The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1909-04-08
Wm. Nsashuer Goes To a Thicket
North Of City and Fires a
Bullet Into His Brain
UNCONSCIOUS MANY HOURS
Unconscious Form is Found by Rabbit
Hunters Many Hours After Shot
Was Fired-Tells Story of
the Tragedy Himself

William Neashner, % years Of age,
a German employed at the plant of
the Kenosha Crib Company, made a
desperate effort to commit suicide in
thicket along Pike River just south
of the village Of Berryville Saturday
night, shooting himself in the head
with thirty eight calibre revolver.
The man lay in the thicket until late
Sunday afternoon when he was found
by a party of boys hunting rabbits.
Later in the afternoon he was brought
to the Kenosha Hospital The dis
covery of the unconscious form of the
man was by the merest accident and
it seems miraculous to the physicians
called in the case that the man sur
vived after being shot for so long a
time without his wound being attend
ed. 1t is thought that the wound will
prove fatal but the man is still alive
at the hospital.
Neashner has been in Kenosha for
some time and for the last few weeks
he had shown signs Of mental weak
ness and dependency. He was IN
married but it, is said that he had a,
sweetheart in Germany to whom he
had expected to be married within a
short time The story of the shoot
man himself and he declared that he
went to the thicket on Saturday night
with the intention of killing himself
No one in the neighborhood heard the
sound Of the shot and the man mad so,
carefully selected the place for his
death that it is remarkable fact that
he was ever found. The thicket at
the point he selected for suicide is so
dense that it was with greatest diff
fculty that Coroner Andre and his as
sistants removed the unconscious man
from the great growth of trees and
bushes.
The man was found just after five
O'Clock Sunday afternoon. The boys
in his head and at once came to the
conclusion that the man was dead and
the coroner was notified to bring the
"dead wagon and come at once
Coroner Andre first discovered that
the man was still alive, but it was
decided to~lose no time in getting him
into the hospital and he was placed
in the wagon. AS the trip to the city
was under way he began to recover
and by the time the hospital was
reached he was conscious. DR., Andre
at once called DR.. P. p. M. Jorgensen
and DR.. George f. Thompson to aid
him in caring for the badly injured
man. An examination showed that
bullet from thirty eight calibre re-
volver had entered his head just be-
low the right temple.
The physicians probed for the bullet
Sunday evening and found it had
lodged in the left side of the head
just above the left eye Notwith-
standing the fact that Neashner had
lain all night and most of day with
the bullet in his head he was conscious
and aided the physicians in every pos
4Io 6
bullet While the doctors were. at
work they sought to secure the story
of the tragedy Neashner could not
speak any English, but in broken Ger
man he admitted to the physicians
that he had gone to the thicket and
after carefully looking up the place
and laying down in the densest por-
tion of it, had fired the shot which
he had expected would result in in
Simultaneous death. The story told by
the wounded man was borne out by
the fact that the revolver, badly rust
ed, was found lying under him.
Neashner had made his home at the
house of Ferdinand Hackenberg, at
259 North Chicago street, but the peo-
pie at the house knew nothing of his
intent to suicide. His friends declare,
however, that he had been Respondent
for some time and had been anxious
to return to Germany, but that his
financial condition did not warrant his
making the trip.