The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1876-06-30
EXPERIMENTATION
The Ingenious Contrivance by which u
Man Bshesded Himself hi Asleep
The Most Remarkable Suicide ON Itse-
lFrom the lafayette lind Journal

named Jas. A. Moon, who resides on n
farm nea the Farmers Institute, in
Union Township, nine miles south of
the city, registered at the Lahr House,
and was assigned TO Room Al, on the
third floor. In asking for n room he
said he wanted one in the rear of the
House, abutting on the alley il posi-
BILE. No especial attention was paid TO
the new guest at the house, except that
the porters complained that his bag
gage was very heavy, aud they had
some difficulty in getting il to his room.
The man went in and out the same as
other guests, but on one occasion he re-
marked to Mr.. Weakley, one of the
landlords, that he was engaged in per-
fecting a patent of considerable import
ance. Several times yesterday the
housekeeper tried the door of No. Al
for the purpose of having it cleaned up,
but each time found it locked. About
> O'Clock in the evening, finding the
door still locked, she went through the
adjoining room, No. 40, which opens into
No. Al, and there saw what she sup
posed was the dead body of a man ly-
ing upon the floor. She gave the alarm,
and the first persons TO arrive upon the
scene were MIR. Lance, a travelling man
for a Cincinnati drug house, and Henry
G. Tinney, OF Il city, who was visiting
him. These gentlemen went TO the
room, and sure enough they
found a dead mana man with
his head completely severed from his
body-cut as clean rs one would a
chickens with an AK. The situation,
as they found il, was bad enough, but
the appliances which had been used to
produce death were most wonderful,
and will stand in the history Of suicides
without a parallel. We shall attempt
TO describe them. In the first place
there was a beam, or more properly IA
lever, about seven feet long, made Of
three sections, each a little over two
feet long, also fastened together with
strong iron bolts. The base of this
lever was composed of two pieces of
lumber, one inch thick and six wide,
spread perhaps six inches apart. The
next section was also composed of two
pieces of the same size, but consider
ably closer together. The last section
was a single piece Of the same size. At
the small or upper end of the lever Tor
beam) there were bolted horizontally
we pieces of iron, one inch thick, three
inches WIDE and sixteen inches long.
AT the lower end of these pieces of iron
"A broad-ax was bolted, whose bit or
cutting edge was twelve inches wide.
The two pieces eff iron and the ax were
estimated to weigh at least 40 pounds.
The other or butt end Of the beam was
fastened TO the floor by means of cross
pfaoao NTH boarNr frn, door ht,xaa -.
curely screwed down. On the west side
of the room a heavy bracket was Sc
cured 10 the wall, with a shelf upon
which a candlestick was fastened.
Foom the upper end of the beam a
cord was run to a hook in the bracket
the beam being raised about six feet
high and secured in that position by
the cord TO the hook in the wall. Where
the cord was fastened at the wall on the
bracket, it was divided, and a candle
inserted between the strands, so that
when the candle burned down sufficient
ly the two strands would come together,
and the cord be burned in two. This
was the means adopted to insure the
falling of the engine of destruction.
Right under where the AK would fall "A
box was secured, screwed to the wall
and floor, with the opening outward
into the room, SO arranged that the AK
could come down in front Of the box,
the upper edges being beveled TO secure
n straight stroke from the implement.
The AK, the irons in which it was
clamped, and the timbers in the beam
will probably altogether weigh a hun
dred or more pounds, to say nothing of
Al. - 81 f.1I .l... -.
feet or more. After arranging the
above machine, the suicide laid himself
down upon the floor at right angles
with the modern g%uillotine, buckled a
strap around his thighs, which was
screwed down to the floor, buckled an
other around his body, which was SINH
larry fastened TO the floor, put both his
hands inside his suspenders-lying, of
course, upon his back-and placed his
head inside the box above mentioned.
The box was filled with cotton
batting, saturated with chloroform.1
To keep the chin out of the way, holes
were made in each side of the box, and
a wooden rod ran through, upon which
the chin rested. II is supposed that
having his machinery arranged TO his
satisfaction, and the candle lighted, the 4.
suicide lay himself upon the floor, ar
ranged the straps, applied the chloro-
form TO the cotton, placed his head in
the box, and calmly slept until the AK
descended. To accommodate his neck
three narrow strips were screwed TO the
Aoor, which operated the same as a
pillow, and gave a good foundation for
the AK to fall into. When the candle
burned down sufficiently the cord was
burned off and the AK fell, completely I.
severing the head from the body-mak-
ing a clean job Of 1t. The head remain