:Your original assertion was that this has been well settled that Booth did not in fact bore the hole. Are you now backing away from that claim? It appears that it is not "well settled", and in fact is only a fringe theory, given the apparent lack of reliable, peer reviewed, secondary sources on the subject. As far as Google hits are concerned, when two sources seem to disagree with one another,usually the more notable and more accomplished and well known author gets the benefit of the doubt,especially when there is a 12,000 to 9 dependency in the number of Google hits.Say what you will about the method, but its hard to argue against the fact that Kauffman is the more accomplished, well known, and peer reviewed author of the two.