The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-05-14
MURDER OF LINCOLN.
Story of Assassination Told by
an Eyewitness.
POPULAR ERRORS CORRECTED.
Laura Keene's Dress Torn by Booths
Dagger-The Audience Did Not
Move for Five Minutes.
CnHoEs. Y. Y. May

toHoEs, y. 1 :, May !, 1881.
Here, on the eastern side of the great
divide. day or two ago / was handed a
copy of the observation-disclosures Of April
10. and beyond the mechanical ability dis
played in the making up" Of the sheet
and Its typographical excellence. I was
attracted by the head line Relics of
Booth" | was in Ford's theater the night
President Lincoln was shot by John
Wilkes Booth. and occupied a seat in the
section B, No. 173. Anyone
who has visited the theater will know
that this seat was favorably located to see
everything that took place in the presi-
dents box that fatal night. There are
some things III your special correspond
ence that are not true, Notwithstanding
the fact that they are generally accepted
as the concrete of history"
The certificate Of the commences of the
map, signed by "young lieutenant of
engineers" must have been signed very
carelessly and with a total ignorance OF
fact. Laura keene and Harry Hawk were
not on the stage before the curtain when
the fatal shot was fired. No one was on
the stage. The assassin chose a time when
all the employees of the theater were busy
changing the scenery, and all was ready
for the entrance of the actors for the
second scene. Miss keene stood on the
left exit looking from the audience, when
Booth jumped from the box. He did not
cut or slash nor did he act like
wild man" His movement was slow
and evidently painful, and what has been
described as a majestic stride" was
simply the dragging of his wounded foot
across the boards. Another mistake-Dr.
WiIhers, the leader Of the orchestra, did
not happen to be "in the wings" at the
time, but was In his chair ready for the
opening of the second scene. Miss Keene
was the only one who INSTRUCTED Booths
passage, and she put ont her hands to de-
lay him and said: my God, John, what
have you done" The only answer she
got was the famous 'Sic senper tyrannis,"
so often quoted, and an angry movement
toward her with the hand that held the
knife, the point of which caught
the flowing sleeve of the silk dress she
wore, and probably scratched her arm, as
there is shown. among the relics in the
presidents tomb, at Springfield, ILL.,, a
piece of Laura Keene's dress, said to be
dabbled with the presidents blood. Let
me say here, in passing, that If she got
knife, for she was not in position that
night to get blood from the body of Presi-
dent Lincoln on her dress. Again, your
article says, Booth put il (the pistoll at
President Lincolns head, within two
inches of the skull, and death quickly fol-
lowed" The fact is that Booth was six
feet away from his victim when he fired
the shot. As the writer read about that
- ,t.t ~,rA H.
Lincoln's blood" he wondered how the
blood got there, for no blood flowed from
the wound until after the body was raised
upon the shoulders of those who bore it
out of the theatre and across the street to
the house where the great man breathed
his last few hours later.
| am aware that it is almost treason to
disturb the beautiful but grewsome story
that Mr. Saxton relates with so much i'm
pressiveness and simplicity, but the truth
of history must be vindicated.
The writer will add matter of interest
that is known TO but few people in this
country. When the president was shot,
William II. Flood, masters mate in the
navy, who was in company with the
writer, was the first man on the stage
jumping over the head of the leader of the
orchestra, Mr.. Withers, and clambered up
the scroll work of the box. assisted by
Miss Harris, who was in the box, and
lifted Mr.. Lincoln from the chair, where
he sat with no other indication of
the deed than the resting of his
chin upon his breast, and laying
the body on the floor of the box, with his
head resting on Mr.. Floods knee, began a
search for the wound. The vest and shirt
were opened, but there was no indication
of the spot where the fatal bullet had
struck until Mr.. Lincoln's head was
raised from Floods knee. Then the wound
was found, and nearly tablespoonful OF
pure white brain matter lay in Mr.. Floods
hand. No blood flowed from the wound
then.
Mr.. Flood and myself went down Penn
sylvania avenue 10 a drug store, got
small bottle of alcohol, put in it the por-
ton of the brain that was in his hand,
and Mr.. Flood has the bottle, if he is alive,
today Any one can find out BY writing
to Blackstone Island, st. Mary's county,
Maryland, where ne once resided.
There have been a number of versions
of that awful tragedy and any quantity of
illustrations, mostly drawn from the i'm
agination of the writer or the artist. One
Of the latter, published in a New York IL
Illustrated paper, two weeks since, repre-
scented theIaudience as springing forward TO
arrest Booth as he walked across
the stage The fact is, Mr.. Editor,
no one in that vast audience moved hand
or foot until Booth was out of sight and
Mrs. Lincoln came TO the parapet Of the
box and began to scream. Then the peo-
pie realized what had been done, and five
minutes after there were dozen ropes
hanging ont of the gallery and dress circle,
while shouts of Bring him herer' Bring
him hereI' rang through the house.
SILAs OWEN.