Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1897-08-21
MAN WHO SHOT EOOTH.
boston Corbctt as Il Lecturer Was Not
Great success

It will be remembered that Boston
Corbett, the MAI who killed }, Wilkes
Booth, lived for many years in Cloud
county, Kan. About ten years ago he
was elected d~o0rkeeper of the Kansas
house of representatives, and while
holding that position went crazy and
was sent to the asylum, Later he was
released from custody and went Of TO
Texas, where it is presumed he died.
The discussion now going Oh in the
periodicals over the death and buria! of
Booth recalls to the editor of the Con-
cordia Empire that, something ike a
dozen years ago, the ladies of the Pres
byterian church in that town seized
upon the idea of having Corbctt give a
lecture upon the killing of Booth, and
a committee was appointed TO wait
upon him. One of the committeeman
was the editor of the Empire, and he
thus describes what followed:
I'VE found him at home in his dugout.
a kind of hole IN the side Of a steep hill
with a ~brownstone front and a roof of
brush, clay and clapboariS. There was
INT one room and the furniture was
an old stove, a table, a chair, a home.
made bed, a trunk, a box or two. a we'll
worn Bible and a variety of firearms.
Mr.. Corbett had received a pension of
several hundred dollars a short time
before and invested what he had not
given away to Others that he thought
might be needing money in a flock Of
sheep, \ herd of antelopes would have
served him just as well-he had no
practical knowledge of the use of sheen.
lie was very hospitable, told us much
of his history and readily consented to
deliver a lecture on the capture of
Booth and his experiences in Anderson.
vile.
"A packed house greeted him on the
night set. BY way of introduction the
choir sang a song. Some sentiment Of
the song set him off on a regular SER
mon Che was in the habit of preaching
occasionally and for nearly an hour he
talked, but failed to either captnrr
Booth or get to Andersonyille. At last
the pastor reminded him that he was ia
taIk OF A~ndersonyille and Booth. He
~apoIogized for his forg~etfuluess, and in
about a dozen words told that he ,vns
captured and landed safe inside the
walls of A~ndersonyille prison. The first
man ne met was an old acquaintance,
who told him that over in a certain nor.
ton OF the prison they were holding a
prayer meeting. lie went directly toll.
Then he talked for half an hour about
the prayer meeting, which, as far as his
description went, might have been held
IN Cloud county or the backwoods of
Kansas.
Beng reminded again that he was
forgetting all about the capture Of
Booth, he ~apologizcd and said in sub.
stance: We surrounded the barn in
which we found he had taken refuge
We demanded that he surrender hu,
he refused. We then set fire 10 tbe
barn. By the light he saw one Of orr
men and raised his revolver to shoot
Fim' was peeping through a crack
saw him raise his arm. and TO keen
MN from killing one of our men | fired
ana Killed him. The bullet went into
his head in nearly the same course as
ms bullet had entered Lincoln's head,
ms is as full a history as he saw fit
10 give of an incident that had called
lor'h many long articles during the
last 30 years, and about which none
knew more than did our n%eighbor, Bos.
ton Corbett."-Kansas CITY urn