The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1882-02-01

some New Facts About the Dealh Of wilkes
Booth.


The following is from the letter of o
correspondent who has visited tho
Garrett farm, where John Wilkes Booth
was shot: William Garrett is, should
Judge, approaching thirty-fve years of
age. He is O rather tall, slender man,
with full suit of black whiskers. He
is q farmer, and was dressed as became
his vocation.
ct have been over to visit your old
home and gather some points about the
death of Booth, and have come to visit
you for the same purpose"
"Those we're serious times indeed" /"
he replied, '' and il has always been a
wonder to me that the real facts about
his soiourn at our house have never yet
been truthfully told. I was Booths
constant companion nearly all the time
he was at our home. Between o'clock
and o'clock on the afternoon of the
18th of April, Captain Jett brought
Booth TO our place. He told father
that Booth was wounded Confederate
soldier; that he had surrendered with
Lees army, and that he had gone to HE
home in Maryland, where they had de-
manded that he take the oath of alle-
glance; that he would not do this and he
was now making his way back to ioi0
Joe Johnston's army in North CAROL
Father said that he would of course
what he could for him, and he too
him in. I came home shortly after
ward and was with Booth almost con-
stantly until he was shot,"
"Whst was the general tenor of his
conversation {"
"Whatever he had to say was about
the war. He never alluded to the as
sassination of the President. He reiter-
ated the story that Captain Jett had
told my father, and he also said that he
had been engaged in the riots in Balti-
more when the Massachusetts troops
were fired upon. Although he talked
SO much of the war could not ascer-
tain what regiment he belonged to. l
had been Confederate and had Con-
federate uniform, which he wanted, and
agreed to exchange with him
al am going back into the army and
need your uniform, and you are going
to be citizen and need my citizens
clothes, he argued
"Myr - said Mr.. Garrett, with shud-
der, "what narrow escape had. Sup
pose Booth had been captured with my
uniform on, and had been found in
possession of his clothesY
'Was he we'll dressed?"
Not particularly. He had on very
good suit Of clothes for those times,
and l thought was making q good
bargain by trading my old Confederate
uniform for them
"Was there nothing in his manner
which led you to suspect that he was
not what he represented himselft to be?
Nothing whatever. The last night
he was at our house he slept in the
room with my brother and me, but he
had very little to say. The next day
he and were around all day together,
and yet suspected nothing. / had
pistol, and we went out to shoot at
mark"
"Was he good shot?'
''He claimed to be, and said he would
shoot five balls in succession through a
knothole in the gate some two inches
in diameter. He took position about
two rods off and fired all the five shots,
and then sent me to see the result. 1
could find where any of the balls had
struck, and Booth said he had put all
the five balls through the knothole.
When we came to examine the pistol,
however, to reload it, we found all five
balls still in the pistol. the powder
having exploded without driving out
the bullets. He laughed as heartily as
I did at the fizzle, and we tried no more
Workmanship"
"Were you the one who brought the
paper announcing Lincoln's assassina-
tion ?"
''No, sir; that was my brother Jack.
We were all ut dinner when that oc.
CURED. Brother Jack said that the
President was shot and that 800, 900 re-
ward had been offel I for the appre-
hension of his m derer. said
Gracious don't wisn he would come
this way and 1 could capture him
Booth turned upon me and said with
great earnestness
"'Would you betray him for 500, 900
if You could ?
"'I would, indeed | replied: $780,
600 is a great lot of none >
"Booth turned away and became
thoughtful, and had very little to say
after that Some time after Harold
came from Bowling Green, and they
went away to the woods together. Be-
fore they returned father had deter
mined that they could not remain in the
house over night. He had become con-
vinced that they were some kind of
suspicious characters. We imagined
that they were members of Mosby's
gang and might steal our horses. When
we told them they could not sleep in
the house they asked if they could not
go under the house. Father said that
would not do, as the dogs would get
after them.
"'Let us 60 out into one of the out
buildings said Booth. Father finally
consented to this, and they went out
into the barn, which was filed on one side
with corn blade fodder and on the other
with farming utensils and lot of fur