The Washington times., 1901-09-01
BOSTON coRBETT ALIVE.
The Slayer of John Wilkes Booth
Now4 Drummer.

Wnen Boston Corbett, the slayer of
John Wilkes Booth. escaped from the To-
peka Insane Asylum in 1885, he was mark
ed dead on the records of the institu-
tion and legally, IL not literally, passed
out of existence. The conclusion on the
part of the asylum officials that Corbett
was dead was accepted by the public
without question. The newspapers COM
mented briefly upon his mysterious dis
appearance and Kansas speedily forgot
the eccentric character who was the ac-
tive instrument in avenging the assassi-
nation of Abraham Lincoln.
And now. after thirteen years, Corbett
has been resurrected. For more than
four years past he has been travelling
salesman for W. w. Gavitt & Co., who
conduct a proprietary medicine concern
in Topeka. Both his employers and his
guardian have in recent times used every
effort to induce Corbett to return to Kan
sas. He has property interests in Cloud
county, and the Government owes him
over 81, 800 back pension, not cent of
which he will ever be able to draw until
the fact that he is alive is established by
his own affidavit to that effect. 1t has
been represented to him that his sanity
will be easily established and his release
from the asylum legally secured, but
Corbett is willy and suspicious, and re-
fuses to set foot on Kansas soil. He
lives and travels through Oklahoma and
Texas, and for long time had headquar-
ters at Enid, where he owns some prop
erty. Mr.. George A. Huron, of Topeka,
is his guardian. He wrote Huron some
weeks ago that he never expected to re-
turn to Kansas. and that the Govern
ment was welcome to his pension money.
Corbett is now sixty-two years old. He
was always peculiar. From the time he
enlisted in the army the trend of his men
tai idiosyncrasy was toward religious IA
naticism. He was intensely religious and
was always considered dangerous by his
neighbors in Cloud county Corbett never
married. and up to the time he was sent
to the asylum lived alone in a shack on
his claim in Cloud county. He always
went armed and his shack was fortified
and equipped with every brand of shoot
ing iron known to the Western trade. He
labored under the delusion that members
of the Booth family were following him
with the intent to murder him. and 1t was
almost worth strangers life to set foot
on his claim or to walk across the street
directly toward him.
Corbett was sent TO the asylum as the
direct result of cleaning out the House of
Representatives of the Kansas Legislature
during the session Of 1873. He was serv-
ings as assiStan sergeant-at-arms of the
house and had charge of the ladies' gal
lery. One morning shortly after roll-call
he appeared in the gallery with revolver
in his hand. He began shouting and gcs-
ticulating and the house Immediately ad-
journed without delay. some of the men,
bers crawling under the seats and others
boiling through the doors and into the
committee rooms. A detail of police was
called. and, after some maneuvrins, Cor
bett was surrounded and captured. His
trial on the charge of insanity followed.
He was given considerable freedom at the
institution and was allowed to circulate at
liberty about the grounds One day the
SOa OF Superintendent Eastman rode out
on horseback from Topeka to the asylum
Corbett was observed shortly after stand
ing near the horse. but no especial notice
was taken of him. little later an at
tendant saw him mount the animal and.
disappear down the road, burning the
wind as ne went The officials and attend
ants who chased him never caught sight
of him afterward. Three weeks later Su-
perintendent Eastman received n letter
awaiting his orders. Corbett was reported
to have gone to Mexico from which coun-
try apparently reliable news of his death
came back to the Kansas officials.
The SLAYER of John Wilkes Booth served
during the war in Massachusetts regi-
ment. enlisting at Boston. He was hat
ter by trade. His real name was John
Corbett, but year or two before the war
he was converted at a big revival meet
ing in Boston. and to commemorate the
event took the name of the town in which
It occurred. The winter he spent in To-
peka he was the loudest shOuter at the
Salvation Army meetings, and never fail
ed to take part in the street exhibitions
of the organization. For some years after
he left the asylum he Travelled under the
name of John Corbett. Recently he has
again assumed the name of Boston. He
worked for the Gavitts a long time be-
fore they associated him with the man
who shot Booth. Finally they suspected
his identity and he acknowledged that he
was Boston Corbett in letter written to
the firm some months ago. w. w. Gavitt
SAYS he is an excellent salesman, Ond that
he has always made money for himself
and the firm. Mary Texas towns bar pat
ent medicine pedders by ordinance, but
Corbett pays no attention to ordinances,
and has worked practically every town in
Texas without having been molested.
Corbett's farm is about eighteen miles
from Concordia in Cloud county He
owns eighty acres of land, only about
eighteen acres of which are fit for cultiva-
ton The returns from the farm are sell
dom more than sufficient to pay the taxes
When Corbett was committed to the asy-
lum an effort was made 10 secure guar
dian in Cloud county. but his neighbors
were all afraid OF him and refused to take
the job. George \. Huron was then APP
pointed and mas since looked after his
interests. Corbett drew a pension of IS Il
month. Following the Government Gus
tom. his name was stricken from the rolls
of the Pension Office after he had been
missing three years. but If he were re-
stated and the Government would eve
him in the neighborhood of sl,20o.-Tope-
ka, kans., Capital.