The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-11

soul; not a ray of hope illumined his coun-
tenance. 1t was painful to look at him.
He appeared to realize the enormity of his
crime, and it looked as though he was con-
tinually praying inwardly to his God to af-
ford him some means of escape Col. w.
f. Doster was also his attorney, and was
assigned to him by the government, for
Atzerodt WIS as poor rs Payne. The pris-
oner by his counsel. submitted the follow
ing statement TO the court
Il am one of a party who agreed to cap
ture the President of the United States, but
/ am not one of a party to kill the Presi-
dent of the United States, or any member
of the Cabinet, or General Grant, or Vice
President Johnson. The first plot to cap
ture failed the second-to kill broke
away from the moment 1 heard of it. This
is the way it came about: On the evening
of the 14th of April 1 met Booth and Payne
at the Herndon House, in this city, at s
o'clock. He (Booth) said he himself would
murder Mr.. Lincoln and General Grant,
Payne should take Mr.. Seward, and l
should take Mr.. Johnson. / told him 1
would. not do it, that 1 had gone into the
thing to capture, but I was not going to
KILL He told me L fool; that I would
be hung anyway, and that it was death for
parted
This statement of Atzerodt to the court
proved conclusively that he knew the Pres
ident and secretary of state We're to be
murdered, and left him without any chance
to escape. The commission did it's duty in
his case.
DR.. Samuel A. Mudd, in his efforts to
escape conviction, made the most strenuous
bitter obf Of al bp nriS In
attorney, General Thomas l.. Ewing, he
had a gentleman who left no stone I'M
turned to free him. DIR. Mudd's completely
in the conspiracy lay not so much in what
he did before the crime as what he did
after it-shielding and harboring Booth and
Herold when escaping from justice. Could
the fact be once successfully established by
the government that he had known these
men before the murder of Lincoln, and had
met them, then, in the eye Of the law, it
rendered him a dangerous accomplice and
co-conspirator after the fact. And such
was the case. 1t was demonstrated by the
government that he had met Booth in Mary
land in 1864, in November, in his own neigh
borhood and that Booth, according to
Samuel Arnold had come with letters of
introduction to him and to Dr. Queen from
one Martin, in Montreal, Canada; that he
had lodged with Mudd one night, and that,
at this time, by his agency and help. Booth
procured from one Polk Gardener the one
eyed bay horse which was used by Payne
on the night of the assassination. He was
convicted and sent to the Dry Tortugas for
life.
The testimony against Arnold and
O'Laughlin in reference to their connection
with the assassination was not so pro-
nounced as against some of the other con-
spirators. 1t was shown by the confession
which Arnold made to Eaton G.. Horner on
April IL that he and O'Laughlin were ac-
tive members of the conspiracy to abduct
the President, but he maintained that they
had no knowledge or connection with the
plot to assaSsinate The abduction plot,
Arnold said, was attempted in March, at
the Soldiers Home, but failed of execu-
ton. Arnold then claimed to have re-
turned home to Baltimore on March q.
1865, and that since that time he had not
been in Washington City. On the 1st of
April he went to Fortress Monroe, where
he had obtained employment in the store
Of a man named John w. Wharton and
was there on the night Booth shot the
President, and was arrested there.
Spanglers conduct in aiding Booth in his
nation was fully and clearly shown. He
was convicted and sent to a term of i'm
prisonment for six years. this being a
milder sentence than any of the others re-
ceived.
THE CASE OF MRS. SURRATT.
OF all the cases, however, on trial before
the commission. that of Mrs. Mary E. Sur
raft excited the most profound interest and
attention, not only because of her sex, but
of her age and experience in life She
was the senior of those connected with
the conspiracy. and al the time of her trial
must have been about forty-seven years
old. Throughout the conduct of her case
1t was plainly evident TO a careful OBJ
server that Judge Bingham's heart and
feelings were not enlisted in the prosecution
of this woman, and all his actions and
arguments against her can be regarded as
made only in the strict line of duty and in
vindication of the murdered President. The
evidence against her was very strong, more
so than that against some of the other
prisoners. A great deal of testimony was
introduced in reference to the visits of
Booth and others to her house prior to the
14th OF April, 1865 and of their actions, but
this, however, would have counted for but
little had it not been for her doings on
the day of the murder itself. 1t was shown
that Booth came to her house at o'clock
in the afternoon; that she then had a
private conference with him in her parlor
and that Immediately thereafter, with his
feldglass in her possession, she was driven
into the country under pretense of collect
ing a debt, and that when she arrived at
Surrattsville she gave Lloyd her tenant
orders to have the two carbnes, which
she called Shooting irons" to be held in
readiness for some parties who were to call
for them Sin the night" She also delivered
to Lloyd the fieldglass which Booth had
given her. By her language to Lloyd it
was proved that she knew the shooting
irons" had been secreted at his place. and
that they would be wanted that fatal Fri
day night after Booth had shot the Pres-
dent to facilitate his escape from his pur-
suers. When this evidence had been given
it sent a thrill of indignation and horror
through the courtroom. 1t was past COM
prehension how an honorable woman could.
nearly eight hours before the murder, leave
the sacred precincts of her home and I'M
dertake such an errand that. The fact
of her giving the order for the delivery of
the carbines was held to be conclusive
proof of her knowledge of the deposit of
the carbines at that place and of what was
going on the day of the assassination. This
evidence of Lloyd was supplemented by
that of the officers of the War Department.
Maj. H. W. Smith, R. c. Morgan and Capt.
w. II. Wermerskirch, who arrested her on