Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1882-01-12
JOHN WILKES BOOTH.

JOHN WILKES BOOTH.
Interesting Hlstor" of His Flight, Cap
ture and Death:
A newspaper correspondent has been
visiting the locality where John Wilkes
Booth was captured and killed in 1865.
1t was on the Garrett Farm, not far
from Port Royal, Va. One of the Gar
rett daughters tells the story to the
newspaper interviewer as follows:
shall be glad to tell you anything
| know, she said pleasantly, but l was
little girl then, scarcely 8 years old,
yet most of the striking things about
his stay, | can remember as if it were yes.
terday. l shall never forget the day he
came to our house. 1t was about two
or three o'clock in the afternoon, and
the man who brought him said that
he was a wounded confederate soldier,
and asked father to take care of him
until he got so that he could travel.
He was very lame and went about upon
a rude pair of wooden crutches. He
talked very little, and remember dis
tinctly that he impressed me as being
contantly sad. He spent great part
of his time out in the front yard under
the trees-you know he was here less
than two days-but we children
were sbout him nearly all the time.
OF course we were full of romp and
frOlic, and sometimes he would at
tempt TO be cheerful and encourage us
in our play. My little baby sister,
then 4 years old he took a great fancy
to, and used to pet her great deal,
but the rest of us he paid little atten.
tion to and when we would make
noise he would seem disturbed and say,
"Please keep quiet" remember one
very interesting incident that occurred
when he was here. He was lying
prone upon the grass in the front yard,
and we were all playing about him. /
grabbed him by the arm in the game,
and accidently pushed his shirt sleeve
gp to the elbow, and there upon the
forearm saw tattooed the letters, 81.
". b."
"Oh! What are those letters on there
for?" l said, quickly.
"Why, child, those are the initials of
my name-James w. Boyd"
/ remembered then that the man
who had brought him had introduced
him as Mr.. Boyd, and probably would
have forgotten the circumstance but
for the startling events which rapidly
followed it. He had very little to say.
He talked more to my little sister than
to any one else. He called her his lit
tie blue eyed pet, and at the last meal
he took with us she sat beside him in
her high chair. We were all gathered
around tha table, and she began to
make noise; mother spoke up quite
sharply at her, and She burst into tears.
Booth at once began soothing her, and
said: "What, is this my little Blue,
eyes crying?" remember that while
we were at dinner the last day that
! Booth was here, brother Jack came in
with the paper containing the an
: nouncement of Lincoln's assassination
6 As soon as heopened the door he said
"The president has been murdered, and
there has been 100000 offered for the
capture of the assassin" Brother
Will, who sat next to Booth, said
"How wish he would come this way
and could catch him.
Q Booth turned quickly upon my broth
Q er and said: "Would you betray hin
+ for 100000 if you knew him ?
Q Brother Will made some light reply
and Booth turned away and finished
. his dinner in silence.
Did he ever speak of the assassina
. tion of the presidentp
II He referred to it only once, ant
J. never until brother Jack brought tn
y news. Then he said he had heard o.
! it the day before he come to our house
l. but did not believe it.
s. Did he seem disturbed or uneasy an,
n time during his stayP
9 In the afternoon of the second da
u Harold came to our house, and Boot
l. seemed to be very much disturbed b
a his arrival, and took him out to tn
'e left of the house near the fence an
10 had a long conversation with him. H
10 then come back to the porch, and wa
T. standing there in his shirt sleeves whe
IS the soldiers who afterward tried t
~ arrest him passed down the road Il
ot ward Bowling Green. He then SCENE
IL very much worried. l was standin
ID on the porch near my father, who sal
to him: "You seem very much excitet
Have you been doing anything ths
makes you afraid of the soldiersp ]
you haYe you will have to find som
s. other place to stay.
I'd "Oh, no." replied Booth, II did 6,
Or into little difficulty in Maryland, an
le one man / believe was killed, but
k was nothing with which the soldier
could possibly have anything to d
n He seemed so restless, however, thi
it caused remark, and few momen
after the soldiers passed he and Harol
ly walked off toward the woods and d
not come back until nearly dusk.
is was the first one of the children OF
after father was arrested. Father ar
to mother slept in this very room whe
in you are now sitting, and he was ava
ened by a noise at the door whit
ng leads out toward the servants qua
be ters. He opened the door and the sc
I'd diers at once grabbed him and pull,
at him out into the yard. They station,
he soldier in the door, and they wou
he not let any of us out or let us hai
father any of his clothes, for fear,