Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1881-10-11
NO. 239.
Guiteau's Autobiography.

assassination of the President:
"Having heard on Friday from the papers.
and also by my inquiries of the doorkeeper ct
the White House. Friday evening, that the
President was going to Long Branch Satur-
day morning resolved to remove him at the
depot toek my breakfast at the Riggs
House about eight o'clock. l ate well and
felt well in body and mind. went into La
fayette square and sat there some little time
after breakfast. waiting for rine o'clock t.
come, and then went to the depot and got
there about ten minutes after nine. rode
/, there from the park in 'bob-tailef car.
left the car, walked up to a bootblack, got my
boots blacked, and inquired for a man named
John TAYLOR, whom, two weeks before, had
spoken to about taking me out toward tho
Congressional Cemetery. They told me thar
Taylor's carriage was not there, and there
were three or four hackmen who were very
anxious to serve me, and finally | noticed q
colored man, and said to him. What will
you take me out TO the Congressional Gene
terry forg' He says, Well. l will take you
out there for So. 'All right, said I, If l
want TO use you l win let you know At
that moment these other hackmen were press
ing me to get my business, and said to them,
Keep quiet: you are too fast on this, and |
told this colOred man privately that il | want
ed his services would let him know in few
minutes. then went into the depot and took
my private papers, which | intended for the
press, (including a revised edition Of my
hook, 1.-THE Truth, a Companion to the
Bible), and stepped up to the newsstand and
asked the Young man in charge il could
leave those papers with him few moments,
and he said, Certainly and he took them
and placed them up against the wall on top
of some other papers. This was about twen
ty minutes after nine, and l went into the
ladies waiting room, and ] looked around,
| saw there were quite a good many people
| there in the depot and carriages outside, but
did not see the Presidents carriage. ex-
amined NV revolver to see that il was all
| right, and took of the paper that l had
wrapped around it to keep the moisture off,
| waited five or six minutes longer, sat down ona
seat in the ladies' room, and very soon the
| President drove up. He was in company VI ith
a gentleman who, | understand, was Mr..
Blaine, and am satisfied that he was Mr..
Blaine, although l did not recognize him.
| This gentleman looked very old, and he had
| a peculiar kind of head gear on, that did
| not recognize as that of Mr.. Blaine. I am
satisfied that it was Mr.. Blaine now that my
| attention has been specially called TO it. be-
| cause it was the same gentleman that saw
with the President the night before, and l
know positively that that gentleman was Mr..
Blaine. The President and this gentleman
drove up in plain single-seated carriage
with one horse; this gentleman, think, was
driving. 1t was a single carriage-a single.
seated top buggy. The President seemed to
be in very earnest and private conversation
| with this gentleman, who evidently was Mr..
Blaine, although at the time l did not rec
ognize him as Mr.. Blaine. They sat in the
| carriage should say some two minutes they
had not completed their conversation
hou fbay lol tnol md I,e;s
| interview Of two minutes they finished their
conversation. During this time they were
engaged in very earnest and private conver-
| sation, as | have said. The President got
| out on the pavement side, and Mr.. Blaine on
the other side. They entered the ladies room;
I stood there watching the President. and
| they passed by me. Before they reached the
depot had been promenading up and down
the ladies' room between the ticket Office door
and the newsstand door. space Of some ten
| or twelve feet; l walked up and down there,
| l should say, two or three times, working
| myself up, as knew the hour was at hand.
| The President and Mr.. Blaine came into the
| ladies' room and walked right BY me; they
did not notice me, as there were quite a num-
Der of ladies and children in the room.
There was quite large crowd of ticket pur-
chasers at the:gentlemen's ticket Office in the
| adjoining room the depot seemed to be quite
| full Of people. There was quite crowd and
commotion around, and the President was in
the act of passing from the ladies' room 70 the
| main entrance through the door. should saw
| he was about four or Ave from the door
nearest the ticket Office, in the act of passing
through the door to get through the depot
| to the cars he was about three or four feet
from the door; l stood five or six feet behind
him, right in the middle Of the room, and as
he was in the act Of walking away from me |
| pulled out the revolver and fired He straigh-
tened up and threw his head back and seemed
to be perfectly bewildered. He did not seem
to know what struck him. ! looked at him
he did not drop; l thereupon pulled again.
He dropped his head, seemed TO reel, and
fell over. do not know where the first shot
hit; aimed at the hollow Of his back I did
not aim for any particular place, but l knew
| if got those two bullets in his back he
would certainly CO. was in diagonal di-
rection from the President, to the northwest
and supposed both shots struck.
| Twas in the act Of putting my revolver
back into my pocket when the depot puiice-
man seized me and said, you shot the PFes-
dent Of the United States lie was terribly
excited he hardly knew his head from his
feet, and said, Keep quiet, my friend keep
quiet, my friend. want to 90 to iail.' A
moment after the policeman seized me by the
left arm; clinched me with terrible force
Another gentlemaD--an older man, should
say, and less robust--seized me BY the right
arm. At this moment the ticket agent said,
That's him that's him; and he pushed out
his arm to seize me around the neck, and
said, Keep quiet, my friends; want to 20
to Jail : and the officers, one on each eide Of
me, rushed me right of to the police head
quarters, and the officer who first seized me
by the hand said, This man has just shot the
President of the United States;' and he was
terribly excited. And said, Keep quiet,
my friend keep quiet; Ihave got some papers
which will explain the whole matter They
let go Of me and they held my hands up--one
policeman on one side and one on the other
and they went through me, took away my
revolver and what little change / had, my
comb ard my tooth-pick, all my papers, and
gave them my letter to the White House;
told them that / wished they would send that
letter to the White House at once, and the
officer began to read my letter to the White
House, and in this envelope, containing my
letter to the White House. was my speech,
Garfield against Hancock He glaneed his
eye over the letter, and was telling him
about sending it at once to the White House
to explain the matter, and he said, We will
put you into the White HOuseF So / said