The Washington herald., 1915-04-21

The first cIew TO the course taken by
! Booth through Charles County. Md. on
| mis- way from Washington to the Poto-
mac was furnished by a person known
J IN history as one of the Lincoln con-
sprators-Dr Samuel \. Mudh.
/ II was At Or. Mudd's house. twenty
| five miles south OF Washington and
! about four miles northeast of Bryantown.
! Md. that Booth and his comps MON.
! David f. Herold. drew rein at daylight
on April Il. the morning following the
assassination.
! DR.. Mudd had set Booths fractured
| leg. given him bed and. when Herold
said they must keep on. had pointed out
to Herold short cut across Iekiah
Swamp to the place he said they wished
to reach Piney Church.
That was on Saturday forenoon. be-
fore the doctor had heard of the assas-
sinat ion. Returning from Bryantown.
where he had heard the news. suspicious
were aroused by finding his guests gone
and by his wife's declaration that the
man with the broken leg wore a false
beard
Dissuaded from returning to the town
at once to tell the officers there about
his visitors. DR.. Mudd decided to send
word to them next morning when he
went to church.
On Easier morning.. AT ~ MARY >
Catholic Church. near BryantOwn. DR..
Mudd met a cousin. DIR. George ID. Mudd.
and gave him a message to the officers
about the two men who had been at his
house.
In the lcsurely manner Of the time
and place. i'll country without good
roads before the days Of telephones and
among people not accustomed to haste.
this message did not reach the authori-
ties until Monday.
The doctors message was commIn
Gated bv mis- cousin through third per-
son to Lieut.. David II. Dana, of the mill
tary police. who had arrived in the town
from Washington on Saturday with
cavalry escort. Lieut.. Dana sent for DR..
George Mudd and interviewed him. but
did not act on his information until the
next DAY. when a number of detectives
arrived from Washington and prepared
to follow up the clew.
Thus 4 delay of three days resulted
between the time that Booth left DR..
Mudd's and the taking up of his trail by
his pursuers
DR.. Mudd and the Detectives.
Several Washington detectives, accom-
panied by DIR. George Mudd-who was a
stanch Union man-went to DR.. Mudd's
house on Tuesday. April lS DIR. Mudd
was absent. making professional calls.
but soon returned. His manner showed
alarm. and when questioned he gave
sparing answers. An educated man. he
knew what to expect II the cloud OF
suspicion settled on him in that time
of passion and vengeance. and he feared
for his wife and his four little ones if he
were torn from them. He had done
nothing more for the stranger who had
visited him in distress than any humane
doctor would have done; but he had
aided him. and sent him on his way. and
now the government by proclama ton
had declared that such aid was punish
able by death.
The fact that Dr. Mudd had sent news
of his mysterious. visitors to the authori-
ties weighed lightly with his inter-
rogators against his reluctance to speak
freely He answered their questions,
but seemed to volunteer little informa
ton. His alarm and nervousness con-
demned him to his inauisitors.
At this interview the name of Booth
was mot spoken. nor was a photograph
Of the assassin shown DIR. Mudd. His
description of the crippled stranger con-
WINGED the detectives. however, that the
man was Booth.
Bo0th's boot Produced.
On Apru q the detectives made sec
ond visit to the home Of Mr.. Mudd. DIR.
Mudd as this interview produced the
long riding boot he had cut from Booths
foot before setting his leg. The detectives
demanded why he had not produced 1t
before He stated that il had been
thrown under the bed on which Booth
had slept and that when they called be-
fore he had not thought of 1t. II had
since been brought to his attention.
Examination Of the boot showed that
It was marked on the inside -. Wilkes"
An effort Gas made to discern another
word on the theory that Booth" had
been scratched out. No trace Of another |
word could be found. The boot doubt |
less had belonged to one Of Booths |
wardrobes when he acted under the |
name Of John wilkes.
DE-. Mudd again went over the details