Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1888-03-16

An Attempt Upon His Life i'm 1S6a-The
kidnapping Conspiracy.


81 am reading with n great deal of inter.
est Nicolay and Hays life of Lincoln"
aid Mr.. John w. Nichols, ex- President of
The Omaha Fire Department, TO "A Wheel
ing CIV. Na), correspondent. "The chap
.ers that will most interest me will be
hose relating to his career from 1862 to
1865, and particularly the history of the
assassination. 1t is not generally known
that more than one attempt upon l.incoln's
life was made in Washington, but such is
he fact"
Mr.. Nichols statement interested me
somewhat, and | asked him to explain.
lie then went on and told me substantially
the following story: In August, 1862.
Company *, One Hundred and Fifth
Pennsylvania Volunteers, of which Mr..
Nichols was a member, was detailed as
body guard of President Lincoln. Up TO
'S6l, owing to the vigilance of the guards,
MI Lincoln escaped all attempts at vio-
!vnce. The back of the COnfederacy was
broken, a good feeling pcrvadcd all Wash
ington, and vigilance was considerably re-
laXed. 1t was then conSpiracies were
Matched and Confedcrates ran the city un-
molested. The President and his family
spcnt the Summer months at the Soldiers
Home, about three miles north of the city,
whittier the body guard accompanied
lltIu. II WIS iit CAl-Ablu VI llt L ltNlANbe
to remain late at the Wan Department, and
after his work was concluded he would
ride on horseback to the Home. That
Summer he had pcrsistcntly refused an
escort, imagining himself perfectly Sc
cure.
one night about the middle of August
Mr.. Nichols was doing sentinel duty at the
large gate to the grounds of the home.
About IL o'clock he heard a rifle shot, and
shortly aftcrward Mr.. Lincoln dashed up
~ the gate on horseback. The President
was barcheadcd, and rs he dismountcd he
said referring TO the horse: He came
pretty near getting away with me, didn't
her He got the bit in his teeth before |
could draw the rein" Mr.. Nichols asked
him where his hat was, and he replied that
somebody HAD fired a gun off at the foot
OF the hill, and thar his horse had become
scared and jerked his hat off.
Thinking the affair rather strange, said
Mr.. Nichols, "a corporal and myself went
down the hill TO make an investigation.
1T the intersection of the driveway and
main road we found the Presidents hat
"a plain silk one-and upon examining it
we discovered a bullet hole through the
crown The shot bad been fired upward
and it was evident that the person who had
fired the shot had seCrcted himself close by
the roadside. The next day | gave Mr..
Lincoln his hat and called his attention to
the bullet hole. He remarked rather IN
conCernedly that it was pat there by some
foolish gunner and was not intended for
him. He said, however, that he wanted
the matter kept quiet, and admonishcd US
to say nothing about it. We felt confident
that it was an attempt to kill him. and a
wcll-nigh successful one, too. The affair
was, of curse, kept quiet in compliance
with the Presidents request. After that
the President never rode alone.
Mr.. Nichols then went on to relate the
circumstances OF IL kidnapping conspiracy
which was attempted 10 be carried out next
fall. This plan vas ~unknoWingly frus-
rated 10y the b0dJ gar, vEo-e quarters
were immediately in front OF the south
porch of the Executive Mansion, cqui-dis-
liant between that building and the Treas
ury, State, War and Navy Departments.
just to the east of the quarters was the
guard tent, where Il portion of the guard
remained on duty. Foi reasons then UNI
known TO the guard the tent was moved to
the west end of the gravel walk, in the
rear of the War rpartment. Shortly
aftcrward it was lear ii by the guard that
the very night the tent was moved "a plan
had been laid 10 capture the President as
he should pass along the walk and carry
AAAil ~ liit liOlNt VI III blffls Il MDiOl lOAlS
Rebel, on the bank of the Potomac, back
OF the White House grounds, and thence,
when the opportunity offered, he was TO
be carried To Richmond and hcld.a a hos.
tage. 1t was always believed that the
guard tent to the west end of the walk
frightened the conspirators and thwarted
thcir design.
At another time, not long before this in.
cident, Bourke, the veteran coachman,
who had served through two administra-
tons at the White House, was taken sick
a stranger from Baltimore applied for the
place and succeeded in securing it in the
absence Of Bourke. He did not hold the
place very long, however, as he became
SO domineering and important that he
was intolerable. Bourke was reinstated.
One night, not long after he had been dis
missed, the discharged coachman was dis
covered sneaking about the stable, which
was soon observed TO be on fire. The
whole guard was called out, and by great
exertions saved the Presidential coach and
team, but Tad Lincoln's pony and Col.
Hays carriage team persisted. 1t was be-
lieved that "a plan had been formed for
thism man 10 fire the stables, and during
the excitement cOnspirators were TO rush
into the White House and murder the
President. Mr.. Lincoln, however, rushed
"a Wlb ~ Nlt li0N W Nlt Hitut VI III
fire, and thus frustrated any attempt at
assassination. "What made this appear
more evident, said Mr.. Nichols, was
the fact that after the %incendiary WA
arrested he produced several witnesses who
were employed at Ford's theater, and who
testified that he 0he discharged coachman)
was down in the city during the whole
evening on which the fire occurred. These
were the persons who, in my opinion, laid
the final conspiracy that brought Abraham
Lincoln 10 his grave"
ONE OF The most eccentric rich men 1,
the venerable Benjamin Richardson. III,
is said TO be worth 81 900 900 or more, bu'
ives in a small tumble-down house In
Harlem. lie holds n mortage for $500 00t
against one of the most prominent insur
lpce companies in New York. Mr.
RICHARDSON OWNS the historic " ~ashingtoI
cnseh which lac lois mt Wh.uay.r fb.rs