Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1881-10-11
CONFESSION.

i puEpUTLS " p6s u ubuplUSIhphyA UultenQ,
as dictated by him to a stenographer. His
story of the assasination or, as he prefers to
style it, "the removal of tho President, . is one
of the most cold. blooded accounts of a dread>
full crime that has ever been put on paper.
"My idea, simply stated, !" he remarks, "was
to remove as easily as possible Mr.. James a.
Garfield, a quiet and good-natured citizen of
Ohio, who temporarily occupied the position
of President of the United States, and subs
stitute in his place Mr.. Chester A. Arthur,
of New York.. a distinguished and highly es,
Unable gentleman. Mr.. Garfield I intended
to quietly remove to Paradise, (Which is a
great improvement on this worldly while Mr..
Arthur saved the republic" Aud he adds:
"Not o ;soul in the Universe knew of my
purpose to remove the President. IF it has
failed l shall never attempt it again. Ny
motive was purely political and patriotic, and
l acted under Divine pressure. 1t was the
same kind Of pressure that led Abraham to
sacrifice his son Isaac"
How he logged him everywhere, day by
day, is infinitely told. Finally he heard by
the papers that the President was going to
Long Branch on Friday, and we give at this
point his own narrative of what befell:
81 took my breakfast" he says, sat the
Riggs House about eight o'clock. 1 ate we'll
and fclt well in body and mind. I went into
Lafayette Square and sat there some little
time after breakfast, waiting for nine O'Clock
to come, and then I went to the depot, and
L got there about ten minutes after nine. l
rode there from the park in a bob tailed
car. L left the car, walked up to a boot
black, got my boots BACKED, and inquired
for a man named John Taylor, whom, two
weeks before l had spoken to about taking
me out toward the Congressional Cemetery.
| 1ha to11 ,a kl-k
there, and there were three or four other
haekmen there who were very anxious to
serve me, and finally l noticed a colored
man, and 1 said to him, what will YOU take
me out to the Congressional Cemetery for p
He says, We'll, I will take you out there for
So 'All right said I, eff 1 want to u You
l will let you know
81 then went into the depot and took my
private papers which I intended for the
press, Ciucluding a revised edition of my
Book, The Truth, a Companion to the BIZ
ble, and stepping up to the news stand,
asked the young man in charge if I could
leave those papers with him for a few mo-
ments, and be said certainly : and he took
them and placed them up against the wall
on the top of some other papers. This was
about twenty minutes after nine, and I went
into the ladies' waiting room aud I looked
around saw there were quite a. good many
people there in the depot and carriages out
side, but [ did not sec the Presidents car
riage: I examined my revolver TO zoe that
1t was all right, aud took off the paper that
L had wrapped around it, to keep the moist
ure off I waited FIVE or six minutes longer.
sat down in a seat 10 the ladies' room, an d
very soon the President drove Up. He was
In company with a gentleman who, I UNDER
stood, was Mr.. Bla inc, and I am satisfied
that he was Mr. Blaine, although I did not
recognize him. This gentleman looked very
old, and he had a peculiar kind Of headgear
on, that L did not recognize as that of Mr..
Blaine. The President and this gentleman
drove up in a plain single seated carriage,
with one horse. This gentleman, l think,
was driving. II was a single carriage-a
single>seated top buggy. The President
seemed to BIO in q very earnest aud private
conversation with this gentleman, who evil
IDENTIFY was Mr.. Blaine They sat in the carr
rage / should cay about two minutes thcy
had not completed their conversation when
they reached the depot, and during the in
terview Of two minutes they finished their
convcrsation. During this timo they were
engaged in very earnest and private CONVEX
sation, as I have said
"The President got out on the pavement
side and Mr.. Blaine on the other side. They
entered the ladies' room !; stood there
watching the President, and they passed by
me. Before they reached the depot I had
been promenadiug up aud Down the ladies'
room between the ticket Office door and the
news stand door, q space of some ten or
twelve feet. I walked up and down there
| should say two or three times working nv
self up, as l knew the hour was at hand.
The President aud Mr.. Blaine came into the
ladies' room and walked right by me ; they
did not notice ne, as there wcrc quite a num-
Der of ladies and children in the ROOM"
"There was quite r large crowd of ticket
purchasers at the gentlemen's ticket office in
the adjoining room ; the depot seemed to be
quite full of people. There was quite a
crowd and commotiou around. and the Presi-
dent was in the act of passing from the la
dies room to the main entrance through the
the door. should say he was about four
or i've feet 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.
stood five or six feet behind him. right in
the middle of the room, and as he was in
tho act of walking away from me I pulled
out the revolver and fred. He Strengthened
up and threw his head back, and seemed to
be perfectly beNildered. He did not seem
to know what struck him. 1 looked at him;
he did not drop /; l thereupon pulled again.
He dropped his head, seemed to reel aud
fell over. I do not know where the first
shot hit I aimed at the hollow of his back:
did not aim fer any particular place. but l
knew. if l got those two bullets in his back
he would certainly go. I was in a diagonal
direction from the President to the north
west, and supposed both shots struck"
OVER Fl RIVERA minister who had
lost his child asked another minister to come