The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1903-06-03
THE OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES LEGEND
RAISED UNKNOWN OKLAHOMA WHO
CLAIMED RE JOHN wilK.s BoorH-rHE STORY or THE
CLAIMANT THE KNOWN FACTS.

The cable yesterday announced that
the body of a suicide at Enid OKLA
homa had been Identified as that Of
John Wilkes Booth This identn.a-
ton follows a more or less continuous
course Of investigation which has been
gng on for several months. Some
months ago, a man known in Guthrie,
Enid, El Reno and other places in that
region as Daniel f. George. attempted
to commit suicide. After his attempt
on his life, and while he was yet eX-
pecting to die from it, he told the land
lady of the hotel that he was none
other than John Wilkes Booth. the as
sassin of Abraham Lincoln; that after
the assassination he had escaped, and
had been a Wanderer ever since. He
had always been well supplied with
money which came to him in remit
tances, from, no one knew where The
man did not die at that time. His
confession was made public ana more
or less investigation followed and some
of what has been published concerning
the matter is here reproduced. Later
the man succeeded in committing sui
eide.
In the hotel at Enid when he first
took poison George" called Mrs. Har-
per, his landady, to his bedside and
Mrs. Harper tells of the confession as
follows:
1T was then that he called me to his
side, says: I have something to tell
you; l am going to die in a few min
utes, and l must tell someone. ! be-
lieve you are friend and l don't be-
4.
me. Did it ever occur to you that l
was anything but an ordinary painter?
l killed the best man that ever lived
asked him who it was and he answered
Abraham Lincoln
Il couldn't believe 1t. l thought prob
ably he was out of his head. He said:
Don't doubt it; it is true: ! see you
cannot believe 1t, but it is true. l am
going to die in a few minutes He
told me he was rich and had written
his life and left it in book form, and
that after his death it would be pub
| lished. He said he was j. Wilkes
Booth, and taking pencil and paper
wrote it down-a large, peculiar hand.
| He seemed to be perfectly rational
when talking with me; he knew me and
| knew where he was, and really thought
| he was about to die. He asked me
to keep his secret until after he was
dead, adding, If anyone would find
out now that l was j. Wilkes Booth
they would take me out and hang me,
and the people who love me 50 well
would despise me-
George told me that men high in
official life hated Lincoln and pro-
missed him great reward if he and
another man would kill Lincoln, Sc
| ward and others.
George said the suspense Of pos
sbly being detected all the time was
something awful. He said he had
travelled since all over Europe, Africa
and in Asia. He said his life was
miserable, that Mrs. Surratt was in
| nocent, and he was responsible for
her death and that of several others.
! George said he was devoted 10 act
| ing, but had to give that up because
| on the stage he would be detected. The
| fact that he must remain from the
| stage when he desired to act, made him
| restless. He remained abroad, he
said, until he became an old man, then
returned, doing painting, caTpentering
| bookkeeping and at times even ven
! turing on the stage. He said he had
| plenty of money, but was compelled 10
work to keep his mind occupied
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