The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1875-05-27
c,ecum,rANuAl EVIDENCE.

la saubncr iar Jubo We aud aome 10.
terrstiuE rcoollcetiuus Of Cbsrios samuef,
by bis former Ssgreag, Nr. a, j., Jghu-
son The folloNiu. extract Is au account
(aud eXplauatiou) OF the pioi to assasl
nate Mr. sumner Ia 1865.
simultaneously with the mardCr OF tbc
President, two rough, stajwagt mcu bad
gone twice to Mr. Summers rooms, and
their suspicious dcmeauor had 30 fright
ened the woman servants who saW ibom
that no concurrent story had been OBJ
taincd from them as to The appearance oi
the inlrudcrs The servants bad been
care fully examined sud their every word
had been Photographed, drawings of
The suspicious visitors had been made by
artists from the description shown to
them, and altered again aud again until
they could no longer suggest any change
in form or feature. Photographs OF these
had then been placed 10 the hands Of the
detectives, but up to this time no tidings
had been gained rs TO the persons sought.
They might have come up from hell and
then gone back there, for all be could
learn, the Secretary said, But long as
they were uudiscovered--o at least SO
long as their identity was not known, Mr.
Stanton thought 1t absolutely necessary
that some care should be taken of Mr.
Sumner, SO notoriously careless was he
of his own safety. On hearing these
details, MIR. Sumner ceased 10 demand
the removal of the guard, though he
jocosely professed to be more afraid Of
them than of those they We're 10 defend
him against, Perhaps he had reason, for
the soldiers had refreshments each night
al. his expense, and the kind of refresh
ment was left TO the selection of the Ser
geant, 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 ncighboring res
taurant, the guards were less dangerous
to their friends.
Who the two men were that 30 fright
ened tho servants at Mr.. Summers lodg-
ings and by their singular actions gave
point to the puspicions of the Secretary
of War, was often subject of conycr-
sation among the very few of the Sena-
tors friends to whom the incident was
known. They naturally watched the de-
velOpments made during the trial Of the
eonspirators, but no conclusion was
reached. 1t remained as Que OF the un-
raveled tangles Of affairs until after the
Senator'S death, when accidentally came
upon the trail which led to tho discovery
of the identity Of the suspicious charac-
ters, and received from their own lips,
they having little idea Of the commotion
their course had caused, an account Of
their visit 10 Mr., Summers rooms on that
eventful night. They were Members Of
the Massachusetts, Delegation to Con-
gress-one the late Chairman of the Com
mittee of Ways and Means, now Mr..
Summers successor in the Senate, Henry
l.. Dawes; and the other his friend, Mr..
! Gooch.
The facts were thus detailed: Mr..
Dawes and Mr.. Gooch had been to Rich
mond, aud returning to Washington, had
made tour of the battlefield about
Manassas, reaching Washington on the
night of the fourteenth of April, 1865,
about sunset. After supper they started
out for a walk, joking each other as to
their appearance. And well they might
Their clothing was rough, travel-worn,
dusty, and even mud-stained. Their
hands, faces, and necks were much sun
burned, in spite of the wide-brimmed
hats they wore. Each carried stick, or
rather a cudgel, cut as souvenir on
some battlefield, and the hair and beard
of each were longer than usual. Thus
accoutered. they concluded to call on Mr..
kSumner. He then had chambers at the
corner of Z and Thirteenth Streets; they
knew the house well; SO, without ring
ing, they mounted the stairs and raped
at his door, using their sticks, When it
appeared that the Senator was out they
left his house, aud, passing on, concluded
to call on the President. There again
they were disappointed, for it appeared,
when they rung ut the White House,
that Mr. Lincoln had gone with somo
friends to the theater, . their way back
to their hotel, they stopped again at Nh.
Summers lodgings. and again went up To
his rooms, and raped at his door. The
noise they made brought a servant to the
foot Of the stairs. They leaned over the
balustrade and questioned her. When
J did the Senator 90 outl Did be say when
I be should returuf Would It, they queri.
ed between Themselves, be worth while
TO wait2 Aud then they laughed at The
] evident fear the servant had Of two such
rough.looking customers. As they were
quite istfgued, they went back to tbeii
: hotel, and In the morning woke to learn
that while they were last at SIR. sun
? ner's lodging, the shot had been fired
. that took the life Of Mr. Lincoln.