Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1867-03-28

Inv @ntiil pun AtttUttft Vi t)ituiuil
has lengthy article in which il ar
CUES the probability of ]. Wilkes Booth
being still in the land of the living.
The ingenuity Of the epistle renders il
worth a pcrusal. The Audldache cor
respondent says:
"The statement which appears in
your paper of Sunday last, in regard
10 the point as to whether ]. Wilkes
Booth sill lives, calls to mind other
publications that have heretofore APP
peared in print on the same subject.
Allow me to call your attention to
these, and also to some circumstances
that would tend 10 support the idea
Of Booths death being fraud perpe-
trated on the public. Early in the
spring OF 1866 letter was received
from one OF the West India islands,
by correspondent of New York
paper, stating that j. Wilkes Booth
had been seen on the Island of Cuba,
a short time previous to the writing
of the letter This letter was noticed
by some, if not all the Memphis pa.
pers Not long after this publication
a statement appeared in some Of the
papers of this country, to the effect
that Booth had been seen in Europe,
in one Of the Italian States.
Some time last summer a man was
arrested in Kentucky on a charge of
horse. e.stealing, and lodged in Jail If
my memory serves me right, he gave
his name as King He wrote to JEFF
ferson c. Davis of the U. $. army, sta
ting that he desired to make a con-
fession to him of importance 10 the
country. Gen. Davis, accompanied by
another officer of the army Ga gener-
aD went to the prison, and the news
papers stated at the time that they
occupied nearly an entire day, taking
down in writing the confession of the
man. The newspapers also stated
that the substance of the confession
was that Booth was not the assassin
of Lincoln, but that the man King
committed the crime; that after shoot
ing Lincoln he leaped upon the stage
of the theatre ard passed out at the
: back door where Booth was with the
: horses.
The two rode rapidly TO the resi-
dence of Mr.. Seward King dismount-
ed and went in, and attempted TO kill
Seward. He then returned to Booth
and the two made their escape through
Maryland on horseback, and thence
: TO Canada, aud soon after they went
TO Cuba, where he separated from
Booth in the spring of 1866 and came
to Kentucky. He called the attention
of the two Generals to the fact that
no proof had ever been made identity
ing Booth with the killing, except the
testimony of Laura Keene, an actress,
who, he stated, was personal enemy
of Booth. She stated she recognized
Booth as the man who jumped upon
; stage with the drawn dagger. King
said it was not Booth, but him. He
, also said that Mrs. Surratt knew moth
ing of the conspiracy, and he gave in
formation TO the said official where
certain papers could be found that
would throw light upon the subject.
All this has appeared in the ncwspa-
pcrs heretofore, and may be taken for
what it is worth.
= Now. as one who is somewhat in
D the habit Of looking closely into facts
and the circumstances surrounding
complicated cases, | propose TO call
your attention to certain facts that
have an important bearing upon the
whole question as to the probability
! Of Booth not having been the man
} who was shot in the barn when Har-
rold was arrested The history of the
matter, as given TO the public at the
. time, is that Harold was arrested and
Boston Corbett had shot Booth ; they
put the dead body in a wagon, and
: proceeded with it TO Washington city,
the news OF their success having reach
ed Washington before them. Baker,
. the Chief Detective Of the Secretary
of War, Mr. Stanton, went to meet
/ the party who had killed Booth and
; captured Harold Upon meeting
them, Baker and Corbett took posses
sion of the reputed dead body Of Booth,
and as they say buried it in some Sc
cret place, that is known to no person
living except Baker aud Corbett, and
/, they both took a solemn oath over the
grave they would never reveal the
burial place. A large reward had
been offered by the government for the
apprehension OF Booth, aud this being
the case, docs it not seem most natu-
: raj that if the man who was killed IN
the barn was Booth, that Baker and
Corbett would have carried the body
to Washington city, where the body,
IL that of Booth, could have been iden-
tilted by thousands who knew him,
and thus shown themselves entitled to
= receive the rewardy
Where is the testimony showing
any proof of the statement Of Baker
and Corbett that the body buried was
that of Booth lt is not even assert
cd that Harold confessed that il was
Booth. He stated that he was with
Booth at the back door of the theatre,
but docs not say that il was Booth
who was killed in the barn.
The paper stated that after Gen. J.
C. Davis received the confession Of
the man King, he forwarded il to the
Secretary Of War. Since that time
the public has learned nothing Of the
matter, and the question is, what has
become of King, and if the papers
which he referred Gen. Davis TO have
been found, what light do they throw
on the suhiectY = That matter is now