Minnie planned to show: I’ve inserted here a few of the attractions that Gilded Age visitors to Chicago found especially compelling. That Minnie planned to take her sister on such a tour is likely but not certain, as unfortunately she left no journal detailing the minutiae of her days.

Final Preparations

“anxious effort: Wheeler, 832.

The menu: Program, “Banquet to Daniel Hudson Burnham,” Burnham Archives, Box 59.

“Each of you knows: Moore, Burnham, Architect, 74.

“The scale of the whole thing: Moore, McKim, 122.

“I fear nothing: Burnham to Margaret, April 6, 1893, Burnham Archives, Family Correspondence, Box 25.

“I am very happy: Burnham to Margaret, April 10, 1893, ibid.

“Why do you not write: Burnham to Margaret, April 13, 1893, ibid.

“The public will regard: Ibid.

Margaret sent him: Burnham to Margaret, April 18, 1893, ibid.

PILOT OF THE OCEAN:Carter, 368.

At the hotel’s front desk: Ibid., 374.

“You can imagine: Burnham to Margaret, April 10, 1893, Burnham Archives, Family Correspondence, Box 25.

“Every body here: Olmsted to John, April 13, 1893, Olmsted Papers, Reel 22.

“We shall have to bear: Olmsted to John, April 15, 1893, ibid.

“I am afraid: Ibid.

“Ulrich is unwittingly faithless: Olmsted to John, May 3, 1893, ibid.

“I suppose that our time is out: Ibid.

“frightful dust: Olmsted to John, April 13, 1893, Olmsted Papers, Reel 22.

“with sore throat: Olmsted to John, April 23, 1893, ibid.

“A larger force is employed: Ibid.

The odd thing was: Chicago Record, December 16, 1893, in McGoorty Papers.

“It rains: Burnham to Margaret, April 18, 1893, Burnham Archives, Family Correspondence, Box 25.

“Last night turned out: Burnham to Margaret, April 20, 1893, ibid.

“The weather is very bad: Ibid.

“I wrote you: Olmsted to unidentified recipient (stamped as received and read by his firm), April 27, 1893, Olmsted Papers, Reel 22.

“My ulcer has shrunk: Ibid.

“We are having bad luck: Olmsted to John, April 27, 1893, ibid.

“I don’t like it at all: Ibid.

“The diet of the provisional mess: Ibid.

“I took cold: Olmsted to unidentified recipient, April 28, 1893, ibid.

“It is queer: Ibid.

“It does not look ready: Ibid.

“I get wind: Ibid.

“gross incompleteness: Miller, 489.

the World’s Fair Hotel: Schechter, 56.