The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-05-24
C,,rcusnstautiai Evidence.


In Scribnsr for June we find some inter.
es,inr recalections Of Charles sum ner' W
,;s formcr secretary, Mr.. A. B. Johnson.
The following extract is an account (and en-
,,,.na,icn> of the plM (or rather foolish lear
Of p,ss) to assassiss!e Mr.. sumner l" ioo':
simultaneously wi'h the mnrder OF tne
President. two rough. stai"a't hen h'o
GONE twice TO Mr.. Summers roouis' anu 'uIii
s,nsusjous demcapar bad so frightened Tic
wos,en servants who 81" them Iiiat no coh-
cnrrcnt story ha6 been obtainfd from lnem
nc TO the appearance OF The lntrudcrS. Inc
sc,v,nis had been carefully examined and
shcir every wore had been. pbonographed;
drawings of the suspicious visitors had
e,ren made hv artists from the description
shown 10 them. and altered again and again.
These had Then been placed in the hands OF
the detectives, but up TO this time no tidings
had been gained as TO the persons sought.
They Nigh. have come up from hell aud then
gone back there, for all he could learp, the
Secretary said. But SO long as they were
undiscov ered 4 or ut least so long as their
identity was not known, Mr. Stanton thought
il absolutely necessary that some care should
he taken OF Mr.. Sumner. so VIGOROUSLY care
less was he Of his own safety. On hearing
these details, Mr.. Sumner ceased TO demand
the removal Of the guard, though he locosely
professed to be more afraid Of them than
of those thes' were TO defend him against.
Perhaps he bad reason, for the soldiers hsd
Refreshments each night ut bis expense, and
the kind Of refreshments was left to the Sc
lection of the sergeant. But when the lady
of the house permitted her cook to give the
soldiers coffee and sandwiches in the Kitchen
at midnight, instead Of having the refresh
ments served from the neighboring restau-
rant. the guards were less dangerous 10 thcir
friends.
who the no men were that so frightened
fhe servants at Mr.. Summers lodgings, and
bv their Singular actions gave point TO the
suspicious Of the Secretary of War, was
often a subject Of conversation among the
very few of the senator's friends to whom
the incident was known. They naturally
watched the developments made during the
trial of the conSpiratorS. but no conclusion
was reached 1t remained as one OF the I'm.
travelled tangcS OF affairs until after the
senator's death, when / accidentally came
upon the trail which led to the discovery OF
the identity Of the suspicious characters, and
Ireceived from their own lips, they having
little idea Of the 2ommotion their course had
caused. an account Of their visit to Mr.. Sum-
net's rooms on that cventsul night. They
were members Of the Massachusetts deleg2-
lion TO Copgscss-one the hate chalrmen oil
the Committee OF Ways and Means. now Mr..
Summers successor in the Senate, Henry H..
Dawes; and the other his friend MIR. Gooct.
The facts were thus detailed Mr.. Dawes
and Mr.. Gooch had been TO Richmond, and
returning 10 Washington had made tour
of the blttlc.tieldS about Manassas, reaching
hn nf
April, 1865, about sunset. After supper
they started out fora walk, joking each other
as to theirappcarance. And we'll they might.
Their clothing was rough, travcl-worn,
dusty, and even mud-staned, Their hands,
faces, and nccks were much ssun.burned in
spite Of the wde-brmmcd hats they wore.
Each carried a stick or, rather, cudgcl !;
cut as 4 SOuEenir on some battlefield, and
the hair aud beard Of each were longer than
usual, Thus accoutrGd they concluded to
call on Mr.. Sumner. He then had
chambers at the corner Of + and TbiT-
tecnth streets; they knew the house well;
so, without ringing, they mounted the
stairs and raped at his door, using their
sticks. When it appeared that the senator
was out they left his house. and, passing on,
concluded to call on the President. There
again they Were disappointed. for it APP
pearcd when they rung at the White House
that Mr.. Lincoln had gone with some friends
to the theatre. On their way back TO their
hotel they stopped again ut Mr.. Summers
lodgings. and again went up TO his rooms
and raped at his door. The roisc they
made brought servant to the foot OF the
stairs. They leaned over the balustrade and
questioned her. When did the senator 90
out? Did he say when he should return J!
Would it, they Queried between themselves,
be worth while to wait! And then they
laughed at the evident fear the servant had
Of two such rough-ooking customers. AS
they were quite ia'isucd they went back 10
their hotel, and in the morning woke to
learn that while they were last at MIR. Sum.
ncr's lodgings the shot had been fired that
took the life Of Mr.. Lincoln.