This location becomes even more plausible when we consider it's location in relation to the area in which witnesses saw smoke.

S.M. Holland said,

Mr. Holland. There was a shot, a report, I don't know whether it was a shot. I can't say that. And a puff of smoke came out about 6 or 8 feet above the ground right out from under those trees. And at just about this location from where I was standing you could see that puff of smoke, like someone had thrown a firecracker, or something out, and that is just about the way it sounded. It wasn't as loud as the previous reports or shots.

Mr. Stern. What number would that have been in the -

Mr. Holland. Well, that would - they were so close together.

Mr. Stern. The second and third or the third and fourth?

Mr. Holland. So, that it might have been the third or the fourth. 28

Despite Holland's confusion, he shares two important pieces of information with us. First, the shot he heard "wasn't as loud" as the others. We already know that a smaller weapon would have been required in the storm drain. Second, he spots smoke rising into the trees near the corner of the picket fence. Of course, it was perfectly natural that smoke would rise from the drain location into the trees where Holland saw it.

Figure 19 Just after the assassination. The arrow points to the area where witnesses said they saw smoke.

It is characteristic of gun smoke, that the lighter particles rise, while others remain at lower levels. The distinct graphite smell experienced by witnesses in the motorcade would have been the natural result of a shot fired from the storm drain location as the westerly winds that day carried the odor east, back through the motorcade, and as cars proceeded into that area.

Tom Dillard, a photographer with the Dallas Morning News, riding five cars back said, "I might add that I very definitely smelled gunpowder when the car moved up at the corner." 29

Mrs. Earle Cabell, wife of the Dallas mayor was riding four cars behind the Presidential limousine. She said, "I was acutely aware of the odor of gunpowder." 30

Others who said they smelled gun smoke included, Mrs. Donald Baker, Police officer Earle Brown, and Congressman Ralph Yarborough. What could have caused this reaction in so many witnesses? Certainly, the odor of shots fired from six floors up in the Depository would not have been noticed at street level. A shot from say, behind the picket fence, which was North of Elm and at a considerably higher elevation would also seem unlikely to create a smell which would have been noticed by those in the motorcade.

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