The Sentinel. [volume] (Trenton, N.J.) 1880-1882, 1881-09-24
HIS LAST HOURS.
"A Detailed Account of Presi.
dent Garfield's Death,
THE NEW PRESIDENT.
How General Arthur Was Sworn Into
Office in New York City.

4 LONG BRANCH. September l9.-The
4 PRESIDENT of the United States died to.
light unexpectedly at 1895 o'clock.
between 8 and 10 O'Clock almost all the
correspondents who had been closely
watching the case left the Elberon and
I Went to the West End to finish their
dispatches and place them upon the
wires there. The information that the
President was sinking fast was sent to-
i the West End hotel at 10:45. At once
the correspondents and others fastened
70 Elberon. When they reached that
pot no particulars could be learned.
At first Warren Young had brought the
news across the lawn to the hotel. At
ll:05 Attorney General MacVeagh ap
peared in the hotel, took possession of
the Western Union wire in the name of
the government and sent to Vice. resi-
dent Arthur dispatch informing him in
the briefest manner that the President
was dead. and saying that he would att
once consult the other members of the
cabinet. The members of the cabinet
were at once summoned. In few min
utes, having started from the West End
tefore the reception of the summons,
they were at Elberon, and, arm in arm,
they walked across the lawn in the
darkness to the Francklyn cottage,
where the dead President lay.
At 11:O2 Attorney General MacVeagh
came to the Elberon hotel and made
the following statement: 81 sent my
4aicYnofnh %a NJi,,.cfov 81 1nI
o'clock. Just before that DR.. Bliss had
seen the President, and had found that
his pulse was 106, and that all his con
ditions promised quiet night. He
asked the President if he felt uncom-
Portable anywhere, and the President
answered, Not at all Soon afterward
the President fell asleep, and DR.. Bliss
retired to his room across the hallway,
while General Swain and Colonel
Rockwell remained with the President
About 1915 o'clock the President said
great pain, laying his hand near his
heart. DR.. Bliss was Immediately called
for across the hall, and when he entered
the room he found the President
Unconscious and substantially without
pulse, while the action of the heart
was almost indistinguishable. He
said at once that the President
was dying, and directed them to
send for Mrs. Garfield and Drs. Agnew
and Hamilton. The President re-
NAMED in dying condition until 1895
o'clock, when life was pronounced to be
extinct. He died of some affection of
the heart. It was supposed that neu-
ralgia of the heart was the cause, but
i of course, that is not certainly known as
syet. I have notified the Vice-President
/ and have endeavored to notify Secre-
jtaries Blaine and Lincoln, who are on
the track from Boston to New York"
The other members of the Cabinet were
called from West End and are now in
consultation.
The following persons were present
when the President breathed his last:
Drs. Bliss, Agnew and Hamilton;
Mrs. Garfield and her daughter
sMollie; Colonel Rockwell, 0. G. Rock
well, General Swain, Dr. Boynton,
Private Secretary J. Stanley Brown,
Mrs. and Miss Rockwell, Executive
Secretary Warren Young, II. l.. Atchi-
son, John Kicker, S. Lancaster, and
Daniel Spriggs, attendants, the last
named colored. Ef.
Mrs. Garfield sat in chair shaking
sconvulsively. and with the tears pouring
down her cheeks, but uttering no sound.
After awhile she arose, and taking hold
of her dead husbands arm, smoothed it
up and down. Poor little Mollie threw
herself upon her fathers shoulder on
. the other side of the bed and sobbed
as if her heart would break. Everybody
else was weeping slightly. At midnight
Mrs. Garfield was asked if she would
like to have anything done, and whether
she desired to have the body taken to
Washington. She replied she could
not decide until she became more COM
posed. A dispatch was sent to W. 81.
Crump, the custodian, of the White
House, announcing the sad news. J
Attorney General MacVeagh was the
first member of the cabinet to get the
news. He ran barebeaded through the
darkness across the lawn from his cot
tage to the Francklyn cottage, followed
by his wife, and the first dispatch of
sympathy received came from General
Arthur, @o,a 4ia. .'it