Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1896-01-28

DESTROYS OF contributing to the moyemeht,
united in making this beautiful flag 1t
was made of the most expensive ana aur-
| able materials obtainable and was, as you
see, a very beautiful and valuable one
The night before tn, President was shot,
the Treasury Guards gave ball In ford s
theatre, which they decorated Tor the occa-
SION The flag you see before you was
carried TO the theatre and festooheu IN
front of one Of the boxes. The man VINO
did the work did it admirably, ana the
| appearance of the flag occasoned much
| favorable comment. The next day, when
the boys We're engaged in removing theif
decorations, they found Mr. Ford STANDING
IN front Of the box where this lag was
feStooned. H3 said: Il have been admir-
Ing that flag and the beautiful manner In
which 1t is draped. am loath to have it
| removed President Lincoln ia to visit the
! performance, this evening, and II you Will
let 1T remain where it Is, | will see that he
| is given this box OF course the boys as
scented and the flag remained. You will
notice that it has rent there about six
inches in length. This was caused by
| spur in the assassins boot that caught in
the banner, as he lcaped from the Presi-
Dental box to the stage, nine feet below,
after tnc commission of his terrible crime.
| Hah it not been for that accident the
| chances are that Booth might have sue
ceedcd in making good his escape. AS it
was, he fell heavily upon the stage and
broke his ankle. Even in this crippled
condition be was able to mount the horse
| in waiting tor him in the rear of the
| theatre and get clear Of the city. Al re-
CARDS the true facts relative to the death
and burial Of Booth, many conflicting
| stories have been told ! have spent weeks
| i'll overlooking documents bearing upon
| this matter, and have not only secured the
facts regarding this matter but have care
fully verified each one Of them. If you
desire | will tell YOU the true story Of the
assassin's death and burial
We assured him that we should be very
glad to hear 1t.
After Booth shot the President, he
continued, ''ho made his escape from
window in the rear Of the theatre, mounted
his horse and rode rapidly from the city
OF course IN a short time thousands of
people were eagerly looking for him. The
| condition of his broken ankle retarded his
progress and he and his companion Herald
| miles distant from the city The officer
| in command Of the soldiers was anxious
| To secure them alive and without blood
shed. He therefore summoned Thorn to
come out and surrender This they re
fused to do, declaring that they would
| never be taken alive The officer then told
them that If they did not come out and
give themselves up he would set fire to the
i1sart ~ 4 ! L
surrendered. Booth, however, refused to
come out, and after summoning him in
vain, some straw was pulled from one of
the chinks in the side of the barn and a
match applied to It. In moment the
building was In flames Looking through
a crack. Sergeant Boston Corbett saw, in
the light of the blaze, Booth resting on a
crutch with his rife in his hand, intently
peering toward the doorway In readiness
TO shoot the first soldier who appeared
there. Realizing that he was a desperate
man, and that lives would probably be lost
in his capture. he put his gun to the crack
and fired. Strange enough, the bullet hit
him IN the back Of the head, very near the
place where his own bullc5 had hit the
President. He was brought out Of the
building and every attention given him;
but after lingering a few hours in great
agony he expired. His body was scwed
mp in common gunny sack, put aboard
of a steamer and brought to Washington
That night one of the big fiat stones in
the rotunds Of the district prison was
taken up, and the body buried beneath it,
subsequently it was taken up by members
Of his family and buried in the family lot
A plain stone marks his present resting
place, upon which are simply the initials
Of the assassin. That, ladies and gentle
men, is the true story of the death and
burial Of John Wilkes Booth"
Thanking our host for his entertaining
and Instructive remarks, we took our way
to the Capitol Arriving there, we went
TO the room Of the Senate committee on
commerce, presided over by our own Sena-
tor Frye We were cordially welcomed as
are all Maine people who visit this room.
The senator was absent, but tho clerk of
his committee kindly showed us to the
room of the House committee on public
buildings presided over by Congressman
Millikrn. Mr.. Millikon was on the floor
Of the House, but Mr.. Wing. the efficient
clerk Of the c0mmivtoc, sent in for him.
and he came out and greeted our party
with characteristic cordialty With him
we visited the room of the committee ON
ways and means, where we met MIR. Her
bert Lord of Rockland, and Captain Mer
rill who formerly represented Franklin
county in the Maine Senate After brief
stay we accompany Mr.. Milliken. who is
looking extremely WELL in spite of the
many cares that press upon him ut the ma
tional capital, to the Senate restaurant.
which is conducted by q Mr. Page
formerly of Franklin county, Maine. and
which is said TO be the best in Washing
ton. Hero fine dinner is served the
party We were fortunate in meeting Mt
The table Congressman Boutclle, the able
representative from the Fourth Maine
district. There are few finer converse |
tionalists in public life and his, bright and
entertaining remarks, together with those
of Mr.. Millikcn. contributed "a feast of
reason and of soul that added not little
to the pleasure of the occasion. From the
Capitol, at the close of tho rcpast, the party |
fastened to the Metropolitan hotel, packed |
their baggage, paid their bills, and, a lit |
tie later, were steaming out of the Penn |
sylvania depot on special train of Phil |
mans, en- route for the land Of perennial,
sunshine and flowers.
ST. PAUL SILL ASHORE