The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-10-08
GUITEAU.
A SCRAP FROM HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY
His Story of the Shooting of the Presi-
dent.

extracts from Guiteaus autobiography which
he has been writing in Jail. In 1t he describes
the events of the morning OF the second OF
III LAYING heard on Friday from the papers,
and also by my inquiries of the doorkeeper at
the White House, Friday evening, that the
President was going to Long Branch Saturday
morning, resolved to remove MIN at the
depot. / took my breakfast at the Riggs
House about eight o'clock. | ate well and
felt we'll in body and mind. 1 went into
LAFAYETTE square and sat tn ere some little time
after breakfast, waiting for nine O'Clock to
come, and then / went to the depot and got
there about ten minutes after nine. rode
from the park in 'bob-tailed' car. 1 left the
car, walked up to boot black. got my boots
BACKED and inquired for man named John
Taylor, whom, two weeks before, had spoken
to about taking me out toward the Congress
sional Cemetery. They told me that Taylor's
carriage was not there, and there were three
or four hackmen there who were very anxious
to serve me, and finally 1 noticed coored
man, and / said to him, what Will you take
me out to the Congressional Cemetery Ior9
He says, well, will take you out there Tor
So IAN right said I, If 1 want to use you
will let you know. At that moment these
other hackmen were pressing me to get my
business, and I said to them, 'Keep, quiet, you
are too fast on this, and L told this colored
man privately that if I wanted his services l
would let him know in few minutes. / then
went into the depot and took my private
papers which intended for the press (includ-
ing revised edition of my book, The Truth,
a Companion to the Bible') and stepped up to
the newsstand and asked the young man In
charge if could leave those papers with him
a 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 twenty minutes after nine, and went
around saw there were quite good many
people there in the depot and carriages out
side. but did not see the Presidents carriage:
L examined my revoler to see that 1t was all
right, and took off the paper that had wrap
ned around it to keep the moisture OFT.
waited five or six minutes longer, sat down on
seat in the ladies' room, and very soon the
President drove up. He was in company
with a gentleman who, understand, was
MIR. Blaine, and am satisfied that he was Mr..
Blaine, although did not recognize him.
This gentleman looked very old, and he had
peculiar kind of headgear on, that did not
recognize as that of Mr.. Blaine. / am Salts
fed that it was Mr.. Blaine now that my atten-
ton has been specially called to IL, because 1t
was the same gentleman that saw with the
President the night before, and know posi-
lively 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 IL was
a single CARRIAGE single seated top buggy.
The President seemed to be in very earnest
in private conversation with this gentleman,
who evidently was Mr.. Blaine, although at
the time 1 did not recognize him as MI
Blaine. They sat in the carriage should say
two minutes they had not completed their
conversation when they reached the depot,
and during the interview of two minutes they
finished their conversation. During this
time they were engaged in very earnest a.; ana
private conversation, as have said. Inc
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. Be-
fore 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; walked up and down there, should
say two or three times, working myself up, as
Fnew 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 number OF ladies and
children in the room.
There was quite large crowd of ticket pur-
chasers at the gentlernen'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 to the
main entrance through the door. should say
he was about four or five 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 the act of walking away from me pulled
out the revolver and fired. he Strengthened
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; / thereupon pulled again. he
dropped his head, seemed to reel, and fell over
do not know where the first shot hit; l aimed
at the hollow of his back; | did not aim for
any particular place, but knew il got those
fxvo hill in his hack bA would certainly CO.
/ was in diagonal direction from the President
to the northwest, and supposed both shots
struck.
into my pocket when the depot policeman
seized me and said, "You shot the President OF
the United States" He was terribly excited; ;
he hardly knew his head from his feet and
said, "Keep quiet, my friend keep quiet, my
friend I want to go to jail" a moment
after the policeman seized me by the left arm,
clinched me with terrible force Another
gentleman-an older man. ! should say, and
less robust-seized me by the right arm. At
this moment the ticket agent and great
crowd of people rushed 1 around me ana me I,
and he pushed out his arm to seize me around
the neck. and I said. "Keep quiet, my friends;
I want to go to jail;" and the officers, one on
each side of me, rushed me right off to the po-
lice headquarters and the offlce 3 VINO 1rst
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; have
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 and my toothpick, all my pa
pers, 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,
Clarified against HANCOCK" He glanced his
eve over the letter. add was telling him
about sending it at once to the White House to
explain the matter, and he said, eve will put
you into the White House." So l said nothing