Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-04-21
}. WILKES BOOTH,
His Flight from Washingto!


readers an account of the last hours
of the unhappy man whose name
heads this article. In this we will
tell what we know of his escape
from Washington, and his where
abOuts during the two weeks that
had elapsed between the shooting
of President Lincoln and the death
of his murderer. The details of the
death of the President may have
been read by most of your readers,
but many, no doubt have forgotten
the circumstances, and others per-
haps have never heard of the fatal
conspiracy formed by that little
band of mistaken men, who thought
perhaps to make themselves famous
by the preparation of a deed that
has no parallel in the history of ma
tiOns. As TO who was the inStiga-
tor of the conspiracy, or whose brain
first gave it birth, we have nothing
10 say; that is one of the secrets
which perhaps will never be known
until the day when ''all secrets shall
be revealed" enough to say that no
sensible man for moment would
harbOr the unjust suspicion that the
leaders of the then dying cOnfeder-
acy ever even heard of the plot,
until the news was carried ON the
wings of the wind, that the nations
head lay dead in Washington
Who for Il moment could harbor
such a thought Ofsuch men as RObt.
j.. Lee, Alex. Stephens or Jefferson
Davis? No! the plot was formed
and executed by none but those
mistaken souls that have paid the
full penalty of the law. What might
have been their motives we know
not. Whether they thought to sac
rifice themselves like Curtius for
their cOuntIy's good, or whether
they thought to make themselves
famous, we know not. If we are
10 judge by the dying words of the
slain actor i'm the hOTrid drama, we
must say that the former was his
motive: "Tell mother / died for
my country" Mistaken devotion
1t was ON the night of April 18th,
1865, that the President was shot.
He was in private box in the the
atre. BY some means the cOnspira-
tors had cOntriVed to have a hole
bored in the rear door of the box,
and through this little corridor i'm
rear of the boxes, the President was
shot. After shooting him Booth
sprang through the front of the adj
joining box upon the stage. As he
sprang upon the stage he hung his
foot in the folds Of Il United States
flag, which hung just under the box,
and falling, broke the small bone of
his leg. Though the pain must
have been intense, he sprang up and
waving his hat to the audience cried
out, ''ISic .Sempe,' Tyr0jWjS," ''Nir-
ginia j. avenged" rushed out OF the
stage door, mounted a horse that
was i'm waiting, and was soon gal
Looping out upon the road leading
into Maryland.
OF his ride from Washington to
DIR. Mudd's we know nothing, but
after reaching the Doctors, his leg
was 50 painful that he had to stop.
Here he stayed for eight days while
the Doctor exercised all his skill in
healing the broken limb. Here he
was Joined by Harold. Finding the
neighbOrhOOd getting too warm for
them, owing to the troops that were
securing the country in every di-
reCtiOn, they determined to go fur
ther South. Crossing the Potomac
in an open boat, at midnight, on
the dark and stormy night of the
2ad, they landed in King George
county, Va. Striking across the
country toward the Rappahannock,
they encountered two Confederate
soldiers, Capt. Jeth and Lieut.. Rug
giles, who provided horses for them
and pilOted them to the ferry at
Fort Conway. 1t was here that the
impetuOus and incautiOus Harold,
while waiting for the boat, divulged
their terrible secret to MeSSTS. Jpth
and RuggleS. The latter gentleman
came to the determination mt once
that the sooner they got them off
their hands the better. So after
crossing the river into Port Royal,
they tried at several houses to get
quarters for them, but did not sue
ceed until bringing them to my
father under fictitious names, and
introducing Booth Is a wounded
soldier, they were rid of their troub-
leSume companion. Jcth and Rug
gles went ON t. Bowling Green,
taking Harold with them. The
latter, rs we said before, came back
the next evening. MANY have won
v I
and HarOld1 were 50 rash rs To stop
at Il place so near the public road as
ouV-. Our theory i, that they did
80 because they could do no better,
being out of money and afraid to
tell who they were. Then, ii must
be remembered that Booth was Sc
verelv crippled, had his lee in Splin-
ters, and was walking on crutChCS.
And then we suppose the poor fell
low was i'm despair; had probably
given up all hope of his life. But
Lye must 90 back and tell how he
was
TRACKED TO HIS DEATH.
Tnmediately after the shooting of
i,,coIn hodies of troops with eXpe-
,.innced detectives were dispatched
trono Washington i'm every direc-
-, one detachment in command
r 80, C,onper. with Lieut.. CATER
". CoIl Baker AZ detective, by /
.'',,,,o means struck the right trail |
and tracked him to Dr. Mudu :; /
;There they found the man ThaT had
ferried the fugitives over t1e roo.
mac. Crossing the river neIS, II
,ras an easy matter TO tract tneIli
ocross the country to the Kappahah.
, ,'I. where they found out that
i Iefb and Ruggles had passed over we .
I'LL two men who answered eXaclly
~ tbe description given: Anu .i nov 1
10 trail was warm. inspired p4
III IN tremendous reward the hopes % |
III ~ ,,nrsuers beat high, for they ielt
IN ny gan1e was almost theirs. vi
the s anIe nassing in their excited
t they, n l,,itblin 4 half mile Of the prize
i hasre s mr. but here the sleutn |
they 81 soT Missed the trail, for it was
n n,11L f5e pilot, and not the prey that that
only o. aI1 on But only for few
I haa gV SVes the end postponed, for Il
was short work to 2ef 70 and N i looking
into the mouths Of a dozen PisVOA'