The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1866-12-28
John III. SUr"aft.

Nearly eighteen months have pa>>el
since the deaths of the principal c"n>pir;,-
tors in the assassination of abraham Lin
coin. and still the plot remains Il mystery
\ bright thcater-death lcaping on the
>ccnc-a wounded man at bav IN Nir-
ginja barn, dctying hi> purSuer~. and shot
by the blunicr OF Il Solicr-a sick mans
bed. and the assassin with his knife at his
thrnat-thc secret consultations of muir
dcrcr-. comm" and @nin- under various
names and di>9ui>,>-thc>, are ihc tinure-
in that terrible picture. in which. likcthn>c
ot Rembrandt. vast shadows cn>Lroul Il
fierce and lurid light. The gaiIrwS. with
four cprp>cS. and one OF them woman-
the Dry TurtuglS, where four convict> cx-
piate in wrctchcd solitude their crime>-a
quiet gr;,vc far awav in Illinoi>-ihr>c are
H. companion pictures. and Vet there -
one mere terrible Ii l. that of Il man
tiying from the land where he WIS born ::
tivin@ from the avcnycr. death. from the
body OF his victim. from the corps. of hi-
mother on the srafin!,l. seeking in vain TO
lose himself in the Great world. AMI tn
blot his name from the memory of m:ln
This l. John Harrison Surratt. OF who's.
equal guilt i'll the crime there is no doubt.
and bv whom. il * believed. much that i
hidden may bc revealed.
The evidence taken before the military
commission i'll June, 1850. proved John
III. Surratt 10 be one oi thc principal CON
Slirator>. Ii WIS at the house of his
mother that the meetings were held; up
10 the week oi the ASSASSINATION hc had
been .Journcying between RichmonI and
Montreal: Booth WAS his constant COM
paniDn; Mudd concealed him in the
woods near his house: Paync consulted
with him; Atzero,t confessed that Sur
raft induced him 10 join the conspiracy &,
one Mott. Il rebel. ii w;is swnrii, cxcl..im-
cd. when he heard of the murder: ..Mv
God. John SurI:itt knew all about this.
and do You suppose he is going Ia stay in
Washington and let them catch him -
His name WAS the first in tie Indictment.
Had there been any doubt of his guilt
hi> flight would nave removed il. for though
none ot-thc principals were more frequent
ly seen up 10 the ::id OF April, on the al
tcrroon of the l4th lie WAS seen ior The
last time, booted and spurred, ready for
hi, escape. From that time the existence
OF John III. Surratt was mystery: il
was believed he was dead; that he had re-
vealed the namcs of his fellow cunSpira-
tors TO the government, and had been al
lowed TO escape; that he was secretly i'm
prlSCncd. 1t WAS noted that no reward
was Offered for Lis arrest Yet, AZ time
passed on, John Surrait was FORGOTTEN.
till the other day came the startling news
that he had been arrested by the Ameri-
can con>ul-general in Egypt.
De Quincy, in illustration of the vast
empire and power of the Romans, imag-
ines fugitive from the vengeance of the
emperor, vainly seeking TO escape his
grasp. North, south, east or west. where
ever the wretched man may fly, he tread.
within the circle of Rome, and her hand
is raised above him, though he fly to the
ultermost parts OF the earth, Cesar viii
be before him. In this age justice is as
hard TO escape. The great criminal hide.
in vain in foreign lands, changes his name
or disguises his person. siarratts person
was not very easy to disguise. a tal
man, with prominent forehead and very
large nose, with deeply sunken eyes and
long black hair. Thus he was described
at the trial
OF his wanderlng>, little is known. Ii
is said that he was recognized Oh Il Liver
pool steamer shortly after the murder
Then came the rumor that he was serving