Evening star., 1942-12-20

The weapon used by the assassin was
of the British bulldog revolver type, with
a short barrel, and noted for its mac
curacy, which accounted for the first
bullet passing through the right coat
sleeve of the President and doing no in
jury. The second shot however, was
more true and entered the body above
the third rib, where the .44-caliber bull
let lodged under the pancreas and stom-
ach about -and-one half inches to
the front and left of the spinal column.
No doubt there are still living num-
Der of people who are familiar with this
dastardly crime, but few who had the
opportunity for getting at the facts as
did the late DR.. William Tindall. whose
services with the city government began
when the District was governed by
Mayor, a Board of Aldermen and a
Common Council: who was secretary
when the Capital had a territorial form
of government, and who passed away a
few years ago, but still rendering valua-
BILE service to his adopted city up to the
time of his death.
At the time this crime was committed
DR.. Tindall was secretary to the Board
of Commissioners and his story of the
sad event, as delivered before the Co.
lumbia Historical Society some years
ago, is interesting enough to repeat. In
part he said:
while busy at my desk in the Office Of
the Commissioners of the District of Co.
lumbia, which was then housed in the
Morrison Building on the west side Of
Four-and-a street, now John Mar
shall place, few minutes before 10
o'clock on the morning of July 2, 1881, I
was startled by the abrupt entrance Of
the Office messenger and hissexcited ex-
clamation that Vice President Arthur
has just been killed at the Baltimore &c
Potomac Railroad Station tOf course,
the messenger was mistaken for it was
the President who had been shotD
Il Immediately left the building to go
to the station, but, upon reaching the
northwest corner of Four-and"a half
street and Pennsylvania avenue, where
the police headquarters was then situ-
ated, was attracted by two detectives
leading a man up the outside steps on
the -Four -and-a-half street side of the
building, by means of which access was
had to the second story, where the Of
flee of the superintendent of police was
quartered,
Il followed them up the steps, and
when l reached the top, the man in
custody of the officers turned his face
toward me and smiled at me with a
silly sort of leer. Some years before,
when territorial form of government for
the District of Columbia was in force.
one of the prominent participants in the
local political gatherings in the voting
district in which I then resided was a
highly nervous excitable man Of more
than ordinary mental culture but re-
garded as somewhate eccentric. The man
under arrest SO nearly resembled this
man in appearance that I thought it
was he and was about to address him as
such and ask him why he was under
police restraint, when one of the officers
whispered to me, This is Guiteau, the
man who shot the President 1t was
Charles j. Guiteau.'
The President was soon borne to the
White House, where he lay until Sep
tember 6, when it was felt that q
change to Elberon, N. j., might prove o,
benefit, but after lingering until the 18th
Of the month. he quietly passed away.