Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1890-09-24
TIE SIORY REIULD.
s,couut of the Assassination of Lincoln as
Told in the Century"
Graphic Description Of the Scene in Ford's
Theatre at the Awful Momsnt-The Leap

No one, not even the commediau on
the stage. could ever remember the
last words of the piece that were
uttered that night-the last Abraham
Lincoln heard upon earth. The whole
performance remains in the memory
oi those who heard it a vague phan-
tasmagOria, the actors the thinuest of
specters- The awful tragedy in the
box makes everything else seem pale
and unreal Here were five human
beings in a narrow space-the greatest
man of his time. in the glory of the
most stupendous success in our history,
the idolized chief of a nation already
mighty, with illimitable vistas of
grandeur to come; his beloved wife.
proud and happy; a pair of betrothed
lovers, with all the promise OF felicity
that youth. social position. and wealth
could give them; and this young actor,
handsome As Endymion upon Latmos,
the pet of his little..world- The glitter
of fame. happiness, and ease was upon
the entire group, but in an instant
everything WAS to be changed with
the binding swiftness of enchantmeu t
Quick death was To come on the CEN
trail figure OF that company-the CEN
tral figure, We believe, of the great
and good men of the century
Over all the rest the blackest
fates hovered menacingly-fates from
which a mother might pray that kindly
death would save her children in their
infancy. One was to wander with the
stain of murder on his soul, with the
curse of the world upon his name, with
a price set upon his head, in frightful
physical pain, till he died a dogs death
in a burning barn; the stricken wife
VS. to pass the rest of her DAYS in
melancholy and madness; of those two
young lovers. one was to slay the other
and then end his life a raving man
lac.
The murderer seemed TO himself to
be taking part in a play. The fumes
of brandy and Of partisan hate had for
weeks kept his brain in morbid state.
He felt as If he were playing Brutus of
the boards; he posed, expecting ap-
plause- Holding pistol in one hand
and "A knife in the other. he opened
the box door, put the pistol to the
Presidents head and fired; dropping
the weapon. he took the knife in his
right hand, aud when Major Rathbone
sprang 10 sieZe him he struck savagly
at him Major Rathbone received the
blow on his left arm. suffering a wide
and deep wound. Booth, rushing for
ward, then vaulted lightly over to the
stage 1t was a high leap. but nothirg
to such a trained athlete He was in
the habit of introducing what actors
call sensational leaps in his plays. In
Macbeth where he met the weird
L.
feet high He would have got safely
away but for his spur catching in the
folds of the Union fiIg with which the
front of the box WAS draped. He fell
on the stage. the torn dag trailing on
his spur, but instantly rose as if he had
received no hurt, though in fact the
fall had broken his leg, turned To the
audience, brandishing his dripping
knife and shouting the State motto of
Virginia. Sic Semper Tyrannis,' and
fed rapidly across the stage and out OF
sight Major Rathbone had shouted,
stop himr The cry went out, he has
shot the President From the audi
ence, at first stupid with surprise and
afterwards wild with excitement ana
horror, two or three men jumped upon
the stage in pursuit of the flying as
sassin; but he ran through the familiar
passages, leaped upon his horse, which
was in waiting in the alley behind.
rewarded with "A kick and a curse the
call-bOy who had held him. and rode
rapidly away in the light of the just
risen moon.
The president scarcely moved
his head dropped forward slightly,
his eyes closed. Colonel Rathbone.
at first not regarding his own grevious
hurt, rushed to the door of the box to
summon aid. He found it barred and
on the outside some one was beating
and clamorins for entrance. He open
ed the door; a young officer named
Crawford entered ; one or two army
surgeons soon followed, who hastily
examined the wound. 1t was at once
seen To be mortal Ii was afterwards
ascertaiued that large derriDger
bullet had entered the back of the
head on the left side, and, passing
through the brain. had lodged just
behind the left eye. BY direction of
Rathbone and Crawford. the President
was carried to house across the
street and laid upon bed in a small
room at the rear of the hall on the
ground floor. Mrs Lincoln followed,
half distracted, tenderly cared for by
Miss Harris Rathbone, exhausted
by loss of blood, tainted. and was car
ried home. Messengers were sent for
the members of the Cabinet. for the
Surreon-GeneraI. for DIR. Stone, the
Presidents family physician crowd
of people rushed instinctively to the
White House and. bursting through the
doors, shouted the dreadful news TO
Robert Lincoln and Major Hay. who
sat g"--ipiag in an upper room They
ran down stairs Finding a carriage
F.ad tn rrn 70
Tenth street As they were driving
away. a friend came up and told them
that Mr. Scwart and most of the Cabi-
net had been murdered The news
was all so improbable that they could
not help hoping il was all untrue Bat
when they got to Tenth street and
found every thoroughfare blocked by
the swiftly gathering thousands, agl-
tatei by tumultuOus excitement they
were prepared for the worst In few
minutes all who had been sent for. and
many others, were gathered in the
little chamber where the Chief of the
State lay in agony His son was met
at the door by DIR. Stone, who with
grave tenderness informed him that
there was no hope After q natural
outburst OF grief young Lincoln de-
voted himself the rest of the night to
soothing and comforting his mother.
The President had been shot a few
minutes past ten. The wound would
have brought instant death to most
men. but his vital tenacity was extra
ordinary. He was, of course, uncon-
scious from the first moment; but he
breathed with slow and regular respi-
ration throughout the night As the
dawn came, and the lamplight grew
male in the fresher beams, his pulse
began to fail; but his face even then
was scarcely more haggard than those
of the sorrowing group OF statesmen
ard ganerals around him. His auto