The Portland daily press., 1882-02-10
FRIDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 10.
Guiteau Gossip.
The Murderer Losing Hope-Reminders
of the Fate That Awaits Him.
Especial Dispatch to the Boston Herald

Especial Dispatch to the Boston Herald.l
The popular reprobation of Guiteau's crime
is still manifested in different ways. The COM
mon mode of expressing the feeling against
the assassin is to send rope suggestively
noosed. These ropes began to come by express
and mail before the trial and are still coming
in. They have been sent to the district-attor-
ney, to Mr.. Scoville, to the warden OF the Jail,
and to the assassin himself. A little room at the
Jail is strewn with ropes received from various
parts of the country. Some of them are ropes
such as are generally used in executions, with
conventional hangman s HooSes skillfully made.
Many other little reminders of the fate that
awaits him come in the mail of the assassin.
but the warden, as rule, keeps them from his
eyes. Cheap, comic valentines, representing
the gallows with a dangling victim, are also
sent to the assassin. In every nook in the dis
trict-attorney's office can be found some testi-
monial of popular feeling respecting the assas-
sin. Many of the things received have been
destroyed. In one. corner of Mr. Corkhill's
private Office is little heap of ropes. A bum
die of switches was sent to Gulteau from Flor
ida. A citizen of Osceola, Ia, in order to tes-
tify to his feelings in unique way, invested
$3.50 in pair of white kids and fine white
satin tie, the tips of which he dyed blood red
He sent with these a request that they be worn
by Guiteau on the scaffold, the red marks to
typify the innocent blood of his victim. They
now form part Of the district-attorney 8
museum. From Ohio came a little wooden
box opened on one SIDE 1t contains minia-
ture scaffold, on which paper image of man
was hanging, while q score OF paper women
were pulling on the rope. These were, accord
ing to the inscription on the box, the women
of Ohio" Among
OTHER CURIosITIEs
saved by the district-attorney is miniature
scaffold and coffin, very neatly constructed,
and gollow5 tree with an etfigy six or seven
inches long suspended upon it. There is also
q little coffin, the open lid of which exposes a
deaths head. The coffin is inscribed: "Stran-
guIatus Pro Diabolo, 1882 All sorts OF pic
lures, cartoons and letters have been received
and destroyed. During the early part Of the
trial great many gags of various patterns, the
common form being corn cob with strings
tied at each end, were received, with the re-
guest that they be applied to the prisoner.
Some of these have been preserved. In the
same connection may be mentioned various
pots of glue and mucilage, sent with sugges-
ton that Guiteau's mouth be glued up
Many patent medicine men, doubtless with an
eve to an advertisement, sent the district
attorney samples of their wares, proposing
that he dose himself with the mixtures, so
that his health should not fail him until he
had convicted Guiteau. The district-attorney
has also received large amount of confeder-
ate money to be turned over to the prisoner.
One imposing testimonial letter, signed "Citi-
zen," contained one copper penny. to be given
TO Mr.. Scoville to aid in the defence. A letter,
received from New Waterford, CT, yesterday,
n nr0n0g1d tn make for th a
assassin a red, white and blne rope out of silk,
or any other material the district-attorney
might select One of the most CHASTITY
curiosities in the museum is black cap, sent
by an unknown friend of justice. A paper
printed in Italian, received by the district-at.
torney yesterday, contained portrait of that
official, with sketch of his career, over the
title ''H. Colonelo Giorgio B. Corkhill." To
day another rope was received by the district
attorney. This one was from Versailles, Ky.
A letter that came to-day from Chicago sug-
gested, as the proper mode of execution, that
Guiteau be fastened to a rope 300 feet long,
the other end being attached to balloon,
which would give him veritable flight Of
glory" Guiteau, according to Warden
Croker, has become as
DoCILE AS LAMB,
doesn't insist upon havinghis own way as he
did during the trial, and does what he is or
dered to do without murmur. He has lost
much of his accustomed bravado, and does not
become SO excited when in conversation. Gen
Croker states that he does not believe any
man under sentence of death ever more fully
appreciated the awful situation than Guiteau
He has become very much depressed in spirits
and shows it. He behaves with perfect deco
rum, and there is not sign tof insanity in his
conversation or actions. He is denied the
privilege of seeing visitors now altogether,
and this seems to worry him. Yesterday, how
ever, John W. Guiteau, his brother, called at
the Jail to arrange about the prisoners cloth
ing but it being late, he did not go to the cell.
The latter had an interview with his
brother this morning, previous to his de-
parture tonight for Boston. The Jail Of
6cials have taken every precaution
against the occurrence of anything that may
cheat the gallows or anticipate the course OF
the law. The hriek val. as9df6foas aJa6, pre-.
venting the proper ventilation as it did, the
warden arranged to have the prisoner occupy
the adjoining cell (the window of which is not
walled up) during the day, retiring to his own
cell at night. This is to prevent recurrence
of the Serg. Mason affair, for there is sufficient
light in the corridors of the Jail at night to
make any one in front of cell window a good
target to one standing in the darkness. Gen.
Croker says that the conduct of the prisoner
is. and has been since the verdict of the jury,
entirely different. AT no time, except in the
presence of reporters, or those whom he took
to be newspaper men, has he assumed the air
of confidence and bravado that he did before
the verdict was rendered. When conversing
with his brother alone, the warden or any OF
the attaches of the Jail, he talks quietly and
earnestly. He yet clings to the hope that
something may be done in the court in banc,
but Gen. Crocker thinks that he is even fast
losing this hope.