Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1901-09-12
ASSASSIN'S ATTACK WAS
ENTIRELY UNEXPECTED
BY MR.. M'KINLEY.
LEON CzOLGosz IS AssAssINs REAL NAME.
He Was Shaking Hands With the President Who Smiled Him
as the Man Fired Two Shots from Revolver He Carried
Concealed IN a Handkerchief IN His Right Hand
Mckinley Displays Great Fortitude.

Kinly. The bandaged hand was ruse.
The man had suffered no injury. The
bandage, as it appears now, was an
ordinary cambria handkerchief. In
its folds was concealed a pistol.
AS the line sinuously wound its way
past the Presidedt the man approached
nearer. In a moment 1t was his OPP
portunity to shake hands with the
President. Such receptions have be-
come almost routine affairs with the
President, and he reaches out his
hand almost mechanically. That was
what be did in this instance, but, in
stead Of reaching out bis hand, the
would-be assassin held up his right
arm, still holding the handkerchief
about his hand, and before those who
were standing about the President, or
the President himself, could grasp the
situation, fred point blank two shots
in rapid succession at the President,
who stood within feet Of him. He
fired straight through the folds Of
the handkerchief.
The President reeled as il to fall.
The whole force of the bullets had
spent themselves in his body.
Immediately most bystanders,
thoughtful of the Presidents condi-
tion, rushed to his aid. DR.. Rlxey,
his personal physician, who had ac-
companied him from Canton, was near
by, and it was not three minutes be-
fore he was with the President. A
number Of physicians also were in the
Temple of Music at the time, and
they were soon at the Presidents
side. without any delay the Presi-
dent was borne to the emergency hos
pital on the Exposition grounds.
The police formed a Gordon about
the building at once, and it was only
with the greatest difficulty that the
crowd could learn anything about the
Presidents condition. It was fully
fifteen minutes before the intelligence
came out that the President was
alive, and that there were strong
hopes that he would recover.
NIEAIAN ovERPowERED.
When the attempt to kill the Presi-
dent was made there were several
detectives about him. Among these
was Secret Service Detective Foster,
who had been detailed from WASH
ington to accompany the Chief Exec
utive on his Buffalo trip. As soon as
the shots were fired Foster leaped at
Nieman and, with one terrific blow,
felled him to the floor. Other police
men jumped in at once and pinned
down the struggling man.
With all the haste possible, under
the circumstances, for 1t was difficult
to make way in the great crowd, the
police dragged Nieman from the room
and locked him up in an adjoining
room, closely guarded The police
feared for the safety of the prisoner,
as the crowd was angry all the way
through, so the prisoner was removed
to the police station on the ExpOsi-
tion grounds. From there, about $50
o'clock, he was taken to police head
quarters and locked in a dungeon in
the basement. The chief of police
has placed a strong guard over him to
prevent his committing suicide, II he
should have any such intention.
From the time of his arrival in Buff
falo on Wednesday night last, Presi-
dent Mckinley has been closely guard
ed. 1t is always customary for secret
service detectives to accompany the
President, although not much is made
OF the fact Secret service detectives
had been with him constantly. The
local police had also guarded his
every movement, but, despite their
vigilance, Nieman was able to shoot
him twice.
NIEMAS's STORY.
For some time after the shooting OF
President Mckinley all was conjecture
as to tine Identity Of the would-be as.
saSsin. 1t was later ascertained that
his name is Frederick Nieman; that
he is OF Polish birth, and that he halls
from Detroit. IL has been learned
that he is an anarchist. The police
are reticent about what he has said,
but 1t is known that he has told them
that he has been in Buffalo for "a week,