The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-13

The Hitherto Unpublished Statement
of the Surgeon Who Identified His
Body.
From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
When a second and more premptory
message came directing me to appear be.
fore the commission 7 deemed it prudent
to obey. On my way third messenger
was met, on his way to my house, who
was no less than the chief of the detective
corps, the noted Col Baker. He returned,
conducted me on board the steamer, and
ushered me into the cabin, where the
commissioners were in session, and by
whom, Notwithstanding my cOntumacy,
1 was very politely received. l was then
told it had been stated to them that had
removed a Jumor from the neck of Booth,
and they wished to know if | could ident-
ify the body, and to go on deck and exam
inc it thoroughly and make my report
The body was on deck, completely con-
cealed by tarpaulin cover, and Surgeon
General Barnes and his assistants stand
ing near it,
BY his orders the cover was removed,
and to my great establishment, revealed
a body in whose lineaments there was to
me no resemblance of the man l had
known in life! My surprise was so great
] at once said to Gen. Barnes. "There is
no resemblance in that corpse to Booth,
nor can l believe it to be that of him.
After looking at it for a few moments |
asked. rs there scar upon the back OF
its neck?" He replied. "There is" l
then said. eff that is the body of Booth
let me describe the scar before it is seen
by me;'' and did so as to its position, its
size, and its general appearance so accu-
rately as caused him to say. "You have
described the scar as well as if you were
- 1ly 111x O.
scribed it, more Ike the cicatrix of burn
than that made by a surgical operation.
The body being then turned, the back OF
the neck was examined, and my mark
was Enthusiastically found by me upon it.
And it being afterward, by my request,
placed in a sitting position, standing ana
looking down upon it, | was fully cnaoled
to imperfectly recognize the features OF
Booth. But never in a human being had
! greater change taken place, from the
| man whom l had seen in the vigor OF
| life and health, as in that of the haggard
corpse which was before me, in its yellow
and discolored skin; its unkempt and
matted hair; and it's whole facial express
| sion, sunken and sharpened by the e1-
| posure and starvation it had undergone
The right lower limb was greatly con-
fused and perfectly black from a fracture
| of one of the long bones of the leg.
| An autopsy was then made by the as
sistants of Gen. Barnes, which proved
| that the bullet which killed him had
! passed between two of the vetebrae of the
neck, causing their fracture and lesion OF
| the spinal cord.
The body was secretly, and at night,
buried in the yard of the penitentlary,
which was not generally known for some
| time afterWard.
That great uncertainty was left, and
that much doubt was expressed at the
time of the death of Booth, and long al
terward, as 10 the identity of his body ID
notorious. Nor need this create SURPRISE
for although the circumstances connected
with his capture all tended to corro6or-
ate the belief that he had been killed,
| yet on the body which was produced oy
his captors nearly every vestige OF reseni-
blenee to the living man had disappeared.
But the mark made by the scalpel durlnS
life remained indelible in death, and set
tied beyond all question at the time, ana
all cavil in the future, the identity OF the
man who had asassinated the President
JOHN FRIEDRICH MAY, M. u.
| Washington, Jan. 10. 1887.