Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1866-12-13
INhn IL. Hurratt.

John II. Surratt. q
tFrom the New York Tribune, Dec. oth.l {
Nearly eighteen months have passed since
the death Of the principal conspirators in
the assassination Of Abraham Lincoln, and
still the plot remains mystery. A bright
tbeater--Death leaping on the sccne--a
wounded man at bay in Virginia barn,
defyiug his pursuers, and shot by the blum
der Of o sodier-a sick mans bed, aud the
assassin with his knife at bis throst--the
secret consultations Of murdcrers, coming
and going under various names and disguises
these are the figures in that terrible PIC
ture, in which, like those Of Rembrandt,
vast shadows enshroud fierce and lurid
| light. The gallows, With four corpses and
one of them woman-tbe Dry Tortugas,
where four cOnvicts expatiate in wretched
solitude their crimes--a quiet grave lar away |
in Illinois-these are its companion pic |
| lures, and yet there is one more terrible. 1t
is that Of a man flying from the land where
he was born; flying from the arenger,
Death, from the body Of his victim. from
the corpse of his mother on the scaffold,
seeking in vain 10 lose himself in the great
world. and to blot his name from the mem
ory of man. This is John Harrison Sur
ratt of whose equal guilt in the crime there
is po doubt, and by whom, it is believed,
much that is hidden may be revealed
The evidence taken before the Military
Commission in June, 1865, proved Jebn
II. Surratt to be one OF the principal con
spirators. 1t was at the house OF his moth.
er that the meetings were held up to the
week Of the assassination he had been jour
, neying between Richmond and Montreal
Booth was his constant companion; Mudd
a concealed him in the woods near his house
, PAYNE consulted with him; Atzerodt con-
, fessed that Surratt induced him to join the
!. conspiracy; one Matt, Rebel, when he
D heard of the murder, it was sworn, exclaim-
i, ed: my God John Surratt knew all about
Q this, and do you suppose he is going to stay
Q in Washington and let them catch bimr
0 His name was the first in the indictment
Q Had there heen any doubt OF his guilt his
!. fight would have removed it, for though
y none ofthe principals were more frequently
a seen up to the Sd of April. on the afternoon
7 of the l4tb he was seen for the last time,
3 booted and spurred ready Tor his escape -
Q From that time the very existence OF John
Q Surratt was a mystery; it was believed he
@ was dead that he had revealed the names
). of his fellow.conspirators to the Govern
n ment, and had been allowed to escape that
a he was secretly imprisoned. II was noted
O that no reward was offered for his arrest
a Yet. as time passed on, John Surratt was
;. forgotten. till the other day came the start
I ling news that he had been arrested BY the
American Consul. General in Egypt.
n De Quincy, in illustration ofthe vast EN-
it pire and power Of the Romans, imaginos
m fugitive from the vengeance OF the Emperor
If vsinly seeking to escape his grasp. North
:: South, East or West, wherever the wretch
n ed man may fly, he treads within the circle
g of Rome, and her hand is raised above him
d though he fly to the uttermost parts Of the
q. earth. Caes sar will be before him. In thi,
T age. Justice is as hard to escape The grea
nj criminal hides in vain in foreign lands
"a changes his name or DISCUSSES his person. -
70 Surratt's person Was not very easy to dis
1t guise. A tall man, with prominent fore
head and very large nose, with deeply sunk
Or en- eyes and long black hair. Thus he wa
m described at the trial.
re- Ofhis wanderings, little is known. 1t !
Il. said that he was recognized on Lverpoo
ne steamer shortly after the murder. The
nv came the rumor that he was serving as
er Rome. We know now that he had heen
"a soldier in the Papal Znuaves nt Veroli. an
ho served under the name Of John Watson.-
n. The fact became known to MIR. Rufus Kinl
on our Minister at Rome. who telegraphed I
he our Government, and was instructed to 81
w ywn cure his arrest. Mr.. King conferred wit
,le Cardinal Antonelli, who issued an order h
4 seizure. Surratt was taken; he was in
he prisoned and on removal from jail, guarl
I ed by five soldiers. broke from their handi
cd jumped, il is said. over precipice mol
If than 100 feet high and escaped into th
i'm Italian territory. Mr., Marsh, our Minists
ey at Florence. obtained telegraphio instru,
1 tions from the Italian Government to hay
N. A. 70 al. al
pw his escape. He wasso0n supposed to hay
h, embarked in steamer for Malta. and di
~ patch to that island arrived too late to d
~. tain him another was sent to Alexandra
eli and when Surratt stepped upon the shor,
be Of Egypt. he was seized by the strong, ia
hs reaching arm Of America. United Stat,
m, detc olives, it il said, have watched hi
If since October. But long before this he mu
r. have heen overtaken by speeder, sur,
m. foe. Fear was ever at his back; from r.
he morse he could hardly escape, for even
en he cosld forget the crime he had committed
ed how could he ever cease 10 see the phanto
de Of his mother on the eallows? Coward q
Ir the world believed him. since that day wht
mt he fed and left her to suffer q coward,
'"' was said, she held him, and in her last m
ments refused to hear bis name.
cE There is true dramatic interest in this il
perfect history. The escape and pursuit
no other criminalin this century has done
m. much to excite the imagination. No ma
Ter II il possible, not even Booth, worked har
~, er to accomplish the murder; and deep
lis interest is Riven to bis share in the conspi
ely acy by his frequent journeys TO Richmon,
sc. Upon Surratts presumed connection wi,
in the Rebel Government, Andrew Johnsr
ION charged Jefferson Davis with completely
the assassination. New revelstions are G
red pected from his trial; the public may
no disappointed 10 that, yet if John Surra
could be induced to confess, before the daa
'al, which is almost certain to be his fate, the
IN is No reasonable doubt but that he mig
tell the whole story Of Lincoln's assassin
ton from the beginning to the end.