THE FLIGHT AND DEATH OF THE ASSASSIN.

Bruce Herald, Volume III, Issue 68, 27 July 1865, Page 7

THE FLIGHT AND DEATH OF THE ASSASSIN.

The energy displayed by the authorities in the pursuit of the murderer was speedily rewarded by success. , ; {Within 12 days of the murder, Booth and Harrold, an accomplice who accompanied him, were found to havoataken refuge in a swamp in that part of Maryland which juts out between the mouth of the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay. It had already been ascertained that the conspirators bad assembled in that neighborhood before the fatal night oi ,

Aprill4i and it. was conjectured that "Booth had fled in that direction. Thither he was tracked by a body of Federal cavalry. The. No. w York correspondent , of the ' Moaning Herald' supplies the following 1 details :— "For the time public attention is at~ tracted from the progress of the corpse of the President on its way to its final resting place, to the intensely thrilling history of Booth's flight and death. With a broken leg— the boric, we are told, protruding from the flesh arid chafing against his saddle — he rides out of Washington on that bloody night, and pushes for the swamps of St. Mary's County, Maryland. . His accomplice, Hartfold, rides by his side. After hours of terrible travel they find a surgeon one Madg;e— and this man, sets the broken limb. Whether he knew the character of his patient or not is yet to be determined. Near the house of this Mudge, Booth and Harrold lie concealed for three days. From their hiding place in the thickets they see the squads of Federal horsemen thundering up and down the dusty roads; the country about them is full of pursuers ; the hot breath of a terrible vengeance scorches the^r haggard faces. They finally creep from the bushes, and, "by, stealth, and in the darkness, they work their way to the Potomac. The surface of the river is by night ablaze with light : fleets of gunboats patrol its waters incessantly ; there are no skiffs, scows, or canoes to be found — every vessel of the sort has been destroyed by the Federal forces. Every ford is guarded. The negroes are stimulated, by special appeals, to hunt down the assassins ; and they cannot safely trust any white man. A reward of 150,000 dollars is ready for the man wio shall lay his hand upon them. Finally, after a wetk of what must have been intolerable agony, they are set across the river. A Confederate captain pilots them to a point near Port Royal, informing all persons that they are Confederates returning from the state of Maryland to the Sjuth." For the remainder of the narrative we turn to other sources of information : — "It having' been ascertained that the two men had crossed the Potomac, a force of cavalry at once started in pursuit. On the night of the 26th April the fugitives were found to have secreted themselves in a barn, near Bowling Gresn, in Caroline County, Virginia. A detachment of 28 men of the 16th New York Cavalry, came up and surrounded the barn. The following colloquy is said to have taken place between Booth and Lieutenant Baker, of the cavalry : — ' Baker : You must give up your arms and surrender. We will give you five minutes to consider, and then we will burn the barn.' — Booth; Who are you, and what do you want ? — Baker : We want you and intend to take you. — Booth : This is a hard case. lam a cripple with one leg, but give me a chance for my life. Withdraw your men one hundred yards from the barn and I will come out and fight. — Baker : We don't come here to fight, but to take you prisoner. You must give up your arms and surrender. — I could pick' off a dozen of you while you are talking, but I do not wish to kill anybody. I will never surrender though. Never be taken alive. — Baker : Then we will fire the barn. — Booth : Well, my brave boys, prepare a stretcher for me.' After this a conversation took place inside between Booth and Harrold, during which the former was heard to say, l You coward, will you leave me now ? but go, go, I don't want you to stay with me.' He then addressed the party outside, and said, 'There is a man here who wants to come out.' The Lieutenant : ' Let him hand out his arms and come out.' Anotn«»r talk here occurred between those inside, in which it appeared that Harrnld was begging to be allowed to take out some arms with him, Booth was heard to say, eGoc Go away from me, I don't want anything to do with you.' Harrold then came to the door and asked to be let but. Lieutenant Baker said ' No, hand out your arms. Hnrrold replied, ' I have none.' Lieutenant Baker: 'Yes you have. You carried a carbine when you came here. You mnst hand it out.' Booth — ' He has no arms. They are all mine. Upon my word as a gentleman, he has no arms. All that are here belong to me/ Lieutenant Baker then approached the door. Harrold thrust out his hands and was pulled from the door, tied; and placed in charge of a guard. All this took place in the dark, the night

being cloudy. Colonel Conger, in command of the cavalry, being satisfied that further parley was useless, set fire to the hay through the crevices of the barn, and the building was soon in flames." What followed is thus narrated by Sergeant Corbett, one of the soldiers present, from whoni as will be seen, Booth received his death wound :r— 'Before the flames were kindled, Booth had the ad vantage of us in respect to light. He could see us but we could not see aim. But after that the tables were turned against him ; we could see him plainly, but could not be seen by him. The flames appeared to confuse him, and he made a spring to the door, as if to attempt to force his way out. As he passed by one ot the crevices In the barn I fired at him. I aimed at his body ; I did not want to kill him. I took deliberate aim at his shoulder, but my aim was too high. The ball struck him in the head, just below the right ear, and, passing through, came out about an inch above the left ear. I think he stooped to pick up something just as I fired. That may probably account for his receiving the ball in the head. I was not over eight or ten yards from him when I fired. I was afraid that if I did not wound him he wonld kill some of our men. After he was wounded I went into the barn. Booth was lying in a reclining position on the floor. I asked him — ' where are you wounded ? ' He replied, in a very feeble voice, his eyes glaring with a peculiar brilliancy, 'la the head. You have finished me.' He was then carried out of the burning building into the open air, where he died in two hours and a half afterwards. About an hour before he breathed his last, he prayed for us to shoot him through the heart, and thus end his misery. His sufferings appeared to be intense. Booth, although he could have killed several of our party, seemed to be afraid to fire. Mine was the only shot that was fired on either side. When he fell he had in his hand a six-barrelled revolver, and at his feet was tying a seven-shooter, which he dropped after he was wounded. Two other revolvers were also near him. He declared that the srnis belonged to him, and that Harrold had nothing to do with the murder. We gave him brandy and four men went in searsh of a doctor, whom we found about four miles from the scene of the occurrence. But when the doctor arrived Booth was dying*. He did not talk much after receiving the wound. When asked if he had anything to say, he replied:— 'l die for my country,' and asked those standing by to tell his mother so. He did not deny his crime.' Harrold, the accomplice, heavily ironed, was led away by a rope round nis neck, and thus conveyed to Washington. The corpse of Booth was' interred — 'where,' adds the account ' but two men know.'

Several arrests have since been made of persons supposed to be implicated in the plot for the rnurcTer of Mr Lincoln and Mr Seward, and amongst them, a man believed to be the individual who attempted the life of Mr Seward. Tne whole ol the accused who are in custody have been brought up for trial in Washington ; but the proceed* ings are being conducted withclosed doors. The reason for this precaution^ is obvious. The area of suspicion has enlarged its horizon so far as -to include the most distinguished of the Southern leaders, and the new President has issued a proclamation offering a reward of 10,000 dollars for the arrest, of Jefferson Davis, and proportionate sums for other leaders, on the grounds that he possesses evidence to prove that they are involved in the conspiracy. No* body believes this statement, and President Johnston is universally condemned for his proclamation, which is regarded simply as supplying* him with a pretext for demanding the surrender of Davis, should he find his way into other countries. It is very doubtful whether he will be able to effect his escape. Stories are told of his flight with 11 waggons of specie and 3000 cavalry into South Carolina: but ( they appear to have no foundation in fact. He was last heard of in Hancock county, and the cavalry of the enemy were said to be scouring the country,, and close upon him. The sea-board was narrowly watched and people wellacquainted with the locality think that his escape is impossible.