The Portland daily press., 1881-12-06
PRICE 8 CENTS.


stuck In his boots. A negro man was pulling
the dried ears from the corn stalks, to antici
| pate the young mans plow
THAT Is Mas'r Garrett" said my negro. II
reckon you might ask him if he has any obiee-
tion to your going to the house."
I accordingly asked that question, and he
said, "None in the world, sir,' whereupon we
drove in through the corn field, turned curve
in the lane and entered an aisle of apple trees
which continued right up to the board fence
enclosing the house yard. At the fence the
lane turned to the right, and IN a few rods en-
tered the barn yard, in which were five or six
wooden cribs or small barns all one story high,
and cider press These little barns rather
pcturesquely extend one behind the other,
and on an open space beyond them are four
blackened posts where bad stood the barn in
which Booth and Harold went to sleep-Booth
for the last time. He never came out again
until paralyzed by the ball of Boston Corbett.
1t had been barn nearly sixty feet square,
used to dry and store tobacco. 1t seems that
after the fu gitives had gone there, the Garrett
family not being sure of their guests, and hav-
ing some horses and stock which they feared
would be stolen, had turned the key upon
Booth and Harold, which was further sub
ject of suspicion among those who thought
that Jack Garrett had betrayed them.
have never seen good picture OF the Gar
rett house. 1t is a frame dwelling. side TO the
'front.' two stories high, with three windows in
line above one story porttco as long as the
house. which encloseS a platform about three
feet above the ground. On this platform are
two wooden bench settees, one under each
window, made by some country carpenter or
by the people OF the house. In the middle Is a
large door with indented panels, which opens
in the center. Broad low steps, three or four
in number lead mp to the porch, which stands
on brick pillars. There are two large brick
end chimneys at the tops detached from the
| house foot or so, as If to protect the wood
from their heat. To the left of the house is q
one story kitchen with quite large window
on the side. Beyond this in the yard is little
house on props, perhaps to keep provisions
from rats. Still further to the left is long
building, one-half logs, the other half frame,
which, suppose, was the servants quarters
and, possibly the kitchen. From the front
steps of the main dwelling broad, level, sandy
walk with a row OF stones on each side, leads
to the front gate, distance of perhaps fifty
feet By the steps on each side is post, on
the top of which Is pot of vines trailing
down. The whole width OF the yard is about
one hundred feet and 1t is pretty we'll shaded
with allanthus trees and with one or two will
low trees, two locusts, one apple, cherry and q
maple tree. On the front porch Wilkes Booth
lay down and bresthed his last, as the soldiers
deposited him. after being shot in the barn.
The day before he was shot Mr.. Bowie, my
host in Port Royal, who was then neighbor
of Garrett. went to the house and took dit ner.
He saw Wilkes Booth lying o 1t in Il va On
his back under the trees keeping cool. Booth
came to dinner and was quite loquacious and
in fine spirits. He had not given them his
address, nor had the people of his house any
idea who Booth was. 1t was understood that
he was friend of the Confederacy, who had
been hurt at some distant point, who was rest
ing until his friends could send for him.
The place was rather retired, even Tor this
country. The apple trees and the wooded ra-
vines on each side of the house, at no great
distance, almost embowered it. 1t stood high
up on the level table land, and in every direc-
tion could be seen the gulleys, at distance OF
half mile or more, giving scanned and
woodland picturesqueness to the prospect
n. xt.otIw IL tafm frsh
on a hill. As far as I could observe there was
no other dwelling in sight.
There had lain down to rest for two days
and nearly two nights the desperate assassin
apparently unconscious that the face OF the
whole world was turned against him, and of
the belief that if he could go little further
into the rebel territory, he would be perfectly
safe from molestation.
content himself in these petty premises, and
had trotted off to Bowling Green, twelve
miles distant to see his ne made friend Jett.
AS we passed out again through the green
field I stopped a moment and asked young
Garrett if he had ever been paid for the loss OF
the barn.
mot cent" said he. "we asked for pay,
but never got it.
Chow old were yOu," said l, sat the time
Booth was killed."
"I was about years DID,"
81 suppose you remember the event perfect
"Oh, yes, sir; think l shall never forget
what happened that night"
"Was Mr. Booth rather nice kind OF q fell
low?"
sYee, sir; thought he was a pretty good
sort of man until / found out who he was"
He then asked me il the murderer OF Presi-
dent Garfield had yet been put on his trial.
The distance from where Booth crossed the
Potomac to Garrett's house is from fifteen to
eighteen miles-at the most not twenty miles
My negro driver said that the two men who
hrOn oh "a
Moore and Jim Thornton. Moore, he said,
died last year, and Jim Thornton was off West
or Sailing" somewhere.
Jett who came back with the troops and
pointed out the Garrett house, has been In
Baltimore in the hardware business. The
neighbors think he got considerable OF the re-
ward, because they say be seems to be doing
well ever since Booths capture.
The elder brother of the youn. Garrett saw
in the field, John Garrett, lives five miles be-
low Port Royal, at farm called Liberty Hill,
on the Rappahannock River, which be rents OF
Gandon & Conover, bankers, OF Freder'eks-
burg. He is now rather stout and we'll made,
and is said to have mules, horses, oxen and
farming implements in good style.
While we were looking at CARROTS house
two women came to the window and watched
us inquisitively. One OF them was the wife OF
the young man in the field, to whom she had
onl recently been married.
We turned into the road at Garrett's gate,
and after continuing about half mile came to
q little decrepid wooden cabin. right on the
road side, with chimney of sticks and plaster
at the end of it, running only part Of the way
to the top. 1t had only one low door and two
windows. Not lar from it, in front OF the
woods, was beautiful holly tree, OF rich
blackish green. Here lived Ned freeman, the
black fellow who furnished the wagon on COM
pulsion for the soldiers to drive the body of
Wilkes Booth to Port Royal, and beyond Port
Royal to Bell Plain, on the Potomac River
where the steamer was ready to take it.
Ned Freeman was paid nothing for his job
He lies buried within few feet of this house,
and saw the grave from where l stood. He
died only last year.
MY driver said that Freeman heard row at
Garrett's and went over to see what was the
matter but negro who was putting up new
log house beside Freeman's old house said that
he had not gone there at all and had heard no
shooting, but that the soldiers and detectives
came and took his wagon and horse and carried
them off.
One young negro fellow asked me il I
thought that Freeman's widow could get any
money for his work that night.
After leaving Freeman's house he went down
a deep ravine, where once was bridge, now
washed away, and corduroys were laid in the
road down to the stream and up the other
bank. 1t was very precipitous and very dan
gerous.
Some distance further on we came to gate
posts, and saw house up to the left, the pro-
prietor of which had lately killed muatto
man for robbing his corn crib. 1t was CHASTITY
story as buo uoSKO toiu IT, tdNOAiAB
this almost barren country.
The man had been awakened in the night by
hearing a sound of some one in his corn crib.
Although little timid, he got up and saddled
his horse and pursued the retreating cart at
once down to the gate. 1t was so dark he could
distinguish nothing but masked figure indis-
tinctly sitting on a cart and driving a horse.
With pistol in his hand ready cooked he rode
towards this phantom which turned around
and fred at him. He then rode up by the cart
and fred shot at the figure and had the satis-
faction of seeing it fall backwards, while the
horse continued on.
He returned to his house and got up in the
morning to follow the cart tracks, expecting TO
find blood tracks somewhere on the road. The
cart had continued right across from his gate to
piece of woods where the mulatto man had
cabin, and there, in front of his own house, the
robber lay dead on his load of stolen corn and
his family were unaware of it. The horse had
stopped in the shafts and waited until morning
and thus the slayer first detected the character
of his victim.
Not much further on the road was an ancient
tavern, called The Trap, once used as Jail for
slaves of the neighboring planters to put their
negroes in when about to be sent to Richmond
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