Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1870-12-16

der the bed, into the wa lrobe, id th
doorway and the passage. and then said
''We will have to be careful; walls hav
ears He then drew his chair close
me and in whisper said it is to captd u
the President and carry him off. to Rich
mond." ''Kidpap President lincoln !!
1 said. I'confess that I stood aghast a
the proposition, and looked upon it as
foolhardy undertaking. To thing of sue
cessfully seizing Mr.. Lincolniatthe Capt.
tai of the United States, surrounded b.
thousands ofits soldiers, and carrying hin
off to Richmond, looked to me like fool
ish idea. | told him as much. He wen
on to tell with what facility he could b
seized in various places in and abou
Washington. As for example. 10 his va
rious rides to and'from the.Soldiers' Home
his summer residence. He entered int,
the minute details ol the proposed captur,
and even the various parts to be perform
ed by the actors in the performance
was amazed -thundersfruck and, il
fact, | might say frightened, at the and a
city Of this scheme. After two day IS re-
Election | told him [ was willing to try it
self-Justifi cation.
l believed it practicable at that time
though I now regard it as foolhardy un.
dertaking. hope you will not blame me
for going thus far. [ honestly thought
an exchange of prisoners could be brough,
about could we have once obtained pos
session of Mr.. Lincolp's person. And
now reverse the case. Where is there a
young man in the North with one spark
of patriotism in his heart who would not
have with enthusiastic ardor joined in any
undertaking for the capture of Jefferson
Davis and brought him to Washington ?
There is not one who would not have done
so. And SO was led on by a sincere de-
sire to assist the South in gaining her in
dependence. l had no hesitation in tax
ing part in anything honorable that might
tend towards the accomplishment of that
object. Such thing as the assassination
of Mr.. Lincoln [ never heard spoken of
by any Of the party. NeUer! [Sensa-
tion Upon one occasion. I remember,
We bad called meeting in Washington
for the purpose of discussing matters 10
general, as we had understood that the
Government had received information that
there Was plot of some kind on hand -
They had even commenced to build a
l. y nj w
tosafds fa1 5he
as though they expected danger from with
in, and not from without At this meet
ing | explained the construction of the
gates, &c, and stated that [ was confident
the Government had wind of our move
ment, and that the best thing we could do
would be to throw up the whole project.
A Dark Hint.
Every one seemed to coincide in my
opinion except Booth, who Sat silent and
abstracted Arising at last and bringing
his fist upon the table, he said: "Well
gentlemen, if the worst comes 70 the worst,
l shall know what to do"
Some hard words and even threats then
pasSeu ueI"eeu hiLn anu Soulo VI 'uo P"i "
Four of US then arose. and saying: I'll
| understand you to intimate anything
more than the capture Of Mr.. Lincoln.
for one will bid you good bye" Every
one expressed the same opinion. We all
arose aud commenced putting our hats on.
Booth pcrceiving probably that he had
gone too far, asked pardon, saying that he
had drank too much champagne" After
some difficulty everything was amicably
arranged, and we separated at 5 O'Clock
in the morning. Days, weeks and months
passed by without an opportunity present
ing itself for US to attempt the capture
We seldom saw one another, owing to tht
many rumors afoat that conspiracy o
some kind was being concocted in Wash
ington. We had all arrangements per
fected from Washington for the purpose
Boats were in readiness to carry US across
the river.
Preparing for Action.
One day we received information tha
the Presideat would visit the Seventl
Street Hospital for the purpose of beinI
present at an entertainment to be givel
for the benefit of the wounded soldiers
The report only reached us about thre
quarters of an hour before the time ap
pointed, but so perfect was our commu
nication that we were instantly in our sad
dies on the way to the hospital This wa
between l and 2 o'clock in the afternoon
1t was our intention to seize the carriage
which was drawn by a splendid pair c
horses, and to have one of our men noun
the box and drive direct for Souther
Maryland yia Bennings bridge We fe
confident that all the cavalry in the cit
could never overhaul u.s. We were Il
mounted on swift horses. besides having
thorough knowledge of the country. it be
ing determined to abandon the carriag
: after passing the city limits. Upon til
celebrity Of our movements We depende
for success. BY the time the alarm coul
have been given and horses saddled, v
: would have been on our way to Souther
Mary land towards the Potomac river. !
our great disappointment, however. I'll
President was not there. but one of tt
Government officials Mr.. Chase. if | mi
take not. We did not disturb him, as '
y wanted bigger chase laughter than
: could have afforded u.s. 1t was certain
: bitter Disappointment, but yet | think