The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-04-03

II was reported t0dL L Hdu htttcu titC iSo1-
dent Of the United States. When this be-
came noised around the ship there was the
greatest excitement at once. The captain
of the vessel came to me and said: Your
presence is kicking up a great fuss on this
ship. Who are you. anyway? l told him
frankly the truth. and while he was most
kind, he refused to land me anywhere else
than Alexandria. was by this time COM
pletely tired of being man without
country, and determined that on reaching
Alexandria would place DO more obstacles
in the way of my capture and return tosthe
United States. Accordingly, when l reached
that city 1 went to a hotel, signed my cor
rect name and sat quietly on the porch
smoking a cigar waiting for some one to
come to arrest me- On the afternoon of the
day after my arrival, glancing down the
street, / saw coming up towards the hotel
an open carriage containing one man and
followed by squad of cavalry. l knew at
once who they were. The cavalcade stop
ped in front of the hotel, and the gentle
man got out-he was Consul Hale-and COM
ing up to me asked me if was John ii.
Surratt. told that such was the case. He
said he had orders for my arrest. When
the carriage drove off there were two in it,
and l was the second occupant. was
placed in the city prison, awaiting the ar
rival of the man-of-war, and was visited
daily by Mr.. Hale. He treated me as
son. While he gave me plenty of reading
matter he would never tell me when and
how L was to be taken back to the United
States. One day heard a great fuss in the
yard of the prison where the common pris-
oners were kept. Some one was swearing
like a. trooper in English. 1 went into the
yard and found a United States man-of-
warsman On my asking him what the
trouble was, between his oaths he stated
that he belonged to a United States war
vessel which had arrived the night before
and getting drunk he had been "jugged."
Said he: HNre we have been chasing all
over Europe for fellow named Surratt,
and blankety BANKED if he hasn't given us
a slip three times. We have come here to
get him now. and blankety blank if I be-
lieve we will ever see him. He said the
vessel was in command of Commander
letters.
ON BOARD A WAR SHIP.
when Consul Hale called that day /
asked him when 1 was to be delivered to
Commodore Jeffers. To say he was sur
prised is putting it mildly. He never learned
how I found out 1 was placed on board
tho vessel heavily chained and handcuffed
and taken to Marseiles, where a United
States fleet was lying, in command of Adj
mral Goldsborough. When we entered the
harbor and 1 saw that feet of splendid
sels with the stars and stripes flying from
every ship. j could have cheered. 1 was
proud Of my country. The bands were play
ing 'Star-spangled Banner Hail Column
bia Maryland, My Maryland and Dixie
/ was taken aboard the admrars flag ship,
and when he saw me he said: SO you are
the desperate fellow we have been chasing
around the world. Why, you are only
beardless boy
Turning to Commander letters, he said:
Surely there is no occasion 20 iron Sur
raft. 1t is certainly unnecessary The COM
mander stated that they were his orders,
and there was nothing left but to obey. L
was placed in stateroom, and a marine
with drawn cutlass and loaded revolver
placed on guard. The marine was given or
derS that if l attempted to escape to cut
me down or shoot down if necessary.
The whole thing struck me as being per-
feet farce, and laughed in the face of the
officer who gave the command. He scowled
at me- AS had a whole stateroom to my
self, and the marine had TO march three
PAGES forward and three PAGES back 1 think
had the best of the bargain. The voyage
was uneventful and we landed in New York
in the spring of 1867, and / was taken direct
to Washington. During my trial. which last
ed sixty-two days. over two hundred wit
nesses were examined. AS you may know,
the jury disagreed, standing eight for ac-
quittal and four for conviction, and after
being kept in the old Capital Prison for
some months was liberated on $4,000 bail.
The case was never called again, and pre-
he hof1 hos
My counsel were General Merrick and John
G. Carlisle. After that trial my nervous
system was wreck. 1 have never got over
it,
How about the testimony of Lewis j.
Weichmann captain?
'That mans testimony, from beginning to
end, was outrageously false. He lied, lied,
lied from the time he took the witness stand
until he left it. During the three days
he was on the stand he did not dare to look
me in the face. 1 never took my eyes off
him for a moment. General Merrick told
me that the newspapers were commenting
on the fact. 1 believe that if L could have
caught his eye it would have ended his
perjury. AS L said to you at the beginning
of our talk, that man has done more to
bring disgrace and ruin on me and my fam
lily than any one and every one else, living
or dead. 1 am convinced that if he was on
his deathbed he would send for me and ask
my forgiveness for the ruin and trouble he
has caused me-
WEICHMANNS ANIMUS.
do think that his testimony was actu-
ated by malice? No, 1 do not. Moral
cowardice was at the bottom of it. The
morning after Iincoln's assassination a
great many people were arrested. WEIGH
mann was on of these. 1t became known
that he was a friend of Booth. In order to
get confession from him a rope was placed
around his neck, the other end OF it thrown
over beam, and he was ordered TO tell
what he knew. He was lifted off his feet.
Under such circumstances a man will tell
or say anything to get rope from around
his neck. Weichmann made up his story
out of whole CLOTH, and when he was in
safety he did not have the moral courage
to contradict it, as any honest man would
He was moral coward. He was that way
as a schoolboy. At school it was forbidden
to have novels. 1 had one in my desk, and
Weichmann opened the desk and took it
out. Through some chance it fell into a
teachers hands. When i accused WEIGH
mann of having taken it out he swore by all
that was holy that he did not do so, al
though I confronted him with three boys