Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1876-06-08
A SHOCKING STORY RETOLD.

1t was beneath a bright summer sun
that Mary f. Surratt was murdered
The press of the United States was am
/ ply represented. a majority of it ap-
/ plauded the cowardly crime. When
the improvised trap fell, and swung
back, and left her body dangling life
less on the fatal rope, there were pres
ent generals and officers of the nation
bearing its uniform, whose buttons and
shoulder straps glittered in the bright
rays. Save good Father Walter, no
voice uttered God bless herv' as she
fell. The soldiers that paced the top
of the surrounding walls made no sign.
Several turned away their heads, sick
cned 10y the sight, and awed to see a
deed done IN the nineteenth century
that in the fourteenth would have been
delegated to the secrecies of dungeon
or the knife of a solitary bravo.
Women have been murdered before
jealousy, drunkenness, despair, a
maddened cupidity have all in turn
murdered women. Never before was
hero called in the bright and open dav
TO see such deed done. Hancock was.
He obcved the call. and saw that the
hangmen were protected, that the as
sassination was not interrupted. How
his spirit rebelled at the task was writ.
ten Oh his broad face. The writer saw
it there as in book.
1t was in the old Arsenal penitentia-
nv yard, in Washington. in the inner
yard. that they strangled this woman.
The arsenal and penitentiary face and
terminate at Four and-a-half street,
which stretches to it from the City Hall.
They have erected there since then a
statue of Lincoln. Were it the man
himself he might see the site of the
murder committed in his name from
the paltry pedestral on which it is
raised. The outer gate of the arsenal
faces that statue at the other end Of
the long. wide street exactly. From
the gates to the old peniteutiary, where
the mockery of the trial was PLAYED, runs
a broad and gravelled path. This path
turned around the penitentiary walls,
and led to the gate of the yard where
stood the scaffold The walls of the
penitentiary formed two sides of the
yard, aud the other two were walls built
to close the yard, and these stood some
fifteen feet high. Upon the walls sen-
tries were placed.
Fronting the wall that ran ut right
angles with the end of the penitentia-
~ stood strange, weird. looking struc-
ture. The one end of it had ladder
that reached TO the ground; beyoud
that end, some twenty Yards, was q
small iron door that opened into the
Penitentiary-in one Of those lower tier
of cells beneath raised and replaced
flag, were rotting the remains of John
Wilkes Booth. This wooden structun
was the scaffold. 1t consisted Of a
platform. resting on square wooden
posts. The front part of the plltforu
was attached to the back part by hin.
ges, and this front rested on post.
which its weight held in place. Along
the back and solid part of the platform
were four chairs.
Around this yard lounged the cor
respondents, were ranged some soldiers
and right in the middle of the yard
when the writer entered il, stood the
tall and ample form of Hancock in full
uniform.
j General; may so in once more an,
. see the prisoners
mo, sir. One moment-Orderly :
Eyes, sir"
Mount your horse. go 10 the oute
. gate of the arsenal Don't dismouns, bu
keep your eye along Four and . hal