A MURDERER'S GRIM GYMNASTICS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 184, 4 August 1900, Page 5 (Supplement)

A MURDERER'S GRIM GYMNASTICS.

William Hummel, who was to have been hanged on June sth, for the murder of his wife and three children, was training to cheat the ga.llows. and thought if he,,,was not killed at the third attempt, he would go free. He learned boxing, how to perform on the bars, turn handsprings and calisthenics generally, and was practicing hang-ing.

"I'll tell you my secret if you wiil keep it quiet," whispered Hummel. "I've got a rope under the bed, and I've been practising hanging on.the dead quiet. 1 fasten the rope to a bar, then jump offthe bed. I can jump two feet now and not be hurt a bit. Exercising the muscles of the neck I have got so I can hold out ail right. Just before jumping off, I throw my head back as far as 1 can and the rope slips up against my jawbone and the back of my. head. If I don't tire out before the third time, I think I can pull through all right. I only got hold of the trick after hard practice."

Hummel says he regrets his crime, but that it is all over, "like a horse race," and there is no use worrying. He would like to go to the circus Tuesday morning and then return for the hanging, but the gaoler won't let him. He will have a feast Monday night.

Needless to say, a later report shows that this ingenious or insane criminal's endeavours to thwart justice were un-

successful