The Washington herald., 1915-04-20

ON April 90. the sixth day after
the ASA ssnation of Lincoln, the gov
eminent issued poster offering re-
wards aggregating 100000 for the
apprehension of John Wilkes Booth.
the assassin. and two of his supposed
accomplices.
OF this. $4,000 was for Booth.
$4,000 for John II. Surratt. who was
supposed at first TO have attempted
the murder of Secretary of State
william II. Seward, and $4,000 for
Daniel c. Harold. another of Booths
accomplices."
At the time this was issued Lewis
Powell. alias Payne, had been in Gus
tody in Washington three days and
had been Identified as the assailant
of Mr. Seward. The other man for
whom $4,000 was offered was not
Daniel C. Harold, but David +.
Herold, whose identity could have
been established by a few hours OF
police investigation. as he had lived
in Washington all his life. He had
worked there as drug clerk, and
his family, including seven sisters,
lived there.
A later issue of the governments
proclamation gave Herolds name cor :
rectIy, and substituted for that of
Surratt the name of ''G. A. Atzerold.
sometimes called Port Tobacco
This was George A. Atzerold. who had
been assigned by Booth to Kill Vice
President Johnson, but had lacked
purpose to 10 the work. on April -
he was still at large.
To this offer Of these large rewards
were appended these words:
"All persons harboring or screening
the said persons, or either OF them, or
aiding or assisting their conceaimeht
or escape, will be treated as accom-
plices in the murder of the President
and the attempted assassination or
the Secretary of State, and shall be
subject to trial before military COM
mission and the punishment OF death.
Let the stain of innocent blood be
removed from the land by the ar
rest and punishment of the murderers.
"AlI good citizens are exhorted to
aid public justice on this occasion.
Every man should consider his own
charged with this solemn
duty and rest neither night nor day
until II be accomplished"
Pursuit Badly Managed.
This proclamation reflected pubic
The people were saVaSely
impatient for the capture of the as
"a ssin. and the delay in taking him.
or in cleaning from thousand wiz
stories of his flight a reliable ciew
of his course, irritated the earnest
and excitable Secretary Of War Edwin
NJ. Stanton, who represented the gov
arnment in the hunt for the murderer.
From the first the pursuit of Booth
had been vigorous, but badly man
aged. In the grief, excitement. pas
sjon and rage following the striking
down of the President men worked
blindIy and at cross purposes. Inc
large rewards offered dazzled the po-
lice detectives, who plunged into the
bunt with zeal and promptitude; but
Washington was policed by the mill
tary. under the commander of the De-
ma rtmeut of Washington. Mai. Gen
{. c. Augur, and the military officers
could not bring themselves to work
heartily with civilian detectives.
The result was several pursuits by
yrouns of men not working sufficiently
N harmony to insure efficiency and the
saving of time.
The first officer to approach the route
aiken by Booth was Lieut.. David ID.
Dana. of the provost marshals forces.
who was sent out to follow the first
lew received. indicating the direction OF
BOOTHS flight. This clew was furnished
,bout four hours after the assassina-
ion. Dy JONI tStShVf' hsCss
manager, who had seen HerOld, BoOth's
on one of F'letcher's horses,
hat Heroid had promised to return by
O'Clock, and had followed him to the
Navy Yard Bridge. Here Fletcher had
,een turned back by the guard. but not
Without learning that two horsemen had
.rossed into Maryland few minutes
before.
Lieut.. Dana. with a small cavalry
,scort, followed TO q fork the same road
n that taken by Booth. Here Booth
,ad taken the left-hand road. to 60 to
where his carbines were
and thence to the home OF
Dr.. samuel A. Mudd, near Bryantown.
o have his broken leg set Lieut. po0ei
COX the right-hand road-the direct roo44
o Port Tobacco. which Booth reaeno~
IDLY might have been expected to folleus
II 2 q. m. April 5, Lieut. Dana reGeDoo
he hamlet OF Piscataway. from W1trh |
10 reported that he had reliable inforgeI
Ion that the President's slayer -
,amed Boyle or Boyd. Desperate NH
lad recently killed Federal ONCE ~
Maryland.
xSsst DsaA ssnt wsra y ~ ~