Iron County register., 1885-04-23
ASSASSINATION OF LINCOLN.
Story of the Man Who Was In the Box
Office.

The Washington EUening Critic of
April 18th publishes the following in
.teresting interview relative to the as
sassination of President Lincoln. Mr..
Harry Ford, ho is managing the Ope-
ra house in this city, is a brother of Mr..
John II. Ford who owned the old Tenth
Street theatre Mr.. John Il. Ford on
the night of the assassination was in
Richmond visiting friends. Mr.. Harry
Ford was i'm the noX-otfice. Wi h him
were J. s. Sess Ford. who is also con-
nected with the present Fords, and the
husband OF Laura Keene. Miss keene
was then playing an engagement on
Tenth street, the piece for that night
being "Our American Cousin.' Mr..
Ford had invited the President and
Gen. Grant to attend the performance.
The National theatre had a so extended
to them similar invitation. Mr.. Lin
coin accepted Mr.. F0rd's invitation.
Gen Grant could not do SO because he
had left that day 10 visit his mother,
who was living in New Jersey. Said
MIR. Ford to-day: Booth, YOU see. as
an actor and friend of the house, had
the full run of the place. He could go
anyWh here he wanted to. 1t was the
easiest thing i'm the world for him to find
his way without hinderance and with
out difficulty to the Presidents box.
told him that we expected President
Lincoln and Gen. Grant at the play
that night. | also told HIM that We
were going to have those two dstin-
guished men on one side and Gen. Lee
on the other. Booth broke into de-
nunciation of Lee for having given up
the sword of Virginia, which he had
oI fn "a hn
ever, showed no unusual excitement
"Dld you see him when he came to
the theatre in the evening"
Yes: he came in about s O'clock. He
stopped at the bux-otfice and chatted
few minutes. He laid cigar stump
on the ledge in front of him saying
with a laugh as he did so: He who
would this stump displace must meet
J Booth face To face"
"When did you next see him?n
"After the shooting. We heard the
shot in the boX-office, but paid no at
tention to it ut first. If you recOilect,
there is a scene in Our American COus-
in in which Sir Edward Trenchard
puts pistol to his head with suicidal
intent. The pistol is snatched from his
hand. We i'll the box thought that the
pistol had gone off accidentally, but the
noise aud confusion which followed,
aud the RENE mt,rance that the attempt
ell sui ide did not take place until the
third act made us change our minds.
! threw open the wicket looking from
the box office upon the stage. Booth
was cruuched on the stage witt, a knife
i'll his hand. He was urouched upon
his side, saw him g,t up ami run
across The stage, from the rear of which
he made his escape. No, | did not hear
the words, sac seMper tyydnnus They
were used by Booth III the box. l do
not think that there is any doubt that
Booth Injured himself W hen he jumped
from the box. | lad, in the abs ence of
the man who usually attended to such
matters, arranged the box during the
day. | .,ad procured the loan OF flags
from the treasury department, and
had hung in front of the box picture
of Washington. Booths spur caught
i'll that picture. 1t was ripped down
several inches.n
"When you saw Booth crouched on
the stage did you suspect what had oc-
curred?'
"No; we thought,that there had been
fight and that Booth was in it. We
thought that someone had shot at him
and that he had drawn his knife in self
uCichCC. AS SA'pI dS we ItdEileu Tic
facts, and We were but a short time do
ing sol came to the conclusion that
/ have ever since held-that Booth iu-
tended that knife tor Grant,
in rushing from the building did
not Booth injure someone eiss?"
"Ies, he struck at Withers, the lead
er of the orchestra who had gone under
the stage at the close of the act and
who encountered Booth. The latter