Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1865-04-20
WASHINGTON, Saturday, April 15--S:30 a. m.


Hopes are expressed this morning that
Secretary Seward will survive his wounds.
The surgeons evidently despair of the AS
sistant Secretary, Frederick Seward
The Rebel assassin is described by the
colored porter on duty at that entrance
door of the house, as a man in light panta-
looms, and dark frock coat buttoned up
about the size, to use his own words, of Mr..
Geo E. Baker
He represented that he was sent by Doc
tor Verdi with a prescription of medicine
for Secretary Seward, which he was told
to deliver personally, with the doctors III
structions how it should be taken The
party declined to admit him, parley en-
sued, and full five minutes passed before
the assassin effected admission into the
house
With drectness of walk which would
indicate knowledge of the house, he went
straight up to the Secretary's bedroom and
entered it.
The character of physician was instantly
thrown off, and that of a determined mur-
derer put on. There were four persons in
the room Major Augustus Seward, Miss
Fanny Seward, the Secretary's daughter, a
hired man nurse, and the Chief Messenger
of the State Department, also acting as
nurse
! The Secretary lay in bed on his back
the assassin jumped upon the bed, and cn-
deavored to cut the throat of his victim.
He inflicted three different wounds upon
it. While engaged in it the man nurse had
flung himself upon his bed and thrown his
| arms around him and striven to pull him
tnff bo tl,v
reversed the action Of his knife and stabbed
the nurse off his back He then sprsng
from the bed and engaged in fight for es-
cape with all that opposed him.
| He stabbed the chief messenger danger
ously in the breast, stabbed Major Seward
| in the arm and beat him over the head snd
face with a heavy pistol and disabled him,
and attacked Frederick Seward who had
entered the room from an adjoining cham
! ber, and gave him q seal p wound with his
knife, which, strange to say, commenced al
| the forehead, passed over the top Of the head
and extended part way down the back OF
| the head, and then struck him, either with
| the pistol or slung shot, heavy blow
which knocked him down insensible
The way of escape was clear, the assassin
ran downstairs, mounted his horse and
rode rapidly away
The Secretary's throat has three distinct
gashes no artery has been severed, anC
although much effusion of blood has taken
place, and a terrible shock given to his en-
feebled system, hopes are entertained o
! his recovery.
Frederick Seward sustained a fracture
of the skull Portions of bone have beer
removed from the wound The unfavor
able symptoms of stupetaction and vom
iting ensued upon the injury, and have char
acterized his condition during the night
Major Seward is about this morning, onC
arm in a sling and his head and face ban
daged.
The department messenger considered
to be dangerously wounded The hiret
nurse'slwounds are superficial, ,and although
numerous, are not serious.
The assassin is said to have been traced
by the horse he rode, and which was hiret
from a livery stable here to the Long Bridge
and over into Virginia, Both the man and
his crime are the slave power