Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-05-23

hands; and Colonel Conger, who was
Prominent in the pursuit and capturesof
Booth, after having carefully examined il
in my presence on Yesterday, declared its
condition to be now precisely the same as
when he took it from Booths body after he
had been shot, the writing in it being the
same, and all which il contained. rIIe,.--
Conger was examined before the Judici-
airy Committee Of the House of Repre-
sentatives to-day. j. Holt,
Judge Advocate General.
IS BOOTH ALIYE-A CURIOUS STORY, AND
4 IMPORTANT, IF TRUE" 81
The following letter published in the
New Orleans Reagene may be interesting
in connection with the foregoing
GALVESTON, TEXAS, May 10, lS67-To
the Editors of the New Orleans Pcagune
Notwithstanding two years have elapsed
since the Assassination of President Lin
coin, and the subsequent capture and death,
(as it was ofhcially announced, of the az
sassin, j. Wilkes Booth, you are doubtless
aware Of the fact that there are many per-
sons who, during all this time, have doubted
and still doubt the indentity of the party
alleged to be Booth, and believe the identi-
cal, bona fde John Wilkes Booth to be in
existences still. -iaa
Since my arrival here have met Snd
gained the following informationfrom Capt.
j. R. johnson, who has recently returned
from China and the East Indies, and whose
name Is we'll known to many ofthescftfEens
of New Orleans Knowing hinras | have,
for a number of years, and always having
found him a man of veracity, can vouch
for the truthfhlness of his statement, the
substance of which is as follows
r"While lying at anchor in the port
Calcutta, British India, prior to starting on
our homeward voyage, in the latter part of
December, 1885, my attention was attracted
by the arrival of a magnificent clipper
ship-the most beautiful model / ever
saw-carrying English colors, and which
dropped her anchor only a few rods from
my vessel. L soon ascertained she was
called the "Bird Of the Ocean," and was
commanded by sathe notorious Lieut.. W.
Martin Tolbert, of the Shenandoah. Hav-
ing been well acquainted with him during
the war, i dispatched a messenger to APP
prise him of my close proximity, and re-
quested an interview In reply he invited
me to come on board at once" which l
did. After half an hour spent in social
intercourse over a bottle of wine, in her
elegantly fitted up cabin, he very politely
begged to be excused, stating he had busi-
ness in the city, which demanded his inn
mediate attention, promising me he would
visit my ship the same evening.
The evening wore along, and had given
him up coming for the night aud was
making preparations 10 turn into my ham
mock when the splash Of oars greeted my
ears and in few moments more the Cap
tain stepped upon my deck, accompanied
by another young gentleman whom l rec
ognized as Mr.. Robert Troth formerly an
engineer in the Confederate navy The
first remark Tolbert made was this :
Wake up johnson, you are boarded by
pirates" From my knowledge of the man,
| knew he was in for nights sport, and
decided to let him have his full swing.
After reaching the cabin, assuming a con-
fdential manner, said he: " Captain John
son, Won and have always been friends,
and have come on board your ship to
| have a good time with you. / have Just
won a bet of five hundred pounds, in Cal
cntta, from one of my Boston friends.
When | was here, Just six months ago,
| lacking two days, laid wager of $500
sterling that Wilkes Booth was alive,
which was accepted and the money staked,
The conditions were, that | was to furnish
| the proof of the fact inside of six months.
Two men were selected by my adversary
to accompany me, their expenses to be paid
| by the loser. We have Just got back to day
| and those two men, after being duly sworn,
said "they had seen j. Wilkes Booth, the
| actor; had conversed with him; and that
he is alive and enjoying excellent health. "
| The judges, after debating the question al
| length, finally rendered decision in my
favor, and the money was handed over forth
| with. Booths whereabouts is known to
five persons only who know that he is Booth.
He is living in obscurity, far from his ma
tive land; and is perfectly safe, as his dis
guise is so complete that his own brother
would not recognize him. sailed from
| Calcutta on the following day, and have not
heard from the dashing youngex- Lieutenant
since. What he told me made deep i'm
pressien on my mind. l pondered over
the matter on my return voyage, and must
say that firmly believe Booth is alive, and
Capt. w. NJ. Tolbert knows where he is"
The above are almost verbatim his OWL
words, and comment is unnecessary by me
Respectfully, etc, your obt serv't,
| ANDREW NJ. WILSON.