Evening Star Newspaper, February 9, 1930, Page 103

t form my words clearly, but they were too frightened 0. : to esich other snd staréd. " Por a moment they stood there, and hén, gquite suddenly, they turned abou: ‘znd darted away in. the bush. I shricked and cried aloud. 1 tore at' my bonds and shouted, but my fit passed and I fell once mere inlo un- comsciousness, from which, after a time, I half awoke, fo see a group of Indians standing looking at me. : “The children had brought their parents, and now the parents were frightened. It-is "bad for an Indian to find a white man-in such a position when there is no way of proving who was responsible for the matter.."The result of that was that a very great deal of time was wasted. pow-wowing. Finally, however, one old chap—there were a dozen. there. by then— : decided that ‘he would relieve-me a little, at any rate; while one of his companions went to the riearest rubber station to ‘tell the story. 1 was released 22 hours after being tied, and I wds & wreck. With the aid of the Indian who had released me, I stumbled through the jungle -t0 his hut, but from there: I had to be carrfed~to El Encanto in a hammock, There was, however, one great advantage fo all this. I had real symptoms—symptoms so evident ° that no objection was made to my taking the next boat down to Iquitos. 'HEN, however, disaster overtook me. Every- +** _thing was arranged for my trip. My trunk was packed. I had already mentally said good- by to the Putumayo. And I came down with an attack of ‘pernicious malaria that kept me on my back for a week, during which the steamer arrived and departed, while I, in my delirium, dreamed of ice cream and mince pies and other foods that I had not seén for years. Loayza told’me later that my temperature was 106. It is no wonder that they decided not to put me on the steamer. - And then, to cap the climax, I came back to consciousness in order to realize that another three months must pass before I could escape from that ghostly. region. o What months those were. I was a nervous wreck. The torture to which I had been sub- jugated had taken a great deal from me, and the malaria had taken the rest. To cap the climax, there had been a mistake in the ¢hip- ments of food to the station. Through some fool error the usual supplies had not come, and instead, an almost endless supply of canned shrimps and pate de foie gras had bzen put ashore. Forty cases of these delectable foods had been sent us—but that was all! Imagine having shrimps and pate de foie gras every day. Imagine trying to make new dishes out of these supplies. We had pate de foie gras soup—actually. We fried it and THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. FEBRUARY 9. Before 1 could say a word, one of the savages leaped upon me and tore my- gun from my hands. burned it and did everything we could to it, and we did the same with the canned shrimps. Fortunately we had manioc, and that, believe me, was & godsend. The only three cans of condensed milk- that were left were given to me. But we all spent mare than a little time with the Indians, eating their food, and though all this happened in 1909, I still cannot go shrimps or pate dz fole gras. Perhaps, however, all this was just as well. Had we had proper food—had I had proper care, it is not unlikely that my leave to go down to Iquitos would have been canceled. As it was I was an emaciated wreck, and it was obvious, at least to me, that though I had thrown off the attack of malaria, I would never get on my feet again if I were forced to stay at El Encanto. The result was, thank Heaven, that when the Liberal next appeared at our station, I went azboard and .saw El Encanto disappear astern as we headed down stream. There was no doubt in my mind that I had seen the last of the Putumavo. I had not the slightest idea that I would ever return to that horror ridden place. But we are creatures of circumstance, and all my resolutions went for naught. For a little over two years, it is true, I remained away, and in that time saw still another phase of South American life, “®it finally I went once more to the Futumayo, where I saw the sights of which I had only heard before—where I began to realize what real degeneracy is—how far human kind can sink into the slime of brutality and cruelty. (Copyright, 1930.) When the Tragic Story of Abraham Lincoln’s Death Was News Continucd from Fifth Page rocking-chair in which the President had been sitting, also on the partition and on the fioor. “A common single-barreled pocket pistol was found on the carpet. “A military guard was placed in front of the private residence to which the President had been conveyed. “An immense crowd was in front of it, all deeply anxious to learn the condition of the President. It had been previously announced that the wound was mortal, but all hoped otherwise. a “The shock to the community was terrible. At midnight the cabinet, with Messrs. Sumner, Colfax, Farnsworth, Judge Carter, Gov. Oglesby, Gen. Meigs, Maj. Hay and a few personal friends, with Surgeon Gen. Barnes and his medical associates, were around his bedside. The President was in a state of ' syncope, totally insensible, and breathing slowly, the blood oozing from the wound at the back of his head. The surgeons were ex- hausting every possible effort of medical skill, but all hope was gone. The parting of his family with the dying President is too sad for description. “The President and Mrs. Lincoln did not start to the theater, till 15 minutes past 8, o’clock. Speaker Colfax was at the White Housz at the time, and the President stated to him that he was going, although Mrs. Lincoln had not been well, because the papers had advertised that Gen. Grant and themselves were to be present and, as Gen. Grant had gone North, he did not wish the audience to be disappointed. He went with apparent re- luctance, and urged Mr. Colfax to go with him; but that gentleman had made . other engagements and, with Mr. Ashmun of Mas- sachusetts, bade him good-bye.” The story then described the attempted mur- der of Secretary of State Seward, which oc- curred at about 10 o’clock at the Secretary’s home. “The entire city Mast night presented a scene of wild excitement, accompanied by violent expressions of indignation and the profoundest sorrow,” it continues. “The mili- tary authorities have dispatched mounted pa- trols in every direction, in order, if possible, to arrest the assassins, while the Metropolitan police are zlike vigilant for the same purpose. The attacks, both at the theater and at Secretary Seward'’s, took place at about the same hour—10 o'clock—thus showing a pre- scented plan to assassinate these gentlemen. “Some evidence of the guilt of the party who attacked the President is in possession of the police. Vice President Johnson is in the city, and his hotel gquarters are guarded by troops. s “Two-thirty am.—The President Is still alive, but is growing weaker. The ball is Jodgad in his brain, three inches from where it entcred the skull. He remains insensible, and his condition utterly hopeless. “Large crowds still continue in the street, 85 near to the house as the line of guards will allow.” N the same edition The Star gives the ac- count of the death of the President as follows: & “At 22 minutes past 7 o’'clock the President breathed his last, closing his eyes as if falling to sleep, and his countenance assuming an expression of perfect serenity. There were no indications of pain, and it was not known that he was dead until the gradually decreas- ing respiration ceased altogether. “Rev. Dr. Gurley (of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church) immediately on its being ascertained that life was extinct, knelt gt the bedside and offered an impressive prayer, which was responded to by all present. “Dr. Gurley then proceeded to the front par- Jor, where Mrs. Lincoln, Capt. Robert Lincoln, Mr. John Hay, the private secretary, and others, were waiting, where he again offered prayer for the consolation of the family.” “Surrounding the deathbed of the President were Secretaries Stanton, Wetles, Usher, Attor- ney General Speed, Postmaster General Denni- son, M. B. Field, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury; Judge Otto, Assistant Secretary of the Interior; Gen. Halleck, Gen. Meigs, S2na- tor Sumner, P. R. Andrews of New York, Gen. Todd of Dacotah, John Hay (private secretary), Gov. Oglesby of Illinois, Gen. Farnsworth, Mrs, and Miss Kenny, Miss Harris, Capt. Robert Lin- coln, son of the President, and Drs, E. W. Ab- bott, R. K. Stone, C. D. Gatch, Neal, Hall and Leiberman. Secretary McCullough remained with the President until about 5 o’clock and Chief Justice Chase, after several hours’ attend- ance during the night, returned again early this morning.” THE following graphic account of President Lincoln’s assassination given by an eye wit- ness appears in the columns of The Star two days later, on Monday, April 17, 1865: “THE ASSASSINATION.—STATEMENT OF AN EYE-WITNESS. “Mr. James P. Ferguson, who was present at Ford’s on the night of the assassination, makes a statement to the following purport: “He went to the theater with a lady on Fri- day night for the express purpose of seeing Gen. Grant, who was announced to be present. Mr. Ferguson saw the presidential party enter the box, but, of course, did not see the lieu- tenant general. He, however, continued to watch the box, thinking the general might in- tend to slip quietly in, i order to avoid the demonstrations that would attend his recog- nition. “When the second scene of the third act of the play was reached Mr. Ferguson saw (and recognized) John Wilkes Booth making his way along the dress circle to the President’s box. Of this box Mr. Ferguson had an excellent view, being seated in the dress circle just opposite to it, next to the private boxes on the other side of the circle. This seat he had purposely chosen to afford his companion a good view of the Heutenant general, and, for the reasons already stated, was narrowly watch'ng the entrance to it. “Mr. Ferguson and Boi'h had met in the afternoon and conversed, and were well ac- quainted with each other, so that the former im- mediately recognized him. Booth stopped two steps from the door, took off his hat, and, hold- ing it in his left hand, leaned against the wall behind him. - In this attitude he remained for half a minute; then, adds Mr. Ferguson, he stepped down one step, put his hand on the door of the little corridor leading to the box, bent his knee against it, the door opened, and Booth entered, and was for the time hidden from Mr. Ferguson's sight. Mr. Ferguson watched for his appearance in the box, desiring to see who in that party the actor could be on such intimate terms with as to feel warranted in taking such a liberty. Whether Booth shut the door of the little corridor or left it open be< hind him, Mr. Ferguson fears to state positively; but from what he observed. of the door, and for the reasons hereafter to be stated, believes he did shut it. The shot was the next thing Mr. F. remembers. He saw the smoke, then perceived Booth standing upright with both hands raised, but at that moment saw no weapon or anything else in either. Booth then sprang to the front of the box, laid his left hand on the railing in front, was checked an instant evidently, by his coat or pants being caught in something, or held back by somebody. (It was by - Maj. Rathburn.) “A post in front obstructed the view of Mr, Ferguson, but Booth soon chang=d his position, and again was_clearly seen by Mr. F. He now had a knife in his right hand, which he also laid upon the railing, as he already had his left and vaulted out. As his legs passed be- tween the folds of the flags d3corating the box, his spur, which he wore on the right heel, caught the drapery and brought it down, tear- ing a strip with it. When he left go the rail- ing, he still clutched the shining knife. He crouched as he fell, falling on one knee and putting forth both hands to help himsslf to recover an erect position, which he did with the rapidity and easy agility of an athlete. “Having recovered his equilibrium, Booth strode across the stage to the first entrance, passing behind the actor on the stage (Harry Hawk). When he reached the other side of the stage, just ers he became invisible by passing into the entrance he looked up, and Mr. Fergu- son said he heard him say, ‘I have done it,’ and then he lost sight of him.” 'HE thrilling account of the capture of Booth 12 days after the assassination is told in the following story in The Star of April 27, 1865: “The thrilling intelligence of the capture and ignominious death of the assassin Booth was recelved with profound satisfaction here, the only shade of alloy being in the fact that the villain met any end less disgraceful than in having his neck stretched. “To Col. L. C. Baker, special detective of the War Department, and his admirably trained detective force, and to the New York Cavalry, the active participators in the seizures, the country: owes ‘a debt of grafitude for this timely service. “It seems that a detachment of the 16th New York Cavalry, numbering about 25 men, which was dispatched from this city on Mon- . day under the direction of Col. L.“C. Baker, special detective of the War Department, in command of Lieut. Dogherty, accompanied by some of Col. Baker's officers, captured and killed Booth and captured Herold, one of his accomplices, alive. “The cavalry, after leaving here, landed at Belle Plain in the night, and immediately started out in pursuit of Booth and Herold, having previously ascertained from a colored man that they had crossed the river into Vir- ginia at Swan Point, in a small canoe, hired by Booth from a man for $300. “Proeeeding on towards Bowling Green, some 3 miles from ‘Port Royal, Lieut. Degherty, who was in command of the cavalry, discovemd that Booth and- Herold were secreted in a large barn, owned by a man named Garrett, and were well armed. “The cavalry ‘then surrounded the barn and summoned Booth and his accomplice to surrender. Herold was inclined at first to accede to the request, but Booth accused him of cowardice, then they both peremptorily re- fused to surrender and made preparations to defend themselves. In order to take the com- spirators alive the barn was fireq, and, the flames getting too hot for Herold, he ap- proached the door of the barn and signified his willingness to be taken prisoner. Herold then came out of the barn and gave himself up and was securely handcuffed. Booth main- tained a defiant attitude, refusing to sur- render, and in a braggadocia style challenged his pursuers to fight him by turns singly. As the roof of the barn was about falling in and Booth manifested a disposition to make a bolt, he was shot by Sergt. Boston Corbett of the 16th New York, the ball taking effect in the neck, from the effects of which he died in about 3 hours. “Booth, before breathing his last, was askbd if he had anything to say, when he replied, ‘Tell my mother that I died for my country.” “Herold and the body of Booth were brought into Belle Plain at 8 o'clock' st night, and reached the Navy Yard here at 1 o'clock this morning on board of the steamer John S. Ides, Capt. Henry Wilson. “The statement heretofore published that Booth had injured one of his legs by the fall- ing of his horse has proved to be correct. After he was shot it was discovered that one of his legs was badly injured, and that he was compelled to wear an old shoe, and use crutches, which he had with him in the barn. “Booth was shot about 4 o’clock in the morne ing and died about 7 o'clock. . . . It appears that Booth and Herold left Washington to- gether on the night of the murder of President Lincoln, and passed through Leonardtown, Md., concealing themselves in the vicigity of the river at Swan Point until an opportunity was afforded them to cross the stream, which they did as above stated. “The man who hired Booth and his ace complice the boat in which he crossed the river was captured, we understand, but -nenufi made his escape. Herold has been lodged Im & secure place.”