The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-06-28
WILKES BOOTH RELICS.
Evidences of His Death at National
Medical Museum.

Evidences OF His Death at National
Medical Museum.
Washington Post.
For the past thirty-eight years the peo-
pie of the United States have from time
to time been entertained with wild and
wooly stories to the effect that John
Wilkes Booth, the slayer of Lincoln, is, or
was. still alive, prosperous and happy. AL
though no two of these stories were quite
alike, they were all based on the assump-
ton that those who were sent in pursuit
of Booth failed to execute their mission,
and, not caring to return TO the capital
empty-handed, deliberately murdered some
unfortunate. whom they succeeded in palm
ing off on gullible public as the true and
only John Wilkes. Sensible men had hoped
that this ancient and moss-grown hoax had
did natural death in 1893, fondly imagin-
ing that the country and people had
grown far too intelligent to again tolerate
a revival OF this wearisome yarn, when,
TO their establishment, 1t came to life again
during the past six weeks, the papers OF
the country giving full space TO humbug
having more lives than cat. The fact
that people were present who knew, ana
who positively Identified Booth, cut no fig
ure with the alleged John Wilkes. who. 1T
Is said, recently died in Oklahoma, or with
lIOce WHO DelleNeQ the yarn. III IdCI Sucn
evidence has never at any time made the
slightest impression people, who be-
lieve because they want to believe
1t may seem strange to the average Amer
lean to learn that during all the thirty
eight years that blockheads and galOots
have been trying TO solve the mystery as to
who out of the many alleged Booths was
the real one, that the actual and tangible
proofs of the fact that he was shot by Bos-
ton Corbett have reposed in a in the
Army and Navy Medical Museum, where
AVln Isa.v al
once divining their true character. The
proofs in question consist of a section of
Booths spinal column, taken from the neck
where the ball fired by Corbett entered, a
section of the spinal cord in which the ball
lodged, and very generous lock Of his
coal black hair. All these things are in the
museum in question, having been placed
there by the surgeons who held the autopsy
upon the remains. Yet such has been the
desire of the government to keep everything
connected with the shooting of Booth Sc
cret, that one might wander for weeks in
the museum and then never find 1t. The
spleen of the assassin Guiteau, in an ad-
joining case, is labeled plainly enough, bear
ing a card which explains to the public that
such indeed is the actual, bona fde spleen
of one Charles Guiteau, but then, Guiteau
was a mere crank and lunatic, whose act
was utterly devoid of political bearing or
import, whereas the deed committed by
Booth bore certain aspects that, had the
government failed to act in the manner in
which II did, might have resulted in the
d
eyes of a very considerable portion of the
people of this country.
Now. however, that the "Booth-being-
alive-story'' has outlived the period of its
political usefulness, some of the officials of
the Army and Navy Medical Museum have
OF late thought seriously of placing the
name of Booth on the vessels bearing those
of his remains above described, so that peo-
pie may see and be convinced that the
moss-grown stories of his having escaped
are untrue. Directed by one of the gentle
MAJ ~ hn DnCf nrrfa 1trN
before the actual and tangible remains of
Booth several days ago, surveying them
long and critically. Like others, he had
passed them before without ever suspecting
their true character, although the labels al
most give the thing away, describing every
thing, but failing to give the assassin's
name. The label on the vessel containing
his shattered cervical (neck) vertebrae
reads thus:
Third, fourth and fifth cervical verte-
brae. conoidal carbine ball entered the
right side, comminuting the base of the
right lamina of the fourth vertebrate, frac-
turing 1t longitudinally and separating 1t
from the spinous process, at the same time
fracturing the fifth through its pericle and
involving the transverse process The mis-
sile passed directly through the canal with
a slight inclination downward, and to the
rear, emerging through the left bases of
the fourth and fifth lamina, which are COM
minuted, and from which fragments were
embedded in the muscles of the neck
See Medical and Surgical History of the
War"
Although the fact is not generally known.
and has never been published, in other than
surgical works, the shot that killed Booth
was almost exactly the same in character
as that which produced the death of Lin
coin. If one will take the trouble to glance
through the pages of the Medical and Sur
gical History Of the Wor," he will find that
the description of the shot which Booth
fired, and which killed Lincoln, is almost
word for word the same as the foregoing.
One or two lines only is the wording slight
ly different.
The label on the vial bearing a section of
the spinal cord is like the first in that il
gives no hint nor indication to whose
body the fragment was taken from. 1t
reads:
Portion of the spinal cord from the
cervical tneck) region, transversely per-
forated from right to left by a carbine
bullet which fractured the lamina of the
fourth and fifth vertebrae. The cord is
much torn and discolored by blood"
This last sentence is nowadays rather
misleading. Such, no doubt, was the con-
dition of the fragment when the govern
ment surgeons removed it from Booths
neck, in 1866, at which time the above label
was written, placed on the vessel contain
ing the bit of spinal cord and locked up in
the case where 1t has stood ever since;
but remaining thirty-eight years in alcohol
and 1t now looks as white and pearly as a
piece of paraffine.
The lock of hair which lies in small
open box or case is placed rather in the
corner Of the case and to one side of the
vessels containing the vertebrae and spinal
cord, and one has to look for ii little be-
fore getting into the proper position for
seeing it, In short it occupies a position so
unusual as to leave one under the impress
sion that the surgeons who placed 1t there
in 1863 We're not overanxious for people to
see 1t. 1t bears no label whatever other
than a small strip of paper on which is
written the museum number, IS.
The existence of these interesting relics
of John Wilkes Booth have been known
TO the medical students, physicians and
army surgeons of the museum ever since
they placed in the exhibit room, but
for the entire period of thirty-eight years
since 1865 this is the first newspaper ac-
count of these relics to appear in this or
any other city of North America.
GEN. GORDON's CHARMED LIFE.