The Monticellonian., 1904-04-21
NEIDERME|ER
 TRIES SUICIDE
One of the Condemned Chicago Car Barn Bandits Tries to Cheat
 the Hangman.
HE ATE THE HEADS OF MATCHES
 AND OPENED ARTERIES IN ARM
While Lying, Under Guard, In the Hospital, He Made second At tempt By Tearing Away the Ban daEes and ReopeninE the Sewed- Up Wounds.

tempt By Tearing Away the Ban
 dages and ReopeninE the Sewed- Up Wounds.
 Chicago, April 19.-Peter Nieder- meier, the leader of the car barn ban dits, made sWc desperate attempts at suicide. His condition, as a result, is So preeaIious that it Is feared he will not survive Should he still be alive next Friday he will be carried to the galloWs and executed.
 was Carefully Planned.
 Niedermeier planned his attempted suicide carefully, First he masticated and swallowed the heads of 75 or 100 sulphur matches. While the phosphe- rus was burning his stomach. he sawed at the radial artery of his left wrist with sharp-pointed lead pencil. Striking a bone in the wrist. he gave up trying to sever the artery and turned his weapon to the large veins on the outer side of his left forearm. and with jabs and a see-saw motion, he laeerated the flesh and muscles of the arm and tore open the veins, leay- ing large. jagged wound exposed, through which the blood gushed in streams, dyeing his bed clothing and running down over the cell floor in pools His second attempt came after the wound had been dressed and closed by the county physician.
 \ second Attempt. Niedermeier was lying apparently unconscious In the hospital under a guards care His right arm and hand were hidden by the bed clothing, and with hardly a discernible motion he slipped the bandages off his left arm, and with his sharp finger nails tore away the threads in the wound, and, inserting his forefnger into the ragged hole. he worked again at the veins and sought to reach an artery. He unconsciously uttered a groan and made conYulsive movement which at tracted the attention of the physicians, nurses and the guard, and on throw | ing back the coverlids, the attendants saw with horror that Niedermeier had torn away the bandages and reopened the wound Nedermeier opened his eyes. and with a leering, wan smile explained: Let me died, Doc. Go away and let me die You were almost too late the first time Now why do you try to save my life?" .sa5 tsyE stassyEf.
 Ills conditioh Serious.
 Niedemeier lost d large ddaatity of blood, and was almost pulseless for time The most danger however, is that the poisonous phosphorus has burned him so severely that his life can not be saved for it's final snuffing out on the gallows.
 Niedermeier says he got his idea of swallowing phosphorus when a pris- oner in the jail committed suicide in that manner while Niedermeier was awaiting trial For the last two weeks ] Niedermeier has been saving the matches he was able to fllch and beg. He even gave up smoking to some ex- tent so he could hoard them. In get ting at the veins and arteries in his arm he first sawed three long gashes Then he pushed the sharp end of the pencil into one so it would pass under the veins. rhe2 Re twisted the pencil around and arodhd until the veIg5 We're twisted and bur.t In doing this the pencil broke into several pieces. Niedefmsier's first attempt at suicide was nearly sueeessful Letter Found In Ills Cot.
 A letter written by Niedermeier prior to the attempt at suicide was found concealed in his cot. In the let ter the writer incidentally expresses repentance of his career. and he re- grets leaving the few who have loved him, but chiefly the letter is morbid glorification of the writer's courage and his loyalty to his kind in contrast with Niedermeier's associate. Gustav Marx. The letter says; There are four req sons why I should take my own life. First, because of the public boast that I can not commit suicide while l am so closely guarded Second, and that can not cheat the scaffold Third that they can not say they executed me and made me pay for a crime. Fourth to have another mystery for the igno- ront police to solve"
 The letter concludes as follows:
 Tt seems very pleasant to have this everlasting enjoyment of rest. I am an atheist and do not believe in any religion.
 [Signedl
 -yN Vr-V