St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-06-10

commission, being city surveyor, did
not move, when l was called by my full
name and was examined by Mr.. Holt.
WAS QUESTIONED ABOUT
the letter, and for the first time the
diary was produced. Mr.. Holt, reading
from 1t what Booth said about having
written and sent letter to one of the
editors of the National Inteliigencer.
asked if l had received it. / answered L
had not, and with some general queS
tons about Booth | left the witness
stand.
resumed my seat and gazed with
mingled feelings of sympathy and hor-
Tor at the prisoners. The weather was
swelteringly hot; their heads were COW
cred completely with heavy padded can
vas hoods, leaving only the eyes, mouth
and nose visible. They were chained
at the feet and l believe, handcutfed,
though | am not sure of that. The eX-
cuse for this torture was the fear that
they might dash their brains out against
the walls of their cells. The sight was
Il Sickening one and j did not long re-
main. Before the execution took place
the priests who attended Mrs. Surratt,
Fathers Walter and Wiget, expressed
their conviction of Mrs. Surratt's inno-
cence. Father Walter was waited on by
Gen. Hardie "a Catholic, l regret to say
with orders from Stanton to cease eX-
| pressing such an opinion or he would
| not be allowed to visit her and admin
| lister to her the rites of the church. The
faithful priest dismissed Hardie and
detied Stanton, and Gen. Hancock was
sent to Baltimore to obtain from Arch
bishop Spalding an order forbiddlng
| Father Walter to make any statement
| for the press, which he had promised to
| do for the National Inteliigencer.
| Preston King took up his residence at
| the White house and prevented Mrs.
| Surratt from seeing Mr.. johnson, and
| tried i'll vain to keep Mrs. Dargles from
performing her errand of mercy. Jim
Lane was another of those who bounded
this poor woman to her death.
The executions were over, and nearly
TWO years after a recommendation for
mercy, to Mrs. Surratt, signed by every
member of the military commission be-
fore which she was tried, with the eX-
ception of one, whose name L think was
Egan, was found hidden in the depart
ment of justice, presided over by
Joseph Holt. He had kept it from the
president, who only by accident heard
OF its existence, and, search being in
man named Wright, a tool and cOnfiden-
clerk of Holt. He was dismissed at
once. Had this recommendation reached
the president, as it should have done,
Mrs. Surratt would have been par
doned and the country spared an in
sdelible blot upon its name OF justice.
have personal knowledge that in all his
after life Mr.. Johnson felt the most
| poignant regret at not having exercised
| the pardoning power in favor of this
woman.
t. Within a very short time after the
death of Mrs. Surratt,
PRESTON KING DROWNED HIMSELF
and Jim Lane cut his throat, and the
that Mr.. Stanton followed their exam
pie.
Now, about the letter.
Late in the fall OF early in the winter
| of 1865 John Matthews, the we'll
known actor and my friend, returned to
| Washington to fulfill professional en-
| gagement. He called on me and said
he had confession to make. He told
me that on that Friday afternoon, about
O'Clock, he with some friends was
walking on the avenue, and when oppo-
| ste the National theater, Wilkes Booth,
who was riding, called him to the curb
and handed him sealed package, and
requested him, if ne did not hear from
HiHl w Iilo COiitIdil, w uellNcI III W me
on the following day. Mr.. Matthews re-
ceived it, put it in his pocket and urged
Booth to join him and his friends in a
| drink, which Booth declined to do, say
ing he was in a hurry, and rode
| rapidly towards the presidents house.
Mr.. Matthews was in the cast of Our
American Cousin" that night, and when
the assassination occurred rushed to the
dressing room to change costume. In his
hurry and nervousness he knocked his
coat from the hook and the letter fell
from hispocket-he had forgotten it
but, replacing it in his pocket, he went to
his room near the theater, locked his
door, opened the letter and readit, and
after some consideration burned it. He
remembered its contents well enough to
repeat them to me at that time, and
the entry in the diary of Booth pub
lished was about what it contained, only
more carefully prepared. The con-
Guiding lines were:
Il know | shall be condemned for my
act at the present time, but am willing
to trust to history and posterity for the
vlndlcatlOn of my name and motives"
This is the whole story of my meeting
with Wilkes Booth on the morning of
the fatal 18th of April, and here | give
all the knowledge [ have of the letter
he wrote. l have never ceased to thank
my friend, Mr.. Matthews, for his inter
position in destroying what might at
the time have been a very dangerous
possession. l have never thought
Wilkes Booth harbored the thought of
assassination. When he left me that
morning, about IL o'clock, he went to
the theater, and there learned that the
president would visit it that evening.
Then and only then did the idea of the
assassination come into his mind.
JOHN f. CoYLE.