The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1884-04-10
Wilkes BOO1n.
The Man Who Carried Food To the Assas.

sin Tells the story Of the Escapc.
The actor. John Wilkes Booth, shot
President Lincoln about 10 o'clock on
Friday night, April u, 1865. Near
midnight he and his uninteresting road
pilot, David l.. Herold, called at Sur
rats tavern, about ten miles southeast
of Washington. aud obtained the arms,
field glass, etc, previously prepared
for them there. Saturday morning
they were Mt DR.. Samuel A. Mu,lds,
twenty miles farther on, where Booths
broken ahkle was set and n crutch
made for him, and that evening the
two fugitiycs were guided in round.
about way to the gate Of Samuel Cox,
n prosperous Southern sympathizcr,
about fifteen miles southwest.
The last witness in Maryland ended
here. The Government, in its prose-
cut;on of the conspirators, took up the
fugitive next at the crossing of the
Rappahannock River, in Virginia, the
oath of April, having failed to trace
Booth single step further in Mary
land, although he did not cross the
Potomac mt Saturday night, April
-. A whole week remains unaccount-
ed for. and for the first time the missing
links of the connection are here nude
public. Probably not half dozen
people IRE alive who ever heard tho
narrative fully told.
Near Pope's Creek, in Lower Mary
land, lived Thomas 4. Jones, and, AS
his place was peculiarly well situated
for easy intercourse with Virginia he
became the ferryman of people who
wished to cross the Potomac, and for
this o.lcnse served term in the Old
Capitol Prison. He was released in
1862, but continued to aid the Confcl-
crate cause in every possible way, being
always in full sympathy with the South.
Jones, who Is still alive, is n man of
hardly medium height, slim and wirv,
with ono of those thin. mournful faces
common to tidewater Maryland, with
high cheek bones, gray-blue eyes, no
great height or breadth of forehead,
and thick, strong hair. The tone of
his mind and intercourse is slow and
mournful, somewhat complaining, as il
tho summer heats had given nervous
tone to his views, which are generally
instinctiy" and kind.
About the third year of the war Jones
understood that very important act
had been agreed upon -- namely: to
seize the President of the United States
in the city of Washington and by rc-
lays and forced horses take him to the
west side of Port Tobacco Creek, about
four miles below the town of that
name, and dispatch him across the
Potomac u prisoner of war. possess
the names of the two persons on Port
Tobacco Greek who, with their sons,
were prominent in this scheme; but the
was given to ME persuades me not to
print them. A person already named,
III Washington, wes in the conspiracy F.:
and it was given out that "the big att
or, Booth" was also in it," Jones
heard of this about December, l>il.
1t was not designed that he should take
any part in the scheme, though he re-
pardcd il as a proper undertaking in
time of war. From the time this scheme
was proposed until the very end OF the
war the batcau which was to carry Mr..
Lincoln off was kept ready, and The
oars and men were ever near at hand to
dispatch the illustrious captive.
That winter was unusually mild. and
therefore the roads were particularly
bad in this region of clay and marsh,
and did not harden with the frost-a
circumstance which perhaps spared
Mr.. Lincoln the terrors of such des.
perate expedition. Inquiries were made
from time to time as to when the thing
was to be done, and it was generally
answered that the roads We're toe
heavy to give the opportunity. The
idea Jones has of this matter is thai
Mr.. Lincoln was to be seized, not OF
his way to the Soldiers Home, but neal
the Navy Yard, and gagged quietly
and the carriage then dri,s 81 across tn,
Navy Yard bridge or tho next bridge
above, while the captors were to point
to the President and wave their hand.
to the guards on the lridgc, saying
The President of the United States.
When We consider that lie was iinall,
killed in the presence of n vast audience
and that his captors then crossed til,
same bridge without opposition al,
without passes, the original schem,
does not seem extraordinary.
Jones heard of the murder of Lincoln
Saturday afternoon, April 10. IT ol
near his own farm of Huckiebeiry
Two Federal officers ol cava'rymel
came 10y on horseback, and one then
said to Jones: is that your boat
piece above here:' YES" said Jones
"Then You had better take good care q
| it, because there are dangerous rcopl,
around here who might take it to eros
the river" That is Just what till
thinking about" sad Jonca, and
have had it pulled NJ TO let nay hlacl
man go fishing for the shad which ar
now running"
The two horsemen conferred togcthe
| n minute or two, and one Of them said
"Haye You heard the news iroa
! Washington No Our Presiden
has been murdered. "Indecd!" sai
| Jones, with melancholy face, rs if h
| had no friend in the world. Yes.
said the horseman; "Presilsn. inco'
was killed last night, and We are look
ing out for the men, who, We think, es
| capped this way.
Sunday morning, the lGth of April
about o'clock, Il young white ma
came from Samnel Cox's to Jones' SEE
ond farm, called Huckl"h"rry, wlic
has been already described as alou
two and half miles lack from the OF
river residence, which Jones had bee
forced to give up when it .Gpl care
probable that the ConfeaeGate caus
was lost. The Huckieberry farm cor
sisted of about 600 acres, and had q
it one-story- and -garret house, with
low pitched roof, end chimneys, al
| door in the middle. There was st.
bic north of the honse, and u har
south of it, and it was only tlree-Qua
ters of a mile from the house - III
] river. which here runs to the north t