Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1881-07-23
CONFESSION OF GCaTTEAU.

| liberty.
CONFESSION OF GUiTTEAU.
United States District Attorney Cork
! hill has furnished the following statement
for publication, relative to Guiteau.
"The assassin, Charles j. Guiteau, came
TO Washington on Sunday evening,
March 9th, 1881, and stopped at the Eb-
bitt House, remaining one day. He then
secured a room in another part OF the
city, and has boarded and roomed at
various places, the full details of which L
! have.
son Wednesday May IS, 1881, the as
sassn determined to murder the Prcsi-
dent. lie had neither money nor pistol
! at the time. About the last OF May he
wtnt into Omeara's slOre, corner Fifteenth
| and + streets, in this city. AMI examined
some pistols, asking for the largest cali
! bre. lie was shown two, similar in cali
bre, and only different in price. On
/ Wednesday, June Sth, he purchased the
! pistol which he used, for which he paid
! $40, he having in the meantime borrowed
/ $50 of gentleman in this city on the
| plea that he wanted to pay his board bill.
! On the same evening about seven O'Clock
| he took the pistol and went 10 the foot OF
.
! at Il board, firing ten shots. He then re-
| turned to his boarding place, and wiped
| the pistol dry and wrapped it i'll his coat,
and waited his opportunity.
| ''On Sunday morning, June II, he WAS
! sitting in Lafayette Park and saw the
/ President leave for the Christian Church,
oil Vermont avenue, and he at once re-
! turned to his room, obtained his pistol,
pnt it in his hip pocket, and followed the
! President to church; he entered the
! church, but found he could not kill him
| there without danger of killing some one
| else. lie noticed that the president sat
near q window after church he made an
! examination of the window and found
| that he could reach it without any trouble
! and that from this point he could shoot
the President through the head without
! killing any one else.
The following Wednesday he went to
/ the church, examined the location and
the window, and became satisfied he
could accomplish his purpose, and he de-
termincd. therefore, to make the attempt
ut the church the following Sunday. lie
learned from the papers that the President
would leave the city on Saturday, the
1 18th of June, with Mrs. Garfield, for
Long Branch. He, therefore, determined
to meet him at the depot. lie left his
boarding place about O'Clock Saturday
morning. June IS, and went down to the
river. at the foot of seventeenth street,
and fired five shots, TO practice his aim
and be certain his pistol was in good
order. He then went To the depot, and
was in the ladies' waiting room of the de-
pot, with his pistol ready, when the PrcSi-
Dental party entered. He says Mrs.
Garfield looked so weak and frail that he
had not the heart to shoot the President
in her presence, and as he knew he would
have another opportunity, he left the
depot He had previously engaged car
rage to take him to the Jail. On Wedncs-
day evening the President and his son,
and, | think, l.. s. Marshall Henry, went
ont for ride. The assassin took his plS-
tol and followed them, and watched them
for some time in hopes the carriage would
stop, out no such opportunity was given.
ION Friday evening, July |, he was sit
ting on the seat i'll tho park opposite the
White House, when he saw the President
come out alone; he followed him down
the avenue to Fifteenth street, and then
kept on the opposite side of the street up
Fifteenth until the President entered. the
residence of Secretary Blaine. lie waited
at the corner Of Mr.. MOrtOn'S late resi-
denCc. corner of Fifteenth and III, for
some time and then, us he was afraid he
would attract attention lie went into the
alley in the rear Of Mr.. Moron's resi-
dencc, examined his pistol and waited.
The President and Secretary Blaine came
out together, and he followed them over
to the gate Of the White House. but Could
gct'no opportunity to use his weapon. On
the morning of Saturday July ,; he break
tasted ut The Riggs House about O'Clock.
lie then walked up into the park and sat
there for an hour. He then took one
horse avenue car and rode to Sixth street,
got out and went into the depot and loi-
tered around there, had his shoes black
encd, engaged hackman for 81 TO take
him to the Jail went into the water-closct
and took his pistol out Of his hip pocket
and unwrapped the paper from around it,
which he had put there for the purpose Of
preventing the perspiration from the
body dampening rhc powder; examined
his pistol, carefully tried The trigger. and
then returned and took seat i'll the ladies'
waiting-room, and as soon as the PreSi-
dent entered, advanced behind him and
fred two shots. These facts, think, can
be relied upon as accurate, and | give
them To the public to contradict certain
false rumors in connection with this
most atroCious of atrocious crimes