Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1881-07-16
THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION.
The Shooting OF President Garfield
Incidents of the Affair
An EYEWITNESS.

country from venezuela, was present In
the depot at Washington when the Pres
ident was shot. Mr.. Comacho gives the
following account of the attempted as
sassination
81 was in Washington looking after
the interests of Venezuela. i had made
arrangements to visit New York this
morning in company with four lady
friends, members of my family. was
to meet them at the Baltimore and Po-
tomac Railway depot at 9:15 a. m. A
few moments after nine o'clock alight-
ed from my carriage and entered the sta
ton. After purchasing my ticket 1
walked leisurely aboat the depot, when
presently | saw carriage drive up and
two gentlemen alight ths refrom. took
little notice of them at first, but in a
minute / observed that the two men
were President Garfield and Secretary
Blaine.
1.-The President and the Secretary
stood beside the carriage and conversed
together for some minutes, when they
walked into the depot. as they entered
the depot the President and Secretary
both bowed to me. l had just raised
my hat and was about turning around
to look for the appearance of my lady
friends, when suddenly l heard the re-
port OF o revolver.
Quickly / wheeled around, and be-
fore me beheld the staggering form of
the President of the United States. l
also saw the would-be assassin within
few feet of the President. He held
revolver in his right hand. His knees
were slightly bended and he took two or
three hasty steps toward the President
and fred again.
"The first ball took effect in the
Presidents right side and the second
one struck him in the back. When the
second shot was fired the President iell
to the earth. The would-be assassin,
seeing General Garfield fall, turned and
attempted to escape by the B street
entrance.
81 hurried toward that door, and
when the villain saw that intended TO
head him off he turned and ran toward
the opposite door, where he was caught
by number of the employees in the
depot. When the President was shot
and when he fell to the earth he spoke
not word, nor did his would-be muir
derer. 1t was quickly noised about the
at POb th1b AAAC L UCGu SUOb,
and the doors of the depot were imme-
diately closed, in order to prevent the
crowd from rushing in.
When Secretary Blaine heard the
report of the revolver he sprapg toward
the door, but when he realized that the
President had been shot, he ran to his
assistance. At this moment the train
started, and seeing my lady friends
within a car, / ran toward the departing
train and just succeeded in catching the
last car.
1.-The man who shot President Gar
field had a determined look upon his
face and did not resemble q crazy man.
He was calm and resolute, and did not
attempt to run away until he saw the
President fall. F"
THE ASSASSIN.
a Herald interview with Mr.. John
w. Guiteau, well-known life insurance
statistician of Boston, and who is the
only brother of Charles Julius Guiteau,
President Garfeld's assailant, furnishes
information as follows regarding the
author of the crime: Charles Julius was
born in the town of Freeport, ILL.,, in
1871 or 1912 he was one of the chill
dren of l.. w. Guiteau, late cashier of
the Second National Bank of Freeport,
III. Mr.. Guiteau, Sr., who died re-
Gently, gave his boys a common school
education, but their mother dying the
family became separated. As youth
Charles Julius is reported to have been
a good, tractable boy, with nothing to
mark him as either better or worse than
the average of his associates. Several
years before he became of age, and
while preparing for college at the Uni
versity of Michigan, he conceived the
idea of joining the Oneida Community,
and did so. He dwelt there for some
years and finally left because he could
not live up to the restrictions of the
order Full of anger he threatened to
issue a publication exposing the peculi-
arities of that community, but he was
prevented from doing so by an article
written by John FL. Noyes, the recog-
nized head of the community, showing
him up and squelching him completely.
This was some ten years ago. Immedi-
ately afterwards he entered upon the
study of law in the office of George
Scoville, his brother-in-law, in Chicago.
He did not appear to have been distin-
guisheo for honesty, and it is reported
that he was prosecuted and fell into bad
odor in that city on account of collecting
small sums of money which he failed to
turn over to the owners. He eventually
had to leave town. For year or two
past be has been travelling throughout
New England. Guiteau's brother says
further that he never knew Charles was
n drinker or given to ruinous dissipation;
that he has seen little of him for twenty
years, but has often heard from him;
that he has long considered him crazy,
and expected sooner or later, if he lived,
that he would bring up in lunatic
asylum or meet a worse fate; that he
don't believe he had any preconceived
purpose to kill the President, but took
a sudden notion to and fired the shots
that Charles kept himself posted in
political matters, was constant news.
paper reader, and had intense Repub.
lican views that he may have become
interested in the Senatorial fight al
Albany and conceived the idea that the
Presidents death would elevate the
President to the first place, and il
some way decide the contest in favor o.
the "stalwarts ;" that he was crazy
, enough to take the responsibility O.
! executing his self conceived plot ON the
life of President Garfield, and that he
, was too unreliable in every way for any
one to have intrusted him with such al
I