The Robesonian. [volume] (Lumberton, N.C.) 1870-current, 1897-08-25
He Saw Lincoln Shot.
New York sun.

revealed the whereabouts OF sew
eral. Among.them,,is James n.
Mills, Of Brooklyn,
II was born. in, Brooklyn, IN
1916" said Mr.. Mills yesterday,
$50 that at the outbreak OF the
war was under Is years of age.
/ wanted to go to the front as a
drummer boy, but when l ap-
piled to the officers of a regiment
called the "Brooklyn Phalanx,
afterward known as the First Long
Island Regiment, they told me l
was too young. afterwaldmade
my way to Washington without
my mothers consent and enlisted
az u drummer boyin 1862 | served
in the Army of the Potomac for
three years, and during the closing
DAYS of the war was a clerk In the
War Department.
Son the night Of the assassina-
ton of President Lincoln | atten-
ded the theatre 10 see Laura Keene
in Our American Cousin The
theatre was crowded. There must
have been 1900 people in the
house, every one DESTROYS of see
ing the President and General
Grant, who was expected to be
present. After the President took
his seat in the box and the. cheer
ing ceased, the crowd was abso-
lutely still. l can only account
for their silence by the fact that it
was q cosmopolitan crowd, repre-
senting about every regiment loca-
ted near Washington, and inclu-
ding travellers from every State in
the Union.
"Gen. Grant did not attend, and
Mr.. Lincoln, accompanied by Mrs
Lincoln and Colonel Rathbone,- OF
the United States Army, made uI
the Presidential party. They oc
cupied the right hand box on thu
dress circle.
"The third act of the play hat
begun and Harry Hawk, an actor
in the company, had just appeared
on the stage from the left, whel
there was the report of pisto
shot. / turned my eyes to til
Presidents box and | saw a ma
, standing and gesticulating at tn
; occupants. An instant later tn
+, man jumped from the box to tn
!, stage, turned, faced the audience
: and then disappeared. He nut
tered something as he faced Il
audience, but l have never bee
lie able to recall just what he said.
II "Instantly the audience arc:
|, as if spellbound, the whispering
d of moment before became a TO
c. of voices, and when it dawned upt
the audience that the Preside
had been assassinated the conf
u sion was indescribable. I ma
- my way to the head of the stai
~ as soon as the crowded conditi
y of the house would permit, an
TN passing out into Tenth street, ga
the alarm to the provost guaro
in These guards, by the way, VIZ
FRA stationed at all theatres to exa
al the passes of the solniers in u
= form who were in the city at
4; nightfall. The guard | told !
itv around to the alley entrance
Der the theatre on F street and ente
so the rear door.
ke' II returned to the front of
theatre and made my way to
.is- dress circle and to the private
tly OF the Presidential party just
bic Mr.. Lincoln was being carried
the on the shoulders of two men.
al of those was the proprietor O
saloon adjoining the theatre.
was in his shirt sleeves, the h
am of Mr.. Lincoln resting on his she
, ,' der and the blood running dc
;h1,. the sleeves and the back of
oil shirt. The President was carr
} no downstairs and across the st
Die into Mrs. Peterson's boarc
, u,s house, directly opposite the
atre. AS Mrs. Lincoln was for
moment without an escort, I g
hat ly grasped her arm and led
ley from the box. She was ne;
keel hysterical, crying, sobbing bit
ly. We followed the men as
carried Mr.. Lincoln across
the street. He was placed on be
arts a room Oh the ground floor, W
,ra,, he died the following morning
olds, 1.-THE proprietor of the sa
lung who carried Mr.. Lincoln from
theatre subsequently, informed
that John Wilkes Booth had s
i'ih few moments in his place
= the before close Of the secont
the play. While there he d
saws. 4 glass nearly full of brandy
with
E n "They don't make much fuss abo1
loo ), We are speaking Of DeWitts Little
Risers the famous little pills for {