The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1907-04-18
Peter Wilson, q Racine Engineer,
Committed Suicide in Spectac-
uIar Manner on Saturday
DRANK VIAL OF CARA0LIc ACID
Desperate Man Is Taken to County Jail
and Died After Thirty Hours of
Great Agony at. Midnight Sum
day Nisht in His Cell

Peter Wilson, Jr., an engineer who
formerly served in the position of
assistant engineer at the Hotel Ra-
cine in Racine, made a deperate
effort to commit suicide in Kenosha
Saturday night, and after lingering
IN agony for more than thirty hours
he died at the county jail Sunday
night at midnight.
Wilson was standing in front of the
lsermann store at the corner of Main
and Market street when, without any
warning, he pulled bottle of carbolic
acid from his pocket and drank the
contents of the bottle. The man was
unconscious from the time he drank
the carbolic acid until early Sunday
morning.
1t seems that Wilson had come to
Kenosha for the express purpose of
committing suicide. The acid which
he drank had been purchased at
Racine drug store on Saturday after
noon and it is thought that Wilson
came to kenosha only few minutes
before he drank the acid. He had
been seen in several of the saloons
near the scene of his attempt on his
life and just before the acid was taken
Wilson had stood near the curb and
seemed to be mumbling to himself
as if in prayer. Chief of Police
O'Hare stood on the corner twenty
feet from the man when he took the
acid.
Wilson seemed to be intently
watching something in the CEN
ter of the street and suddenly he
turned round and pulling off his hat
he threw 1t out into the street. With
this he shouted to men standing near
''Good Bye, Boys" and he poured the
acid down his throat. The bottle fell
from his hand and crashed on the
sidewalk and the chief of police be-
1ieving that the man had thrown a
whiskey bottle on the sidewalk, hur-
ried to arrest him on the charge of
intoxication. Wilson went along
without murmur and the chief
noticed that his prisoner was very
silently J ust as the pair reached the
jail Wilson collapsed and white
foam was seen issuing from his
mouth. The contortiops of the man
under the effect of the poison became
SO violent that it required four men
to carry him to cell on the second
floor of the Jail. When he was placed
in the cell he became unconscious.
Doctors Andre and Spa1ding were
hurriedly called to the Jail and they
worked with the man nearly all
night. The stomach was pumped out
and it was found that only a small
amount of the acid had reached the
stomach.
The mans throat was terribly
burned by the acid, and he suffered
great pain all day Sunday. After
Wilson had recovered consciousness
he declined to discuss the attempt on
his life, but declared that if he were
released from Jail he would not take
another try at it.. He steadily refused
to give any reason for his rash deed,
but to the Sheriff he limited that he
vas WAlAOul Il AOAOS III IuOuSVS anu
that he did not care to live any
longer.
A guard was kept over Wilson all
day Sunday, but Sunday night ne
seemed SO much imroved that the
sheriff gave him some medicine and
put him to bed. At midnight the
sheriff got up to admit another pris-
oner and went to the cell occupied by
Wilson. He called to the man and
when he got no response he pushed
open the cell door. He found Wilson
in a sitting posture on the bed cold in
death. It is thought that he had been
dead for some time. Coroner Andre
was called and an inquest over the
remains was held this morning, the
jury rendering verdict of suicide.
An effort to find something in re-
gard to his family was made by the
police, but Wilson, grew very reti-
cent, and while he stated that his
fathers name was Peter Wilson he
would not admit that he lived in Ra-
cine. The body was removed to
morgue and it's being held until the
90 49, WWYSN -n