News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-04-17

HOW WILKES BOOTH CROSSED THE
| POTOMAC RIVER.
| A Broken Link In the Story of the Great
| Lincoln Assassination now Recovered.
An interesting feature of the April
| Century is George Alfred Townsend s
account of s'How Wilkes Booth crossed
the Potomac" There is gap in the
history of Wilkes Booths crime, be-
tween his disappearance in the pines of
southeastern Maryland and his reap
pearance in Virginia, where he was
killed, and this article (the information
of which was supplied by Thomas A
Jones, an actor in the escape), 1T Is be-
lieved closes this gap. Jones's first en-
counter with the fugitiyes is described
as follows: "Booth and Herold were
sent into the short pines, and there
Jones found them. He says that as he
was advancing into the pines he came
upon bay mare, with black legs, name,
and tale, and a white star on the fore
head; she was saddled, and rowing
around in little cleared place as if try
ing to nibble something to eat. Jones
took the mare and tied her to tree or
stump. He then advanced and gave
what he calls the countersign, or whistle,
which he does not precisely remember
now, though he thinks it was two
whistles in peculiar way, and a whistle
after an interval The first person he
saw was Herold, fully armed, with a car
bine in his hand, coming out to see who
it was. Jones explained that he had
been sent to see them, and was then
taken to Booth, who was but few rods
further along.
''Booth was lying on the ground,
wrapped up in blankets, with his foot
supported and bandaged, and crutch
beside him. His rumpled dress looked
respectable for that country, and Jones
says it was of black cloth. His face
was pale at all times, and never ceased
to be so during the several days that
Jones saw him. He was in great pain
from his broken ankle, which had suf-
fered fracture of one or two bones i'll
the leg, down close to the foot. 1t
would not have given him any great
pain but for the exertion of his escape,
which irritated it by scraping the ends
of the broken bone perhaps IN the flesh;
it was now highly irritated, and which
ever way the man moved he expressed
by twitch or groan the pain he felt.
Jones says that this pain was more or
less continuous, and was greatly aggra-
waited by the peril of Booths situation
unable to cross the river without as
sistance, and unable to walk any dis
tance whatever. Jones believes that
Booth did not rise from the ground at
any time until he was finally put on
Jones's horse to be taken to the water
side some days afterward.
''Booth's first solicitude seemed to be
to learn what mankind thought of the
crime. That question he put almost I'M
mediately to Jones, and continued to ask
what different classes of people thought
about it. Jones told him that it was
gratifying news to most of the men of
Southern sympathies. He frankly said
that he himself at first regarded it as
good news; but somewhat later, when he
saw the injurious consequences of the
crime to the South, he changed his
mind. Booth desired newspapers if they
could be had, which would convey to
him an idea of public feeling. Jones
soon obtained newspapers for him, aud
continued to send them in; and Booth
lay there, where the pines were so thick
that one could not see more than thirty
or forty feet into them, reading what the
world had to say about his case. He
seemed never tired of information on
this one subject, and the only thing be-
sides he was solicitous about was to get
across the river to Virginia.
'Jones says Booth admitted that he
was the man who killed Lincoln, and
expressed no regret for the act, knowing
all the consequences it involved. He
said if he could only get to Virginia he
told him frankly that he would receive
no medical attendance in Maryland.
Said he: The country is full of soldiers,
and all that L can do for you is to get
you off, if L can, for Cox's protection and
my own, and for your own safety. That
I will do for you, if there is any way in
the world to do it.
"When I received this account from
Mr.. Jones, / asked him question after
question to see if could extract any in
formation as to what Booth inquired
about while in that wilderness. / asked
if he spoke of his mother, of where he
was going when he reached Virginia, of
whether he meant to act ON the stage
again; whether he blamed himself for
jumping from the theatre box; whether
he expressed any apprehension for Mrs.
Surratt or any of his friends in Wash
ington. To these and to many other
questions Jones uniformly replied: No,
he did not speak about any of those
things. He wanted food, and to cross
the river, and to know what was said
about the deed Booth, he thinks,
wore slouehed hat. At first meeting
Booth in the pines, he proved himself to
be the assassin by showing upon his
wrist, in India ink, the initials J. W. b.
He showed the same to Captain Jett in
Virginia. Jones says Booth was de-
termined man--not boasting, but one
who would have sold his life dear. He
said he would not be taken alive"
Politics i'm Mexico.
AInvinn hns no rnlitical cnnrnntin,,o