Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1875-02-24


coin. lie was EMPLOYED as stage hand
Nv Mr. John 7. Ford, the proprietor Of
Perd,s Theatre in Washington. Ills
duties were to assist in shifting the
s.oDes and doing rough carpenters work.
under the direction Of the carpenter of
Die theatre. He seems to have been an
in,prOyident, good natured. obliging
man. whose chief fault perhaps was his
smdness for liquor.
Bco.b 10 whom he was much attached
had a stable near the theatre, and
Soapeler looked after his horse for him.
The testimony upon which he was con-
v;e,ed was mainly ibis.
On the night Of the murder Booth
rnle I'M 10 the back entrance a. the
tl,antre. and calling Spanrler nave him
hin horac 70 hold hut spaneler having
nj. regular duties to attend TO- inside the
,hs..rs called n hoy known M ..pesnu,
John y TO hold the horse and he went
70 his ordinary business A man by the
name Of sleicsm.p swore tb.t i Bootb
p..sed snangler an biswbv to the theatre
he said to him ..Sed voa1i helm me ali
van c.n Won, Won. ana Sn.nglar s,;d
..ob YES 4 man bv the the name a.
R;tte,s,,uob swors ,ba, ;,umsd;s,Jv
.har tho sssass;na,;on he saw man
runnipr toward .he hack door Of the
theatre simultaneously with his hearing
the cry of The President is shot and he
fRitterspaugb, ran after him but did
not catch him that on his return
snApOler slant him in the face and said
Don't saw which way he went twas
also nroved that he was called on during
the dav to helm to make some alterations
IN tho bo1 tbev were prenaring far tho
President. and he said damn the
President After his ares. and search
;,,r the room tbev found in hi. Garnet sack
arope of about eighty feet long aud this
r.r.s sreneler could not account for. or
show from whom he got it.
There were some other circumstances
given in evidence against him but thew
were even more trivial than those men
toned.
Ritterspsugh's, evidence was contra
dicted by several, who proved that while
Ritterspaugh was vociferating that
Booth had shot the President. Spangler
told him to shut up because he Ritters-
psugh did not know who did it; as no
enc at that time really knew who had
shot the President, it was very natural
in Spangler, to resent the charge against
his friend Booth.
But it is not our purpose to review
the case of Spangler, but only to men
ton one circumstance, which in spite of
the solennity attending his trial. had a
strong smack Of the lndicrous
When Spangiers carpet-bag was
searched it was found to contain nothing
but a quire Of paper, shirt collar, and
a rope about eighty feet long.
Now it had been proven that Harold
one Of the conspirators had left a rome
At Surattsyille previous to the assassina-
ton Every man therefore who was in
che employ of Booth and had a rome
VAS strongly suspected of being a CON
snirator There was a small faw in tho
lag;e bpt the reasoning snswerad !,
,;,nes If great excitement Resides ii
va, asked wby did he keen the rome in
his earpet-bar. men were examined who
said that the twist was taken out ,f
the rope (what that meant we never en-
tirely understood: but we saw the rome
and ii looked to us very much like any
other rope of same size and length y
Old man Spangler was asked to prove
where he got the rome and he could not
do it. 1t looked very much at one time
as if the old saying give him rope