Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-04-22
THE COUNTRY HOME
BY MRS. " Il FELTON,

cursing and raging about the killing of Lin
coin. He was afraid they would get in the
house. He came to warn me. 1t was i'm
possible to realize that the president should
be murdered with Washington City full OF
Federal soldiers. / set it down in my mind
that the story was told down at the negro
quarter to cover up some sort of deyllment.
A merciful Heavenly Father cared for US
in our helpless condition, but the news was
confirmed during the day. l am glad to
know that the people who were closest to us
were all sorry and regretted the deed. To
come back to Booths capture and death in
the late Washington newspaper. Booth tried
to hide in the poor swampy regions across
the Potomac, but the soldiers finally over
heard aged negro say he hadn't seen no.
body, but there a sick man, and an
other one, who hired his little wagon to
cross creek and to reach a place where
they could get a doctor for the sick man.
The trail was promising, and within two
days the searchers heard that a lame man
and another man were at farmhouse a few
miles away They found the farmhouse and
searched it. There was a big barn with con-
siderable hay in it, and they surrounded the
barn. Someone heard whispering inside
Then the leading officer called Booth by
name and told him the barn was fully sur
rounded and if he did not surrender they
would fire the hay and finish the job. Booth
did not answer, but the man with him
came to the door and said he would give up,
be taken alive, and he had two pistols and
a carbne In the meantime one of the out
side soldiers had pulled off some weather.
boarding and could glimpse Booth in the
hay NOV. Someone set a match to the hay,
and the outside fired on Booth, asd the fatal
bullet passed through his shirt collar twice.
By this time the hay was all on fire. Booth
pulled out and flung some distance. He
was heard to say something, and soldier
told it that he said, Tell my mother I died
for my country" His last muttering was,
useless! Useless!" His body was hauled to
the river and placed on a passing boat going
toward Washington City. His body was dis
posed of without burial, but how and by
whom was not related, but it is believed that
he was finally flung into the river.
Because of this fact the word went around
that he had escaped to a foreign country
and never returned to the United States.
Some said he was seen in Australia and in
other places. 1t is considered that he was
trapped in the barn and received his mortal
wound as here described. His Brother, Ed
win, never visited Washington any more. He
was a great fayorite and a fine actor, but
he was heard to say, mo more Washington !"
for him, I am very old now, and I lived
and suffered through the Civil war, but
feel free to say it was most unfortunate for
the south that Mr.. Lincoln was thus assas-
sinated l shall always believe, until my
mind is changed after the resurrection, that
Mr.. Lincoln would have been more humane
and more generous in the matters concerning
the south than any other northern man who
survived him. 1t was a bad thing to raise
sectional hate and prejudice to boiling heat.