The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-04-05
Was He a Suicide.

'.NVhv. he must have killed himself with
a little pistol continued Mr. Mason
MT MasOus gratultOus EXPLANATIONS
and comments, and especially ms deGlaia-
ton that ne crossed the river with Booth
the previous day. now attracted I6df'al
soldiers 20 his side and he would nave
been then and there arrested ana taken
90 Washington as a witness or au9-
piciOus character but for timely Incl
dent. III seemed that the crowd was
minus a horse or two with which 20
cross King George 20 the Potomac. ana
while Nlr. Mason was claboratelv discus
sing the wound. etc, his horses We're oD-
jeCts 10 be coveted.
one of the party rot of the soldiers,
remarked. with an apparent sign OF re-
lief. "WeIl take one of this man
horses Mr. Mason. forgetting his dig
nity. exclaimed. "lll be damned II YOU or
any other man on Gods gre D EARN
shall take one of my horses! NO. SIR
nm shoot The man who attempts to take
Colonel Congcr. attracted by sharp
words. hagteued 10 the scene. and. in
most g5ntlemanly and courteous manner
assured Mr. Mason that his horses should
nee be touched, remarklng. we came
here for but one purpose, and that was
t0 get Booth. We have him-thats an
NE want. and no one I'm this crowd shall
modest YOU OF anything belonging 10
me horse eDisode attracted attention
from The statement that Mr. Mason had
been with Booth, and De lost no time ih
getting away from Port conway Being
reminded later ln the day that what DE
had said would cause his arrest as wit
ness. he hied himself 90 the neighnoTlng
Jungle and remained in hiding for some
From that dsy Co this Mr. Mason has
-t8uty adhered Co the theory aud belief
that Booth took his own HE rather than
surrender or De captured dult- lie de-
cIaras that 10 is impossible for the wound
a. d. f#aa Z
rifle bullet arguing that the nIlier was
no larger than certain variety OF the
EreIish pea-a smaller bullet than was
carried hy any shooting iron used bE
soldiers al that time. lie argues other
points iu support of his suicide theory
and saws that his first conviction thdt
Booth was shot by small pistol lu his
own hand was based Nos only upon his
extended knowledge of and experience
with firearms. but upon wound which
Do received himself during the war
The village ul Fort conway Wuefe MI
Mason met Booth and party. and where
they crossed the Rappahaunock Is not
without some interesting history 10 ls
not only one OF the oldest villages in Nir-
giuia and was not only one oi the most
Important ports boa this country moro tnan
70 century ago. but it iS the birthplace OF
James Madison. the fourth president oI
the United States
Tho unureteutiOus mansion in Port Con-
way whore iu March. I5l James Madi-
TEEN. and was visited bY mult.tudcs Of
sightseeTs for many years. But the Mad
isou mansion has long since succumbed
TO the ravages OF time and now "A huge
depression in the ground and some moss
covered bricks and stones-thc remains
of the old ceilar-are an that remains 90
mark the spot where our country fourth
president was born. 10 iS very near by
This old collar, grown mp with shrubbery.
that MT Mason examined the wound Do
Booths head a few yards from that spot
was thc scene OF Tie spirited COnvCrsa-
ti0u between Mr. Mason and the man who
proposed 90 take one of his horses
The RappahaunOck river is less than
hall a mile wide at Port Conway. and di-
rectly opposite this village is Port ROYAL,
in Carolina county. which enjoys the dis
tiuction of being one of the oldest towns
in The United States. autedatug Phill-
delphla and the other large cities OF the
country.
A Historic Ferry.
The ferry boat n which Booth and
party crossed the Rappahannock and the
terry franchise at that place belonged 10
Mr William Rollins. who died "a little
more rhau a year ago The Port Con-
way ferry had been in operation many
wears when the civil war broke out