The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1903-02-05
MORE BOOTH TALK
Il May be John Wilkes Booth Was
Not Killed After all.
A Metropolis Man Recalls Incidents Of
the Mysterious Burial
Of Booth
OTHER INTERESTING DETAILS

Since a man died out west claiming
to be John Wilkes Booth, many papers
of the country have been speculsting
on the question whether or not Booth
was ever really killed, as is generally
supposed.
The Metropolis Herald SAYS:
Sundays St. Louis Post Dispatch
contsined startling article concern
ing a man by the name Of ID. E, George,
who recently committed suicide at
Euid, Okla, and who just before his
death confessed that he was John
Wilkes Booth, the murderer Of Abra-
ham Lincoln. There was in many
ways evidence tending to prove that
the mans dying confession was true.
THE article is of special interest to
Metropolis people from the fact that
Captain e. W. Hiliird, Of this city, as
sisted in the final disposition of Booths
body, or what was supposed to be
Booths body.
ITO a representative of the Herald
Captain E. W. Hilliard read the story
and recalled carefully the time when
he and five other soldiers took body
down the Potomac river and buried It
beneath the waves with the impress
sfo., that a. xuaa th.t - noosk .na ~
was quite forcibly impressed with it.
HE says the whole affair Of Booths
capture and the disposition Of his
body was . peculiar circumstance and
shronded In mystery and while the
body was positively identified by q
military surgeon it is possible the body
was that OF some man resembling
Booth, which had been substituted for
the purpose Of quisting the country at
the time when the authorities realized
that they had failed to capture the
right man.
Captain billiard never saw Booth
while alive but remembers that he
saw what was said to have been an ex
cellent likeness of the man and on the
night that he assisted in disposing of
the mysterious body he noted the fact
that the resemblance was quite SINH
lar. However one side Of the head
and face were badly burned.
"Mr. billiard has q letter from
Horace l.. Trim, Of Providence. r. l.,
80 Lydia street, oorroborating his for
mer story Of disposition Of the body
which was published in the Herald
during the soldiers reunion here In
the fall of 1901. Trim was first class
boy on the steamer Dragon at the time
the body was unwrspped and examin-
ed that nioht and assisted in handling
the tarpaulin.
1.-The statement that the real Booth
was never captured has been made
more than once and now it seems quite
plausible.
A few years ago q well known man
of Unionville, Ill, came to Psduoah
and told . number Of his friends that
he had received letter from John
Wilkes Booth, who was an old sc hool
mate and that Booth was running
coffee plantation in Brazil. The story
was repeated and copied into the big
newspapers, and one or two Of them
sent staff correspondents to the old
mans home across the river to inter-
view him and take Photographic cop
les of the letter.
He never showed it to anyone, how
ever, and subsequently declared ii
was only . joke, but many such incl
dents as this and the one of the west
ern man who recently died and claim
cd to be Booth, have occurred since
the war to arouse momentary interest.
REV CARLISLE p r.