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: The Tombstone Epitaph 1

WOMAN IS HANGED IN LINCOLN DEATH PROBE

Perjured Testimony, Circumstances, Doom Mary Surratt

By Elizabeth Steger-Trindal

Mary Elizabeth Surratt, who unfortunately

Maer ELIZABETH SUR-
RATT was the first woman
to be hanged by the United States
Government. She was a widow anda
mother of three. She was hanged on
a broiling, hot day on July 7, 1865.

Those who knew her, knew that she
was innocent. Most of those who
didn’t know her, felt that she was
guilty.

After all, wasn’t John Wilkes Booth a
friend of her son and a frequent caller at
Mrs. Surratt’s Washington, D.C., boar-
dinghouse? If nothing else, it was a case
of guilt by association with the man who
had killed President Abraham Lincoln.

The government had pronounced the
woman guilty after a six-week-long
military trial. Neither she nor any of the
other alleged conspirators in the Lincoln
assassination, all civilians, were allowed
to testify in their own defense.

Nearly one-hundred-and-twenty-nine
years have passed since the execution.
Since then, conspiracy aficionados have
studied and restudied the evidence and

knew John Wilkes Booth.

the transcripts of the trial. Still there is a
divergence of opinions and still there are
unanswered questions.

Consequently, the assassination of
President Abraham Lincoln is one of the
most fascinating mysteries in American
history.

But what about Mary Surratt? Who
was shé? Little is known about her early
years. She was born in 1823 near
Washington, D.C., in Prince George’s
County, Maryland. Her parents were
Archibald and Elizabeth Ann “Bessie”
Jenkins. Mary’s father was a tobacco
farmer. He died in 1825, leaving Bessie
to manage the farm and to raise a
daughter and two sons.

She proved to be far from a helpless
widow. In time, she was able to purchase
additional land and to send her daughter
to a Catholic boarding school in
Alexandria, Virginia.

Mary was twelve-years-old and a
member of the Anglican Church when
her mother took her across the Potomac
River by ferry to St. Mary’s Female In-
stitute. There, Mary was instructed by
the Sisters of Charity. It is not known

how long she attended the school, but it
was during that interval that she con-
verted to Catholicism.

Mary’s Marriage

Back in Maryland, Mary met and mar-
ried John Harrison Surratt, nine years
her senior. He was a man of some means,
having been raised by a wealthy planter.
The young couple started their life
together in 1840. Isaac, Ann, and John,
Jr., were born to this alliance.

When their home burned, John sold
most of his property and purchased a 280
acre tract in what is now Clinton,
Maryland. Then, in the spring of 1852,
he built Surratt’s Villa. It was a combina-
tion tavern, dwelling place, and stage
stop.

Eventually, the Villa became well
known to those who traveled the
Maryland roads between Washington
D.C. and Richmor ', Virginia. The ac-
commodations, fuod and libations, were
considered excellent.

In time, the little crossroads location of
the Villa became known as Surrattsville

after it was designated as a polling place
and post office.

But there were hard times for the fami-
ly when John Senior became his own best
customer at the bar.'Mary found it
necessary to send her children away to
school and away from the disturbing en-
vironment of the tavern and their drink-
ing father. John Surratt died in 1862, a
year after the start of the War between
the States.

Yanks and Rebs at the Bar

The impact at the war soon was felt in
Maryland, and certainly in Surrattsville.
Even though most Southern
Marylanders favored the Confederacy,
this state remained in the Union. Never-
theless, existing records indicate that the
Surratts didn’t show favoritism in their
business. Both Northern soldiers and
Southern patriots frequented the estab-
lishment.

After Mary’s husband died, her son
John, who had been studying for the
priesthood near Ellicott Mills,
Maryland, returned home to help his
mother with the family business.

By then, Isasc, the oldest, had left
home for Texas on the day that President
Lincoln was inaugurated. On May 4,
1862, Isaac joined the 33rd Regiment,
Texas Cavalry, known as Duffs Par-
tisan Rangers.

Mary’s daughter, Anna, remained ina
Catholic boarding school near Bryan-
town, Maryland.

Apparently, however, helping to run
the family tavern was much too dull for
young John Surratt. When President
Lincoln ordered mail delivery between
the North and the South be discon-

tinued, John expanded his postal opera- .

tion to include a delivery service. His
newly founded courier operation be-

, Jthoughithe youn:

tween the North and the South was il-
legal, even though operatives on both
sides were guilty of indulging in this
same kind of clandestine operation.

In time, the family business became
more than Mary and her busy son could
manage. A change had to be made. In the
fall of 1864, she leased Surratt’s Villa and
farm to John Lloyd, a former
Washington, D.C., policeman.

Washington Boarding House

Mary, in the meantime, had moved her
son, John, and daughter, Anna, to
Washington, D.C. There they operated
what was politely referred to as “a home
for paying guests.”

It wasn’t long before Mary’s boardin-
ghouse was filled to capacity. Louis
Weichmann, a friend of John’s who, like
John, had dropped his studies for the

priesthood, moved into the boardin-
ghouse. The two friends shared the same
bedroom. In time, Mary would look

upon Weichmann as another son. Eyen

pathies were with the South, he was
employed by the United States War

Department under Secretary Edwin
Stanton.

It was in this boardinghouse where
John Wilkes Booth, famous
Shakespearean actor, and his cohorts be-
came well known; it was their meeting
place. Booth was @ disarmingly hand-
some, twenty-six-year-old champion of
the Southern cause. The young actor had
a plan. He decided that in order to end
the war on Southern terms he and his
like-minded friends would abduct Presi-
dent Lincoln and hold the President
hostage until the demands of the South
were met.

It had been at a chance meeting on
Pennsylvania Avenuc, December 23,
1864, that Dr. Samuel Mudd, of
southern Maryland, introduced John
Surratt to John Wilkes Booth. Weich-
mann was present. Booth had been in
Maryland in search of property to pur-
chase—or so he said.

While there, he met Dr. Mudd, who
was thinking about selling his farm. The
doctor had returned to Washington with
Booth to do some last minute Christmas
shopping. (It is not known how Dr.
Mudd knew John Surratt.) But in any
case, it became obvious to Booth that
young Surratt, a former courier in
Southern Maryland, could serve well in
the scheme to abduct the President. After
the introduction, the men departed for
Booth’s hotel room where they drank
and talked.

Plot Details

Perhaps it was there that Booth
revealed his plot to abduct President
Lincoln, Booth had planned that, after
he and his comrades had abducted the
President, they would rush him by car-
riage from Washington, across the upper
Potomac River to Maryland.

Continued Next Page

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24 Unleashed at Long Last

especially the humor of the play. At 10:30 a shot
rang through the theatre, and he sank from his
chair, an unconscious heap, beside his wife. They
carried him across the street, and though he lived
until 7:22 Saturday morning, he never regained
consciousness.

As his pulse ceased to beat Secretary Stanton, who
stood beside his bed, broke the silence of the death
chamber:

“And now he belongs to the ages.’’?®

16]p4 MINERVA TARBELL, Life of Lincoln.
NICHOLAY AND HAY, Lincoln.

Es alte

CuaptTer III

AMERICA’S CHIEF CRIMINAL

Out—out are the lights—out all!
And, over each quivering form,
The curtain, a funeral pall,
Comes down with the rush of a storm;
And the angels, all pallid and wan,
Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy, “Man,”
And its hero the Conquering Worm.

—Edgar Allan Poe.

Junius Brutus Booth (1796-1852), the father of
the madman who perpetrated the most sensational
crime in American history, came of an English-
Hebrew family. The brilliant but erratic actor
married Mary Anne Holmes (January 18, 1821), and
sailed to America aboard the good ship “Two
Brothers.” He landed at Norfolk, but remained
only long enough to secure passage to New York,
by way of Richmond.

Booth soon became the most popular actor in this
country. His renditions of Richard III, Shylock
and Iago were especially brilliant. Such were his
talents and his character that he was naturally
effective in erratic and grotesque roles. From time
to time he was subject to attacks of insanity; was
always intense, irresponsible and intemperate. So
fine an artist was he that the public forgave him,
even when he attempted suicide.

ae ge epee SS ao:

DR. JOHN H. BAYNE—This prominent Maryland physician had
friends on both sides in the Civil War. A great grandson, Guy Castle of
Oxon Hill, Md., made this picture and the two letters quoted in this
article available.

Continued from preceding page ;

Townley B. Robey, the anxious author of the letter,
was a 52-year-old farmer living at what he called Robeys
Town, which then was more generally known as Sur-
rattsville, and is now called Clinton.

Under date of April 25, 1864, Robey wrote Dr. Bayne:

Some ten days ago our neighbourhood was relieved of one
of the vilest rebbels & one of the most reckless villains that
H ever disgraced any neighbourhood or society, in the person of
i John Z. Jenkins, While he was away, sir, all was peace and
quietness. But on Thursday last he returns like a roaring Lion,
saying that Dr. John H. Bayne & Charles B. Calvert did make
| oath that he was a loyal man & they were determined to de-
i fend him. Now(,) Dr(,) 1 want to know if this is true. This
Hh man is backed-by all the rebbels in this neighbourhood, namely
+ | B. F. Gwynn, Jarboe, Burch, Barry. He is the pet of Belt ()
“| the States Attorney. There is but three loyal voters in this dis-
i trict namely Enoch Ridgeway & 2 Robeys. At. the Election last
fall Dr Hoxton & two sons voted the rebbel ticket. Dr H staid
a: at the polls all day assisting the rebbel party. Jenkins was the
leader, threatened to cut the heart out of my son & twenty
soldiers. He was leader at the last Election and abused the
¥) President, said no man but a dam rascal would hold office
under him, the Prov (ost) Marshalship had been offered to buy
H him. I look upon this man as dangerous. Mr. Ridgeway is
7: afraid to travel about. His, Jenkinses, son has threaten (ed) to
H shoot him and the Robeys. Jenkins also declares we shall leave
|
;

| the county or die. This is not half I could say of the man. I
| know the kindness of your-heart but we must have something
{! done. I desire to hear from you before farther steps ar¢ taken
‘| in the matter. i pou i
I If you and Mr. Calvert intend to defend! him, let us have a
i fair chance. If we are to be broken up by, rebbels, backed by
men who profess to be Unionist, then we must suffer.|\We can
say, that since the commencement of this War, our time and
money has been spent in sunshine and storm to sustain our
' Government without one dollar of pay. | Peg

After I hear from you, if nothing can, be done, we will go
to the President & lay our case before him. i oy

Page 42—CWT Illustrated—May, 1962 ‘| aia
+

1m ee ed ~ ae

er onsssenaeiellia’ tetoen tl

W. A. (MRS. SAMUEL) COX, writer of the next letter,
was the wife of one of the men who aided John Wilke
Booth in his attempt to reach the South. Her husbands
home, “Rich Hill,” was about seven miles from Bryan
town. Cox secreted Booth and David Herold in a thicke
near his home from April 15 to 21. He called in his step
brother, Thomas A. Jones, who carried food and liquor to
the fugitives, secured a boat for them, and helped them
launch the boat on the night of April 21.

Both Samuel Cox and Thomas Jones were arrested and
thrown into the Old Capitol Prison as a result of thei
aid to Booth. For some unaccountable reason no indic
ment was brought against either, and both were released
after a few weeks. Perhaps Dr. Bayne did intercede fa
Cox, although no record seems to exist of any such action
Richard Smoot, in The Unwritten History of the Assass-
nation of Abraham Lincoln (1904), suggested bribery

He says that shortly after his arrest, Cox sold a valuable.

farm near Washington for $16,000 to “prevent his ned
from being cracked.” Records certainly do not bear ou
Mrs. Cox’s claim that her husband was “not guilty of am
offense.”

Sammy, an adopted son of the Cox’s was a classmate
of Dr. Bayne’s son, Johnny, at Charlotte Hall Academy.
Writing from Rich Hill, May 28, 1865, Mrs. Cox appealel
to Dr. Bayne:

I wrote to you about a week ago on the subject of endeavor
ing to get a parole for my dear Husband, {if he cant be r
leased) and fearing you may not have received it, I repeat m
request by Sarmmy and beg of you to use your influence in hs
behalf; indeed the last two or three letters I have received froa
him he has requested me to write to you, and see if you could
not do something for him; he seems anxious to see you, if yu
could get a pass to do so or write to him if you cannot s
him. He says he tries to bear his confinement with patiena
but it is very hard to do. And I know it is to him for he a
never sit in the house a whole day when at home. My anxiey
is intense, fearing so long confinement will permanently injur
his health. Oh! I think it is so hard he should suffer so loy
and not being guilty of any offense to deserve such punis
ment. I hope you will pardon (,) Dear Doct (or,) my importun
ties, and do for him all you can.

These two letters, one from a partisan of each side

both persons being connected with Lincoln’s assassins

tion, although Jenkins only indirectly, show that Dr.
Bayne was a conscientious man, who tried to steer
middle path between acrimonious factions. How well k
succeeded is evidenced by appeals to him in the last yer
of the war and -immediately after its termination.

A Cowl Wear Cook Book

COMPILED BY
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5: operon and tasty recipes popular during the Civil War
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Contains added description of Lincoln’s eating habits in
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Beautifully hard-bound, 268 pages ..... $4.95 per copy.
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Unleashed at Long Last

3 7
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Tue Lanp or Decision, the Splendor of Virginia’s Story
THRoucH Centuries THREE, a Short History of the People of
Virginia
Tue Days or Yester-YEAr, in Colony and Commonwealth
Wuo Am I, a Genealogical Record Book
PEREGRINE Papers, a Tale of Travel in the Orient
AcapiE Days, Sketches of New Scotland
THROUGH THE YEARS IN NorFo_k, &c.

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Originally published in 1939
by Printcraft Press, Inc., Virginia

Reprinted in 1970 by
Negro Universities Press

A Division of Greenwood Press, Inc.

Westport, Connecticut

SBN 8371-3859-0

Printed in United States of America

D. O. Ne.

Deo Optimo Maximo

Emity E.izABETH TAPPEY-SQUIRES
September 21, 1844—May 21, 1926

“AND

Emity EvizABETH SQUIRES-HANNING
March 9, 1910—December 26, 1936

D. .O...M.

Dominus Omnium Magister

America’s Chief Criminal 29

brandy, entered-the theatre and passed along the
passage to the rear of the boxes without being no-
ticed.t He loitered in the shadows and took his
time. He was about five feet behind President
Lincoln, who was seated in a rocking-chair, well
screened from the audience by heavy curtains. In
front of the box a large American flag was draped
about a picture® of George Washington.

The assassin took steady aim and fired. The shot
lodged behind the President’s left ear. As he thrust
forward to the front of the box, smoking pistol in
hand, Major Henry Reed Rathbone of Albany, New
York, an officer of the U. S. Volunteers, seated in the
box with the President and Mrs. Lincoln, and Miss
Harris, seized Booth’s coat. The assassin, as quick
and as agile as he was desperate, slashed the Major
severely, hissing at him the familiar Latin quotation,°®
“Sic semper tyrannis.” He jumped from box to
stage, and fell, breaking his leg, when his spur
caught in the folds of the flag. Booth was observed
to fall on his left knee. But he sprang to his feet,
limped directly across the stage in plain view of the
entire audience and disappeared behind the wings,
reaching the lane in the rear of the theatre unmo-
lested. He kicked the lad who patiently held his

wy, FERGUSON, I Saw Booth Shoot Lincoln, p. 18. He had entre of the
theatre at all hours.

“The portrait measured about two feet each in breadth and length.
Every account of the assassination except that of W. J. Ferguson states
Booth cried from the stage in wild hysteria, “Sic semper tyrannis. The
thea avenged.” Mr. Ferguson categorically denies that Booth spoke from
irsthand His account is so clear and so detailed that it has the value of
Out reeciy evidence, He suggests that the reporters who sent the messages
opinion) ne their information from Major Rathbone, to whom (in Ferguson’s

ooth had hissed the sentence as he wounded him.

thar

28 Unleashed at Long Last

any effect upon the war, except to stir up more
strife and sectional hatred, especially against the
South, does not appear.

About Christmas-time (1864) he met the Surratts,
mother and son. John had been educated for the
priesthood, but served as a spy during the war. The
mother kept a cheap boarding-house in Washington.
David Herold, a feeble-minded nineteen-year-old
boy, and George Atzerodt, another spy, and Lewis
Payne, a half-mad, half-starved prisoner, captured
at Gettysburg, and the son of a Baptist preacher in
Florida, made an erratic company of conspirators.
It will be noted that only Payne could be called
“Southern.”

Not until noon of Friday, April 14, did Booth
learn that President Lincoln would attend Ford’s
Theatr: that night. He planned his sensational
crime with dramatic effect and great rapidity. At-
zerodt was to murder Andrew Johnson at his hotel;
Payne was to assassinate Seward at his home; but
Booth reserved the stellar role for himself.

Having free access to the theatre, at all hours,
known to all the force, coming and going at will and
without arousing any suspicion, it was easy for
Booth to arrange the details of the ghastly murder.
In the partition behind the President’s box he cut
away two inches of plaster and bored a hole through
the door by which he could watch those in the box.
This was probably done after the rehearsal and before

the light in the narrow passage failed, as evening

waned.
At ten o’clock, long after the play began, Booth,
dressed in a dark sack-coat, took a stiff drink of

Photo by W. H. T. S.

IN SHENANDOAH VALLEY

Photo by W. H. T. S.

aE.

IN THE BLUE RIDC
“The soldier, who faced the setting sun as he returned from Appomattox, trudged through magnificent forests, thousands of acres of w

never heen cleared.

hich had

In cool shadows crystal fountains spring from) moss-covered

The far dim summits of the Blue Ridge lifted against the sky.

rocks and rollicking little rivulets race down umbrageous valleys."’—Page 41.

30 Unleashed at Long Last

yellow mare, mounted her and hastened out of
town over the Anacostia bridge. In fact Booth was
well out of the way before the panic-stricken audience
in the theatre understood what had happened.

The horse he rode belonged to Dr. Samuel Mudd,
a widely known and respected rural physician. To
his home Booth made his way directly, returned the
mare, and received first aid from Dr. Mudd for his
broken leg. The physician was wholly ignorant of
the crime his patient had committed. His pro-
fessional labors cost him four years in prison at
Dry Tortugas, off the coast of Florida. One of
President Johnson’s last acts was the pardon of Dr,
Mudd (1869).

For six days and nights the fugitive and his ac-
complice, David Herold, lay concealed in the thick-
ets of Southern Maryland, while a determined army,
who surrounded them almost all the time, beat the
bushes in a vain effort to find them.

A man named Thomas A. Jones put the fugitives
across the Potomac to the Virginia shore (Sunday,
April 23). They spent the next day negotiating the
deserted rural districts of Virginia from the Potomac
to the Rappahannock. The Virginians to whom
they applied received them coldly though they did
not tell the guilty secret.’

They crossed the Rappahannock from Port Con-
way to Port Royal on the Southern shore in Caroline

County. One Daniel Rollins, a water-man, put_

them both over the river. Booth hired a negro to
drive them to Bowling Green, the county-seat, about

7It is only a conjecture that any of the Virginians knew his identity. I
doubt whether any of them guessed that the fugitive was Booth.

America’s Chief Criminal 31

fourteen miles away, but when they had traveled
three miles the pain in Booth’s leg became intoler-
able, and he ordered the driver to turn in at the
homestead of Richard Henry Garrett,® near the road.

He introduced himself to the family of his involun-
tary host as John William Boyd, and in proof of his
identity showed his initials J. W. B. tattooed on his
arm.

In his own irresistible manner and genial affability
that never failed him, he told how he had an argu-
ment with a “Yankee in Washington” and, during
the fight, stabbed his antagonist, escaped on horse-
back; but fell from his horse and broke his leg.
His hosts did not deny the rites of hospitality for
which Virginians have ever been famous.

It was soon bruited that soldiers were coming from
Port Royal, looking for the notorious assassin of the
President. Booth and Herold had time to escape,
but on account of his wounded leg they hid in a
tobacco barn near the house. When the pursuers
arrived, they asked Jack Garrett, the eldest son of
the family, if Booth was hiding at his home. Jack
stoutly denied the accusation, but told them a lame
man from Washington was in the tobacco barn.

The soldiers at once surrounded the barn and
called upon the fugitives to surrender. Herold did
So, but Booth, in histrionic style, which was, no
doubt, second nature to him, called out:

“Captain, give a lame man a chance. Draw up
your men. [ll fight your whole command!”

When this rather unusual challenge was declined,
he called to them again:

ei C. MONCURE, Reminiscences, pp. 64-5; Bulletin Va. State Library, July,

26 Unleashed at Long Last

He bought a farm near Bel Air, Maryland, in a
beautiful secluded vale, and made his home in a log
cabin, amidst flowers, gardens, trees, fish-ponds and
pastures. Four children were born to him there, of
whom Edwin was the second and John Wilkes the
fourth.

Edwin Booth (1833-1893) was perhaps the most
popular and gifted of all American actors. The
spur which John Wilkes Booth wore when he shot
Lincoln, and which caught in the flag when he
jumped to the stage, was given to Edwin Booth by
their father, who said at the time, “Edwin, I hope
you will wear it with credit.”

From infancy: John Wilkes Booth exhibited the
traits of his erratic father, his genius and his mad-
ness. He was a lad of extraordinary beauty, with
a face that suggested Lord Byron or Edgar Allan
Poe. He had coal-black hair and flashing eyes.
Though small in stature he was the embodiment of
masculine grace. He had the masculine power and
abandon of Aaron Burr. Before he was seventeen
he began a career in Baltimore, and had played in
Richmond, Philadelphia and practically all the
cities of the country. |

1John Wilkes Booth, born (1839) forty-two years after the death of the
erratic and dissipated John Wilkes, received his name, as we surmise, from that
unfortunate English politician. It was a bad selection. Wilkes was born in
London (1727), and made such libelous attacks upon King George III and
the Bute ministry that he was thrown into prison. He was expelled from Par-
liament (1764) as punishment for a scandalous “Essay on Woman.” Again
elected to Parliament (1768) he was again imprisoned and expelled (1769).
In 1774 he became Lord Mayor of London. Again returned to Parliament, he
was allowed to take his seat, and remained a member until 1790. His hectic
career ended in 1797. The author has no authority for the statement that

Junius Brutus Booth named the unfortunate child for the unfortunate agitator,
but he deems it likely.

America’s Chief Criminal

During the War Between the States he played
Mark Anthony so magnificently that he took Boston
by storm. The-critics declared that he surpassed
his late father and his famous brother, Edwin.

His last appearance was at Ford’s Theatre, Wash-
ington, March 18, 1865,? less than a month before
he enacted the most desperate tragedy of American
history in the same theatre. The Booth family was
not Southern in any respect,’ and their sympathy
was wholly with the Union cause. But John Wilkes
Booth, perhaps from a natural, intense perversity,
espoused the cause of slavery and of secession with
great vehemence. He was the kind of man that is
born on the “other side” of any question. Had all
his people and friends been secessionists, John
Wilkes Booth would no doubt have been as violently
Union‘st as he now appeared a Secessionist.

He journeyed as a volunteer to Charles Town in
Virginia (1859) and was present at the arrest and
execution of John Brown. Booth was as madly
anti-abolitionist as Brown was madly anti-slavery.
The opposites met!

In 1864 Booth devolved a wild scheme to kidnap
President Lincoln, take him to Richmond, and so
end the war. Just how such an absurd and fantastic
attempt upon the person of the President would have

2w. J. FERGUSON, in J Saw Booth Shoot Lincoln, tells how Booth, in playing
Romeo, cast himself on the platform, exclaiming “Take the measure of an
unmade grave.” He acted the part so realistically that he wounded himself
On the very spot where he fell, after leaping to the stage, from Lincoln’s box.
eG ARTHUR MEIER SCHLESINGER, Political Hist. of U. S., Vol. II, p. 235:
; Lincoln’s death at the hands of a drink-crazed Southern zealot put the North
1n an ugly humor.” 7

Booth was not a “Southern zealot”; all his affiliations were anti-Southern.

AT2ERO DT ppecoeb, fA NE S ME. EAL?

The greatest manhunt in history Fa
smokes out a nest of murderous politcal <=
conspirators and leads them to the sallows : ;
BY RICHARD WILMER ROWAN
Booth created star role for himself which, in
one hour, hurled the triumphant capital from
heights of victory to a depths of despair
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On duty outside Ford’s Theatre was Sergeant Dye of the Military Police.
He had been detailed there by Major O’Beirne, the Provost Marshal of
Washington and the District of Columbia. It was Dye who observed a

“queer-behaved fellow” who had added himself to the crowd surrounding.

Mr. Lincoln’s carriage, swapping jokes and comment with Burns, the
coachman, after the Président and Mrs. Lincoln, amid cheers, had alighted
and entered the theatre. Dye motioned to a subordinate M.P. to keep
watch on the oddly excited character.

“Him? That’s the famous John Wilkes Booth,” said Buckingham, the
doorkeeper at Ford’s Theatre, when Sergeant Dye came over to inquire.
“He just got a chew of tobacco off of me. Very friendly. Though maybe
a little drunk.”

Such easy identification in the milling throng on Tenth between E and
F Streets put Dye off completely. Everyone around there seemed to know
the actor.

Being born to the theatre, Booth had shrewdly cued his deed to the
play script of Our American Cousin. At two minutes past 10 p.m., he
again jestingly asked Buckingham for a chew of tobacco. Then he strolled
in, to disappear casually into the.deeper recesses of backstage.

Booth planned to strike when only one player remained on stage. This

would be his good friend, Harry Hawk, the noted comedian who was
impersonating Asa Trenchard, the American Cousin of the play. All week
long audiences had been rolling in the aisles at his loud-mouthed buf-
foonery, and noise was what Booth wanted.

His cue would be the line spoken by Hawk: “Don’t know the manners
of good society, eh?” ;

Booth, equipped with knife and pistol, had prepared himself to deal
with President Lincoln’s bodyguard. But Parker had sneaked off to sit
downstairs and enjoy the show. Booth stole up the staircase to the boxes
of the second tier without being seen. He squinted through the gimlet
hole which he had bored in the door of the box which he knew would
be assigned to the President and his party. : :

All here was as he had expected. Sitting next to Mrs. Lincoln was her
young guest, Miss Harris. Next to her sat Major Rathbone, Mr. Lincoln’s
military aide, and next to him the President. Mr. Lincoln was at ease,
relaxed and chuckling, sitting in the rocking chair which the Ford brothers
had provided by special request. (Continued on page 83)

Sergeant Boston Corbett had orders to take Booth alive, but, in his
excitement, when assassin was cornered, he fired shot that killed him

Lewis Paine

ay f

ecstasy hs ty

himself a bad day. It was raw and cold for April 14th,.

Vovims JOHN WILKES BOOTH, the actor, was having

the weather gusty and changeable. Booth had just seen
General Ulysses S. Grant ride past in a carriage. Now a
number of Confederate officers from Lee’s army marched
by. Mounted Union guards surrounded them.

The actor turned to a friend, his face white and drawn.
“Great God! I have no longer a country!” :

He clasped his forehead and turned bitterl} away from
the living proof, there in the streets of Washikgton, DCe
that Lee had surrendered at Appomattox on the preceding
Sunday. Unfortunately for America, young Mr. Booth had
a plan, and this sight made him more determined to go
through with it. His mind, which never had bec in nice
balance, was now totally unsettled by the thought of a
crushed, defeated Confederacy. .

The actor was rehearsing a star role which he had
created for himself. He headed for a barn-like structure
on Tenth Street, between E and F Streets. This was the
popular theatre conducted by the brothers Ford. Letters
addressed to J. Wilkes Booth were received for him at
Ford’s.

President Abraham Lincoln decided to attend play
he had seen, rather than disappoint theatregoers

Mass execution of four’ who conspired’ in
plot to assassinate Lincoln and helped
Booth escape—Mrs. Mary Suratt, George
Atzerodt, Davy Herold and Lewis Paine

Having the excuse of picking up his mail, he could ‘stop
a moment to chat with H. Clay Ford, the theatre treasurer,
and to assure himself that both President Lincoln and
Genera! Grant had accepted and would occupy boxes at
tonight’s performance. He was barely able to conceal his
excitement upon hearing that the North’s great men would
attend. The plot was readied, the accomplices well coached.

In Booth’s pocket was*the weapon—a single-shot pistol
of the type called a derringer. Made of brass and weigh-
ing only eight ounces, it would lie easily concealed in the
palm of his hand. He could scarcely wait until curtain time. -

The play at Ford’s Theatre was a’trashy, farcical con-
eoction entitled Our American Cousin. The much-admired
Laura Keene was its star, and the play was drawing well.
Young Mr. Booth, who had toured with the star, knew
all the players in Miss Keene’s company. And he had a
sworn accomplice in Edman Spangler, a scene-shifter at
Ford’s After speaking with Spangler, Mr. Booth strolled
across the street to a saloon.

lie shuttled back and forth across Tenth Street through
the early afternoon, having in mind just two objectives:
brandy, and getting folks used to seeing him drift casually

in and out of the theatre with no apparent purpose in mind,

Spangler’s nerve failed, so the actor himself stole: up and
bored the gimlet hole through which he would later peer into
a second-tier box at the President. He also took time to cut a
niche in a door frame so that the door to the box might, in
need, be barred ‘from the inside. Before leaving the empty
and unguarded interior of the theatre, the actor surveyed
his handiwork to assure himself that it was exactly what he
had in mind. ,

Boxes at that time differed from the boxes and loges of
later playhpuses. The stage had a curved apron which pro-
jected out toward the audience in an arc. The boxes were
over this forward segment of the stage itself, being separated

“There will be some fine acting tonight!” Mr. Booth promised.
However, the Union victor, General Grant, would not be
there. The General had belatedly changed his plans and had
gone by train to Philadelphia to visit his daughter, Nellie,

countless Confederate sympathizers, now made desperate by
Lee’s stirrender. Hadn’t the President already seen Our
American Cousin? Yes, he had; but Mr. Lincoln was a durable
théatregoer. And he argued, too, that hundreds of people
would be disappointed should both he and Grant fail to appear
at Ford’s. oo

The President’s personal bodyguard for the evening would
be a policeman named John F. Parker. He had been chosen
by a simple system of rotation. .

Above statue of martyred President in Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D. C., are these words, "In this temple,

as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever"

saint tahciaeniaiiatliliianiiaiainmeniascindzenaee

ABOVE, from "Harper's Weekly," is a drawing of John H. Surratt
who was wanted in connection with Lincoln's murder. He is shown
below in Papal Zouave uniform. Surratt fled the country and be-
came a papal guard at the Vatican in Rome. He was brought
back for trial in 1867 but the jury failed to agree on a verdict.
He was released when the statute of limitations ran out. Surratt
admitted conspiring to capture Lincoln but denied any part in the
murder plot. (Courtesy of Col. Julian E. Raymond)

ow
re

compilation, he recalled, Judge Advocate Genea
Holt had shown a letter signed “R. D. Watson” »
the prosecution star witness, Louis Weichmann @
close acquaintance of Booth and Surratt), and astel
if he recognized the handwriting as Booth's. Wad
mann said he didn’t.

THE POINT was that this brief reference to the
“Watson” letter, clearly the same document as the
one in the Archives, was deleted from the Pima
compilation, the official version of the proceedings,
Shelton, assuming from this that the War Depart
ment wished to conceal the letter’s existence, obtainad
a photoduplicate of it from the Archives just ia
case it might turn out to have a bearing on the
murder plot he was reconstructing.

Here is the full text of the letter:

New York, March 19, 1863

Mr. J. H. Surratt

Dear Sir

I would like to see you on important busines,
if you can spare the time to come to New York

Please telegraph me immediately on the recep

tion of this, whether you can come on or not &

oblige
Yours tr:
R. D. Watson

P.S. Address Care Demill & Co.

17814 Water St.

Several months passed during which the Watwe
letter remained in Shelton’s files, almost forgottes
Then, when preparing to send another document »
a handwriting expert in California to see if it might
have been written by Major Thomas T. Eckert (head
of the War Department Telegraph bureau whom
Baker’s cipher message had accused as Stantoa
errand boy in the murder plot), Shelton got out the
Watson letter and had a hunch it might have bees
written by Eckert. He enclosed it with the othe
documents and mailed it to the analyst.

THE VERDICT was negative. Neither the Watws
letter nor the other document were in Eckert's hand
writing. But, the analyst’s report included a profile
of the type of person Watson’s handwriting indica
him to be. This rang a bell, for the analyst's de
scription of an unknown man who signed his name
“Watson” fitted the wily Baker to a “T"! From ks
research, Shelton knew Baker had been in New Yok
on March 19, 1865. Could it have been he who wre
the conspiratorial message to John Surratt?

The Watson letter. and samples of Baker's ig
nature were airmailed to California for comparison
While waiting for a reply, Shelton contacted ths
magazine in hopes of obtaining a longer sample ef
Baker's script. We located such a document and als

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A Special Report
by

Robert #, Poulter

Editor

Civil War Times

ILLUSTRATED

FOUR COMPILATIONS of the trial proceedings
were published in 1865. Shelton concentrated on two
of these: First, the so-called “official” record which
was edited by the court reporter, Benn Pitman,
under the supervision of Brigadier General Henry
L. Burnett, one of the War Department’s three
prosecutors at the trial. Second, an unedited compil-
ation of the verbatim testimony produced by a Phila-
delphia publishing house, T. B. Peterson & Brothers.

Close comparison of these two versions of the testi-
mony revealed that extensive changes, deletions, and
additions had been made in the “official” version,
all of which appear calculated to reinforce the War
Department’s case against the eight defendants it
had tried and sentenced—four to hang and four to
prison.

The next phase of the research was a study of
the several hundred official documents pertaining to
the Conspiracy Trial which are in the National
Archives in Washington. As he pored over these
original, century-old records and correspondence,
Vaughan Shelton came upon a brief note addressed
to John Surratt from New York City, dated March
19, 1865 and signed “R. D. Watson.” Although no
one named Watson was known to have been involved
in Lincoln’s assassination, the note intrigued the
researcher for a reason which stemmed from his
earlier study of the trial testimony. In the Peterson

carreras

LAFAYETTE C. BAKER—As head of the National Police De-
tectives force operating under Edwin M. Stanton, Baker wielded
great power in wartime Washington, arresting persons suspected
of aiding the South or defrauding the Federal Government and
holding them without charges for long periods. (National Archives)

ACK in August 1961, Civil
War Times, predecessor of
this magazine, printed an ar-
ticle telling of the claims of
a New Jersey chemist that he
had found a coded message
~ left by Brigadier General
Y Lafayette C. Baker, the notorious war-
4 time director of the National Police
Detectives. In it, Baker accused Secre-
tary of War Edwin McMasters Stanton
and 50. unnamed persons of plotting
the murder of Abraham Lincoln to
» prevent him from making an_ easy
peace with the conquered South.

The chemist, Ray A. Neff, also produced evi-
dence indicating that Baker, who died July 3,
1868, may have been poisoned to prevent his
telling the story.

Reactions to Neff’s claims, as printed in the
October 1961 issue of CWT and elsewhere,
ranged from scoffs to absolute acceptance. But
the best informed ran something like this:
Baker must have left the cipher message. But
he was such a liar and a scoundrel that his word,
from the grave or otherwise, could not be taken.

At about the same time, but without knowl-
edge of Ray Neff’s research and findings,
Vaughan Shelton, a professional write: of Vir-
ginia Beach, Virginia, began a “microscopic”
study of Lincoln’s assassination aimed at recon-
structing a new version of the conspiracy from
the original records and evidence. Now, three
and a half years later, the book based on his
long research is about to be published by Stack-
pole Books. Its tittlh-MASK FOR TREASON,
THE LINCOLN MURDER TRIAL.

Shelton’s book contains an arsenal of bomb-
shells which may blast away much of the mys-
tery about the conspiracy. Among other start-
ling disclosures, it presents new evidence of
Baker’s knowledge of the Lincoln murder plot
—evidence that points to the detective chief not
as the shocked and helpless observer he claimed
to be in the coded message, but as the “prime
mover” of the conspiracy.

The new concept of the plot expounded in
MASK FOR TREASON is too broad and com-
plex to go into here. But, in recognition of cer-

AUTHOR PRESENTS

New Evidence iLin¢

Analysis of Letter in Archives
Shows Baker Contacted
Member Of Booth Gang Just
Three Weeks Before

Assassination of President

tain assistance lent him by this magazine, the
author has given CWT Illustrated permission
to divulge part of his findings regarding Lafa-
ette C. Baker.

SHELTON HAS PROOF that Baker, who fune
tioned as a kind of Gestapo chief during the wa,
was in touch with John H. Surratt, an associate of
John Wilkes Booth, less than a month befor
Lincoln’s murder. Surratt was the son of Mrs. Man
E. Surratt who was hanged (some say unjustly) for
conspiring in the assassination. He escaped to Canada
and then Europe, but was brought back to stand
trial in 1867. The jury failed to agree on a verdia
and Surratt was held in prison until he could te
released under the statute of limitations. Thus the
question of his guilt or innocence with regard w
the assassination was never resolved though he ad
mitted having conspired with Booth to capture the
President and take him to Richmond as a hostage.

How Shelton established the connection betweea
Baker and Surratt is a story in itself.

The first phase of his research was a minute study
of the proceedings at the Conspiracy Trial of 186%

the court martial in which the War Departmen.

convicted eight persons of conspiring with Booth
to kill Lincoln. In the process, the actor was labeled
the arch-conspirator and_ instigator, aided and
abetted, said the prosecution, by leaders of the Coe
federacy.

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A FACSIMILE of the letter sent to John H. Surratt by "R. D.
Watson," referred to in the trial of the Lincoln murder conspirators
and still in the National Archives, is shown above. AT RIGHT is
the signature of L. C. Baker on his will, on file at the annex of the
City Hall in Philadelphia. Points of similarity between the two
signatures are the downslanted periods, the open “a's and the
running together of the initials with the last name. Further in-
vestigation connects Baker with the address "178!/. Water St." in
New York.

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BARBEITO, Felix, CASARES, Jose Hilario, and MORANDO, Jose, hanged at Richmond, Vae
(Faderal) on 8-17-1827.

"THE THREE SPANIARDS = In addition to what we have already given of the proceedings and
evidence against these outlaws from humanity, the Richmond WHIG says: = 'Since their
condemnatéon, the Pirates own themselves guilty of the crimes of which they were con-
victed, and say they deserved to be hanged long ago for previous atrocious crimes,
"Tardy was undoubtedly the master spirit who concerted the plan of horror, which was
afterwards executed on board the CRAWFORD. He seems to have been the coolest,
deepest and most uncompromising villain on record, He was buried at low water mark
near Old Point Comfort, with his feee downward and every mark of ignominy, Three
hours afterwards he was disinterred, his head taken off, and dispatched to 3altimore
for the inspection of the Galls and the Spurzheims of that city, They will probably
find the organ of destructiveness finely developed.

"Of the three Spaniards, convicted in this city, two of them represent themselves as
natives of the Provence of Gallacia, in old Spain (in which we believe Cadiz is), viz:
Félix Barbeto, and Couro, alias Jose Morando, Felix Barbeto is the eldest of the
three, and their superior in rank, intelligence and address, as much as in age, The
thers refer to him and style him with much respect, Dom Felix, His connexions in
Cuba are said to be respectable, He is rather below the common stature, his fea-
tures good, nose slight aqueline, and of an intelligent, though we should not say,

bad countenance, He was probably in full understanding with Tardy and hired the other two
to assist in the execution of their hellish plot, He has evinced more sensibility
during the trial than the others. Couro appears about 30 years of age, of large,
heavy and stupid features, keeping his mouth constantly half open, which gives an
expression almost idiotic to bits countenance. But he is said nevertheless to be the
gayest spirit of the three, Pepe, alias Jose Hilario Casaris, is a native of Cuba,

- of the middle height, well and even symetrically formed, handsome features, and a
bold and even undauted aspect. He seems to be, and undoubtedly is, a man ready to
perform whatever his employer would command, whatever danger he may encounter and
blood wade through. They are all swarthy, showing the Moorish blood, and whiskered = they
are even thought in challenging jurors, to have had respect to whiskers,

"Mr, Edmund Dobson, the mate of the Crawford, has won the sympathy and revard of

the public here, from the extraordinary dangers through which he passed, his firme
ness through them all, and the manly style with which his dreadful narrative was
told. The owners of the vessel and cargo, and the insurers, ought to make him a

y iberal compensation, Unquestionalby he might have (?) the vessel and cargo for
salvage, “is firmness and presence of mind, not only saved his own life, but the
property of the ownvers of the vessel and cargo, ‘e hope that these suggestions are
not neceasary to prevail on these gentlemen to do what sheer justice reauires at
their hands, but that they may tend somewhat to enarge the compensation due to Mr,
Dobson," COURIER, Charleston, Se C.July 30, 1827 (2/6.)

COURO, FELIX and PEPE, hanged for Piracy, Richmond, Vae (Fed,.), 8-17-1827.

"Richmond, Vae, Auge 18, 1827 - EXECUTION.OF PIRATES On yesterday the three Spaniands,
Pepe, Couro and. Felix, were executed -in the vieinity of this«city, im pursuance of. 9. 1)
the sentence of the Federal Court. The public dre'already in possession of the history: of
the atrociouscrimes of which they have ‘been guilty. They were taken from the jail of
Henrico County about eleven o'clock, and, under the escort .of the- Blues and the Are
tillery Companions, and the Public Guard, they were conducted to the gallows. A mlti-
tude of our citizens and others from the country, atterided them through the streetse
The procession, for such it may be termed, was imposing-in its appearances: The three Wak
XAXKMHAXRS uniform: companies, the throng of citizens, both on foot and: horseback, the
open carriage or wagon in which were seated the criminals, clad in purple robes
with Hoods covering their heads and faces, all contributed to make. the scene solemn
and impressive. Business»seemed to-be suspended and universal interest was felt in |
the solemnities of the occasion, The procession having arrived at the gallows,
which had been for some time crowded by anxious: spectators, the prisoners. were con=_
gucted to-the platform on ithe gallows, They were attended by the (=?«) Priests... Mr. Hore,
and other citizens who spoke ‘the Spanish language, and were. disposed. to offer their
services and sympathies on the occasion, The conduct of these individuals in thus
kindly ministering to the consolation of the unhappy and wretched sufferers, was :
not confined to the solemn ceremonies of their execution, They had visited. them in
jail, and being among the few who could conferse with them in:the Spanish language,
they had“not been unmindful of what»the precepts of humanity and religion enjoined,
"The prisoners appeared to be deeply affected ‘at the awful fate that awaited them.
They, -however, appeared to be resigned, and mounted the platform of the gallows with
a firm and determined steps Ifveither of ,the three appeared at this time more un-
nerved than the rest, it.was Pepe, But his excitement appeared to. be more the result of
his conscious guilt, and of the ignominious end to which it had brought him, than
the fear of death, They were all sensibly alive to the situations in which they were pla-
ced, They prayed with great fervour to the throne of: Grace, first standing and then. om
their knees, In this situation, attended by the Minister, of their relion, and three.
gentlemen-who spoke the Spanish language, they continued about three quarters of an
hour, Having ended their devitions, they desired KH Dr. Lemosy to announce to the __
assembled multitude, that they were guilty 6f the crimes alleged against them. and of —
many; that they deserved the fate that awaited thems that they asked the forgiveness

of the people, and begged that they would join in prayer for their salvation.

"The officers of justice were then informed that they were ready, Several of the
Clergy of this city then ascended the platform, Te Kerr, of the Baptist Church,
delivered an eloquent address to the surrounding fiultitude; and was followed by an
appropriate prayer from Mr. Taylor, of the Presbyterian Church, The Ministers of the Gos-
pel, and those who had had any intefourse with the prisoners, then tebk their leave of
¢hem. They seemed to be resigned; and parted with those who had officiated on the
oecasion, with evident marks of grateful feeling. The officers then proceeded to the
execution of their unpleasant duty. The gallows was so constructed that all three
were to be fastened to as many staples inthe horizontal bar above, at once3 and the
platform, by means of hinges, was to be suddenly removed from under them, The ropes
had been fastened about their necks before their memoval from the jail, and only re
quired to be fastened to the staples, This was soon done by the Deputy Marshals, who
sescended to withdraw the support, and allow the platform to singk, and leave them
suspended, During the whole of this operation, (which requried several minutes, as
all three had to be fastened to the cross bar at the same time,) the prisoners

continued to pray aloude

"When the prop was withdrawn, they fell so duddenly that the repes by which pepe and
Couro were suspe nded broke, and they fell to the ground, Felix, being not so heavy,
remained suspended, The other two were considerably injured by the fall, and the
pressure of the cords around their necks, They struggled upon the ground for a few
seconds, apparently in great pain. Pepe soon rose upon his feet, and threw himself

in the attitude of supplication to Heaven, Couro remained on the ground, As soon

aw possible, the Deputy Marshals had the platform again raised, placing the legs of
Felix (who by this time was dead) upon the top of it, his body remaining still

stopeinte, ' sespkieeaaee Agana goncuces pp_and ascended pg Fes Pand Has" basrsee
upe The ropes were again fixec, Couro was able to stand after being upon his feet.

Neither spoke and Pepe ‘remained in a supplicating attitudé, The prop being again removed,
they were left suspended and soon breathed their last.
"Take this whole scene together, we have never witnessed one more solemn and ,hear HEKNEN
rending. The mere retdllection of the cold-blooded butchery they had committed; the
hardihood they had displayed on their trials; to say nothing. of their previous. lives
of which they had themselves given unfavourable accounts, was enough to reconcile

us to the justice of their fate, distressing and ignominious 'as it was. The accident,
that occurred elicited the deepest sympathy of all] present, Much as it MXA¥XBEXHEX -
XKX may be regretted, every precaution was taken, that was thought necessary to A#axa
SHAKXAM avoid such an occurrence, = The ropes had been selected with great cares; XK&
they had beenkHX#@ tried in the morning, and sustained the weight ‘of four hundred

and seventy-five, and were believed to be sufficiently strong, Indeed, the Marshal

and his deputies had, from the moment these unforturtate beings were committed to EKAEEX
AMARXS their charge, endeavored to make their situation’as comforable as possible,

In the construction of the gallows, and in the execution of all three at once, they”
humanely endeavored to relieve them from protracted agonies,

“As the trial of these-men excited great interest in-our population, their.execu-

tion excited still more, According to our estimate theye could not have been less >

than 7,000 persons present, Many came froma distance in the country.

"The bodies remained suspended something less than an hour, when a physician, upon
examination, pronounced them deadg and they were cut down. The prisoners had re«.
cuesteds jus t before execution, that they might be interred and theat their-bodies. .
might be permitted to remaing The Deputy Marshal assured them for himself and for &.

the Marshal, whowas present, thas they should be interred in the manner usual. —:

on such occasions, and that after that, they°could have no further control over them...
The bodies however, were afterwardds disinterred, and Dr, @ullen and other: medical
gentlemen attempted galvanic experiments ‘upon one or more of them, We understand

that these experiments were unsuccessful in consqequence of the period that had-.

élapsed since their execution, and that they. were again» interred, = .- : , . s
"We are informed that after the determination of the Marshal to inter them was known ,
Dr. C. would have relinquished thé idea of testing the galyanic power, but for his-
unwillingness to disappoint many who had expressed a desire: to see the results, <->
COMPILER ." 4 ‘ f oe eS vt be Rare
COURIER; Cyarleston, SC, August 2), 1827 (2/6.)

¢)

”

eee
i;

ae 62!

1d A5-FO CIN Repu bbc

~ The Saginaw News .

*.. SAGINAW, Mich. — Dr. Rich-
= ard Mudd’s lifelong quest to clear
his grandfather’s name has spurred
military officials to seta national

- .g precedent.

© Zof Military Records recently notified
: «Mudd, of Saginaw, that it will retry
, sthe 126-year-old case of Dr. Samuel
» A.Mudd.

" “I never dreamed I'd live long
« €nough to see it happen,” the
90-year-old Mudd said. “If he is
3 found innocent, I don’t know if I’ll
é be able to survive it. I get goose
. bumps just thinking about it.
at“This will be the first time in
‘American history a military case

2, The Army Board for Correction ¥ Booth ‘broke when he leaped to the
_ Stage of Ford Theatre in Washington —

after shooting the president.

will be retried by the Army
corrections board.”

A military panel convicted Sam-
uel Mudd of conspiring in the 1865
assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Mudd set the leg John Wilkes

He then fled to Mudd’s home.
Mudd claimed he was unaware of
the assassination.

The military sentenced Mudd to a
life term and imprisoned him at Fort
Jefferson, which was on an island in
the Gulf of Mexico about 70 miles

west of Key West, Fla.

Although President Andrew
Johnson pardoned Samuel Mudd

‘Case tied to Lincoln’s death to

four years later, “a pardon doesn’t
change his guilt,” Richard Mudd
explained.

Mudd, a retired occupational
physician for General Motors Corp.

and the Army Reserves, said the™

‘military board will reconsider the © conviction, authorities agreed to

case in March or April.

He has spent 72 years lobbying
presidents, Congress and. Lincoln
buffs to overturn the verdict.

Presidents Carter and Reagan
sent letters expressing their belief in
Samuel Mudd’s innocence, but their
personal opinions didn’t change the
record.

George McNamara, vice presi-
dent of a Philadelphia bank, joined
the cause by writing to Sen. Joseph

2 aes

be retried
i

| Biden, D-Del.

| Biden persuaded the Army to
allow Mudd to submit an applica-
tion to retry the case.

Although the military requires an
appeal within three years after

waive the rule, Mudd said.

“It is inconceivable this could
happen after 70 years of being
rejected,” he said. “The mete fact
that they are reviewing it means
something, but I fear nothing will be
done legally.”

Mudd says his father never
discussed the case.

“TI learned about it when I was a
youngster, about 16, and I couldn’t
get it out of my mind,” he said.

OWS LO

cere

700 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

they were all jailed, and taken subsequently to Boston where
all of them but one, who had committed suicide while in pris-
on, were put on trial before a Federal Court, presided over
by Mr. Justice Story, for piracy.

The evidence was pretty conclusive as to their identity, but
some of them—the cook, Ferrer; the cabin boy, Costa, and the
three sailors: Guzman, Portana and Velazquez, the jury
thought might have acted under the compulsion of the oth-
ers, and so found them not guilty. But seven of the Span-
iards, Gibert, the captain; De Soto, the mate, and Ruiz, Boy-
ga, Castillo, Garcia and Montenegro, were convicted of piracy
and sentenced to death. But the jury in returning their ver-
dict recommended the mate De Soto to the merciful consid-
eration of the Government ‘‘because of his generous, noble
and self-sacrificing conduct in saving the lives of more than
seventy human beings, the passengers and crew of the ship
Minerva,’’ an incident which was brought to their attention
during the trial. And the wife of one of the counsel went to
the President and told him the story of heroism, which so
impressed the chief executive that he gave the mate a full
pardon. As for the others, Boyga cut his throat and Ruiz
pretended to be insane. But it was decided that he was
shamming and with Boyga, sitting in a chair, the six pirates
were hanged at the Leverett street jail in Boston.

THE TRIAL.

In the United States Circwit Court, Boston, Massachusetts,
November, 1834.

Hon. JosepH Story, ?

Hon. Joun Davis,’ Judges.

Early in the month of June, 1834, intelligence reached this coun-
try, that the British brig of war Curlew, Capt. Trotter, while cruis-

1 Bibliography. *“A Report of the Trial of Pedro Gibert, Ber-
nardo De Soto, Francisco Ruiz, Nicola Costa, Antonio Ferrer, Man-
uel Boyga, Domingo De Guzman, Juan Antonio Portana, Manuel
Castillo, Angel Garcia, Jose Velazquez, and Juan Montenegro alias
Jose Basilio De Castro, before the United States Cireuit Court, on

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 701

ing off the coast of Africa for slavers, had fallen in with, and cap-
tured, the Spanish schooner Panda, and that several of the crew
of that vessel had been identified as the persons who robbed the
brig Mexican, of Salem, on the 20th of September, 1832, while on
her voyage from that port to Rio Janeiro. A part of the crew had
been secured and taken to England, the remainder having escaped
to the shore, where they were protected by the natives.

On the 26th of August, the British gun-brig Savage arrived in
the harbor of Salem, having on board the following prisoners: Pedro
Gibert, master mariner; Bernardo de Soto, Francisco Ruiz,
Nicola Costa, Antonio Ferrer, Manuel Boyga, Domingo de Guzman,
Juan Antonio Portana, Manuel Castillo, Angel Garcia, Jose Valaz-
quez, and Juan Montenegro, otherwise called Jose Basilio de Castro,
and Juan Delgardo. Delgardo committed suicide in Salem jail.
Her commander, Lieutenant Loney, waited upon the authorities of

an Indictment Charging Them with the Commission of an Act of
Piracy, on Board the Brig Mexican, of Salem; containing a full
statement of the Testimony, and the Arguments of the Counsel on
Both Sides, the Charge of the Court, Pronounced by the Hon. Judge
Story, and the Verdict of the Jury, with an Appendix containing
several Documents never before published. By a Congressional
Stenographer. Boston: Russell, Odiorne & Metealf. Providence:
Marshall Brown & Co. Portland: Colman & Chisholm. Salem:
John M. Ives. 1834.”

*“A Full and Accurate Account—20 engravings. Trial of the
Twelve Spanish Pirates of the Schooner Panda, a Guinea Slaver
for Robbery and Piracy Committed on Board the Brig Mexican,

20th Sept., 1832. Boston: Published by Lemuel Gulliver, 82 State

street. 1834.”

On the title page is an engraving of the black King at Cape
Lopez, who protected the crew of the Panda and A Pirate’s Long
Knife. The other illustrations are The Panda standing through
the Bahama Channel; The Mate Begging His Life; Antonio Ferrer,
the Tattooed Cook; The Panda at Anchor on the River Nazareth;
Burying the Money on the Beach at Cape Lopez; The Pirates Con-
cealed in the Woods Behind Cape Lopez; One of the Boxes of
Dollars; Explosion of the Panda; A Kind of Knife Used by Slav-
ers; Inhabitants of the Island of Fernando Po; Bernardo De Soto;
Don Pedro Gibert; Ruiz leaving the Panda after Applying the
Slow Match; Natives Carrying two of the Pirates up the River
Nazareth; The Pirates Carrying Rum on Shore to Purchase Slaves;
Antonio on the Top-gallant Mast;-The Carpenter Applying the
Match to the Bag of Powder in the Magazine; Blunt Chart of the
Coast of Africa Showing the Haunts of the Pirates.

“Half a Century with Judges and Lawyers. By Joseph A. Wil-
lard. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin & Company. The
Riverside Press, Cambridge. 1896.”

2See 1 Am. St. Tr. 44.

$See 1 Am. St. Tr. 44.

wad?

a & MONTENEGRO, Juan
1, COSTELLO, Manuel, GARCIA, Angelo, and GIBERT, Pedro, all

nged at Boston, M ass. (Fed) on June 9, 1835.

fancisco, white, hanged Boston, Masse 9-12-1835 (Federal)

"RIALS.

‘ence was concerned,
f the Prosecutor ag

or THE TRIAL OF PEDRO GIBERT, BERNARDO

| ee cc | DE SOTO, FRANCISCO RUIZ, NICOLA COS-

of 25 minutes, re. ae a TA, ANTONIO F KRRER, MANUEL BOY-
. - F GA, DOMINGO DE GUZMAN, JUAN !
ary and the clerk —- ; ANTONIO PORTANA, MANUEL
Hes questioned as ; CASTILLO, ANGEL GARCIA,

= etme in the ae JOSE VELAZQUEZ, AND

‘ime, 3. ne a JUAN MONTENEGRO,

ut to decide ae @ FOR PIRACY, BOSTON,

re and breeding a @ MASSACHUSETTS,

piaeing her upon 1884,

ielve months a‘: THE NARRATIVE. —
pt her prison fn August, 1832, the American brig Mexican, which was
owned by one of the leading merchants of Salem, Massachu-
setts, sailed from that place for Rio J aneiro, having on board
valuable eargo and over twenty thousand dollars in specie.
bout the same time, the ship Panda, with a Spanish captain
ind erew, set sail from Havana on a slaving expedition. They
met In the South Atlantic. The Panda overhauled the Mex-
ican, fired, when within gunshot, and the Mexican hove to.
_ Then some of the crew of the Panda boarded the Mexican,
‘ook from her all the money they could find, fastened the offi-
cers and sailors of the Mexican below, and set fire to her.
The pirates had neglected to fasten the cabin skylight, so
that the crew of the brig raised it, and when they saw that i
the slaver was at a sufficient distance, they put the fire out
and returned home. The slaver proceeded to the coast of
oe -\frica, and while there the officers of the British man-of-war
= Curlew heard of the capture of the Mexican, and as the Pan-
da answered the description of the vessel that captured her, |
its commander took all of her crew he could lay his hands on, i
carried them to England, then brought them to Salem, where i
699

whe tivigy Weuwd” way prea Anas rial & oy Bi py i
cane Fs venton a.

ante AB Aan, te nd to Moe

eal | E\ trad Ay “Sp!
oom rocatp et artaaeks Seer

Pt calling

718 XY. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

her in the eanoe, he (the captain)
asked why she had not been
blown up; the carpenter said he
did not know why an explosion
had not taken place. The cap-
tain and mate asked him why he
had not bursted a barrel of pow-
der over the deck, loaded a gun,
tied a fish-line to the lock and
pulled it when he came off in the
eanoe.. The eabin scuttle leads
down into the magazine.

Sixty negroes had been bought
with the eargo of the Panda, and
the remainder had been sent off
to buy more. Captain said he
intended to take 450. The na-
tives were against the English.
Captain of the Panda asked the
Afriean king to let a guard of
negroes stand upon the beach,
armed with muskets to prevent
the English from landing. When
T reached Fernando Po asked if
I belonged to the Panda, and
said, no; but when they put me
under oath I confessed. All the
rest denied until the boatswain
being confronted with a Portu-
enese, confessed. They were
then examined before Governor
Nichols, the captain of the Eng-
lish boat that brought them to
Fernando Po, and some clerks.
When I told them about the $20,-
000 taken from the Mexican, one
of the clerks, who had an Ameri-
ean paper in his hand, said, “very
true, very true.” Before I left
Nazareth, a Portuguese pilot boat
left that place to coax Capt. Gi-

Mr. Child here gave Perez the

bert to Prinee’s Island that he
might be caught. They told me
if I did not tell all about the
matter I would be hung; my
heart failed me and I confessed;
Delgardo also confessed a short
time afterwards. The governor
told Delgardo he need not be
afraid, for he would write to
England and get his pardon.
Captain Trotter was present at
these examinations. The-rest of
the erew were in the hospital;
I was in the hospital when the
boatswain of the Panda died.
Presents or money were never
offered to Delgardo to make him
confess. His own fear made him
tell all; he was told if he spoke
truly he might get off with a
short imprisonment.
Nov. 14.

Perez. I did not come here
bribed by any one. Domingo

Guzman had confessed on board

the English vessel, that they had
robbed two vessels, one besides
the Mexican; in the former, how-
ever, they got no money; do not
know of any inducements being
held’ out to Delgardo, to make
him confess. He confessed withi-
out the English saying a word to
him. When Delgardo saw the
corpsé of the boatswain, he did
not say: God forgive me for the
false witness JI have borne
against you; do not. remember
whether I said at Fernando Po
that I could not read or write;
said so at Salem.

indictment to read, and he read a

part of it with greater facility than he did the previous day. Mr.

ChiJd then wished him to write.

The Court said that the counsel

for the prisoners had no right: to put the witness to this test. The
District Attorney asked that the experiment be permitted to be made,
under the proviso that the witness should not be ealled upon to write
his‘own name, as many men could write that, who could write noth-
ing else. Perez then came down from the stand and took up the pen,

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 719

reiterating the assertion that he could not writ

i e. He was ask

said by the government at Fernando Po to sign his cet Pag:
deposition he made there, but he could not do it, and was therefore

told to make his mark. Witness here mad i

, ade an effort to w
finding he could not, threw down the pen in despair. The Couns
wished it to be understood that this trial of the witness, although
permitted, could not be legally called for by the prisoner’s counsel i

‘Cross - examination continued.
Did not, distrust Capt. Trotter’s
promises to me at Fernando Po,
and say I only made my mark
that I might thereafter disavow

it’ as my signature. Was asked .

by Capt..Gibert and the mate,
when in prison in England, if I
had signed my deposition at Fer-
nando Po; said I had made a
mark, and they then said: “No
matter, you must deny every-
thing.” Have conversed with the
black eook of the Panda, An-
tonio Ferrer. Told the cook at
Plymouth while they were con-
fined on board a seventy-four
there, that the captain wanted me
to deny everything, so that he
(the captain) might himself turn
State’s evidence, and hang all
the crew. Captain and mate
tried several times to induce me
to deny everything. Out of ten
words of English ean . perhaps
understand five; was in Salem
when .the erew of the Mexican
testified; saw the captain and
cook of that. vessel; heard them
talking and eould not under-
stand them; saw them making
signs and pointing out the pris-
oners whom they knew—think I
recognized the captain of the
Mexican; believe he was one of
those who came alongside the
schooner in the brig’s boat; never
confessed at Salem, was only
asked to identify my mark at the
bottom of the deposition made at
Fernando Po; did not recognize
any others but the captain, there

were so many white people pres-
ent, and white people are so
much like each other. The ves-
sel in which the captain and mate
went from Nazareth was after-
wards a prize to the Curlew; be-
lieve she was given up after-
wards as a bad prize; don’t know
whether she was taken because
she had pirates on board. She
was released in England about
twelve or thirteen days before we
left for America; do not know
whether Capt. Trotter told when
we reached England that he had
pirates on board; saw some Eng-
lish newspapers, never read them
none of the crew of the Panda
except myself were ever per-
mitted to go at large; Castillo
went in the boat once, to carry
an officer on shore. Capt Trot-
ter did not put the mate and eap-
tain of the Panda in irons. They
were all shut up in a room to-
gether. After some time an order
came for them to be permitted to
walk the deck. Delgardo was
with me; was handeuffed to
him when they came ashore at
Salem. Capt. Gibert used to go
on deck in his chains; any of the
prisoners might do this. When
Castillo went on shore with the
mate could not have escaped if
he had wished; they were guard-
ed when on board a seventy-four
at Plymouth.

The vessel lay in the stream
and was never moved into the
harbor; never heard of any one
offering to assist them to escape,

729 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

which we found on fire; was the
first that boarded her. The first
thing we did was to put out the
fire which we found in the maga-
zine below the cabin floor. One
of our men went down and found
a quantity of cotton and brim-
stone burning, also a slow match
ignited and communicating with
the magazine. The magazine
contained fourteen or sixteen
quarter casks of powder; looked
for the ship’s papers and log-
book; did not find them. We
then bent the schooner’s sails, and
went up the river. Had the ves-
sel in our possession ten or
twelve days; she was a long, low,
two topsail schooner; she was
sharp, and her masts raked a
great deal; her figure-head was
cut off; no name on her stern;
her deck was that of a slaver,
with a grated hatchway. Tried to
get possession of the crew, but
could not. When we left the
river, we took an inventory of
everything there was on board;
then sailed for Cape Lopez,
where the schooner blew up; was
supposed that a spark of fire got
into the magazine. We lost two
officers and two men. She had a
long brass pivot gun abaft the
mainmast, and two short earron-
ades; a six and a nine pounder.
We got one of the Panda’s crew
before we left the river (Simon
Domingo, the Portuguese). We
took four Portuguese after-
wards; one of them (Antonio
Silvera) and the man first taken
(Domingo), came with me in the
Savage, and are now in Boston.
A boat was sent up to the Afri-
ean king, and he promised to
give the prisoners up. When we
went for them the next morning,
the Prince came down and said
they should be brought to us as

soon as ‘the sun had gone to din-
ner’ (12 o’elock). The men, how-
ever, were never sent. We se-
eured five of the Panda’s crew
at Fernando Po—and the eap-
tain, the boy (Costa), Velazquez
and cook at Cape Lopez. They
were kept on board the Curlew
during the cruise, and then sent
to England. Four or five were
apprehended at St. Thomas. The
prisoners were taken first to Ply-
mouth, and lastly te Portsmouth,
from which place they were
brought to the United States.
Cross-examined. The Esper-
anza was taken on suspicion of
aiding the crew of the Panda;
have heard that she carried some
of the prisoners and their money
to Fernando Po. ‘Two or three
of the crew of the Esperanza
were taken to Portsmouth, and
some landed elsewhere. Don’t
know whether the vessel was
libelled in England; don’t know
whether she was announced as a
pirate. The Esperanza carried
the English flag and pennant
some time after her capture. It
is customary to hoist the Eng-
lish flag when we take a prize,
but not the pennant. No Eng-
lish officer has a right to hoist
the pennant on any prize. Don’t
think the arrival of the prison-
ers was announced in England.
Some of them were in irons on
board the Curlew. Two of them
went ashore with me in a boat—
Castillo and Garcia were the
men. One of our men was with
them when I left the boat, but
got drunk while I was away.
Castillo and Garcia might have
run away if they liked, but I
think they would been speedily
retaken, as they did not know
the language; gave them some-
thing to drink; they rowed me

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 723

ashore. Don’t think Perez was
in the boat; there were only two
of the prisoners, and they were
the men whom I have mentioned.
Remember going to the river
Bona in the Curlew. Some of
the prisoners ‘were on board the
Esperanza, and others on board
the Curlew. The mate, the car-
penter, and three others were in
irons. Captain of the Panda
did some translations for Cap-
tain Trotter; Captain Trotter
might have regaled him with
wine and brandy. When we were
in the River Bona, the Esperanza
got aground rather less than a
mile from the shore; a great
many of our hands had gone up
the river in boats; fourteen or
fifteen only remained on board.
Don’t know whether all the
prisoners were on board her at
the time. They assisted our men
readily in getting her afloat
again. Do not think the prison-
ers outnumbered our men. While
at Nazareth, consider we were in
some danger from the natives—
can’t tell whether it was by the
intercession of the captain and
mate of the Panda that Captain
Trotter was not killed. A search
was made to find the money tak-
en from the Mexican, but it was
mnsuceessful. Captain Trotter
recovered $683 of it at Cape
Lopez. I know of no place
where slaves cannot be purchased
for money, excepting in the in-
terior. The natives take the
dollars to the English merchants,
and get goods.

The principal object of the
Curlew was the capture of slav-
ers. Four years is not an ex-
traordinary cruise for such a ves-
Sel as the Curlew. All the men
belonging to the Curlew and
Panda were sent ashore. Prison-

ers were guarded by sentinels;
they were allowed to go into the
skirts of the town. Don’t know
‘whether prisoners were in irons;
did not see irons on them; did
not see them go ashore. Saw the
captain and mate of the Panda
in irons on board the Curlew.
Do not know whether the senti-
nels were placed to guard the
English crew as well as the pris-
oners. Cannot say whether there
was any part of the crew of the
Curlew appointed especially to
perform guard duty.

Ascension is a small island,
perhaps 14 or 15 miles in cir-
cumference. Curlew’s people
were mostly employed about the
vessel; some allowed to go ashore
when they chose; don’t know
what they did on shore. There
were about four hundred soldiers
in the town—also a few boats be-
longing to the island, and our
own boat lying on the beach. A
Sentry was stationed at the end
of the wharf. No boats in any
other part of the town; there are
no boats owned by the inhabi-
tants; a guard from the gar-
rison is constantly stationed
over the boats; wharf forms part
of the fortifications, Captain
Trotter did not eruise after a
prize to replace the Panda, that
I know of. Tle (Captain Trot-
ter) could not return to Eng-
land without orders; am sure of
this; did not show me his sailing
orders; was not accustomed to
do so. Think there are about
four hundred inhabitants in As-
cension; they reside in two parts
of the island. Prisoners could
not have procured a boat to leave
the island, unless they eut down
a tree and made one for them-
selves. Prisoners never tried to
escape, to my knowledge. Once,

720 X¥. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

never. They were not permitted
to speak to any one except in the
presence of a sentinel. On board
the Panda was a sailor who could
speak English, his name was Per-
ico; he was a fat white man; do
not know his country; he died
on board the schooner. Perico
was a Spaniard, but had sailed
on board an American brig. The
powder of the Panda was stowed

in her hold at Havana; I had not
been concerned in the war be-
tween Spain and her colonies.
Have been on board both Danish
and French merechantmen. Do
not know who was the command-
er of the Spanish forees during
the Columbian war. Never knew
General Morillo. Never served
on board any man-of-war.

Perez on seeing some papers between Messrs. Hilliard and Child,
the counsel for the prisoners, expressed a fear that at pega :.
going wrong; but on being informed by the interpreter that Sg wo
ventlemen were connected in the case, he became satisfied. e was
directed to be removed for a few minutes, and on his return the ner
examination proceeded, but he soon lost all patience, and with mue
gesticulation and energy, protested that the would not answer any
more questions, being certain that they were dictated by the prisoners.
He was at last, however, induced to continue his statements.

Was on board a Spanish
schooner as cabin boy during the
war between Spain and Colum-
bia. During the time of Morillo
was taken prisoner in a_ brig
called the Eagle and carried into
Havana. Brig was taken because
she had slaves on board. Nicholas
Costa was cabin boy on board the
Eagle, and afterwards on board
the Panda. Black boy (Antonio
Ferrer) belonged to Maracaibo;
never told him to say he was a
slave. Don’t know whether he is
a slave or not. Knew him to be
an African, by the marks on his
face. Have heard others say that
he was a slave. His name is put
in the roll as born in the Havana.
Was not aware when I shipped
that the Panda was going on
a piratical eruise. All vessels
leaving Havana for the coast of
Africa are examined by the Gen-
eral of Marines. Panda and
crew were not examined; don’t
know reason why she was not.
Delgardo came from Spain in

company with me. If I had
known the Captain of the Panda,
would sooner have stayed on
shore and eaten dirt than have
gone with him. Did not know
Panda had any guns on board
when I shipped. When she was
in river Nazareth, carpenter car-
ried all her papers on shore and
gave them to the captain. Never
knew what became of them after-
wards. When Panda left Hav-
ana she bore a Spanish flag. Her
papers were all good. Can’t tell
whether Panda was or was not
boarded by officers when off Hay-
ana. An English ship was rob-
bed by the crew of the Panda
previously to the robbery of the
Mexican. Most implicit obedi-
ence was paid to Capt. Gibert
by the crew of the Panda. Don’t
think the crew feared him, but
obeyed all his orders. The Eng-
lish corvette was robbed about
eight days after we left Havana;
chased her some time before we
came up with her. On coming

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 721

up, Capt. Gibert hailed the Eng-
lish captain and ordered him to
come on board. The latter said
his boat leaked so badly, would
not be able to keep her afloat.
Capt. Gibert again told the Eng-
lish captain to come on board
quickly. The English then
launched their boat, and the eap-
tain, boatswain and two men
came on board the schooner. The
corvette was robbed of five goats,
one cheese, several cases of pre-
serves, cordials, ete, and two
half coils of rigging. No other
piracy was committed after the
robbery of the Mexican. Capt.
Gibert often expressed a wish to
sink a Spanish vessel lying at
Petty Sestos. Made prepara-
tions, but did not do it, because
the sea ran so high. Never re-
ceived any money in England
from Captain Trotter; the Span-
ish consul at Plymouth tried to
make me confess that I had been
bribed.

Did not get a good deal of
rum at Fernando Po; had no
money to get it; never confessed
that I was drunk at the time I
made my deposition, and the
scoundrel who says I was is a
liar! Prisoners at Fernando Po
confessed that they had robbed
an English corvette as well as the

Mexican, and that they took away

from her several monkey jackets,
shirts and the eabin curtains. The
money boxes and bags taken from
the Mexican ‘contained about a
thousand dollars each, and were
made of something like velvet.

When the money was taken
out of the boxes it was put into
bags made of dark coarse linen,
these bags rotted, and others
were made to receive the money;
the boxes were thrown overboard
when emptied; do not know what

sort of wood the boxes were made
of; the captain took the money
up and shook it round in bags,
to see if there was any yellow
money among it; did not go close
to the boxes, but thought I saw
something black like iron round
the edge of each; they were
counting the money all the time
I was in the foretop; it was
all spread out on the companion
Way.

George H. Quentin. Am an
officer in the Royal Navy of
Great Britain; hold the rank of
Master’s Assistant (i. e. midship-
man). Came to the United
States in the Savage, an English
ten-gun brig. All the prisoners
now present came with me. Ar-
rived at Salem on the 22d Aug-
ust. Was previously in the Cur-
lew, commanded by Henry Dun-
das Trotter; left the Cape of
Good Hope in January, 1832, for
the Coast of Africa. Arrived at
Prince’s Island about March.
While there received information
in May, 1833, of the robbery of
the brig Mexican, by a vessel an-
swering the description of a
schooner then lying in the river
Nazareth. Sailed immediately
for the latter place, and arrived
there 4th June. Three boats,
containing in all forty men and
commanded by Capt Trotter,
went up the river. Just after
daylight got sight of her at an-
chor; pulled in shore to avoid be-
ing seen; when we came within
a mile of her, hoisted the British
colors. Soon as they saw us they
took to their boats and made
for the shore, excepting one man,
and he soon after left in a canoe.
Capt. Trotter chased them with
his own boat only, but could not
come up with them, and there-
fore returned to the schooner,

724 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

while in Cape Lopez, we had
more prisoners than men of our
own; there was then some ap-
pearance of a rising among the
prisoners; never at any other
time. :
While at Cape Lopez, Captain
Trotter and some of our men
were taken prisoners by the Af-
rican king—were taken on Sun-
day and kept till Wednesday—it
required considerable negotiation
to get them free—Captain Trot-
ter was never anxious on account
of the capture of the Panda or
the Esperanza—I was in Fernan-
do Po when Perez was examined
—Captain Trotter, in company
with the surgeon and interpreter,
examined all the prisoners—no
offers or promises were made to
any one, to induce them to tes-
tify against the crew of the Pan-
da—Captain Trotter said noth-
ing about his liability to respond
for the loss of the Panda; Pan-
da’s cargo consisted of 60 or 70

George H. Quentin. Found a
U. S. ensign and pennant on
board the Panda, when she was
captured; also two Spanish and
one French ensign. There was
no firing at the Panda—a musket
or two was discharged at the
men who left her in a canoe, and
that was all—the fire was not re-
turned—have no knowledge of
any feeling of hostility existing
on the part of the crew of the
Panda towards the English—the
guns of the Panda were never
fired at the negro canoes—re-
member some of our men being
flogged, but it was for insolence
and drunkenness—am sure that

bags of rice and farina together,
16 or 17 qr. casks of powder, 2
casks of American bread, a few
barrels of pork and beef, and a
small quantity of other provis-
ions; a few muskets, one pair of
pistols, and some ecutlasses were
also found on board; think Cap-
tain Trotter transmitted all the
money taken from the Panda or
her erew to the Treasurer of the
Navy—no division was made of
it—had there been, should have
received a share The cook (Fer-
rer) had no inducement offered
him to make him testify—don’t
know Jose Perez’s state as re-
gards intoxication, while he was
examined—know nothing of the
boatswain’s death—four prison-
ers were taken by Captain Trot-
ter in River Nazareth; one died,
don’t recollect his name, and one
deserted—one was discharged;
prisoners were never urged by
Captain Trotter to give their
depositions, that I know of.

November 15.

the pivot gun was not fired at
the negro canoes—the men
broached a cask of rum, of
which there were eight or nine
easks on board—the inventory
and duplicate taken on board the
Panda were both destroyed—the
officers killed on board the Pan-
da, by the explosion, were named
Percy and Johnson—the gunner,
a marine and a mulatto boy,
were also killed—there were per-
haps twenty-five persons on
board the Panda, when she blew
up—was between the brig Cur-
lew and the schooner when the
explosion took place.

hild asking a question of the witness.
The riadigeree 0k the gentleman had answered that question

before.

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 725

Mr. Child. We do not know gentle or simple here.

Jupce Story. If there is aught exceptionable in my usage of
the word gentleman, I will use the word man, although I consider
that all present are entitled to the former appellation.

Cross-examination continued.
Do not know whether the powder
which was placed in the cabin to
blow up the vessel was in a bag
or not; saw a bag hauled up; al-
so a match still burning; the
name of the man who first went
down is Trumbull; know noth-
ing of Trumbull’s having re-
fused to swear that there was a
match in the eabin—did not find
a swivel on board the Panda—
it is usual to place the national
flag of a prize under that of her
captor—it was not done in the
case of the Esperanza. There is
a Spanish consul at Plymouth—
can’t say whether he is a Span-
iard or an Englishman—do not
know that he is connected in any
way with Captain Trotter, or
that Captan Gibert and his mate
wrote to the Consul General in
London—do not know of any
letters being intereepted—can't
remember whether the Consul at
Plymouth had a foreign accent
—only saw him five minutes—he
came on board in a eitizen’s
dress—don’t know of the Portu-
guese Consul’s doing any thing
for the prisoners—or of any
communication having passed
between him and the Consul
General in Spain—never heard
anything of the prisoners ex-
pecting to be tried in London, or
of their demanding a trial
know of no pirates about the
Cape de Verd Islands—heard
something of one being off St.
Thomas—Captain Trotter is in
an ill state of health—has had a
fever several times. Did not
hail the boats of the Panda be-

fore firing, because could not get
near enough—have no knowl-
edge of Captain Trotter’s hay-
ing the protest of Captain Gi-
bert—the diamond ring taken by
Captain Trotter, from the mate
of the Panda, bore the initials
B. S.—don’t know whether these
letters are the initials of the
mate and his wife—there was no
hair round the ring on the ont-
side—was not present when
Captain Trotter took the mate’s
watch—don’t know whether the
slaves on board the Esperanza
had free papers—was not pres-
ent at their examination—know
nothing of attempts to frighten
them by pointing guns at then—
a mark was placed on the Es-
peranza, at which the crew of
the Curlew practiced firing—the
passage of the Curlew home was
retarded in consequence of hav-
ing to wait for orders—do not
know whether Captain Trotter
proposed to give up the Esper-
anza to her owners—don’t know
whether our arrival was an-
nouneed.

Mr. Child showed the ‘witness
an English paper, and asked him
if it did not contain an an-
nouncement of the Curlew’s ar-
rival. It did. Two of the crew
of the Esperanza were brought
to England, the boatswain and
cook; also one or two others—
do not know what has become of
them, or whether they were dis-
charged.

Mr. Child said that he ob-
served a disposition on the part
of the officer of the Government
“to restrict the prisoners,”

738 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

most unclouded state of the understanding, the most un-
wearied attention to facts, and the strictest self-examination,
lest, through rashness, inadvertency, or prejudice, we pass
sentence upon the innocent, and commit a judicial murder.
If these considerations are of importance in relation to a sol-
itary individual, how much greater must be their importance
in the present case. You are not now called upon to decide
the fate of one, but of twelve persons. The lives of twelve
men are in your hands. By your verdict will be determined
whether the individuals who now sit before you, in the full-
“ness of life and strength, continue to exist, or whether they
shall taste the bitterness of death—the ignominious death of
the gallows. This court now presents the extraordinary spec-
tacle of a number of prisoners tallying precisely with that of
the jurors. They are opposed to you, as it were, man for
man, and your verdict will decide individually and collect-
ively their fate.

Under these circumstances, gentlemen, it becomes you to
approach this trial with something like a religious conscious-
ness of the imperfections of our nature, and our liability to
error; it becomes you also to lay aside every thing that may
have a tendency to darken your understandings, or obscure
the day light of truth. The men before you have a host of
prejudices to encounter. Notwithstanding the just and be-
nevolent maxim of the law, ‘‘that every man shall be held
innocent till proven to be guilty,’’ we are too apt to believe
an individual criminal merely because he is accused. No
sooner do we see him here than we discern the mark of Cain
upon his forehead. Men are frequently tried under cireum-
stances only slightly presumptive of their guilt, but the sim-
ple fact of their being brought up for trial, too often pleads
more strongly against them, than the most eloquent prosecut-
ing officer. And this feeling operates against a prisoner, ex-
actly in accordance with the magnitude of the crime of which
he is accused. In eases of robbery, or larceny, the evil is not
great; but let him be charged with murder, and the ease is
widely different. The imagination then plays us tricks; gives

- are.

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 739

to the countenance and eye of the prisoner a new expression.
We see guilt written in every lineament of his visage, and’
translate the look of conscious innocence into ruffian hardi-
hood, or callous indifference.

These men, gentlemen, are accused of the crime of piracy,
and are consequently viewed with horror as robbers and mur-
derers. Let me entreat you to lay aside all prepossessions of
this kind and not suppose, because the prisoners are accused,
that they are guilty. There is not a man perhaps who has
looked upon these individuals, but has said in his heart,
“Why, they can’t be innocent; what hardened villains they
’? And doubtless, if a phenologist had examined them,
he would have decided them to possess the bumps indicative
of these propensities, which have filled the world with vio-
lence and blood. I venture, however, to say that the men be-
fore you differ only in the color of their skins, from the most
respectable crew that ever sailed out of the port of Boston.
Prejudices exist, too, in relation to the place from which they
come. We are too apt to suppose the Havana a mere nest of
pirates, and to believe that the same sun which, in some coun-
tries, so speedily ripens and brings to perfection the produc-
tions of the vegetable world, induces similar precocity and
redundancy of crime.

Even Spain, with its romantic associations, has but a sorry
reputation among us; our imagination usually paints a Span-
ish sailor with the bloody knife in his hand. And yet we have
heard this day related a striking instance of Spanish hu-
manity. A vessel, in cireumstances of extreme peril, lay
aground on the Bahama bank. Her crew and_ passengers
(many of the latter women and children) awaited death from
the two most opposite elements, fire and water. While in this
situation, one our own ships, like the Levite and Priest in the
Scriptures, passed by and left the sufferers unnoticed. But
another man, like the good Samaritan in the parable to which
T have alluded, saw and reseucd them. And this man, was he
a Yankee? an American? No! he was a Spaniard! and his
name was Bernardo De Soto!

740 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

Consider the circumstances under which the prisoners have
come to this country. They have been brought here with a
sort of eclat, much to their disadvantage. A vast apparatus
seems to have been put in motion against them. England, the
queen of the ocean, has stretched forth her arm against them,
and every man, from the Lords of the Admiralty down to the
youngest midshipman on board the Curlew, seems to have de-
cided upon their fate. We are too likely to be influenced by
these circumstances, and imagine that England would not
have taken so much trouble; would not have sent the Savage,
with Lieut. Loney, to this country, unless the prisoners had
been guilty. It is but courtesy, it would appear, to hang them
after all this; blood seemed necessary to cement the bond of
union between the two nations.

I beg that it may not be supposed, however, that in speak-
ing thus, I have any intention of reflecting upon England, or
the English navy. Those who had lived in the days of Col-
lingwood and Nelson could never have aught but respectful
feelings in relation to the latter (the navy), and with respect
to the former (England), despite her scribblers, I believe that
there exists among the respectable class of people in this
country a deeply rooted feeling of regard for their fatherland.
Knowing that this feeling of respect and regard exists in
favor of England, I am desirous of cautioning the jury on
this head, as she (England) has been the principal agent in
this matter.

The manner in which the defense has been managed, also
requires some explanation. The long and tedious examina-
tions which have taken place, were not agreeable to us (the
counsel), and would not have been persisted in, could we
have had evidence of our own. But have not this evidence;
we are like a naked and unarmed man opposed to a full
armed man. We had first to wrest from our adversary his
weapons, and then fight him. All we could do was to en-
deavor to find out chasms in the government evidence.. We
were obliged to try it as sailors did a chain cable, first by ex-
treme pressure upon every inch, and then by ringing it to see

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 741

if it was sound. And we would have failed in our duty
had we not done this. Had we not acted thus, and had the
prisoners been convicted, that conviction would have been a
thing we never could have got over. The forms and coun-
tenances of these men would have dogged our noon-days steps,
haunted our midnight slumbers, and we never again should
have known peace.

If the individuals before you gentlemen are innocent, is
there not something in their condition calculated to touch the
heart? They are here, after a long confinement, with scarcely
a rag or scrap of testimony in their favor.

They are in a foreign country, far from their friends, ard
now on trial for their lives, before a court to whose forms and
language they are strangers. They are sailors, who do not
understand forms. They have not even the advantage of the
law which says the accused shall be confronted with their
accusers. Their accusers are far distant. I have said, too,
that they do not understand our language; such is the case.
The very words I am now using, fall, it is true, upon their
ears, but they awaken no corresponding feelings in their
souls. I look in vain for that in their countenances which to
an advocate is at once his strongest stimulant, and his best
reward.

Mr. Hilliard entered upon the facts of the case and into a
review of the evidence adduced by the government. He said
the government was bound to prove that a piracy had been
committed by the prisoners, singly and individually. In ad-
verting to the testimony of the Captain and crew of the Mex-
ican, he remarked that such evidence was always to be re-
ceived with suspicion. Sailors were creatures of feeling, and
when under the influence of revenge, or any other exciting
cause, they would go a great way. They did not reflect, but
felt. There were remarkable instances of this. One was to
be found in the case of Capt. Toby, and the other in that of
Otis. In both cases the crew swore falsely.

The Court objected to Mr. Hilliard’s allusion to Otis, say-
ing that that one had not been disposed of. A reprieve had

(

734 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

think from what I see of the
Mexican’s track, that she was a
dull sailer, and there would be
full a difference of one-third, be-"
tween her and a Baltimore clip-
per, in smooth water. The meet-
ing of the Panda and Mexican,
the one sailing on the 20th from
Havana, and the other from Sal-
em, on the 29th, would be very

improbable, but not impossible. -

I should think the Panda would
be at the Cape de Verds by the
20th of September. To pass
through the Bahama Channel,
and reach 30 N., would occupy,
in my opinion, about five days.

Cross-examined. My opinion
that the vessels would not meet,
is based upon the supposition
that neither would meet with any
accident or hindrance.

Samuel Austin Turner. Have
been six years a midshipman in
the United States Navy. Have
made voyages to the East Indies.
Know the Mexican. Should
think, in a royal breeze, she
would run six knots, while a clip-
per would sail one-third faster.
In a fresh, fair wind, the differ-
ence would be smaller—perhaps
none at all. Don’t think the brig
would ever have the advantage
of the clipper. Never sailed in
a clipper, nor through the Ba-
hama Channel. Do not think the
Mexican and Panda would meet
1the one sailing on the 20th and
the other on the 29th of August.
Am of opinion they would be one
hundred miles apart.

Cross-exramined. My opinion
is predicated on the belief that
both vessels made the best of
their way.

W. S. Bruce. Am somewhat
acquainted with Bernardo de
Soto. Have resided several years
at the Havana, and my knowl-

edge of the prisoner commenced
in the fall of ’31. De Soto was
then captain of the Spanish brig
Leon, from Philadelphia to Ha-
vana. During one of his voy-
ages from Philadelphia to the
latter place, he saved and
brought in the crew and passen-
gers of the American ship Min-
erva, which had taken fire. The
passengers were thirty or forty
in number (chiefly Irish) going
to New Orleans or Mobile. De
Soto’s conduct was very highly
spoken of at the time in Havana,
and he was presented with a
piece of plate, by the merchants
of New Orleans. Don’t know
that any one has asked him (de
Soto) to become a_ witness
against rest of prisoners. Dis-
trict Attorney did not request me
to go to him. Did not intimate
to me his wish or willingness that
de Soto should be a witness.
Should not have conjectured
anything of the kind from the
District Attorney’s conversation.
Formed my opinion of the Dis-
trict Attorney’s wishes from
what was told me by a third per-
son. That person was Charles
W. Story. I told de Soto that
he had better become a witness.

Mr. Dunlap. Had you ever
conversed with me before you
saw de Soto? Yes, both before
and afterwards. Recollect your-
self. You did not say anything
particular the first time. Did
you ever converse with me more
than once? No. Did you not,
upon that occasion, state to me
what .had passed between your-
self and de Soto? Yes. Then,
of course, sir, you never con-
versed with me before you saw
de Soto.

Mr. Bruce. As to persons en-
gaged in the slave trade, being

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 735

so engaged was not considered in
Havana to disparage any man’s
character,

Isaac A. Coolidge, the under
keeper of the jail, was asked to
identify the colored men, Ridgly
and Lewis, of the Mexican, as
the persons who ealled at the jail
and stated that they recognized
one of the prisoners. He was
unable to swear to the parties.

Charles Sumner. Saw Ridgly
in court, either at the time the
prisoners were arraigned, or
when they were brought up to
receive copies of the indictment
against them. Ridgly was near
the erier’s desk, with a crowd
round him, gesticulating much,
and pointing with his finger.
Heard him say “there’s one!”
(designating some person near
the marshall). The prisoners
had, at this time, left the court,
and a party of mutineers had
taken their place. Ridgly still
continued pointing, and selected
one of the mutineers, saying,
“that’s one, that’s one.” He ap-
peared much excited.

Cross-examined. The prison-
ers were in the room when Ridg-
ly first pointed. They were at
the bar, and other persons
were sitting beside the marshal.
Ridgly was by the ecrier’s box.
When he pointed, he pointed in
the same range as the bar. The
crier’s box is in the same range,
or a little further back. Watched
Ridgly’s finger, and saw that he
pointed away from the bar. Was
conversing with another gentle-
man at the time I saw this.

_ James Benjamin. Saw Ridgly
in court the first day the pris-
oners were’ brought in. I
was talking with Mr. Sumner.
Saw Ridgly making himself very
conspicuous. Thought I was

one of the crew of the Mexican.
Was a long time before I could
understand what he was saying,
and when I did so, the prisoners
now present had left the court.
Saw Ridgly point to one of a
party of mutineers, who were
then sitting in front of the bar,
and say, “I see you! You don’t
know me now, d n you, but
you will know me soon.” Can’t
remember the exact words used
by Ridgly, but believe they were
the above. Supposed him then
to be a witness in the case of the
mutineers, and immediately left
the court.

Stephen Badlam. Had had a
conversation with Joseph Perez,
the government witness. About
the Ist of October last, was re-
quested by the District Attorney
to accompany him to the jail for
the purpose of interpreting be-
tween him and _ the prisoners.
I and the District Attorney went
into a room under the court, and
directed the turnkey to bring in
Perez. This was done, and I
then stated to the prisoner that
the gentlemen present, Mr. Dun-
lap, was the Attorney for the
District, and had ealled, as the
time of trial was approaching,
to have some conversation with
him. When I told Perez this he
declared that “all he had pre-
viously said was false; that he
had had a good deal of wine giy-
en to him, and had been told that
if he became a witness, he would
not be considered in the light of
the other prisoners, but be kept
as a witness.” He, by this time,
appeared much out of humor,
and said rapidly, as if in a pas-
sion, “I will not be a witness
any longer, but will take my
chance with the others.” I think
he said that “the English had de-

736 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

ceived him, by telling him that
he would not be kept a prisoner,
while, in reality, he was now as
much a prisoner as the others.”
I think, when he said this, he
did not refer to any individuals
in this country, but to the Eng-
lish. I told Mr. Dunlap what
the prisoner had said, and Mr.
Dunlap replied, “Very well, he
may do as he pleases; if he does
not like to be a witness, we can
do without him.” Perez then
cooled down, did not appear in
such a passion as previously, and
said that “when he went before
the judge, he would tell the whole
truth.”

Mr. Dunlap (sworn). I shall
be happy to state anything with-
in my knowledge in relation to
this matter; indeed, I consider
such a course a duty. After hav-
ing had, ‘with Perez, the eonver-
sation just alluded to by Mr.
Badlam, and ‘having noticed the
state of his [Perez’s] mind, I
did not think it safe to leave the
ease for the government in its
then state. I had, therefore,
caused Nicola Costa to be

brought in, and after telling him
that he was under no obligation
to state anything, and that all I
[the District Attorney] could
promise him was, that nothing
he might say should be used
against him, asked if he was will-
ing to become a witness for the
United States. The prisoner’s
reply was, “that they were all
innocent, and that no robbery
had ever been committed by them
upon the Mexican.” I then
called in Domingo de Guzman,
and afterwards Antonio Ferrer
[the black cook], but found
them both in the same story as
Costa. As a last resort, I then
sent for Bernardo de Soto, the
mate, but succeeded as ill with
him as with the others. I was
influenced in sending for Costa
and de Guzman, by considera-
tions as to their youth; as re-
garded the black, by compassion
for his ignorance and degraded
condition; and I selected de Soto
in consequence of his having per-
formed the act of humanity
whieh has been alluded to.

Mr. Child said the District Attorney had been influenced, in this
affair, by the honorable feelings he supposed him to possess, and
begged him to accept sincere thanks for the course pursued.

Mr. Dunlap said that when the offer of becoming a witness was
made to de Soto, the later returned, for answer, that he was willing
to testify, but could only do so to his own innocence. He thought
de Soto answered evasively, and, therefore, immediately ceased con-

versing with him.

E. G. Prescott. Was in court
when the prisoners were brought
up to receive their indictments.
Saw Ridgly upon that oceasion.
I was standing in front of the

erier’s desk. Some one pushed .

against me; saw it was the black.
Asked him what he did inside
the bar, when he replied “that he

was one of the crew of the Mex-
ican, and wanted to look at the
d. d rascals and see if he
knew any of them.” Made way
for him, and asked him several
questions. He pointed out sev-
eral of the prisoners, and after-
wards shook his fist at them, say-
ing, in a loud tone, “d——n you,

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 737

it’s my turn now.” He was in a
state of excitement.

Ebenezer Prescott. Am an of-
ficer of the court; Ridgly was in-
toxicated at the time. Saw Mr.
Sumner and others talking to
him a short time after, and not
thinking it proper that he should
be questioned in his then state,
went and told Mr. Dunlap.

Henry Homer. Ridgly was
one-half or two-thirds drunk.
Saw many people round him;
among others, Mr. Child, who
was listening and speaking to
him. Heard one of the bystand-

Daniel F. Hale. Was a pas-
Senger, in the year 1831, on
board the American ship Min-
erva, from New York to New
Orleans. The Minerva ran
aground on the Bahama bank,
and would, in all probability,
with all her crew and passengers,
but for the exertions of Bernar-
do de Soto, the captain of a
Spanish brig, which providen-
tially hove in sight, took them
on board, and earried them safe-
ly into the Havana. They were
seventy-two in all. They could
not possibly have been saved,
had they not been assisted by de
Soto, as the Minerva had a eargo
of lime, which would have taken

- fire on coming in contact with

ers say to Mr. Child, “It won’t
do you any good, for he is point-
ing to the prisoners.” Ridgly
did not point to the mutineers.
James Benjamin (recalled).
Ridgly did point, at first, to the
prisoners, but afterwards at the
mutineers. Some one standing
by corrected him, telling him
that “he was mistaken; the pris-
oners had gone out.” Am cer-
tain prisoners had gone out at
this time. Went away with the
impression that Ridgly was a
witness against the mutineers.

November 19.

the water, and the vessel had
already sprung a leak. An Amer-
ican ship, the Chariot, after hav-
ing ascertained their situation,
continued their voyage without
attempting to succor them; on
her arrival she reported a vessel
on the Bahama bank. De Soto
treated them very kindly while
on board his brig.

Samuel Sanford. Have ex-
amined the invoice of the cargo
with which the Panda sailed
from Havana, and value it at
$10,000.

Mr. Child produced a Lloyd’s
List of 12th August. 1832, which
stated that a piratical schooner,
having on board thirty men, had
been seen in lat. 30 long. 22.

MR. HILLIARD FOR THE PRISONERS.

Mr. Hilliard. Gentlemen of the jury: You are called
upon today to exercise your vocation in a ease of the most
peculiar nature; in a case, a parallel to which we should seek
for in vain in the criminal annals of this, and I almost said,
in those of any other state or country. It is a serious thing,
gentlemen, to sit in judgment, for life or death, upon a single
individual. The performance of such a duty requires the

by ART REID

he Rufus Buck gang

was not in the same

league of notoriety as
Jesse James and his boys or
the infamous Younger or Dal-
ton brothers. Nor could they
hold a candle to the near
celebrity status attained by
Butch Cassidy and his Hole-
in-the-Wall friends. But for
sheer speed of dispensing
the triple terrors of murder,
rape and robbery, Buck and
his pals proved to be the
all-time champions of a re-
gion noted for its acts of vi-
olent crime.

The reign of horror brought down
upon the citizens of the Oklahoma Ter-
ritory by Rufus Buck’s gang in 1895
lasted only 13 days. Yet it was so
swift and ruthless that before the first
week had passed everyone in the In-
dian Nations spoke the name of the
gang leader in fearfully hushed tones.

To become nearly as well known
were Buck’s riding partners Sam Samp-
son, Maomi July and the brothers Lewis
and Luckey Davis. All had one thing
in common, they were sociopaths ea-
gerly seeking to vent their pent up frus-
trations on innocent victims.

Before they happened to come to-
gether in Okmulgee in the Cherokee
Nation of Oklahoma Territory in the
summer of 1895 each, in his own
way, had tested law enforcement by
committing crimes ranging from sell-
ing whiskey to rustling cattle and steal-
ing horses. :

The gang launched their spate of

terror when Rufus Buck ambushed and
killed a deputy U.S. Marshal sta-
tioned at Okmulgee. Individually,
Buck, the Davis boys, Sampson and
18

Witp WEST

SCRAPBOOK

July were bad enough, but when band-
ed together it meant a gang to be
watched carefully. The lawman was be-
coming a prickly thorn in Buck’s side
when he decided to shoot him.

With the hovering shadow of the
law eliminated, the gang branched
out immediately, searching for victims.
The first was a woman named Martha
Stillson with her fourteen year old
son, Charles and his companion. With
all of the Stillson’s personal property
filling two wagons as they moved to
a distant farm, the teenagers were on
one wagon as Mrs. Stillson drove the
other. After finding no grown men in

Interior of farm house

the Stillson party and no guns evi-
dent, Buck gruffly ordered the two boys
to drive on ahead. “Don’t even look
back or I’ll kill ya!” he barked.

Even before her frightened son was
out of sight, Mrs. Stillson was pulled
from the wagon seat, her dress was
ripped off. To resist would mean the
death of the two boys. Then, for
more than an hour she was raped re-
peatedly by the entire gang. Finally

satiated, they left the brutalized

woman, now out of her mind with
fright, to be reunited with her dis-
traught son.

and raped his wife.

tus Yella

[47

where Buck gang held gun to owner’s head

The Rufu

months be!
ing one ol
When the t
Davis ab
putting U
loped sate
Now, \
surly look
Hanson s
men dran}
ally as p:
his loade
he boltec
up short !
ing throus
ahead of
first, was

of dirt and chipped slabs of trees. The
desperadoes lurched for their horses
that were, by now, wild eyed and
panicked from the fusillade of gun fire.
One horse bolted down the hillside and
all others followed, leaving Buck’s
boys with their own panic, on foot
and scrambling frantically for higher
ground.

Paradoxically, the shady spot on
the hillside chosen by the outlaws
was about 200 feet below the sum-
mit. This was the highest ground with
a sweeping view of the entire area.
So they had the right hill but the wrong
altitude. From the top, a lone sentry
sitting in shade cast by his horse
could have easily spotted the posse’s
approach, giving the band plenty of
time to escape. That they chose im-
mediate, if temporary, creature com-
fort over what amounted to life or
death was their final thoughtless de-
cision.

So now five frantic men, forced to
the summit of the hill, were raining
bullets down upon lawmen and out-
raged citizens of the Creek Indian Na-
tion. And there was no scarcity of am-
munition. Among the things filched
in the store robberies was a large stock
of ammunition for rifles and hand-
guns.

Despite scorching heat, the battle
dragged on for hours. Neither side gave
an inch of ground. It was Lewis Davis,
however, who first decided to give it
all to the determined posse. Superfi-
cially nicked twice with bullets, Davis

Yer

FREE =F sly) ¥

reasoned that he had enough. He cut
and ran. It’s inexplicable that the
route down the hill Davis just hap-
pened to take was completely un-
guarded. His escape was clean, with-
Out a shot fired at him. Freedom,
however, was fleeting; he was captured
two days later.

Meanwhile back on the knob, Rufus
Buck, Sam Sampson, Maomi July
and Luckey Davis fired and fell back,
reloaded, crawled to the edge, fired and
fell back.

Below them a segment of the law
officers and possemen decided they had
stretched their patience to its limit with
this deadly cat and mouse game. To
their knowledge, and knowing noth-
ing of Lewis Davis’ swift abandonment
of his colleagues, not a single outlaw
had even been winged with a bullet.
Fortunately, and rather miraculously,
there was no blood spilled on the side
of the lawmen either.

It was agreed among the officers that,
considering the extended time of the
siege, the outlaws just had'to be run-
ning low on ammunition. So the minute
it appeared that their rate of fire was
Slowing significantly would be the
appropriate time to mount a charge
up the hill.

But the Creek Indian portion of the
posse, thinking that a charge was a
good idea, didn’t wait. They started
up that hill firing Winchesters as fast
as new rounds could be levered into
chambers.

Rufus Buck had his gun belt shot
away. As the force of the blow tore it
from his waist and spun him half

around, Buck flung his rifle away and
ran glassy-eyed and hysterical down
the back side of the hill. His unchecked
retreat triggered the same reaction in
his companions. They dropped their ri-
fles and followed Buck, right into the
waiting guns of lawmen.

If the killers thought they would be
taken quickly and safely to the feder-
al jail in Fort Smith, Arkansas they
were mistaken. The battle had lasted
so many hours and was so noisy it
was the rare person within miles who
had not heard that the dreaded Buck
gang had been surrounded. And be-
Cause it was growing dark, the Deputy
Marshals elected to wait until the
next morning to start for Fort Smith.
So, an ominous crowd gathered near
the shackled rapists.

As the crowd grew by the hour there
was more and more talk of lynching
the captives. Now more than a hundred
people, all in an ugly mood, had gath-
ered to urge an immediate mass hang-
ing. The situation became so serious
that Marshal S.M. Rutherford spoke
to the disgruntled throng, assuring them
that the law would dispense the jus-
tice due.

Apparently satisfied for the mo-
ment, the milling crowd split up into
small groups and went back to their
bonfires. But Rutherford and his fel-
low law officers, huddled in quiet
conversation, agreed that the reprieve
was only temporary. Those whipping
up the notion for hanging would, soon-
er or later, persuade others to wait no
longer and get the job done. If they
were to deliver live captives to Fort

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Smith, sor
hurry.

“Boys.”
thorough]
it you've
out of this 1
Now, we’
dark and |
not even a
Understand

In unison
heads. The,
ing. They |
hate and re\
them. Now
erate with th
less lives.

So, as inc
under the pr
dividual oft
horses away
enough hor:
the captive
mounted a:
trouble site

Fifty mile
tives were |
cific Railr
Smigh. Okl:
in the huge
Federal Jude
ing Judge” o}
of the time |
duced to th
Jail, they we
for the multi;
son.

U.S. Distr
convinced th
charge was
conviction ;
from Judge P
with the bes!
der or the rap.
robbery app:
dictment.

Read mack
Tuesday, Aug
brought to co
pleading not
start Septem!

Judge Park
ple of remar}
Henry and R
their precise ;
of those terrify
hands of the |
five defense
had a word to <
ingly passed

Of the same
from the cour
which took o:

party and no guns evi-
utfly ordered the two boys
ihead. “Don’t even look
ill ya!” he barked.
- her frightened son was
\irs. Stillson was pulled
zon seat, her dress was
) resist would mean the
two boys. Then, for
hour she was raped re-
he entire gang. Finally
‘y left the brutalized
out of her mind with
reunited with her dis-

- later,“Henry Hanson
<oberta were in their farm
> men rode through the
‘us Buck said they were
sked for water. Drawing
roup, Hanson recognized
as the man who a few

gun to owner’s head

months before, Hanson had seen lead-
ing one of his mules out of a pasture.
When the farmer yelled and gave chase,
Davis abandoned the project and,
putting the spurs to his horse, gal-
loped safely away.

Now, with the mule thief and four
surly looking companions in his yard,
Hanson sensed big trouble. As the
men drank water, Hanson eased casu-
ally as possible toward the house and
his loaded rifle. Reaching the door,
he bolted through only to be drawn
up short by his own Winchester. Com-
ing through the back door just two steps
ahead of Hanson, and reaching the rifle
first, was Maomi July. He was backed

by Sam Sampson who covered Hanson
with a six-gun.

After that the situation became dead-
ly. Closely guarded at all times by at
least one man, Hanson was forced to
sit against a tree in the yard while his
wife was made to cook a meal for the
swaggering outlaws. Meanwhile, the
house was ransacked for anything of
value. That amounted to less than six
dollars cash, miscellaneous clothing
and a tornado of rubble strewn through-
out the house by the reckless mob.

Roberta Hanson was fondled and
forced to listen to lurid comments even
as she cooked. To further intimidate the
horrified mother of two small children,

The Rufus Buck Gang, left to right: Maoma July, Sam Sampson, Rufus Bu

ck, Lucky Davis, Lewis Davis.
Buck and associates began to threaten
her with sexual assault.

Davis was outside holding Hanson
under his gun and threatening the pow-
erless farmer with a bullet in the head.
Before Davis had time to work up a
more maniacal hatred for the captive,
he was called by the others to come
eat his meal.

Two of them came out to relieve
Davis who dashed inside. When Davis
finished wolfing down food he pushed
the plate aside and grabbed Mrs. Han-
son, drawing her roughly to him.

“You go with me,” he declared,
putting the muzzle of his Winchester
rifle to her head. Davis went out the

Before banding together, each was a walking

timebomb. When they rode together, they
brought the entire Oklahoma territory to hell
and back in 13 bloody days.

ng his rifle away and
and hysterical down
the hill. His unchecked
| the same reaction in
hey dropped their ri-

-d Buck, right into the

lawmen.
hought they would be
nd safely to the feder-
Smith, Arkansas they
lhe battle had lasted
and was so noisy it
son within miles who
hat the dreaded Buck
surrounded. And be-
ving dark, the Deputy
1 tO wait until the
start for Fort Smith.
crowd gathered near
iSts.
rew by the hour there
ore talk of lynching
\ more than a hundred
igly mood, had gath-
umediate mass hang-
i became so serious
‘I. Rutherford spoke
(hrong, assuring them
ld dispense the jus-

stied for the mo-
crowd split up into
went Back to their
‘hertord and his fel-
huddled in quiet
‘d that the reprieve
'y. Those whipping
anging would, soon-
de others to wait no
e job done. If they
ye Captives to Fort

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Smith, something had to be done in a
hurry.

“Boys,” Rutherford addressed the
thoroughly cowed fugitives, “as I see
it you’ve got only one chance to get
out of this mess without being lynched.
Now, we've got to sneak away in the
dark and I mean do it so quiet that
not even a nervous horse snickers.
Understand what I mean?”

In unison the outlaws nodded their
heads. They had heard the talk of lynch-
ing. They had seen the expressions of
hate and revenge on faces pressing near
them. Now they were eager to coop-
erate with the law in saving their worth-
less lives.

So, as inconspicuously as possible
under the prevailing circumstances, in-
dividual officers began to lead their
horses away from lighted areas, Finally,
enough horses, including those for
the captives, were in position to be
mounted and ridden away from the
trouble site.

Fifty miles later in Muscogee the cap-
tives were put aboard a Missouri Pa-
cific Railroad train headed for Fort
Smith. Oklahoma Territory was with-
in the huge geographical bailiwick of
Federal Judge Ike Parker, the “Hang-
ing Judge” of Fort Smith. Within hours
of the time the Buck gang was intro-
duced to the bowels of the federal
jail, they were indicted by grand jury
for the multiple rape of Roberta Han-
son.

U.S. District Attorney James F. Read,
convinced that for the moment the rape
charge was most likely to bring a
conviction and the harshest penalty
from Judge Parker, decided to first go
with the best he had. Nothing of mur-
der or the rape of Mrs. Stillson or armed
robbery appeared in the original in-
dictment.

Read made the prudent choice. Early
Tuesday, August 20, the outlaws were
brought to court and arraigned. After
pleading not guilty, their trial was to
start September 23.

Judge Parker’s court was an exam-
ple of remarkably swift justice. When
Henry and Roberta Hanson finished
their precise and explicit descriptions
of those terrifying hours suffered at the
hands of the Buck gang, none of the
five defense attorneys, astonishingly,
had a word to say in rebuttal. They will-
ingly passed.

Of the same mind the jury retired
from the courtroom for deliberation
which took only seconds. Returning

even before their chairs had cooled,
they found all defendants guilty as
charged.

Equally extraordinary is that instead
of having the convicted felons returned
to their jail cells, Judge Parker or-
dered them to remain seated in court.
An unprecedented procedure was un-
folding so rapidly that it was precious
time and effort wasted to have the crim-
inals taken back to jail.

Even as the infamous five had heard
announced the verdict which, in all
probability, would send them to the
gallows, the grand jury was recom-
mending their indictment for the
murder of the Deputy U.S. Marshall
at Okmulgee.

Now in the courtroom Judge Parker
quickly dismissed the first jury, re-
quested a second 12-man panel be se-
lected to replace them and, with that
done, immediately gaveled the open-
ing of the murder trial. By noon the
following day the second verdict of
guilty was soberly announced.

The date for sentencing was set
for Wednesday, September 25, just
two days following the opening of

.the case of rape against the Buck
gang.

On that day Judge Parker said that
the five were guilty of “one of the most
brutal, wicked, repulsive, and das-
tardly crimes known in the annals of
crime.” He then sentenced each of
them, “to be hanged by the neck until
you are dead.” The following October
31 was the date set for execution.

Because Luckey Davis insisted that
his case go to the Supreme Court, there
would be delays by appeal and await-
ing the decision by that august body.
Nonetheless, the higher court upheld
Judge Parker’s decision. And they
didn’t take 10 years to do it.

To the contrary, all five criminals
walked up the steps to the Fort Smith
gallows July 1, 1896. They died less
than a year from the day they hurled
their ill fated 13-day career into the
depths of what Judge Parker called
“most horrid and brutal depravity.”

Not one of the five had yet reached
his 21st birthday. *

ADAM
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2d his wife.

; Jesse James
ild they hold a
id his Hole-in-
ff murder, rape
f a region not-

‘s ranging from sell-
rustling cattle and

ched their spate of
us Buck ambushed
ty U.S. Marshal sta-
lgee. Individually,
boys, Sampson and
enough, but when
it meant a gang to
‘fully. The lawman

ANG

was becoming a prickly thorn in
Buck’s side when he decided to
shoot him.

With the hovering shadow of the
law eliminated, the gang branched
out immediately, searching for vic-
tims. The first was a woman named
Martha Stillson with her fourteen
year old son, Charles and his com-
panion. With all of the Stillson’s per-
sonal property filling two wagons as
they moved to a distant farm, the
teenagers were on one wagon as
Mrs. Stillson drove the other. After
finding no grown men in the Still-
son party and no guns evident, Buck
gruffly ordered the two boys to drive
on ahead. “Don’t even look back or
I'll kill ya!” he barked.

Even before her frightened son
was out of sight, Mrs. Stillson was
pulled from the wagon seat, her
dress was ripped off. To resist
would mean the death of the two
boys. Then, for more than an hour
she was raped repeatedly by the en-
tire gang. Finally satiated, they left
the brutalized woman, now out of
her mind with fright, to be reunited

TALES

FROM THE
WILD WEST

with her distraught son.

A few days later, Henry Hanson
and his wife Roberta were in their
farm yard when five men rode
through the front gate. Rufus Buck
said they were hunting and asked for
water. Drawing closer to the group,
Hanson recognized Lewis Davis as
the man who a few months before,
Hanson had seen leading one of his
mules out of a pasture. When the
farmer yelled and gave chase, Davis
abandoned the project and, putting
the spurs to his horse, galloped safe-
ly away.

Now, with the mule thief and four
surly looking companions in his yard,
Hanson sensed big trouble. As the

men drank water, Hanson eased ca-
sually as possible toward the house
and his loaded rifle. Reaching the
door, he bolted through only to be
drawn up short by his own Winch-
ester. Coming through the back door
just two steps ahead of Hanson, and
reaching the rifle first, was Maoma
July. He was backed by Sam Samp-
son who covered Hanson with a six-
gun.

After that the situation became
deadly. Closely guarded at all times
by at least one man, Hanson was
forced to sit against a tree in the
yard while his wife was made to
cook a meal for the swaggering out-
laws. Meanwhile, the house was
ransacked for anything of value.
That amounted to less than six dol-
lars cash, miscellaneous clothing
and a tornado of rubble strewn
throughout the house by the reck-
less mob.

Roberta Hanson was fondled and
forced to listen to lurid comments
even as she cooked. To further in-
timidate the horrified mother of two
small children, Buck and associates

Only known photo of the Rufus Buck Gang, from left: Maoma July, Sam Sampson, Rufus Buck,

Lucky Davis, Lewis Davis.

“oe

“and third weekends of December. Here,
~ | in permanent booths in a central square,
» ~ local organizations offer their wares.

ie: fauvants much patronized during the long
'- steep road past Silver Plume to the splen-

GEN
Sak

winter ski-season.
bys ‘One. unique feature is “the patdoor
» Christmas Mart, usually held the second .

) Dogsled races and sleigh rides add to the
festivities, with the cheery smell of hot

}
uN cider and popcorn being enjoyed by vis-

sah
oa ye
‘{. Another museum of interest is the

| > ate architecture.

y vis a shaded: park where picnickers may

itors around a big bonfire—a welcome
‘feature as it can be very cold, srs

' Hamill House, restored by the George-

on town Historical Society to show the life-
i 4 style of an enterprising mining tycoon
= © * who served in the first Colorado Legis-

‘lature in 1876. Another frame house was

“acquired in' 1974 and is being restored as

» an excellent example of Victorian Italian-
Behind it is one of the
‘oldest trapper’s cabins of the valley. There

“Junch; a century-old.courthouse with a_
‘jury room where twelve good men may
weigh the fate of others as they..relax

“in stencilled rocking chairs; the. first
Episcopal Church in Colorado; and the
Maxwell House, ‘not open to visitors but
worth seeing from the road. With its pink |
}trimmed exterior it has been called one
‘of the ten best examples of Victorian
-architecture in the country. [The Max-
“well House is shown on the cover of this

“issue. ]

. «« Here was the site of the famcus George-
‘town Loop, a narrow-gauge that twisted
its way up 600 feet in one and a half
‘miles to the mines near Silver Plume.
‘After mining dwindled, the trip was a
. tourist attraction for a time but the rails

“4 were finally removed. Today the Colorado

| Historical Society is working to recon-
* struct the daring Loop, and already some

- p rails have been laid out. ¥ ake

‘ Last resting place for DuPuy and his friend.

- While cars and trucks thunder up the
dors of Loveland Pass, or the less demand-
ing route through the. Eisenhower Tun-

-nel, Georgetown drowses in a delightful

atmosphere of well. kept little homes,
flower-filled yards, fine craftstores, dis-
tinctive restaurants and a tranquility
that is far removed from the hectic days
of the mining boom. Nevertheless, the
old days do not seem far away when
one enjoys coffee and petit fours in the
courtyard of Hotel De Paris and thinks
of Louis’ words: “I love these mountains
and I love America, but you will pardon
me if I bring into this community a re-

“membrance of my youth and country. . 3:
This house will be my tomb, and if, in.

after years, someone comes and calls for
Louis DuPuy, show them this little souve-
nir of Alencon which I built in America,

and they will understand.” wurde M

PRL ST nel ak wo ae kittie pe IMR of Me 2
Reha A ats BS Se Stat Foes

fs ta ae meat et pees a seit
i

When the Buck Gang Rode ’ pate

rik

(Continued from page 27)

-knoll,” Rufus Buck replied, gwacre. have

our goods. ae ‘
“T know,” Bruner stated. “pl i there. z
Ignoring the two boys, the ruffians left
the store and mounted their horses. Lewis
Davis slung the tied boots that were full

‘of ammunition across the front of his

saddle, and they all rode away...

That night when Newt Belford yeuaried
home J. I. related this valuable informa-
tion. “Come Tuesday sunup,” Deputy
Marshal Sam Haynes led the big posse
to “the knoll,” only a few miles from
Newt’s_ store. Deputy sarebal _Frank
Jones joined them. |’

Cut off from their tethered ‘hofies ‘the
startled outlaws snatched up their rifles
and fled to the top of the knoll. The
posse quickly surrounded its base ‘but
the gang had the advantage position. A
hot .gun_ battle. commenced. “Marshal
Haynes dispatched a fast rider to notify
Marshal Morton Rutherford in Muskogee.
The battle continued for hours, until Skan-
sey who, like the others was pinned down
by the men on top of the knoll, decided
to speed things’ up.

“T’ve had gpovgn ot this!” ‘Skansey
spouted.

HE tealan nolicerdati Tneevted: a dyna-

mite shell in his rifle and rose to his
feet. From that position he could see the
outlaws and he aimed and fired. The

cheavy charge struck a rock where Rufus

Buck, mostly concealed, was stationed. A
fragment of metal cut Buck’s pelt and it
fell to the ground.

When the startled outlaw rose a his
feet he had to grab his pants to hold them
up. He was rattled, and he ran in the
opposite direction, down that side of the
slope, and right into the arms of some

' possemen.

Newt Belford rose to his ieee Mor a
better look and saw: Lewis, Davis slip be-
hind a tree. Belford took aim at the tree
with his .40-82 rifle. Big pieces of bark
flew from the tree, one of which struck
Davis in his face. Bleeding from the

wound, Davis scrambled down the knoll 2M FFs

‘was too much for the remainder of the

irons, and issued an ultimatum: *'/.
aE “Here are some tow. sacks.
“those chains so they won’t make a racket

and took the outlaws to Muskogee. Once 3
more the populace demanded custody of =
» \the prisoners for lynching purposes but —

+ Court, and you, gentlemen of t

defense resulted in the Socal ‘Court 5

_July, and Sam Sampson were -

tranquil, % J. I. Belford obser’

aad manaed to escape. The. contusion?

gang and when Deputy Marshal Bud Led-
better and Deputy Marshal Paden Tolbert
rode into view, they threw down. their
rifles and waved their arms in surrender. _
..,Newt Belford and Haynes relinquished |
leadership of the posse to Ledbetter and
Tolbert who took the gang members to
Okmulgee and jailed them. There, how- |
ever, irate Creek citizens were bent on
lynching the gang whom everyone, pad
come to ‘despise. =». ¢

» Ledbetter. stood in Foont "GE the. gang
members, who were hobbled with leg-

ed.

Wrap

and we'll slip you out of town and get ’'
you to Fort Smith. Or you can ee and —
aang right here,” :jc*iaine ahs ee 4

. The outlaws cooperated econ and
away from town the officers obtained %:
‘wagon for ‘transportation. ’Marshal”
‘Rutherford met the wagon at Snake Creek

Marshal Rutherford handled the situation —
by reminding them, “Judge Parker will _
‘dispense justice. ve Few. coupled poet this
was true.”? 2@ans ici
Traveling by fain the officers and iS.
their prisoners, including’ Lewis Davis -
who had been captured, arrived safely in “
Fort Smith. Although long accustomed to #
such matters, some 700 Fort Smithians, ~
it was said, were on hand to see the Buck —
Gang marched from the depot to the big —
Federal jail. Someone began ringing an
church bell during the march and in short _.
order all the other church bells in town =
began “tolling a requiem for the victims —
of the savage Buck Gang.” The only other —
sounds were the clanking of the chains’ |
on the legs of the outlaws, and the final
clang of the heavy jail doors. “aes:
The five members of this infam s
group appeared before Judge Parker 0
September 20, 1895. Poor Rosetta Hassen-
had to testify, and Judge Parker became
“livid with rage” as details of the Hasse
family’s ordeal were revealed. There was.
no cross-examination by the defense attor.
ney. He simply stated: “May it. please, the.

you have heard the evdeus
nothing to say.” < ¢ Panes

. A verdict of guilty: v was ee n-—
dered, and the Buck Gang was then tried |
for the murder of officer John Garrett
with the same fast verdict. Judge Parke
sentenced the outlaws to be hanged Octa
ber 13. A stay of execution was obtained
however, the defense had nothing new O-
offer and the case was not presen
the Supreme Court. Another try’ b “the

refusal to interfere. rae

for July 1, 1896. On that cuytitas
Buck, Lewis Davis, Lucky Davi “Maor

the platform of the Fort Smit
and hanged simultaneously, >
“Life in the Territory wa

began to threaten her with sexual as-
sault.

Davis was outside holding Hanson
under his gun and threatening the
powerless farmer with a bullet in the
head. Before Davis had time to
work up a more maniacal hatred for
the captive, he was called by the oth-
ers to come eat his meal.

Two of them came out to relieve
Davis who dashed inside. When
Davis finished wolfing down food he
pushed the plate aside and grabbed
Mrs. Hanson, drawing her roughly
to him.

“You go with me,” he declared,
putting the muzzle of his Winchester
rifle to her head. Davis went out
the back door and headed toward the
barn. Holding a six gun to her head,
he raped her.

When Davis finished, he ordered
the horrified woman to stay where
she was, on the ground behind the
barn, while he went to advise the
others and help guard Hasson. One
by one, the gang members _ brutally
raped the 30-year-old woman.

Rufus Buck and friends were not
through harassing the Hanson family.
Preparing to leave the farm they were
undecided whether to kill Hanson on
the spot or take him with them down
the road, then shoot him. Either way
it would prevent the farmer from go-
ing for help and sounding the alarm.

The question was decided for them
by a young neighbor boy who hap-
pened to stop in while passing the
homestead. Recognizing another de-
fenseless victim, the Buck gang
hastily robbed the frightened youth
of less than a dollar. They then or-
dered both him and Hanson to walk
ahead of them down the dirt road.

To amuse themselves, the gang
members fired shot after shot at the
feet of the two marchers, compelling
them to run ahead of the horses, then
dance in the dusty road. When they
tired of the dancing, Buck told the
captives to fight, wrestle each other
and if the action didn’t appear to be
genuine, he would shoot them both.

After suffering those indignities,
Hanson was once again threatened
with certain and immediate death if
he did not kill the youth with his
bare hands. “Choke him!” they
yelled.

But by now the distraught farmer
did not have the strength remaining
to sufficiently choke a chicken. He
just stood there wobbling on rubbery

legs, his shoulders slumped, arms
hanging limp and, looking like a man
twice 33 years, he waited silently for
the bullet which would end his life.

Finally recognizing they had come
to the end of the line, and now it was
either kill or cut bait, the Buck boys,
for whatever reason, relented and
kept their handguns holstered. Leav-
ing Hanson and the shocked youth
quavering with relief, they rode off.

As the young man sprinted for
home, Hanson, with newfound de-
termination, and although fearful of
what he would find there, rushed the
two miles or so to his farm. Search-
ing at a frenetic pace through the
house, he was relieved to find the
children unharmed and sleeping safe-

ly. But he could not find his wife
anywhere.

Hanson recalled that he had not
actually seen Roberta since he had
tried to reach his rifle in the house.
Moreover, he was not certain, though
he had repeated reasons to suspect,
that his wife had been taken out the
house to the rear of the barn.and
there systematically assaulted.

But was she still alive or had the
beasts killed her? Either way, where
was she? Tormented by fear and
doubt, Hanson scoured the buildings.
He then heard something in a nearby
cornfield. Cautiously investigating,
he found his wife cowering, shiver-
ing in a state of shock and dread.

The next person who happened to
be on the wrong road at the wrong
time was a man named Nate Steffy.
He was about 10 miles from Ok-
mulgee on the hot early August
evening when he was approached

Before they banded
together, each was a
walking timebomb. When
they rode together, they
brought the entire
Oklahoma territory to
hell and back in 13

bloody days.

from the opposite direction by five
riders with guns drawn. Within two
minutes he was afoot, robbed of $50
and had to listen to the outlaws as
they talked about killing him. They
actually voted on it! Fortunately for
the much relieved Steffy, those in fa-
vor of grisly murder lost three to
two. While setting him free, they
kept his money, horse and saddle.

Less than five miles from the site
of the Steffy robbery the outlaws
struck again. This time the victim’s
name was Wesley Calhoun who was
in the Indian Territory buying stock.
He had purchased about three dozen
horses and mules from area owners.
Each seller had agreed to deliver the
animals to stock pens in Okmulgee

where Calhoun would take posses-
sion.

Now with the bulk of his bankroll
spent, Calhoun, with a black teenage
boy as helper, was on the way to Ok-
mulgee. They would spend the night
there, then drive northeast to Fayet-
teville, Arkansas. -

Still leading the horse stolen from
Steffy, the renegades accosted Cal-
houn and the youngster, ordered
them to the ground and ordered Cal-
houn to hand over his money and ex-
pensive boots. When the stock buyer
objected to giving up his boots, he
was used for target practice. All ex-
cept one shot missed. That one near-
ly ripped his ear off.

The boy wasn’t so lucky. Within
the hornets nest of buzzing bullets
was one which slammed into his
chest. Although not immediately fa-
tal, it caused death within hours.

Apparently, nothing within the

Buck gang lis’
moments tho
happened. )

their animal]

plete charge «
were riding a
of Gus Lande:
recalled that
many horses.
Run them to §
distant and ha
fore Landers

But on Duc!
lived, the fi
much noise at
es that the ran
well armed, b
the milling ric
gered by the i
the horse thic¢
enough in the
tively safe. T!
fire, opening t
Landers’ hot
were blasted
weather boarc

Ironically, n
either side dre
And the outla'
ly one horse.

Calhoun, th
lies had robbe
purchased a f
horses. Calhou
clined to eve)
price,” for this
just stolen fro!
of life and lim
outlaws had b:
the inferior olc
loose on the

Still chagrir
on the Duck C
outfit, determ)
thing of the m
point a pair o
located in th
again, they ju:
these stores, o
Norcott, the «
berg.

At both stor
miles apart, t
identical patt
with guns dr
holdup and st
Both unresisti
brutally beate
fle butts and |
eventually rec

Saturday, Ai
be another si
sweltering hu
Rufus Buck c

BUCK, Rufu8, gang

he Rufus Buck gang Ww
and his boys or the inf

candle to the near cel

the-Wall friends. But for sh

and robbery, Buck and his

ed for its acts of violent cr

The reign of horror brought down
upon the citizens of the Oklahoma
Territory by Rufus Buck’s gang in
1895 lasted only 13 days. Yet it was
so swift and ruthless that before the
first week had passed, everyone in
the Indian Nations spoke the name
of the gang leader in fearfully hushed
tones. |

To become nearly as well known
were Buck’s riding partners Sam

as not in the same lea
amous Youn
ebrity statu
eer s

als

Interior of farmhouse where Buck gang held gun to owner’s head and raped his wife.

by ART REID |

Sampson, Maomi July and the broth-
ers Lewis and Luckey Davis. All
had one thing in common, they were
sociopaths eagerly seeking to vent
their pent up frustrations on inno-
cent victims.

Before they happened to come to-
gether in Okmulgee in the Cherokee
Nation of Oklahoma Territory in the
summer of 1895 each, in his own
way, had tested law enforcement by

TRUE POLICE CASES,

August, 1993

THE RUFUS BUCK GANG

gue of notoriety as Jesse James
ger or Dalton brothers. Nor could they hold a
Ss attained by Butch Cassidy and his Hole-in-
peed of dispensing the triple terrors of murder, rape
proved to be the all-time champions of a region not-

committing crimes ranging from sell-
ing whiskey to rustling cattle and
stealing horses.

The gang launched their spate of
terror when Rufus Buck ambushed
and killed a deputy U.S. Marshal sta-
tioned at Okmulgee. Individually,
Buck, the Davis boys, Sampson and
July were bad enough, but when
banded together it meant a gang to
be watched carefully. The lawman

was becoming
Buck’s side w
shoot him.

With the hov:
law eliminated
out immediate]:
tims. The first \
Martha Stillso:
year old son, C
panion. With all
sonal property f
they moved to
teenagers wer«
Mrs. Stillson dr
finding no grov
son party and nc
gruffly ordered t
on ahead. “Don
I'll kill ya!” he

Even before
was out of sigh!
pulled from th
dress was ripp
would mean th
boys. Then, for
she was raped re
tire gang. Finall
the brutalized v
her mind with fr

Only known p

ANOBETA
ANOBETA and 3 others, Garrotted, A Philli
» Garrotted, Amulung, Phillipines, 10-31-1903

“NW et) (Nol < ‘| ws

Yo Fes thd sig bakin

Serres Ree CAO BGTE |:
Gea te Grhgad , Wsaememh sR -

A 4

7%,

er Jottemnatanatarie aie ar te
<. ; : . 6 ey, i ide

oe Since. Died from Bheck and

wa ‘,?
a
=
.

“

ebow that in unskill-
the showing.
yan t in thie
Mr. Gddridge,a Biilibid. t Also can be

HT
A

ry
af

the
-| Ratiraes...
ican Central ®atl

-himeetf in:its use. ou f
ane SL was some question as to the length
fit: tine hat the victims should remain fn
‘ : »- Spanish tradition had it that
cause death and:

gi
}

fome of thé

Mttie,

BOER
gifts |

: for
male

‘icemea. the provincinal
Pthele death, ‘sind the

sok Peat ‘three hours later, according to the
ue nay constabulary cffi- | Jer
ae mC spt. t.) we ¥ : “~

e men were unbound,
to-be removed by thelr.

is tleally: 2 = ;
“No ae hatever. My relations ae
of the road have been of shail

mious and friend! t ej
Jere, testaen, ands eae COMA
a *
sing.,and: may live for iets to: come | the front x aysiem, Suipped and managed a od ; é; f
the ’ : ; or ‘ |

* tt: e. 49h pe {
rt- recorde»of | Fond A reo ehook | ¢ ia the event:
: ected as

5)
a

E
J

adistonce,. Ia edt
pays:

MEDIA ACCOUNT OF TRIAL: MILITACY TRIBUNAL THAT STARTED MAY 10, G65

MEDIA ACCOUNT OF EXECUTION:

METHOD HAa\GING

PERIOD OF INCARCERATION APRIL 17, (B65 TO JULY 07, 1869

STAYS OF EXECUTION NONE, PRESIDENT JOHNSON REFUSED TO GRANTA STAY.

EXECUTIONER 4 SOLDIERS (UNK NOW! NG VOLUNTEERS ) FROM COMPANY F,
4TH VETERANS 2E<ELUE.

WITNESSES .

RITUALS

LAST WORDS “Qoa)'T LET ME FALL. HOLD OA) ‘i

OTHER INFORMATION

ATZERODT, George, HEROLD, David, PAINE, Lewis, and SURRATT,
Mary, hanged Washington, D. C., 7-7-1865.

"The best likeness of Mrs, Surratt, an authentic one, Bhows up on
the Society letterhead ~- specimen attached, Am also sending you

two post cards because of your interest in her case, BUT,
no one at the Tavern conducting the tourists through is
authorized to say anything about her innocené@e or guilt.
The evidence against her, if true, was quite damaging.

"Don't believe anything you saw in the Assassination movie
done after the Sunn-Schick book came out. ‘The book and the
movie were trash,"

Letter dated11-9-1987 frOm John C. Brennan, The Surratt Society,
9110 Brandywine Road, P. O. Box 427, Clinton, Md., 20735

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT DATA SHEET

7700
WASHINGTON. b.c. Oe,
STATE INVENTORY #
OFFENDER _ TEETERS-ZIBULKA INVENTORY DATA OTHER SOURCE DOCUMENTATION

NAME: MARY EUGENIA SURRATT
RACE: W

SEX: F

OFFENSE: CONSPIRACY In) THE MURDER OF
DATE EXECUTED: JULY 07, (805

‘COUNTY:

AcE: BORN) 1820 (45 v.04.)

VICTIM

NAME: PZESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLA)
RACE: W |
SEX:

AGE: 56

RELATIONSHIP |
TO OFFENDER: OO\E

BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:

DATE CRIME
COMMITTED: APRIL Jd, 1665

CLEO ETERS Ani) BAOMEN

pp VZ-
A CASE FOR MRS. SURRATT
pp 248-49,
ph Presper TWENTY DAYS pp !GG- 192
ASY TT.
5/15/1865 1:2
Sle) 1865 1:4
((22/ (865 1°)
7107/ I@S 1:5
708! 1B65 1:
710 / 1@6S 1:1
4/04/ iti, WL 8: |

DICTIONALY OF AMERICAN) BIOURAPHY
VOLT pp44o- 452.

DATE. SENTENCED: J DAE 27, 1BCS LOFFICIALLY APRIOUED Ox) JULY 05 ; 10S).

DAYS BETWEEN CRIME AND SENTENCING: 74

(APPROX).

DAYS BETWEEN CRIME AND EXECUTION: 64 (APPROX)

COUNTY SIZE:
DAY OF THE WEEK EXECUTED: FRIDAY.

OFFENDER RESIDENCY: JA)L ( POST CRIME),

MEDIA ACCOUNT OF CRIME: ©

SURRATTS VILLE, MD. (PRE CRIME).

3 | : | . 1

Aopaigns of

~ypportunity j

qamg man as an ally. He was a creature whom they had
gx encountered—an honest official and a mean onel
fk mon had some of these gentry behind bars while the
mt galloped away to the hills, favorite constituents of
gwors and governors though they might be.

athe spring of 1864, Sheridan, new commander of
Weak'’s cavalry corps, asked for Wilson to command his
WQulry Division. Grant acceded, and thus Wilson got
fa bext troop command. At first, during the Battle of the
Waleness, he bumbled a bit. But he learned rapidly,
gtdat at Yellow Tavern he was the key figure in Stuart’s
fot Later, in a cavalry raid, he established his compe-
wat in command of a separate force. He did well under
ein at Winchester in September; but Grant soon
wm him to head Sherman's cavalry in Georgia. He took
fixe to reorganize and refit this command, which paid
dia combat.

“Wikon was sent to join Thomas at Nashville, for Sher-
gm in his campaign in Georgia and the Carolinas de-
@ed that Thomas needed the bulk of the cavalry. Wil-
mi) corps participated in the battles that destroyed
fod and clinched victory in the West. Then, in March,
WM, he led his 9,000 troopers deep into the heart of
fe Confederacy, to complete the industrial and military
is that already had set in. He piled up an impres-
list of captured towns, factories, and stores of war
ganials in a march of over 600 miles in which the diffi-
abies of terrain and weather equalled if they did not
gxred those interposed by Forrest and the other Con-
iekrates whom he defeated.

segpe etsy

ee Bonk

NOW, in April, the war was virtually over, Lee and
je Johnston having surrendered. That made no difference
» Wilbon. He continued to occupy towns and take pris-
wen, including such distinguished men as Jefferson
Petts and Howell Cobb and such notorious fugitives as
fea Wirz, gaoler at Andersonville. It was only after
nl dispatches and some plain language that Sherman
guid get him stopped.

ime a majet
it him ever
ws him after

ling duty,

4 id, Aher the war the 28-year-old corps commander took
-d transfer of Miss Ella And £ Wilmi
ipers were ime off to marry Miss a Andrews 0 ilmington, Del.,
McClellan abappy occasion marred a little later by the notice that
7 Meident Andrew Johnson, whom he had antagonized
. wen he was reorganizing the cavalry, by requisitioning
his topo oe ;
ed the Ga te huter's private mounts, now had mustered him out
as so valts samajor general of Volunteers. This meant that he had
cClernand, mated to his Regular Army grade of captain of
d McPher § Berecss
promoted § _ Wikon resigned. He then made a fortune in railroad-
t coloneley ag and engineering, meanwhile finding time to write
all of 1863 § whminously on the war. He even became active in the
s, in recog @ Yemocatic Party in Delaware.

la 1898 he came back into the service as a major gen-
© @ alee in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and finally in the Boxer
Mddlion. He was made a brigadier general, USA, in

ry Bureaw @ vid grade he retired in 1901. In 1917, though 80, he
iry, but he - @pertuned Woodrow Wilson to,send him to France to
it with the | figtt, but even his membership in the Democratic Party
ining ® &xt gain him this favor, and like Teddy Roosevelt, he

led to {ume on the sidelines. In 1925, still spry and
fay, he died of a stroke or heart attack, the sole surviv-
ig member of the class of 1860, USMA.

nerous Com
pastures ot”
to buy the}

Jenkins Hh hen ad fo cut the howet
out of my son i AL the Last eleclion

he abused the President, fad xia no
man but a dam pack bouks hold

office under fins

By E. E. Billings

MARYLAND, although remaining in the Union, was
split into opposing factions during the Civil War. Some
men, howeyer, tried to mediate between the factions.
The two letters included in this column are both ad-
dressed to one such man. One is from a Union sympa-
thizer; the other from a Confederate.

Dr. John H. Bayne, the recipient of both letters, was
a prosperous planter and physician, aged 60, who resided
on his plantation, “Salubria,” in Oxon Hill, near Wash-
ington. Bayne owned 20 slaves, but served as post surgeon
to the Union garrison at Fort Foote, near his home. For
many years he served in the legislature and in the Senate
of Maryland. At the time of the first letter Bayne was a
state senator. With Surgeon Gen. Joseph K. Barnes, he
later attended his friend, Edwin M. Stanton, in the
latter’s last illness. —

The letters were made available by Guy Castle of Oxon
Hill, Md., a great-grandson of Dr. Bayne. John Zaddock

_(Zad) Jenkins, the subject of the first letter, was a 42-year-

old farmer living with his wife and seven children near
Surrattsville. The owner of two male slaves, he was the
older brother of Mrs. Surratt, nee Mary Jenkins, executed
as one of the Lincoln conspirators. Jenkins was also picked
up for questioning after the assassination of Lincoln,
but released and later testified in his sister’s behalf. His
18-year-old daughter, Olivia, lived with her aunt at the
time of the Booth conspiracy. The son, who, according to
the letter quoted below, wanted to shoot Ridgeway and
the Robeys, was 17-year-old John Z. Jenkins, Jr. John H.
Surratt, Mary’s son, was postmaster at Surrattsville from
September, 1862 until November, 1863 when he relin-
quished his office to an Andrew Robey. Some accounts
mention a quarrel between Zad Jenkins and Andrew
Robey at that time.

Charles Benedict Calvert, also mentioned in the letter,
was one of the wealthiest men in Prince George’s County,
with extensive land holdings and 45 slaves. He organized
the first College of Agricultural Research chartered in
the United States and was its first president. The 250
acres he donated from his estate, “Riversdale,” became
the nucleus for the campus of present-day University of

Maryland.

Continued on next page

CWT Illustrated—May, 1962—Page 41

oe cman CATED

8 +?

_ Medicine in the Civil War
By Otto Eisenschiml

But during the trial and after, Lewis
Paine proclaimed and convinced a num-
ber of high-ranking officials of Mrs.
Surratt’s innocence. One such person
was General John Hartranft. He was in
charge of the troops guarding the alleged
conspirators at the Old Penitentiary,
where the prisoners had been transferred
for the trial. And General Hartranft
tried to the end to have Mrs. Surratt’s
sentence commuted.

The General hoped that a last minute
reprieve would come from President
Andrew Johnson. The hanging was
delayed for as long as the order for the
time of execution was allowed. Sadly,
General Winfield Hancock, in charge of
the Military District of Washington, la-
mented that he had fought many battles
and had seen much suffering, but he
would gladly relive it all again if he didn’t
have to give the signal that the props be
knocked and “that poor woman be

_ hanged.”

While grasping her prayer beads and
declaring her innocence, and with the
noose around her neck, two Catholic
priests assisted Mrs. Surratt to the drop.
There the clerics said a parting prayer
and the woman today thought to be
completely innocent dropped to her
death.

The Tombstone Epitaph

Surra tt’s Villa—tavern, lodging house and stage stop—in what now is

Clinton, Maryland, is maintained by the Surratt Society.

Frontier —

President Misled

Oe —. oe _

MANY

RUSS Mc DONALD

—~ |!

| 8 The Tombstone Epitaph

WOMAN IS HANGED

Continued From Preceding Page

In Southern Maryland, they would
traverse the swamps and recross the
Potomac River into Virginia. All they
needed was a guide. Weichmann later
would testify at the trial of the con-
spirators that Booth didn’t discuss the
abduction plot in his presence although,
he said, the men did discuss something in
the hall while he remained in Booth’s
room,

It is generally believed that Dr. Mudd
was not in league with Booth to abduct
the President. John Surratt, on the other
hand, eventually made the disastrous
decision to cast his lot with Booth. As it
turned out, many attempts were made
and failed to abduct the President.

Missions for Confederates

John Surratt had a two-fold-mission
when he left Washington, in early April,
1865. One was to escort a lovely female
courier delivering important Con-
federate papers to Canada from the Con-
federate capitol at Richmond. General
Ulysses S. Grant was progressing rapid-
ly on Richmond. The papers were in-
structions to Confederate agents in
Canada, telling them how to allocate the
Southern funds they were holding.

John’s other mission, after he left
Canada, was to go to Elmira, New York,
to survey the Federal prison there in
preparation for a prison break of Con-
federate soldiers. The plan: they and
other Confederate soldiers were to be
freed and return to battle as a last ditch
effort to save the Confederacy.

On Good Friday, April 14, 1865, the
morning of the assassination, Mary
made a hasty trip to Surrattville in order
to meet with a man who owed her
money. Since her son was not in town,
she asked Louis Weichmann to take her.

When Mary was preparing to leave,
Booth stopped by the boardinghouse
and asked her to deliver a small package
to one John Lloyd. There being no
reason not to do the favor for Mr. Booth,
she accepted the package and with
Weichmann proceeded to Surrattsville.

Lloyd was not at the tavern when Mary
arrived. Later he appeared reeling drunk
just as she was about to leave. At the trial
of the conspirators, Lloyd would testity
that the package that Booth had sent
contained field glasses. Furthermore, he
claimed that Mrs. Surratt had instructed
him to have whiskey and “shooting
irons” ready for “whoever called for
them that night.”

Lloyd’s statement did much to put
the noose around Mrs. Surratt’s
neck, Yet, two years later at a
criminal court trial of John Surratt,
Jr., Lloyd would confess that drink-
ing had always affected his memory;
that he didn’t remember if Mrs. Sur-
ratt had given him such instructions
or not.

It should be noted here that much of
the same evidence was brought forward
at the son’s trial in civilian court that had
been aired at the military trial of the
conspirators. Yet the son was freed
whereas the mother was hanged.

John Wilkes Booth and a traveling
companion, David Herold, appeared at
Lloyd’s that night after Booth had shot
the President at Ford’s Theater. Booth
had broken his leg when he jumped from
the Presidential Box to the stage below.

In spite of his injury, he was able to
drag himself across the stage and out the

back door of the theater. There, he
managed to mount his horse and gallop
down the back alley and through the
streets of Washington, although it was
difficult to remain mounted on his racing
steed.

On the Maryland side of the Potomac
River, he met David Herold, one of the
collaborators. Since John Surratt had
left Washington, Booth assigned Herold
to lead him through Maryland to Vir-
ginia. Their first stop in Maryland was
the Villa at Surrattsville. A bottle of
whiskey that the innkeeper gave Booth
would dull the throbbing pain in his leg.
Before the pair left, Booth turned to
Lloyd and bragged that he had killed the
President. ,

Medical Attention

From Surrattsville, the fugitives
turned their mounts south to Doctor
Samuel Mudd’s home seeking medical
attention. There the doctor set Booth’s
leg. He later would claim that he hadn’t
recognized the actor because Booth had
kept his face turned from him. Accord-
ing to Dr. Mudd, it wasn’t until the next
day that he learned that Booth had shot
and killed the President.

Doctor Mudd stood trial with the con-
spirators and was given a life sentence at
Dry Tortugas off the coast of Florida.
He was released seven years later in ap-
preciation for his help in caring for the
sick during a yellow fever epidemic at the
prison.

it wasn’t until April 26, 1865, that
Booth was killed. He was shot by Boston
Corbett, a Union soldier at Garrett’s
farm near Port Royal, Virginia. David
Herold was taken prisoner. He stood
trial and was hanged with Mrs. Surratt.

On the night that President Lincoln
was shot, the Metropolitan Police sear-
ched Mary Surratt’s boardinghouse,
looking for her son, John. An attempt
had been made on the life of Secretary of
State Seward. It was suspected that John
Surratt was the culprit. (As it turned out,
Lewis Paine, a Baptist minister’s son and
a former member of John S. Mosby’s
Confederates, was the guilty man.)

Finger Man

The morning after Mrs. Surratt’s boar-
dinghouse was searched, Lewis Weich-
mann rushed to the Metropolitan Police
Office, claiming that he had incriminat-
ing evidence against the Surratts, But his
revelation incriminated Aim, and he was
arrested. It was obvious to the police that
he knew too much not to have been a
party to the assassination, although
Weichmann protested his innocence.
But Weichmann did know enough to
take the police to question John Lloyd at
Surrattsville. Later, he even took them to
Canada in a fruitless search for his
former friend, John Surratt.

When John T. Ford, the owner of
Ford’s Theater, was arrested as a suspi-
cious character, he met Lloyd and
Weichmann who were also incarcerated
at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington,
D.C. This was after the two men had
testified against Mrs. Surratt.

But now the men acknowledged to

COUNTY,

ht Dan...

oe % | we . tS iia ‘ Mi bs
The inscription below Mary Surra

tt’s headstone which states in part,

“swept by events and emotions surrounding the assassination of Lincoln
from obscurity to the limelight of a military trial and inglorious death

on a scaffold.”

‘

UE TROBE

Mary Surratt’s grave in Washington’s Mount Oli vet Cemetery. :

Ford that they were sure that Mrs.
Surratt was innocent of having any
knowledge of cither the abduction
plans or the assassination plots
against President Lincoln.

They admitted to Ford that it was out
of fear for their lives that they had tes-
tified against the boarding house keeper.
According to Weichmann, Secretary
Stanton, had, in a threatening manner,
expressed the opinion that his
(Weichmann’s) hands had as much of
the President’s blood on them as
Booth’s. And Lloyd declared that he had
been threatened with torture if he didn’t
testify against Mrs. Surratt.

Ironically, it was Lloyd’s and
Weichmann’s testimonies that helped to
send Mary Surratt to her death.

Another incident that was most
damaging to Mrs. Surratt concerned
Louis Paine. Mary Surratt, her
daughter, and her niece were arrested
late Monday evening, April 17. When
they were preparing to leave the house

for prison, Paine, the man who had at-
tempted to kill Secretary Seward, ap-
peared at the front door of Mrs. Surratt’s
boardinghouse.

When he was asked why he had come
to Mrs. Surratt’s, he gave a very im-
plausible story. He said that he had come
to dig a gutter. When Mrs. Surratt was
asked if she knew the man, she said that
she didn’t though, at one time he had
boarded at her home.

Poor Eyesight

At the trial, her denial seemed most
suspicious—even thought there were a
great number of people who testified
that Mrs. Surratt had very poor eyesight.

Lewis Paine’s appearance was not
taken into consideration. The last time
she said she had seen him, Paine was
immaculately dressed and passed him-
self off as a minister. But when he ap-
peared at the boardinghouse on April 17,
he was filthy, unshaven, and wearing an
improvised skull cap of a laborer.

‘lary Surratt (above) died on the
‘allows on July 7, 1865, along with
ewis Paine, who had attempted
9 kill Secretary of State William H.
»eward; David Herold, who had
1elped Booth to escape; and George
\(zerodt, who was supposed to have
imbushed Vice President Andrew
fohnson. The other defendants —
Samuel Amold, Michael O'Laughlin,
Edward Spangler, and Dr. Samuel
Mudd—were given varying
prison sentences. Mudd, whose
onty crime was to set Booth's
broken leg, served three years,
"and as a prisoner was instrumental
in the fight against yellow fever.
He was pardoned in 1868.

168

The Lincoln Assassination Conspiracy
Did Mary Surratt hang for her son’s guilt?

Eight people were convicted by a
military court of helping John
Wilkes Booth murder President
Abraham Lincoln on April 14,
1865. Four were put to death—one
of them, Mary Surratt, becoming
the first woman ever hanged by
the U.S. government. The evidence
against the 45-year-old widow was
inconclusive at best, and her guilt
has been debated ever since.

Booth had enlisted the aid of
Mary’s son, John, who had been a
spy for the Confederacy, and so
Mary’s boardinghouse in Wash-
ington, D.C., had been a meeting
place for the plotters.

They were such a motley group
that many doubted they could
have carried out the assassina-
tion. It was even rumored that
they were the agents of a more
powerful conspiracy, headed by
Secretary of War Edwin M. Stan-
ton. No evidence of a larger plot,

ie oe are 4 af =

ve kD

however, has ever been produced.
Mary may have suspected what
the group was up to. Their plot-

ting was open enough to arouse 4
the suspicions of another board- 3
er, Louis Weichmann, who later

became a chief witness against

her. Yet no other testimony sug- ;
gested that Mrs. Surratt knew any 3

details of the scheme.
As it tumed out, Weichmann
may have testified to save himself.

For it was he who drove Mary 4
Surratt into town on the day Lin- %

coln was shot. Booth had asked
her to deliver a package. It con-
tained binoculars that he used in
his escape; Mrs. Surratt later de-
nied all knowledge of its contents.

By the time the trial began, less

than a month after the assassina- s
- tion, John Wilkes Booth was dead.

John Surratt, considered by 8
ecutors to be the second mos
important figure in the case, was

a fugitive in Canada. By default,
Mary Surratt became the focal
point. The prosecutors may well
have hoped that, by bringing her to
trial, they would shame her son
into turning himself in. But not
even the urgent threat of his moth-
er's execution impelled John Sur-
ratt to return.

There was no surprise when
three of the conspirators—Lewis
Paine, George Atzerodt, and David
Herold—were condemned to die.
But shock followed Mary Surratt’s
death sentence. Five of the nine
military judges signed a petition
asking President Andrew Johnson

. for clemency. The execution was

delayed in hopes of a reprieve. But
none came. (Johnson later denied
receiving the request.) And so,

* mounting the scaffold, Mary Surratt
- {Gok her pitiful place in history.

Epilogue
Two years after the execution, it
was discovered that the prosecu-
tors had suppressed vital._evi-
dence, a diary that had been
found on Booth’s body at the time
of his death. It revealed that the
Original plan had been to kidnap
Lincoln, not to kill him, and that
Booth had not decided to assassi-
nate the president until the very
day he committed the act. Hence,
it was unlikely that Mary Surratt
Could have known about it.

John Surratt, meanwhile, had
Sone from Canada to England,
and then to Italy. There, under an
assumed name, he joined the Pa-
Pal Zouaves, a short-lived corps
Of colorfully costumed, fez-wear-
'ng volunteers who fought in the
apal Army. He was arrested but
€scaped. Soon recaptured, he was
brought home to stand trial, arriv-
'ng in Washington on June 10,
1867. The trial ended in a hung
lury, and later that year Surratt
Was included in a general presi-
€ntial amnesty. His mother had
already paid the price for his part
'n the murder of Abraham Lincoln.

Who Shot John
Wilkes Booth?

Was it Boston Corbett?

“Providence directed me to
shoot John Wilkes Booth,”
claimed Thomas “Boston”
Corbett, a sergeant in the 16th
New York Cavalry. The unit
had tracked the fugitive to a
tobacco barn near Fort
Royal, Virginia, and Corbett
fired, despite orders that
Booth was to be taken alive.
Corbett, who called him-
self Boston after the city in
which he’d received a spir-
itual revelation, avowed that
he took orders only from God.

SS hg ;
Boston Corbett (above) claimed he
shot Booth, but the reward was equal’

divided among the men of the 16th
New York Cavalry, each getting $1,653.

When the Almighty had ordered him to avoid sexual

temptation in 1858, he had castrated himself with a pair of scissors
Did Corbett actually inflict the mortal wound? He later testi.

that he fired a carbine. But an autopsy showed that Booth was killed

by a pistol bullet, and after the body was dragged from the barn

the commanding officer flatly stated, “He shot himself.”
Nonetheless, Corbett continued to claim the credit for the as-

sassin’s death and became something of a national hero. Appointed

doorkeeper for the Kansas state legislature, he threatened the

lawmakers with a gun in 1887 and was committed to an insane asy-

lum. He escaped and was never heard from again.

Lincoln’s Restless Repose

On the night of November 7, 1876, John Hughes, Terrence Mullen,
and Lewis Swegles broke into the National Lincoln Monument in
Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois, and pried open the
marble sarcophagus containing Lincoln's coffin. The men, operators
of a counterfeiting ring, planned to ransom the body for $200,000
and the release of a fellow counterfeiter from prison.

Unknown to the rest of the gang, Swegles was a Secret Service
agent; he was to signal police captain P. D. Tyrrell when the coffin
was removed. Although Swegles was kept busy holding the lantern
and fetching the getaway wagon, he still managed to double
back and alert Tyrrell, who ordered Hughes and Mullen to give
themselves up. They escaped that night, but were later arrested.
They could be tried only for stealing a coffin worth $75.

Soon after, the Lincoln Guard of Honor was formed to protect the
president's remains, and the coffin was taken to a memorial hall.
Later, it was buried in the ground. There were at leasta dozen
more moves before Lincoln's body was finally sealed in 1901 in a
steel and concrete vault beneath the burial chamber in Springfield.

34 Unleashed at Long Last

The Southern people knew Andrew Johnson,"°
long, intimately, but not favorably. He was re-
ported to have said to that implacable Radical,
Benjamin Franklin Wade, “Treason must be made

infamous, and traitors must be impoverished.”
Ah! what did that portend?

10How strangely interwoven the skeins of history. Andrew Johnson was
born in Raleigh, North Carolina, the only city which yet remained under the
Confederate flag.

ARMISTEAD C. GORDON, Richmond News-Leader, 12-10-31: “‘Jefferson Davis
heard of Lincoln’s death at Charlotte. He had just arrived from Greensboro,
was dismounting, citizens were welcoming him, when the dispatch, signed by
Secretary of War Breckenridge, was handed him by Major John Courtney.
Mrs. Courtney, the major’s widow, told me that her husband heard the Presi-
dent say: ‘Oh, the pity of it!’ He passed it to a gentleman with the remark,

> 99

‘Here are sad tidings’.

CuHaptTer IV

THE CONFEDERATES RETURN

Men flung back from dreams of victory and honor,
glad to have the luck of life and limbs; scarcely
able to leap over corses that had dragged to die.
See how they lay! Some as fair as death in sleep,
with the smile of placid valor and of noble man-
hood hovering yet on silent lips. These had blood-
less hands put upward, white as wax and firm as
death, clasped in prayer for dear ones left behind.

And of these men there was nothing in their broad,
hbiue eyes to fear.

; Yet here they lay dead, dead after a deal of pain,
with little mind to bear it; and a soul they never
thought of, gone, their God alone knows whither;
but to mercy we may trust.

—Richard Doddridge Blackmore.

Each Confederate soldier parked his cannon,
sword, musket, ammunition belt, under the beloved
Confederate battle-flag, now forever furled; filled
his canteen (thanks to General Sheridan) and
mounted his horse (thanks to General Grant), if he
had a horse. If he belonged to the infantry, as did
most of them, he placed his parole in his pocket and

Pegan a long and irksome journey homeward through
Orest, field and farmland.

_—__—

1
_ ihe: - army disbanded with less disorder. Thousands set adrift with-
Mee S of transportation; yet not a riot and no thieving. . . . The Con-
the farms army was composed almost wholly of law-abiding lads, drawn from
s of the South.
wi JONES, Reminiscences of Lee, p. 198: “The conduct of Lee’s
S after the close of the war has elicited the admiration of the world.”

32 | Unleashed at Long Last

“Well, my brave boys, prepare a stretcher for me.”’

They set the barn on fire. Booth appeared in the
loft for a moment amidst smoke and flame, and fell
just as they shot at him.

The officer had given strict orders that Booth was
not to be shot, but taken alive. Whether he shot
himself, or was shot by Boston Corbitt, will never
be known. For Corbitt, despite orders, looked
through a crack, saw Booth crouched in a corner,
and fired.

The door was battered in and the dying man
dragged out. His wound was under his right ear.
He shot Lincoln behind his left ear.

As Booth expired, he murmured,

“Tell Mother I died for my country.”

It was seven o’clock Wednesday morning, April
26. His body lay for some hours on the lawn covered
with an army blanket.

Some of the soldiers ate breakfast at the Garrett
home, and some, under Boston Corbitt, rode to
James L. Shaddock’s home, a mile away. Corbitt
entered unceremoniously and ordered breakfast with

the boast, —
“T have just shot the man who killed our Presi-

dent.”

The troopers forced young Jack Garrett and Daniel
Rollins to go with them to Washington.°

Booth’s corpse was taken to Greenleaf Point on
the Potomac aboard the U. S. Monitor ““Mon-

©The author is indebted to W. S. Cash, of Norfolk, Va., for the intimate -

items above related. He was born and reared on the farm adjoining that 0
R. H. Garrett, and the items were constantly told by his neighbors and friends
in Caroline County, In fact, the Garrett farm was originally a part of the
estate of Mr. Cash’s great-grandfather, David Stern.

America’s Chief Criminal 33

tauk,” and secretly buried under the floor of a
warehouse at the arsenal.

There have always been those who believed that
Booth escaped and that the body was not his. That
can hardly be, for he was well identified.

If it was any comfort to his stricken family to
believe that he died for “‘his country,” far be it from
us to object. “His country,” however, was certainly
not Virginia nor the South. Every possible effort
was made to fasten some part of the guilt upon
President Jefferson Davis and other Southern leaders
—indefensible political blackmail. Jefferson Davis
had had no more to do with the assassination of
Abraham Lincoln than he had with the assassination
of Julius Caesar. And the stabbing of Caesar, by
the way, seems to have been constantly in Booth’s
mind.

Booth’s body was quietly removed to the family
plot in Greenmount Cemetery, Baltimore (February
20, 1869) and rests in an unmarked grave.

_ When Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase gave the
nei tee oath to Andrew Johnson, Saturday morn-
es April 15, immediately after Lincoln’s death, he

ects are President! May God support, guide
€ss you in your arduous duties.”

_ 7. Dolley Madison—p.368 * 0g

STRANGE STORIES, AMAZING FACTS
OF AMERICAS PAST

‘ The acknowledgments and credits that appear on pages 1+ -408
are hereby made a part of this copyright page.

“It's a Crime” was excerpted from The Trenton Pick “»Jinance, by Dick Hyman.
Copyright © 1976 by Dick Hyman. All rights reserved. Reprinted ty permission of
The Stephen Greene Press, a wholly owned subsidiary of Viking Penguin Inc.
, “Eisenhower at Ease” was condensed from At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends, by
1, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Copyright © 1967 by Dwight D. Eisenhower. Used by permission
- of Doubleday, a Division of the Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc.

« Copyright © 1989 The Reader’s Digest Association (Canada) Ltd.
Copyright © 1989 Reader's f+! Association Far East Ltd.
Philippine Copyright 19s: =. -.-- s Digest Association Far East Ltd.

‘All rights reserved, Unaut’: ,roduction, in any manner, is prohibited.
%5 Library of Congress Catalogiuy in Publication Data
Strange stories, amazing facts of America’s past.

At head of title: Reader's digest.
Includes index

1, United States—History—Anecdotes. | + .Jer's
\., digest. nin
E17# % -«i 1989-973 88-11515
ISBN © <5.097-307-4

Reaper's Dxiest and the Pegasus colophon
are registered trademarks of
The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. .

Printed in the United States of America

Guide to title page illustration

1. Spindletop oil gusher—p.130
2. Jefferson Davis—p.372 :
3. Ulysses S. Grant—p.378 -

4. Edgar Allan Poe—p.16

5. Pocahontas—pp.116—117

6. Hernando de Soto—p.262

8. Theodore Roosevelt—pp.390-39
9. J. P. Morgan—p.134 .
10. Abraham Lincoln—p.84

11. Edward H. White—p.306 at

12. Aircar—p.343 4

13, Shipwreck Kelly—p.247 | $- Editoria
14. Tom Thumb—p.218 ae

15. Benjamin Franklin—p.56
16. Carry Nation—p.234 os
17. Dwight D, Eisenhower—p.400 ~.
18, Thomas Edison—p.333 meas, -*
19. John Dillinger—pp.192-193
20. Teddy bear—p.95 Re

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General

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and Herold had come across a local man,
Ozzie Swann, and had paid him to act as
their guide through difficult swampland.
Only in this way had they been able to
reach the isolated residence of Samuel
Cox. It was Cox who helped them to hide
in a pine thicket. This haven was gained
on Sunday morning, the 16th of April,
some 36 hours after the shooting.

O’Beirne’s_ detectives in Washington
were meanwhile enlarging on their infor-
mation and gathering in the assassin’s ring
of conspirators. Edman Spangler, the
scene-shifter at Ford’s, had been identified
and taken into custody at his Washington
lodging house. . Atzerodt, afraid to tackle
tough little Andrew Johnson in a dark-
ened hotel room, had wandered dazedly
about the capital, pawned a revolver for
$10 and trudged off into Montgomery
County, Maryland. Traced there, and to
the home of a cousin named Richter, he
also was captured.

Lewis Payne’s horse was found, placidly
nibbling grass and waiting for somebody’s
attention, near the Lincoln Branch Bar-
racks, some three-quarters of a mile from
the Capital. It was a one-eyed bay horse,
identified as belonging to Booth, who had
lent it to Payne to expedite his assassin’s
job in the sickroom of Secretary of State
Seward.

Payne, as placid as his mount, strolled
into Mrs. Suratt’s Washington boarding
house, of all places, carrying a pickaxe and
wearing a jaunty cap made from the sleeve
of an undershirt. Major O’Beirne had left
detectives at Mrs. Suratt’s, to lie in wait
for just such a prize. And Payne, a terrific
brawler when the evil spirit moved him,
now surrendered meekly, mumbling that
he was just a fellow out of work whom
Mrs. Suratt had hired to dig a gutter.

In lower Maryland, O’Beirne had suc-
ceeded in finding a man who had talked
with Cox’s millhand and had heard from
him that Samuel Cox had been cooking
provisions lately and carrying them to
persons down in the swamp. The millhand
had judged from the amount that they
were persons of some importance.

“Cob Neck,” the major confided to his
notebook, “is the whole section of land
between the Potomac and Wicomico River.
Pope’s Creek has been a crossing. The
conspirators are there, if they have not
crossed over the Virginia side.”

Booth had some luck, however. He met
up with renegades from Mosby’s dreaded
guerrillas. These unpacified Secessionists
helped ferry the assassin and Herold across
the Potomac to Virginia.

One of O’Beirne’s agents got wind of
this quickly. But O’Beirne, with limited
manpower, tried to sew up the nearly
limitless objective of both sides of the
Potomac River.

The major himself, crossing the river
and landing on the Virginia shore, had
found and examined the very boat in
which the fugitives had embarked. But
the major’s men, as he later told Secretary
Stanton, were by now so tired out and Nee
weary that he permitted them to returnto
Port Tobacco for the night.

Port Tobacco was a Maryland hamlet
where Secret Service Colonel La Fayette
Baker had established a telegrapher, “in
order to help the Secretary of War keep
in close touch with Major O'Beirne'’s prog-
ress in Maryland.”

Baker read the wire reports ahead of
Stanton and could keep a shrewd finger
on the pulse beat of O’Beirne’s pounding
pursuit of Booth and Herold. ‘Baker's
telegrapher handed Major O'Beirne an
order confining his investigations here-
after to the Maryland side of the Potomac,
The colonel, in the person of his nephew,
Lieutenant Lemuel Baker, was to take over
the Virginia side. The detective, Colonel

Conger, was with the younger Baker and so
were 25 men of the 16th New York Cavalry
under Lieutenant Edward P. Doherty, with
Sergeant Boston Corbett, his second in
command.

Corbett had more reason than any man
among them to wish to avenge Abraham
Lincoln. He was an English immigrant
and religious zealot. A brave soldier, he
had argued all through the war with his
officers, even chiding colonels if they spoke
profanely. There was once, however, when
the Almighty had warned him that his
term of enlistment ended exactly at mid-
night. Corbett gave due notice of this to
his superiors, who ignored it. So he
walked away from the front line, and
was later charged with desertion in the
face of the enemy and sentenced to death
—but restored to duty by the compassion-
ate Mr. Lincoln.

The night of April 25th was a black one,
just right for the running to earth of an
assassin. Booth and Herold were at the
farm of Richard Garrett, a few miles from
Bowling Green, Virginia. They had posed
as cousins and had given the name “Boyd.”
And Garrett, innocent of the plot, had
locked the pair in his barn for the night,
suspecting that, at best, they were horse
thieves and probably wanted men. ;

It was 3:30 a.m. when Doherty’s troopers
surrounded Garrett’s barn. Herold soon
was lured out and tied to a handy tree.
But Booth melodramatically howled for
terms. The actor was now mistaking him-
self for the garrison of a fort under siege.
He expected at least to be granted the
honors of war and to be allowed to march
out with crutch, carbine and furled flags.
Instead, Doherty’s rough riders set the
barn on fire.

Boston Corbett—contrary to explicit or-
ders to “take him alive’—now fired his six-
shooter into the barn, hitting Booth and
inflicting a head wound said to have been
nearly identical to the one suffered by
Lincoln. But the assassin was neither un-
conscious nor speechless when dragged
clear of the fire. ‘

“Tell mother I died for my country,” he
begged, and asked that they lift up his
hands. As they complied with his request,
he lamented, “Useless! Useless!” Then he
died.

Doherty’s troopers, for their part in
this adventure, were each to be granted
$1,653.85 of the reward money. Others who
shared in the rewards, which totaled
$105,000, were detectives who had uncov-
ered information leading to the capture of
Payne, Atzerodt and Booth.

During the day of April 26th, right after
Booth’s death, Conger and Lemuel Baker
acted upon Colonel Baker’s orders and
hurried the body of the assassin back to
Washington for its secret burial in the
basement of an arsenal warehouse. They
had secured the wagon of Ned Freeman,
but, because of their urgent haste, the
wagon broke down. Freeman, as owner,
had to crawl under his vehicle to repair it.
Blood dripped on him.

“It avon’t never wash off. It’s murderer’s
blood?” he cried.

Nor did the stain wash off others who
had associated with the actor-assassin.
Minor accomplices such as Edman Spang-
ler and Dr. Mudd were given hard prison

. terms; life, in Mudd’s case. Those who had

been cast in more important roles, Mrs.
Suratt, Atzerodt, Herold and Lewis Payne,
were condemned by a military tribunal.
On July 7th, 1865, the four gathered for
the last time—on a gallows. White hoods
were quickly pulled over their heads, the
execution party stepped clear. An in-.
stant later the cowardly murder of the
kreat man Lincoln was in a small measure
atoned for. Stiff and silent, four bodies
dangled in the stifling midsummer heat.

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hambersburg Avenged.”

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That Never Was.” The
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Civil War Times

ILLUSTRATED

A non-partisan magazine of American History

Volume 3, Number 10

IN THIS ISSUE
A SPECIAL REPORT:

February 1965

New Evidence in Lincoln Murder Conspiracy

by Robert H. Fowler ....... Page 4
‘The Civil War Need Not Have Taken Place’
by Bruce Catton ....... Page 13
When Grant Faced Lee Across the North Anna
by Joseph P. Cullen ....... Page 16
Federal Spies in Richmond
by Richard P. Weinert ....... Page 28
From Atlanta to a Federal Prison Camp
by William Candace Thompson ....... Page 40

A CWTI EXTRA
The Mississippi County that ‘Seceded’

by Jack D. L. Holines 2... Page 45

REGULAR FEATURES
LOQU Yeats: AGOW eee eee es Page 24
Editorially Speaking 900. eo ee ee Page 35
Weapons ‘& Equipment... 309 Page 36
Glassificdi ee Page 38
Books Reviews (eee ek Page 39

OUR FRONT COVER—-This woodcut drawing by Albert Berg-
haus first appeared as the cover illustration of “Frank Leslie’s Illus-
trated Newspaper” on April 29, 1865, two weeks after the Assassination
of Abraham Lincoln. The original caption read:Assassination of
President Lincoln in his private box at Ford’s Theatre, Washington—
April 14.” Besides Booth and the President, the other persons in the box
were Mrs. Lincoln, a Miss Harris and her fiance, a Major Rathbone.

OUR BACK COVER—From the Library of Congress, this photo-
graph shows unidentified troops wearing gray uniforms but otherwise
outfitted as Federal soldiers. (Explanation accompanies photograph.)

Second class postage paid at Gettysburg, Pa. CIVIL WAR TIMES Illustrated is
published each month except September and March by Historical Times Inc., 302
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scripts which are not accompanied by return postage.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS—Second class mail regulations do not permit magazines
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advise our circulation department, Gettysburg, Pa., of both your old and new ad-
dresses one month in advance.

TPNH UN Nt A PRIN 1s

mim

THE ACTOR’S MOST INFAMOUS ROLE

(Continued from page 51)

The cue line came over. ‘“—of good so-
ciety, eh?”

Booth stole into the box, then silently
fastened the door on the inside with an
improvised bolt which he had made that
afternoon from a piece of an old music
stand.

Harry Hawk’s next gag line would rock
the house, as it had done at every perform-
ance in the city. The comedian, mugging
all over the place, popped off with this
hardly immortal comedy gem: “Wal, I
guess I know enough to turn you wrong
side out, you darned old sock-dolaging
man-trap!”

The audience roared. Young Mr. Booth
opened his palm like a murderous magi-
cian. The little brass gun was ready, a
virtual cannon at the point-blank range of
10 inches,

He fired.

Standing below by the prompter’s desk
was a young actor named W. J. Ferguson.
Years later, he talked with this writer,
giving a unique eyewitness account of that
single minute in history, from 10:09 to
10:10 p.m. that night, in Ford’s Theatre.

Ferguson, an admirer of the President,
had found that he could best watch his
hero enjoying the play from his position
by the prompter’s desk. He did not hear
the shot, or see Booth in the deeper shadow.
But he did see consciousness drop from
Abraham Lincoln forever. Quite normally
and wearily—as though the long strain of
‘war and the very highest command had at
length overpowered his attention—Lin-
coln’s great head slumped back against
the high rocking chair. Then Ferguson
Saw Booth by the box railing, struggling
with the President’s aide, Major Rathbone
—stabbing at him with a knife.

John Wilkes Booth could have undone
his own door-barring device and fled safely
down the stairs he had so stealthily as-
cended. But he had to get on that stage!

This actor’s vanity cost him dear. He
had cut Rathbone severely and _ easily
wrestled himself free of the Major’s grasp.
But as he leaped from the second-tier box
rail to the apron of the stage below,
a flag draped from the rail of the presi-
dent’s box caught his spur, tripping him.

Booth dropped as he had always
planned ‘it—right where all the lights
shone upon him. But the jolting fall caused
by the flag fractured his right shinbone.

He scrambled up, flourishing his pistol
and bloodstained knife. People in the
audience recognized him. Some heard him
shout defiance. He turned halfway around,
and hobbled menacingly toward the stage
door, flourishing his knife. A theatre
musician bold enough to try to block his
path was slashed.

Booth dragged himself on his throbbing
leg out into the alley and flung himself
into the saddle, viciously kicking the boy
whom he had left holding his horse. Then
he galloped away toward what he hoped
would be a haven in the recent Confed-
eracy.

From the heights of victory, the candle-
lighting and the bonfires, to the very pit
of black despair, suspicion and panic-
breeding rumors—such was the capital
city’s tragic transition in one hour that
evening.

“A city gone stark mad with horror,”
one observer from a New York newspaper
described it. “Its streets a black melee,
its avenues a seething vortex of wild-eyed
citizens, rushing detectives and angered
soldiery.”

The coolest man in all this confusion
was the one with the heaviest responsi-

bilities. He was Major James Rowan
O’Beirne, the Provost Marshal and, there-
fore, the region’s top detective officer. Re-
ceiving the first hasty report that Abraham
Lincoln had been shot in the back of the
head, O’Beirne knew where his duty lay.
The great leader lost, the Vice President,
Andrew Johnson, was the next logical tar-
get in any widespread assassination plot.
O'Beirne hurried to the Kirkwood House
and woke up Johnson.

The Vice President was a difficult and
uninspiring man, a kind of professional
plebeian, abnormally—and politically—
proud of his lowly birth. He stolidly re-
jected Major O’Beirne’s suggestion of a
proper armed escort, so the major himself
conducted Johnson to an actor’s rooming
house owned by William Peterson at No.
453 Tenth Street, across from Ford’s Thea-
tre. Here in a hushed bedroom, the
President of the United States lay uncon-
scious through the helpless last hours of
his enormously useful life.

O’Beirne started asking questions and
never stopped asking them for the next
twelve days. John Wilkes Booth had been
readily identified as the assassin. From
Peterson, the major got for his notebook
the first of the many “pencil portraits” of
the wanted man. From Peterson, O’Beirne
learned an astounding thing—Abraham
Lincoln, who all his life had loved the
theatre and befriended actors, was not
only breathing his last in actors’ lodgings
but also in a room and on a bed which
not long ago had been occupied for a time
by his assassin.

O’Beirne learned all that he could from
Peterson and from scared patrons of Tan-
tavull’s saloon, which was just across
Tenth Street from the theatre, Tanta-
vull’s had seen a great deal of Booth that
afternoon and evening. For a self-ap-
pointed historic marksman, he had been
drinking with increasing recklessness. Yet,
being always exuberant, partisan and
opinionated, he had not impressed any of
the other barflies as being unusually drunk.

The saloon of John Deery was adjacent
to Glover’s Theatre. This bar, O’Beirne
was informed, had been the favorite haunt
of the rabid pro-Secessionist, Booth.

Deery told the Provost Marshal that he
had noticed late that afternoon how Booth
had begun ordering up a second drink of
brandy even before gulping down the first.
The actor had consumed a bottle of brandy
in less than two hours.

It was from Deery that the major heard
for the first time the names Davy Herold
and George Atzerodt, close companions
of Booth’s.

O’Beirne’s scurrying agents next brought
“Peanuts” Burroughs to Peterson’s house
to .be questioned by the major. Peanuts
was a backward boy but a patient one,
familiar to the neighborhood. He had been
engag&éd to hold Booth’s horse in the alley
beside’ the stage. door of Ford’s Theatre.
The boy asserted that he had faithfully
performed this duty for at least two hours
that night, while Booth scurried around.
All who knew the actor agreed that he
was ordinarily a flamboyant tosser of gra-
tuities. But that night Booth, stumbling
frantically toward his horse and mounting
in haste, said the boy, had kicked him in
the head and hadn’t tipped him.

- It was a curious fact that there had been
an immediate pursuer of the assassin, and
a mounted man at that, John Fletcher.
O’Beirne’s man heard his story and rushed
him to the major, who questioned him
closely. Fletcher worked for a livery
stable from which the actor had that day

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hired a horse to be used by Booth’s friend,
Davy Herold. Major O’Beirne now began
to suspect that he was also Booth’s con-
federate. .

Booth had been told that Herold must
return the horse by 10 p.m. Booth and
Herold had each promised to respect this
curfew, presumably without the slightest
intention of keeping the promise. Herold,
however, either in covering Booth’s retreat
or waiting for the actor to play out his
big scene at Ford’s, had begun impatiently
careening about the streets. John Fletcher
had spotted Davy galloping by, had tried
to hail him and then had mounted and
galloped after him in an attempt to over-
take him and return the horse to the
livery stables.

Thus only John Fletcher, unaware of
the tragic attack upon the President, and
with the single motive of keeping his good
job at the livery stable, had pounded
through the night in pursuit of the Presi-
dent’s attacker and his accomplice.

Fletcher also reported to Major O’Beirne
facts he had picked up from a certain Ser-
geant Cobb. Booth, it seemed, had reined
up at the picket line enclosing the capital
city, where everything was still supposed
to be on a strict war footing. The fleeing
conspirator had spoken with Sergeant Silas
Cobb and, amazingly, had given the Union
guard his right name.

He had begun. weaving so plausible an
excuse for his late passage in defiance of
military regulations that Cobb had gra-
ciously waved him on his way. Soon after-
ward, Cobb had let Davy Herold pass the
picket line, too, and even had obligingly
explained just how many minutes ahead of
him his friend, Mr. Booth, was galloping.

Only when Fletcher halted for the sen-
tries patrolling the old wooden bridge had
Silas Cobb taken on a proper tone of au-
thority. This third rider, Cobb had ruled,
might follow the two preceding ones if
he chose, since Fletcher now frankly re-
garded them as a pair of horse thieves.
But once out of the District of Columbia
there would be no return to it permitted
before broad daylight. Whereupon Fletcher
had turned his mount and ridden somberly
back to the stable.

While Major O’Beirne was receiving this
information from Fletcher, in another room
at the Peterson house there was still the
terrible labored sound of the dying Presi-
dent’s breathing. O’Beirne was now under
the command of the Secretary of War, Ed-
win McMasters Stanton. For a number
of wild hours, during this night of April
14th, Stanton was dictator of the United
States, and neither the incoming White
House tenant, Vice President Andrew John-
son, nor the stricken and distracted Mrs.
Lincoln ventured to contradict him.

That same night, a crude and muscular
accomplice of Booth, one Lewis Payne,
broke into the home of William H. Seward,
the Secretary of State, who was ailing and
confined to his bed. Payne smashed his
pistol on the head of Seward’s son, Fred-
erick, slashed two male nurses and plunged
a dagger into the invalid. His gun jammed
as he tried to fire upon a servant who
screamed for the police, and Payne fled.
Although badly wounded, Seward survived
the vicious attack.

Stanton now ordered O’Beirne to cordon
the Seward home with military police.
Others of O’Beirne’s men already were
going through the streets with muster
rolls, knocking on doors, getting out the
volunteer security agents, long enlisted
against a possible Confederate uprising
in the city.

Stanton instantly wired Grant to return
to Washington. at once, and warned the
general to permit no unauthorized stran-
ger to approach him en route. He also
ordered that a pilot locomotive precede
Grant’s train all the way from Philadel-

phia. Another wire summons was sent to
La Fayette C. Baker, chief of the federal
secret service, requesting his immediate
return from New York.

Meanwhile, Major O’Beirne had discov-
ered that George Atzerodt, a Booth asso-
ciate, had been living in a room at the
Kirkwood House, directly above the one
occupied by Andrew Johnson. Booth evi-
dently had planted his accomplice there
to strike at the Vice President while Booth
was assassinating the President. Atztrodt
apparently had lost his nerve, but was still
loose in town. O’Beirne searched the man’s
room, finding a revolver, a large bowie
knife, cartridges, a handkerchief marked

“D. Herold,” a bankbook belonging to.

Booth and a map of lower Maryland.

Knowing the direction that Booth had
taken out of Washington, and reading sig-
‘nificance into this map, O’Beirne instantly
dispatched federal troops on a manhunt
throughout southern Maryland.

Shortly after 7 a.m. on Saturday, the
15th, nine hours after Booth had fired his
shot, Abraham Lincoln was pronounced
dead. This second report was issued to
the saddened nation.

In conference with the Secretary of War,
O’Beirne suggested trying out an innova-
tion in detective work. That fateful per-
formance at Ford’s Theatre would not be
the last entertainment ever given there,
as was already being demanded. There
must be one more. H. Clay Ford and his
two brothers, all suspects and subject to
martial law, had been lodged in the Car-
roll prison with a mixed catch of mis-
creants, innocent bystanders and outspok-
en Confederate sympathtizers. And now,
by order of the Provost Marshal, the Laura
Keene company assembled again to pre-

CHARGE DISMISSED

A man in Northwich, England, who
was charged with driving through a
red light, told the magistrate, "That is
impossible, because my wife was with
me—and she is the finest backseat
driver in the world."

—H. Helfer

sent Our American Cousin at a strictly
private performance.

The object of this was to try to determine
whether collusion had been possible be-
tween those performing the play and
John Wilkes Booth. In the course of the
unique performance many official photo-
graphs were taken, recording the stage
set, the auditorium and the front of the
second-tier box, as each had appeared at
the moment the assassin struck.

This application of the then primitive
photography to a homicide case was some-
thing quite new, an authentic “hret,””. "in
crime detection. And the complete re-
enactment of a farcical play in such tragic
circumstances, in secret, under military
and police supervision, with a view to de-
tecting possible accessories to a_ historic
assassination was happening in Washing-
ton, D. C., for the first time in the crime
annals of the world.

Following this, Major O’Beirne took to
the saddle, heading out from Washington
with a troop of cavalry to join in the
search for the assassin.

Shortly after O’Beirne’s departure, three
veterans of the federal secret service
descended into the arena. These were Col-
onel Baker, his nephew, Lieutenant Lem-
uel B. Baker, and Colonel Everton J.
Conger, one of the noted detectives of the
day. Baker’s first act was to get out a

handbill offering a reward of $30,000.
Later, the War Department lifted this re-
ward to $100,000. In addition to the fed-
eral offer, state and other agencies posted
rewards until the total rose to $200,000.

The entire North became a mass of
detectives. Fortune tellers sent informa-
tion to Stanton. Spiritualists telegraphed
him tips. Astrologers read the Stars and
submitted cosmic solutions. Fanatical per-
sons sent clues imparted to them in their
dreams.

While all this was going on, O’Beirne
had narrowed down the search in southern
Maryland.

In a town called Surattsville was the
Suratt Tavern, an old eyesore on the Pro-
vost Marshal’s blacklist. All through the

+, war it had been a favorite resort and relay
point for agents of the Confederacy. At
the tavern, O’Beirne routed out John M.
Lloyd, half-lodger, half-landlord, as he
conceded, but full-time lush, as his breath
and complexion advertised. John Lloyd
gulped out the first real news of Booth’s
pattern of escape.

Mrs. Mary E. Jenkins Suratt, a widow
and pro-Secessionist who kept a boarding
house in Washington, was the owner of
this seedy tavern and former spy-nest.
Lloyd swore that she had come out to the
tavern recently, in anticipation of Booth’s
deed and his ensuing flight. Mrs. Suratt
had left with Lloyd certain items for
Booth.

Booth had arrived with a broken leg,
which was the first word that O’Beirne
had received of this. The actor, Lloyd
went on, had seemed in severe pain, yet
he and his faithful companion, Herold,
had passed straight on, tarrying at the
tavern only long enough to pick up two
flasks of whiskey, field glasses and a
loaded carbine.

Herold’s dogged participation in the
affair mystified the military detectives,
He had not been armed, had attacked no-
body and didn’t fit the clear description
of Mr. Seward’s brawny assailant, which
the Secretary of State and members of his
household had given to O’Beirne. Even
so, Davy Herold had galloped after Booth
and was sticking with him, as if his equal
in guilt. Booth, it had seemed to Lloyd,
had had the simple youth hypnotized with
his grand airs and flamboyant theatrical
conversation. And now Booth, with a
broken leg, had dire need of him.

Major O’Beirne, having left Surattsville
behind, spurred on to the residence of Dr.
Samuel T. Mudd. Here was an acknowl-
edged Southern partisan, yet a Maryland-
er who had voted for Abraham Lincoln in
the national election the preceding Novem-
ber, 1864.

Mudd said that a heavily bearded man
had arrived some days before with a
broken leg, and that he had set the bone,
making splints from pieces of an old cigar
box. An Englishman named Best, who
worked for Mudd, had whittled the rider
a crude sort of crutch. It was this servant
who later gave information which con-
firmed O’Beirne’s suspicions and led to
Dr. Mudd’s arrest. The doctor had pro-
vided shelter for Booth and Herold, fed
them, and then lent Booth his own razor
to shave off his famous mustache.

Major O’Beirne believed that Mudd was
lying, and later confided to his notebook:
“Mudd, near Bryantown. Son of William
A. Mudd. A wild, rabid man. Served
more than two years in the rebel army. Is
a blackhearted man and possibly was a
conspirator. See after him.”

Mudd did reveal that Booth, when about
to leave, had asked to be directed to Par-
son Wilmer’s. The assassin had said this
only to throw off his pursuers. And for a
time it did. Booth had not gone near the
Reverend Wilmer’s parsonage. Instead, he

in clos:
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him in touch with Ray Neff who, we thought,
t have additional samples from his separate
rch on Baker’s coded messages.
‘en came the analyst’s report. It was positive!
ite the “wooden” appearance of the Watson
:--due, presumably, to the writer’s effort to dis-
his handwriting—the note was written by
ette C. Baker!

{is EXPERT OPINION, in Shelton’s words,
s the letter “a highly incriminating document
1, combined with the numerous other indica-
that Lafayette Baker was deeply involved in
onspiracy to murder Lincoln, points to the
detective as the prime mover.”

Shelton puts it:

: is hard to imagine any innocent reason why the
of of the National Detectives would have written to

n Surratt. It is even harder to imagine an innocent
on Why Baker would have written to Surratt under a
tious name. The letter would be incriminating regard-
of what it said. Being dated March 19, 1865—just after
collapse of Booth’s kidnap scheme, and just before the
its preceding the assassination began to unfold—there
10 reasonable alternative to believing the “important
iness” Baker referred to was the murder of President
coln.

is letter is only one of several pieces of evidence
m has assembled which seriously implicate
as instigator of the assassination plot. Since
Vatson letter was, in our opinion, the most
2te piece of evidence, we chose to concentrate

DOUBLECHECK the authorship of the Wat-
atter, we turned over a photostat of it, with
es of Baker’s handwriting, to a veteran hand-
g specialist of our acquaintance, a man who
1 to offering expert testimony in court. Did he
Baker wrote the Watson note? His reply was
bing. He could not find enough similarities
en the samples to establish to his complete
ction that Baker wrote the letter to Surratt.
: was only slight comfort in our handwriting
’s observation:
. Baker could be presumed to have been a person of
< and devious character and personality by virtue of his
activities and the duties and opportunities of his position
is quite possible that these traits might be reflected in
reasure in his writing habits.

fact remained that the experts did not wholly
m the authorship of the note. Was there some-
else about the letter that would identify the

LittS POINT, Ray Neff re-enters the story.
ist 1961, when the Civil War Times article
findings was published, Neff was working
‘esearch chemist in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

TOM TAYLOR'S CELEBRATED ECCENTRIC COMEDY, =

WEL

FORIS ‘THEATRE

& ‘ WHOLE. NUMBER OF NIOHTS, 4986. 080 ee

JOM T. FOBD .,....

«ee PROPRIETOR AND MAKAOER |.

(Also of Holliday ire, Balilimore, and Academy of Mosie, Phil'a)
Stage Manag: \ J.B. WRIGHT
Treasurer... ..ccece “ sows H. CLAY FoRD

Friday Evening, April 14th, 1865 _

| Tee a ur

or mise

gre Disti

MR. J OHN DYOTT

“ano “

MRL HARRY HAWK.

Ac originally prodyoed in America by Mies Keene, hate kd Sadia

“OUR Rreiucte

Miss LAUBA MKENR

Lieutenant Vernon, R. N.
Captaio De Boots .....

Bivney...esereceee

Buddicomb, a valet eeeeee

Joba Whicker, a gardener

Rasper, @ groom,.... ee

Bailiffs.,. ...0..

Mary Treochard,...,.. oieds seaceesdtisa J, GOURLAY®
Mra, Mounicheasingwo valle. Mra. I. MUZZY
Auguste... . Miss H. TRUEMAN
Georgiana... .d. Misa M. HART ©
Sharpe i... ‘ , Mrs. JH. EVANS >
SKINEG ca rarecees: iver veeneere ‘ »Miss M. GOURLAY

BATUBDAY EVENING, APRIL 18, ©

BENEFIT of Miss JENNIE GOURLAY

‘Whee will be presented BOUCICAULT'S Great Sensation Drama,

HB ae

Kastor Muadoy, A pril 17, Eogegement of tho FOUNG AMERICAN TRAGKEDIAN,

“EDWIN. Pee

FOR TWELVE manta pegs

THIS copy of a playbill, found in. President Lincoln's bend bs
at Ford’ s Theater after the assassination, was reprodu
the ecenturys Magazine’: in the 1880s

ed in

a PL RE BRNENR as te

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sigs |

put him in touch with Ray Neff who, we thought,
might have additional samples from his separate
research on Baker’s coded messages.

Then came the analyst’s report. It was positivel
Despite the “wooden” appearance of the Watson
script—due, presumably, to the writer’s effort to dis-
guise his handwriting—the note was written by
Lafayette C. Baker!

THIS EXPERT OPINION, in Shelton’s words,
makes the letter “a highly incriminating document
which, combined with the numerous other indica-
tions that Lafayette Baker was deeply involved in
the conspiracy to murder Lincoln, points to the
chief detective as the prime mover.”

As Shelton puts it:

It is hard to imagine any innocent reason why the
chief of the National Detectives would have written to
John Surratt. It is even harder to imagine an innocent
reason why Baker would haye written to Surratt under a
fictitious name. The letter would be incriminating regard-
less of what it said. Being dated March 19, 1865—just after
the collapse of Booth’s kidnap scheme, and just before the
events preceding the assassination began to unfold—there
is no reasonable alternative to believing the “important
business? Baker referred to was the murder of President
Lincoln.

This letter is only one of several pieces of evidence
Shelton has assembled which seriously implicate
Baker as instigator of the assassination plot. Since
the Watson letter was, in our opinion, the most
concrete piece of evidence, we chose to concentrate
on it.

TO DOUBLECHECK the authorship of the Wat-
son letter, we turned over a photostat of it, with
samples of Baker’s handwriting, to a veteran hand-
writing specialist of our acquaintance, a man who
is used to offering expert testimony in court. Did. he
think Baker wrote the Watson note? His reply was
disturbing. He could not find enough similarities
between the samples to establish to his complete
satisfaction that Baker wrote the letter to Surratt.
There was only slight comfort in our handwriting
expert’s observation:

L. C. Baker could be presumed to have been a person of
complex and devious character and personality by virtue of his
known activities and the duties and opportunities of his position
and it is quite possible that these traits might be reflected in
some measure in his writing habits.

The fact remained that the experts did not wholly
agree on the authorship of the note. Was there some-
thing else about the letter that would identify the
writer?

AT THIS POINT, Ray Neff re-enters the story.
In August 1961, when the Civil War Times article
about his findings was published, Neff was working
as a research chemist in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

“the: "Century “Magazine”

OV ate, f ‘ i i a “pal

rae eee resnereraseeveessrssarans

FORD'S THEATRE

TENTH STREET, ABOVE E.

—<—<—_—_—_—<—<—_—é<_—<—¥—<—K¥—<—<—<—<_é_—<_éLLDGLGe—eFGFGFeJ<—q<XT—X—x—_—_
_ SEASON IL ceeee oes WEEK XXXI ...0+00. NIGHT 196
WHOLE NUMBER OF NIOHTS, 495,

eae Joun T. FOBD ...cccesssecsenpee: sesooee PROPRIETOR AND MAKAGER
iy

(Aloo of Holliday Bt. . Balu wore, and Academy of Muele, Phila)
Btoge Manager J.B. WRIGET
‘Treasurer, . ‘3. CLAY FORD

“Y Friday Evening, April 14th, 1865

BENEFIT!

EN AN Dae |

ST NIGHT

" “Sh sit “emt!

TOM TAYLOB’S CELEBRATED ECCENTRIC COMEDY, i! ‘

gabe orletenns preecred te Amariee 07 pales tee, ote Oe ea der upwards of

“abel Murcott, ck (6 Attoroey edbeenes igeieveites
tebisrebeteseessececeeeHarry Hawk
seeveseTs © GOURLAY —
.E. A. EMERSON
J. MATTHEWS

siatahe aren EVENING, APRIL 15,

BENEFIT of Miss JENNIE GOURLAY

ULT'S Oreat

THIS Copy ofa spit edt in President Lincoln’ s ip
t Ford's Theater after the assassination, was reproduced in
nithe 1880's.

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2 ome

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The following January he was appointed Health
Officer for Cape May County, New Jersey and now
lives in Avalon.

The publicity about his Baker story has brought
in a deluge of information and documents upon
Neff. He now has a pistol and a Spencer carbine that
belonged to Baker plus several complete collections
of papers of persons connected with the one-time
director of the National Police Detectives. As a spare-
time project, Neff has set himself up as a historical
investigator with 18 scientists and other persons as
corresponding associates across the country. At the
suggestion of this magazine, Vaughan Shelton turned
to Ray Neff for help with respect to the R. D. Watson
letter to Surratt.

Among the documents that have come Neff’s way
in the past three years are an extensive collection of
business papers and accounts kept by an old Canadian
shipping firm, J. & J. Chaffey Co. These papers in-
clude a letter of introduction and credit issued to
L. C. Baker in November 1844 by Richard Biggs of
“Chaffey & Chaffey” naming Baker a general agent. In
a Chaffey notebook under date of August 10, 1847,
Neff found two letters concerning Baker. Thus he is
convinced that Baker worked for this firm before
migrating to California where he became a vigilante,
returning to the East soon after the Civil War broke
out.

APPARENTLY Baker made a new connection with
the firm after rising to unfettered police power in
the Civil War, for the Chaffey papers contain a record
of payments made to L. C. Baker in 1864 totaling
$148,894!

There was considerable speculation toward the end
of and just after the war that Baker was enriching
himself from the sale of goods he and his men con-
fiscated from suspected Confederate sympathizers.
The account sheet could be explained away as addi-
tional evidence that Baker was a crook and no more
except for two items. First the address, 17814 Water
Street,” New York City, appears on the Chaffey
papers, the same address as that on the R. D. Watson
letter to Surratt. Secondly, and most startling, Neff
found a letter dated November 4, 1864 which is also
headed “17814 Water Street” and is signed by one
“Thomas Caldwell” as agent for “James and John
Chaffey.”

This letter is addressed to “Mr. John W. Booth,
National Hotel, Washington City, D.C.” It acknowl-
edges an October 28 letter from Booth and goes on
to list four credits to the actor's account between
August 24 and October 5. The sums total $14,548.40
with $10,000 deducted for “advanced payment for
services.” As for the balance of $4,548.40, the letter

says that Booth could draw on jit “any time after, the |

i. a. f 3 ayn Lvs v5
* ms \

JOHN WILKES BOOTH—According to records in the poumade
of Ray A. Neff of Avalon, N.J., Booth received $14,548 = ae
from the same firm with which L. C. Baker was connected. (Ube
of Congress)

turn of the year on Britis) banks by payment @
nominal discount rates.”

Most of the $14,548.40 is accounted for by “teme
of credit on the Bank of Montreal” for $12.49
The entry is dated October 5. This ties in with a
other document in Neff’s possession from a diferes
source, a copy of a Bank of Montreal deposit recegt
for $12,449.28 dated July 8, 1864 and made om ®
“Daniel Watson, Esq, Owensborough.” This recege
shows the money consisted mostly of gold ona
There is nothing to prove a connection berwes
Daniel Watson and “R. D. Watson,” the name a
the letter to Surratt, but the coincidence of the ne
sums is striking.

STILL ANOTHER ITEM in Neff's growing ».
chives is a telegram dated April 2, 1865 to Ges
Miller & Co., 130 Dearborn St., Chicago” stating
J. W. Booth will ship no oysters until Saturday 18d

The telegram is written on a form bearing te
heading of the Illinois & Mississippi Telegrgs
Company.

Ray Neff has supplied CWT Illustrated with mew
ized photostats of these various documents togecdwr
with a sworn statement as to their sources. Of cure
it would take a second Warren Commission to ra

dow:

be i

O.
beyo
City
Wat
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and
that

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in the possession
$14,548 in 1864
nected. (Library

payment of

‘or by “letter
wv $12,449.28.
3 in with an-
mn a different
2posit receipt
made out to
This receipt

gold coins.
ion between
‘he name on
‘e of the two

growing ar-
365 to “Geo.
ago” stating:
iturday 15th.
bearing the
i Telegraph

d with notar-
ents together
2s. Of course,
mon to run

down all these leads, authenticate the various papers,
and verify the dates, places, and persons seemingly
involved. With the trail 100 years old, the task would
be well nigh impossible.

Our limited checking has produced this verification
beyond the documents themselves: The New York
City directory in 1864 does list the occupants of 17814
Water Street as “Demill & Co., mers.” Previous ad-
dresses listed for this company include “186 Front h.
86 Monroe” from 1845-6; “186 Front” from 1850-60;
and “192 Front” from 1861-63. These listings show
that the company was involved in shipping.

However there are no listings for the Chaffey
Company.

AS for that mysterious telegram about J. W. Booth
and oysters, there was a George Miller & Co. at 130
Dearborn Street, Chicago in 1865. It was listed as
“a wholesale depot.” And the date mentioned in the
cryptic message—the 15th of April—was the day after
Booth shot Lincoln. At first glance, it would appear
that the message concerned Booth’s getaway plan, but
on the day the telegram was sent—April 2—he would
not have known that Lincoln would be at Ford’s
Theater on the night of the 14th. Indeed, this was
a week before Lee surrendered. It is possible that on
April 2, the gang which had been plotting Lincoln’s
capture were aiming at an April 15 target date.

How does Vaughan Shelton view these disclosures?
As stated in his MASK FOR TREASON, he feels
that the Demill Company was a dummy firm either
for Chaffey Company or Baker himself. Baker prob-
ably received mail and wires there which he did not
wish sent to his own office or hotel in New York,
where he spent much time, Shelton feels. As for the
payments to Booth, he relates these to the actor's
known activities in quinine smuggling through the
lines during 1864.

TAKEN AT FACE VALUE, these documents indi-
cate that Lafayette C. Baker, the man charged with
protecting the Federal Government against traitors
and cheaters, was deeply involved in defrauding the
same government and perhaps even in plotting
against the life of its chief executive.

For 70 years after Lincoln’s death, it was the gen-
erally accepted view that his murder had been
planned and committed by a half-mad actor with the
questionable help of a handful of misfits. Then in
1937, the late Otto Eisenschiml brought out his WHY
WAS LINCOLN MURDERED?, a book which upset
many conventional historians because it asked un-
comfortable questions they could not answer—ques-
tions which, indeed, they had never thought even to
ask.

Vaughan Shelton is dedicating his MASK FOR

FORD'S THEATER, scene of Lincoln's assassination. lf evidence
obtained by Vaughan Shelton is valid, officials in Lincoln's govern-

ment—particularly L. C. Baker—were in contact with Booth before
the murder. (From collection of Col. Julian E. Raymond).

TREASON to Eisenschiml. In his words, “I consider
the research as a whole to be an extension of Dr.
Eisenschiml’s monumenta! study—along the same gen-
eral lines, but from a less literal viewpoint as to the
interpretation of documents, records, etc.”

Eisenschiml asked questions about the dozens of
strange, unexplained events in the murder of Lincoln
which point to Secretary of War Stanton and others
at least as having guilty knowledge of the crime.
Shelton gives what he believes to be the answers and
they add up to a totally new conception.

WHEN THE STORY of Ray Neff’s discoveries
appeared in 1961, Eisenschiml praised the chemist for
his research but called them a “still indefinite con-
tribution to our scanty knowledge of the truth about
Lincoln’s death.” What would he say about Vaughan
Shelton’s many startling revelations and bold solution
of the century-old puzzle of who planned Lincoln’s
murder and why?

It would be presumptuous to venture a guess. But
shortly before he died in December 1963, the editors
of CIVIL WAR TIMES Illustrated held a private
luncheon for Eisenschiml, who was visiting our area.
Naturally the talk got around to the Lincoln murder
case and one of us asked him how Stanton, as a well-
known public figure, could possibly have conspired
with traitors such as Booth without being found out.

“I don’t think he could have,” said Eisenschiml.
“He would have had to have a middle man, a go-
between.”

“Who?”

Without hesitation, he replied. “I think L. C. Baker
would be the logical suspect. He had the character for
such low business and of course he had plenty of
opportunity.”

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702 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

Salem, and after the usual formalities, surrendered hi i
their hands; stating that the English government euhae doe ein
to try and punish the prisoners, in favor of the United States
—_ whom the principal offense had been committed. :
primary examination was held in the Town Hall
Judge Davis, presiding; and the prisoners were directed sy
transferred to the jail at Boston, there to await their trial at the
October term of the United States Cireuit Court. This was done
and on the 23d of October they were brought up at Boston, ar.
raigned, furnished with copies, in Spanish and English, of the in-
dictment found against them, and allowed three days ‘to consider
and determine upon their pleas. At the expiration of that time
pas soa apppined satel the court, and severally pleaded not
y- eir pleas were then recorde
appointed as the day of trial.4 — bs ee

November 11,
The indictment charged that the prisoners on the High
Seas, on the twentieth September, 1832, did piratically board
a United States merchant brig, the Mexican, assault the cap-
tain, and carry off from the ship the sum of $20,000.

Andrew Dunlap,> United States District Attorney, for the
Government.

D. L. Child’ and G. 8. Hilliard,’ for the Prisoners.

*“The trial ‘was at the old Masonic Temple, the building now
occupied by R. H. Stearns & Co., on the corner of Tremont street
and Temple place.” Willard: “Half a Century with Judges and
Lawyers.” .

5Dunuap, ANDREW. (1794-1835.) Born Salem, Mass.; grad-
uated Harvard, 1813; admitted to the Bar in Salem and removed
to Boston, 1820; United States District Attorney, 1829-1835; author
of “Fourth of July Orations” (1819, 1822); “Speech in Defense of
Abner Kneeland” (1834); “Admiralty Practice in Civil Cases”
(1836, 1850).

®Critp, Daviy Ler. (1794-1874). Born West Boyleston, Mass.;
graduated Harvard, 1817; sub-master Boston Latin School; Sere-
tary of Legation, Lisbon, 1820; fought in Spain against the French:
returned to America in 1824, studied law and was admitted to the
Bar; went to Belgium to study the beet-sugar industry and intro-
duced the manufacture of beet root sugar into the United States
in 1836, for which he received a silver medal; editor “Massachu-
setts Journal,” 1830; elected to Massachusetts Legislature and con-
demned annexation of Texas in a pamphlet entitled “Nabob’s Vine-
yard,” from which John Quiney Adams obtained many of the facts
for his speeches in Congress on the Texan question; was an early
member of the New England Anti-Slavery Society and wrote many
letters and articles on slavery; edited with his wife the “Anti-

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 703

One hundred and fifty jurors were in attendance, under the

venire previously issued. é
Captain Gibert, and his mate Bernardo de Soto, through their

Slavery Standard” in New York (1843-1844). Died in Wayland,
Mass.

7Hinuiarp, Grorce StinuMan. (1808-1879). Born Machias,
Me.; graduated Harvard, A. B. (1828), A. M. (1831), LL. B.
(1832), LL. D. (1857), Trinity College; admitted to Boston Bar,
1833; joint editor with George Ripley of the “Christian Register,”
1833; joint editor with Charles Sumner of the “Jurist”; editor of
“Boston Courier,” 1856-1861); State Senator and member of State
Constitutional Convention, 1850; City Solicitor (Boston), 1854-
1856; United States District Attorney (Mass.), 1866-1870; besides
addresses, essays and reviews, he was the author of numerous pub-
lications. Died at Boston. Mr. Willard in his “Half a Century
with Judges and Lawyers” (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin & Co. 1896),
says: At No. 4 Court street, Boston, many distinguished lawyers
had their offices. I copy here a slip which was pasted on the outer
door: “In 1837, here were found Rufus Choate and F. B. Crown-
inshield (partners), Charles Sumner and George 8. Hilliard (part-
ners), Theophilus Parsons and William G. Stevens, Horace Mann,
Edward G. Loring, Benjamin Guild, Luther S. Cushing, John 0.
Sargent, P. W. Chandler, John Codman, T. P. Chandler, John A.
Andrew, and others.” When Mr. George S. Hilliard left the build-
ing in 1856, he bade farewell to No. 4 in these graceful lines:

“The child that in the cradle slept,
When first upon the stairs I stepped,
Now strongly stalks across the land,
With beard on chin and vote in hand.

“And I have passed from summer’s prime
To autumn’s sober shadowy time,

And left the throbs and known the strife,
That slowly rear the dome of life.

“T hear no more the well-known feet,
The kindly looks no more I greet;
But ere I part from number four,
I leave my blessings at the door.”

George S. Hilliard, who was the daintiest and most suave of men,
was trying a case in which the opposing counsel sought to recover
for services in exhibiting a panorama, when the following occurred:
Mr. Hilliard: “How long a time does it take to unroll a pano-
rama?” Witness (the owner): “That depends upon the audi-
ence.” Hilliard: “What do you pay a man per night to turn the
panorama?” Witness: “Ten dollars or fifteen dollars.” Hilliard:
“Seems to me that is pretty high; I think I should like to work for
that.” Witness: “Well, the next time I have a panorama I'll hire
yer.

704 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

Senior counsel, Mr. Child, availed themselves largely of their right
to object to the jurors, as called by the clerk ; challenging the full
number (twenty) allowed by law. ‘The following jurors were even-
tually selected, impanelled and sworn: Jeremiah Washburn, Charles
Hudson, Leavitt Corbett, John Beals, Joseph Kelley, Anthony
Kelley, Isaac Wise, Thacher R. Raymond, Charles Lawrence, Wil-
liam Knight, Peter Brigham and Jacob H. Bates.

Mr. Child addressed the Court in relation to a motion which he
had formerly made respecting the log-book of the Panda (the
alleged piratical Schooner), and read an affidavit from the mate of

- the Panda and others, stating that the log-book was in the posses-
Sion of certain parties in Portsmouth, England; that the manifestos
of the cargo, ete., of the Panda were also at the Havanas and might
be had by sending for them. He requested time in order that these
necessary documents might be procured,

The Court overruled the motion, on the ground that it could issue
No process which would be effective in procuring the papers alluded
to; it had no authority in Great Britain. On a former occasion, it
had also been stated by an English officer, who ‘would appear as a
witness, and who was one of those who boarded the Panda, that the
log-book of that vessel had never been discovered.

Mr. Child’s motion to have the prisoners tried separately, was also
overruled.

MR. DUNLAP’S OPENING.

Mr. Dunlap: Gentlemen of the jury. This is a solemn,
and also an unusual scene. Here are twelve men, strangers
to our country and to our language, indicted for a heinous
offense, and now before you for life or death. They are in-
dicted for a daring crime, and a flagrant violation of the
laws, not only of this, but of every other civilized people.
They are accused of piracy, which is an offense punishable
by all nations, as well as by the particular government
against which it has been committed, T shall first, gentle-

men, give you an outline of the commission of the act with

which the prisoners are charged, and then briefly state to you
the law in relation to such act.

The brig Mexican, belonging to Salem, and owned by one
of the most eminent merchants of that place, having on board
a valuable cargo and twenty thousand dollars in specie, sailed
from Salem for Rio Janeiro on the 29th of August, 1832, un-
der the command of Capt. Butman. While quietly pursuing
her voyage over the common pathway of nations, and having

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 705

arrived in 33 deg. N. lat. and 34, 30, W. lon. she fell in with

a suspicious looking vessel from which she made many efforts,
but unsuccessfully, to escape. This vessel, a schooner, hav-
ing come up with the Mexican, fired a gun, and the captain
of the latter, seeing that the schooner was armed with one long
and two small guns, and that her decks were crowded with
men, felt himself obliged to submit, and accordingly hove to.
He was then hailed, and ordered to come on board the strange
vessel, which mandate he obeyed in his own boat; but on
reaching the schooner, five men jumped into the boat and or-
dered it to be rowed back to the brig. On arriving on board
the brig, they directed the captain to accompany them into
the cabin, where, brandishing their knives, threatening and
beating him, they compelled him to acknowledge and give up
the money which was in his possession. A communication
was then made with their companions on board the schooner,
who sent a launch and carried away the treasure. The party
on board the Mexican then left, after confining the crew be-
low, breaking the compasses, and destroying the rigging and
tackle. They also set fire to the camboose, in which they
placed a tub of combustibles, and lowered the mainsail in
such a way that it would speedily ignite. A short time after-
wards, however, the captain contrived to get upon deck, and
extinguished the fire before it had caught the mainsail. They
then repaired their damages as well as they were able, and
returned to Salem, where they arrived on the 2nd of October.
Information of what had taken place was immediately dis-
seminated throughout this and other countries, and reached
the coast of Africa, where Capt. Trotter, commanding the
British brig of war Curlew, was then cruising. Cireum-
stances led that gentleman to believe that the schooner Pan-
da, then lying in the river Nazareth, was the vessel which

-had captured the Mexican. He immediately, therefore, pro-

ceeded to take measures against her. These measures re-
sulted in the capture of the Panda, but the escape, for the
time, of her crew. No ship’s papers or log-book were found
on board of her, although diligently sought for; and, owing

706 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

to some accident, she shortly afterwards blew up, thereby
killing several of the Curlew’s men. Capt. Trotter then sailed
to other ports, still making efforts to discover the crew of
the Panda, and at last succeeded in arresting the individuals

now present.

One of these men, named Perez, had been received as
State’s evidence, and two other persons, Portuguese, who had
served on board the Panda, but had not been concerned in
the robbery of the Mexican, would also appear and give their

testimony.

Mr. Dunlap paid a high compliment to the British govern-
ment and navy, for the perseverance manifested in ferreting
out the individuals concerned in this act of piracy, and for
the feelings of courtesy and good will which had dictated the
transfer of the prisoners to this country, instead of at once
subjecting them, as might have been justly done, to trial and
punishment in England. He then cited to the jury the law

of the United States in relation to piracy.

THE WITNESSES FOR THE PROSECUTION.

Joseph Peabody. Am sole own-
er of the brig Mexican; shipped
on board ten boxes, each contain-
ing: $2000 when the brig sailed
from Salem on 29th August,
1832; next time I saw her was
forty-two days after; have fre-
quently made the voyage from
Salem to Havana; believe a ves-
sel sailing from the former place,
on 29th August, for Rio Janeiro,
would meet another sailing on
the 20th from the latter place,
in lat. 33, lon. 34-30, where the
piracy was committed.

Capt. John Groves Butman.
Am master of the brig Mexican,
of Salem; sailed from that port
29th August, 1832; had on board

$20,000 in ten boxes, containing .

$2000 each. On the 20th of Sep-

tember, fell in, lat. 33, lon. 34%,-

with a schooner, about 4 in the
morning—looked like a Balti-
more clipper—had a low, long,
straight hull—when it became
quite light, found her on our
weather quarter, standing from
us; she then tacked and passed
to windward of us—between 9
and 10 she was on our weather
bow; about 10, tacked and en-
deavored to escape from her—
did not like her looks—saw a
man at the mast-head looking out
—thought her a very suspicious

‘looking vessel. About ten min-
' utes after he set his square sail,

and came directly down upon us
—when within gun-shot he fired
a gun to leeward—we then hove
to. Firing a gun is the usual
signal to heave to. Saw a great
number of men on board, and

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 707.

that he had two long guns; there
was also something covered up
amidships, can’t say whether it
was a gun or not—asked where
we were from and whither we
were bound—told him—he then
asked what our cargo was—said
it was saltpetre and tea. He then
ordered me to come on board the
schooner. The crew of the
schooner were on deck at this
time—I should think in number

‘they amounted to. about fifty or

sixty men—lowered my boat, or-
dered four men into her, went in
myself, and rowed towards the
schooner—we steered for the
gangway, but ‘were directed to go
towards the fore-chains. I did
so, and-held on by the chains,
when. five of the schooner’s men
jumped into the ‘boat, and or-
cered me to row back to the brig.
When we got on board the brig,
they directed me to go.into the
cabin, which I did, and two or
three of them followed. Two of
them presented their knives to
my _breast,.and demanded the
money that was on board the ves-
sel—was. alarmed, and told them
where it was. The pirates or-
dered the crew ‘to get the money
up | immediately—beating them
with the handles of their knives,
because they did. not work fast
enough. The boxes containing
the money were marked P, and
were handed on deck as they
were got up from the run. The
knives used by the pirates were
large. The men said I had more
money, and went searching about
one .of them said if they found
more money, they ‘would eut my
throat—a_ short time afterwards,
another came down, and insisted
that I had more money—he had
my speaking-tumpet in his
hand, and beat me with it se-

verely. A short time after, saw
their boat going towards the
schooner, with the boxes. In
about fifteen minutes a boat full
of them came back again—about
twelve in all—heard them jump
on deck, close the eabin doors
and the after-hatchway—heard a
great noise, as if the yards were
coming down—smelled smoke
shortly afterwards; then saw
them, from the cabin window, go
to their vessel—they had my boat
and one of my spars with them.
They hoisted in their own boat,
and scuttled mine, as she filled
with water immediately after
they cast her off. The schooner
then made sail from the brig;
got up out of the eabin skylight,
which they had neglected to fas-
ten—found every thing in disor-
der, the. rigging, yards, ete., fly-
ing about—all the running-rig-
ging and halliards were eut
away. The sails were also cut to
pieces—the mainsail was hang-
ing over the caboose, the roof of.
which was on fire—found a tub
of tarred rope-yarns in the ea-
boose—if we had not come upon
deck at this moment, the caboose
would have set the mainsail on
fire, and then nothing could have
saved the vessel; could not swear
that any of the men now present
were those who boarded the Mex-
iean—saw and recognized a man
who landed with these prisoners
—saw him at the Town Hall, at
Salem. The man to whom I al-
Jude recently committed suicide
in jail. He was one of the two
who drew their knives on me in
the cabin. '

Cross-examined. The schooner
was about one hundred and fifty
tons burden, of the Baltimore
build. There are many of this
sort. of vessels engaged in the

708 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

Havana and African trade. The
guns were of brass, think they
were long twelve pounders.
Benjamin Brown Read. Am
mate of the Mexican. At four
A. M. came on deck, and was told
of the cireumstance by the sec-
ond mate—when he told me this,
I asked him if he eonld still see
the vessel he spoke of—he said,
No—I asked him for the glass,
went with it on the forecastle
and saw the schooner. She was
then standing towards us—went
below and called the eaptain—
thought she might ‘want to hail
us—Captain came up and staid
till daylight. The schooner was
then coming up with us rapidly
—we shortly saw her plainly—
she appeared to be full of men—
Capt. Butman at first thought
they were not men, but the dead-
eves of the lower rigging—went
about our work as usual, not
paying much attention to the
schooner. At half past seven,
however, finding that she lay a
great deal nearer to the wind
than we could, and that she
sailed almost as fast again as we
did, we began to notice her
movements, and Capt. Butman
said he should like to tack and
try to get away from her—we
did so, and stood to the west for
half an hour; suspected the
schooner from the number of
men she had on board, and from
her manoeuvres; told the captain
T thought it would be of no use
to attempt to hide the money, as
all our crew knew that it was on
board. While we were talking,
the second mate came down, and
said the schooner was chasing us.
We went on deck, and the second
mate said the schooner had just
fired a gun; we saw the smoke,
and she was just then setting her

square-sail; consulted what was
best to be done, and at last
thought it best to heave to,
knowing it would be of no use to
attempt an escape. Capt. But-
man ordered the colors to be
hoisted and the main-topsail
backed; saw the men very thick
upon her forecastle, from which
we were hailed. Saw knives un-
der the sleeves of their jackets
when they came on deck—they
drew them—they were long,
Spanish knives. One of them di-
rected the captain to go down
into the cabin, and followed him
with two others. Captain had
not been down long, before he
called to me and told me to bring
all hands aft. The three men
then came up from the eabin,
pointed their knives at us, and
directed us to go down one at a
time. When all the crew were in
the cabin, the three men came
down also, and told us to get up
the money quickly—they struck
us with their knives, because
they thought we were not quick
enough—we could not get the
money up quicker, in conse-
quence of being flustered and
alarmed by their conduct. As
fast as the boxes were brought
up, they were carried up on
deck. After they were all got
up, one of the pirates hailed the
schooner, and said there was
plenty of money on board the
brig, and also said something
about the launch: immediately
afterwards saw the launch com-
ing from the schooner—the
money was put in, and carried
on board the schooner. They
ransacked every place in the ves-
sel, seeking for more money.
The boatswain told me to go for-
ward, kicked me into the fore-
eastle, and placed a man to keep

TREES ashore

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 709

me there. He came back, and
asked me where my watch was,
but before I had time to tell him,
he had it out of my pocket; then
asked me where my money was.
It was hidden, but I told him
I would bring it; he took the
money, and told me to stay in
the foreeastle. I heard the boat-
swain asking the captain for his
chronometer. Captain said he
had none. Boatswain then
caught up the speaking-trumpet,
and gave the captain such a blow
as broke it almost to pieces. He
then ordered me on deck, and
kicked me down again into the
foreeastle, and told me not to
come up. Staid a few moments:
he then called me up, took me
aft, and pitched me into the
cabin. The crew were all fas-
tened below. Saw the pirates
launching our yards into the
water; heard the topsail yard
coming down, and that they
were cutting the rigging—they
used an axe, Staid till all was
quiet; saw the boat go to the
schooner for the last time; saw
them hoist our yards on board,
and then make sail; then got out
through the cabin skylight;
found everything cut to pieces,
and the boom going from side to
side. The caboose was on fire,
and in the inside found a barrel
containing a quantity of tarred
rope-yarn, and a pot of tar. If
we had not got out when we did,
the mainsail would have soon
been on fire. Should not think
the fire conld have been extin-
guished. Have seen some of the
men since. Two of them I am
sure were on board our brig, and
am confident respecting another
one.

(Here the witness went up to
and laid his hand upon Fran-

cisco Ruiz and Manuel Boyga.
The interpreter translated to the
prisoners what the witness had
stated, and they both denied that
they had ever been on board the
Mexican. )

Do not see here the third per-
son I had spoken of. Saw him
at Salem, when the prisoners
were examined there.

Cross-examined. Do not re-
member how Ruiz was dressed.
He had on a jacket; cannot recol-
leet what was the color, or what
he had on his head—cannot eall
to mind the dress of Boyga. The
schooner’s guns were short guns.
Among the men who came on
board from the schooner was the
boatswain; was about five feet in
height, stout and wore large
whiskers; had a _ buneh on his
nose.

Nov. 12.

Benjamin Larcom. Was one
of the crew of the Mexican when
she was boarded by the pirates.
Saw one of them at Salem some
time ago.

(The witness here went up,
placed his hand upon Ruiz the
carpenter, and said, I believe this
is the man.)

This man came to the brig in
the first party from the schooner.

Cross-exramined. Was in our
boat when she went the first time
to the schooner. Stayed where
I was to bail the boat—heard a
noise on deck—thought they were
murdering the erew—drew the
boat ahead of the brig, and hid
myself there—did not see any of
the pirates but the five who came
in our boat. The boatswain of
the schooner was among them—
he might be from five feet four
to five feet six inches high—was
of a dark ecomplexion—think he
had straight hair—do not remem-

710 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

ber the shape of his nose—think
he wore a blue jacket—he was a
middle-sized man, not very stout.
When I saw Ruiz at Salem, did
not teil any one at the time that
I recognized him. Think there
might be about sixty men on
board the schooner when we were
boarded by them.

(The Counsel for the prisoners

here called upon the witness to
look the prisoner Ruiz in the
face, and say upon his oath
whether that was one of the men
who came on board the Mexican.
The witness said he could not
swear to him.)
_ To the District Attorney. Ree-
ognize the prisoner Ruiz, the mo-
ment I saw him at Salem. Cap-
tain and mate only had given
their testimony at Salem. No one
had been examined before I saw
them. Never spoke to any one
in the street about him.

John Battis. Recognize in the
court two of the pirates on board
the Mexican. (Witness placed
his hand on Ruiz and Boyga.)
First saw Ruiz at the eompanion-
way of the Mexican. Saw him
next standing guard at the fore-
castle.

Cross-examined. Was seven-
teen at the time the Mexican was
boarded. Was the Captain’s
boy. Five men came on board
from the schooner in our boat.
Three men went below with the
Captain in the cabin, and two
remained on deck—these two
‘were Ruiz and Boyga. Have not
talked with the erew of the Mexi-
can about these men in particu-
lar. First recognized them on
board the Savage at Salem. Told
a great many that I recognized
them—cannot tell who in partic-
ular, there were so many. There
were a great many I knew on

board the Savage. Did not tell

them that I knew these men in

particular—merely said that -I
recognized some of them.

Was alarmed when the pirates
began to abuse us, and when I
saw their knives; was not. much
afraid before. Should think
there were fifty men on board
the schooner; believe she had a
earved head, painted white—
could not exactly say what it was.
She was painted black with a
white streak. Ruiz had on a tar-
paulin hat; cannot say whether
he had a jacket or not; he had on
duck pantaloons and a checked
shirt. Remember the boatswain
—should think he was about five
feet high. He had a straight
nose, with a bunch on the right
side of it; had no whiskers, and
was not very stout.

Thomas Fuller. Was of the
erew of the Mexican; I identify
Ruiz. (Witness went up to him
and struck him rather rudely up-
on the shoulder. Ruiz imme-
diately started up, and protested
indignantly and with much ges-
ticulation against such conduct.
He ought not, he said, to be thus
treated in the tribunal. The rest
of the prisoners also arose from
their seats, and evinced much ex-
citement. They were at last paci-
fied by the interpreter, and the
examination proceeded.)

Recollect Ruiz perfectly well.
Saw him beat our steward with
a batten. Went with our captain
in the boat. Saw the pirates in
our cabin and fore-peak—saw six
or eight pirates on deck—Ruiz
among them, and another with
him, five feet two or three inches
in height, dark complexion, long
nose, had a crooked Roman nose;
had on a white felt hat; had
jacket, but don’t know the color.

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 7il

Think Ruiz had on a blue jacket
and cap; when he came on board,
told his comrades to get some-
thing. Pirates hailed us in good
English; could understand them
readily; language rather foreign
accent. First saw the men on
deck of Mexican; saw them after-
wards in gaol. First recognized
Ruiz the dey he was brought up
here; mentioned it to no person.
Do not feel any resentment
against Ruiz more then the rest.
Benjamin Daniels. Was one
of the erew of the Mexican when
she was boarded; have seen some
of the pirates since; saw them in
this courthouse yesterday. Saw
them at a previous examination.
(Witness here pointed out Ruiz.)
Can’t tell in what part of our
vessel I saw him; saw him sev-
eral times; am sure Ruiz is the
man; he came on board in our
boat with the first party.
Cross-examined. Feel sure that
man was one of those who robbed
the Mexican. Saw a man among
them called the boatswain; can’t
recollect how he was dressed, ex-
cept that he had a dark jacket.
Do not know what sort of a nose
the boatswain had. Boatswain
had whiskers. Cannot tell what
dress Ruiz wore, or whereabouts
in the brig I saw him; he was
driving us round the deck with
the others. Two of the pirates
remained on deck, and three re-
mained below. Was much
frightened and flustered; feel
confident, nevertheless, that Ruiz
was one of the men who boarded
us. Am aware that his life de-
pends on the result of this trial.

Thomas Charles Henry Ridgly
(colored). Was cook on board
the Mexican when she was robbed
—think I have seen two of the
men since who committed the rob-

bery; was lying along some spars
in such a position that I could
see all who came on board—the
pirates did not disturb me at
first.

(Witness here pointed out the
black cook of the Panda (An-
tonio Ferrer) and Manuel Boyga,
as the individuals he —recog-
nized. )

Ferrer was on board the
schooner, and Boyga came in the
boat to the Mexican. (Ferrer)
was on the top gallant yard of
the schooner, which was some-
times very near to the Mexican—
not further from her than the
distance from one side of the
court to the other. The schooner
sometimes came so near the brig
that I could see the tattooirg on
Ferrer’s face.

John Lewis (eolored). Was”
steward of the Mexican; have
seen some of the pirates since
the robbery.

(Witness here went up to Ruiz,
the carpenter, and laid his hand
upon his shoulder, and said, this
is one of them.)

Ruiz beat me on the half deck
with an oaken batten, because I
would not show him where the
money was.

Cross-examined. If I should
see any of the others, don’t think
T should know them—probably
might know the boatswain.

Joseph Perez. Was one of the
erew of the Panda at the time
the robbery was committed on
board the Mexican. Have turned
State’s evidence. (Previously to
being placed on the stand he was
informed by the Court that if he
told “the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth,” he
would not himself be proceeded
against; but that if he spoke in
any respect falsely, he would for-

712 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

feit all claims to favor, and be
considered in the same light as
the prisoners at the bar. He was
then sworn upon a Bible, authen-
ticated by the Catholic bishop of
this place, and permitted, through
the medium of the interpreter, to
commence his testimony.)

I was born at Marguer-
ita, twenty-two years ago. Was
last in the Havana, 2 years and
9 months since; shipped at
that time on board the Panda,
Capt. Gibert—Bernardo de Soto
was mate, and the prisoners now
present formed part of the crew
—there were thirty men in all.
Francisco Ruiz was carpenter of
the schooner. When they passed
the Moro Castle, in sailing from
the harbor, they were hailed and
asked what schooner, and where
bound, ete. The reply was, “The
Panda, to St. Thomas.” This was
20th or 26th of August.

On the outward passage, we
spoke first a carvette, and then
the Mexican, on the 25th of Sep-
tember. It was the second mate’s
watch—the captain was asleep at
the time, but got up and ordered
the schooner to go about and
stand for the brig as soon as it
became more light was in the
foretop. About 8 in the morning
the American brig altered her
course, and stood south as at first
—the wind was moderate, and
the sea smooth—the Panda then
set her squaresail and steered for
the brig—when they neared her,
a sailor went forward and fired a
musket—the brig then hove to,
and hoisted the American flag—
the schooner hoisted the Colum-
bian flag—they sung out to the
brig in English, and inquired
where she came from, and where
she was bound—the reply was,
“from Boston into Rio Janeiro” —

a sailor who spoke English hailed
the brig—the boat of the brig
came to the schooner with four
men and one officer.

The third mate, the boatswain,
the carpenter, and one sailor then
jumped into her, and proceeded
to the brig.

(Witness being asked if any
of these four men were now in
the court, upon which he pointed
out Ruiz. The latter immediate-
ly started from his seat, shook
his fist at Perez, and in loud and
passionate tones, declared him a
traitor, a liar and a rogue.)

The third mate ran away at
Nazareth, the boatswain died at
Fernando Po, and the sailor,
named Manuel Delgardo, died in
gaol at Boston. The third mate
then took up the speaking-
trumpet, and sung out to the Cap-
tain, “There is plenty of what you
want, and what you are looking
for; there are $20,000 on board,
in ten boxes, by the ship’s pa-
pers.” The boatswain also held
up a handful of dollars, which
he afterwards threw into the sea.
The captain said, “Very well,
very well, let her be well
searched, and bring it all on
board.”

They brought ten boxes of
money from the brig—saw it with
my own eyes, from the foretop—
it was brought by the American
boat, which was towed by that of
the schooner—the boats then re-
turned to the brig, and came off
again shortly afterwards with
two spars, a keg of butter and
some fowls. They then went back
again on board the brig, eut away
the halyards and sails, and let the
yards run down—one of the
schooner’s men also got up into
the top and stabbed the belly of
the maintopsail. I looked so much

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 713

at the brig that Captain Gibert
was angry and sent another man
into the maintop to keep a look-
out with me. Shortly after saw
a sail, and sung out to the cap-
tain, who asked her where she
‘was—I said astern of the Ameri-
can brig, and so near that I could
see her three masts. On the fore-
castle of the American brig, saw
one of the schooner’s men keep-
ing guard, with a handspike in
his hand. Captain sung out,
“Take them out of the foreeastle,
and shut them up in the eabin.”
The third mate had a sword, the
other men knives—they chased
the brig’s crew into the cabin,
and shut them up under a pad-
lock. Heard it said afterwards
that a smoke was made to suffo-
cate them. After the hatches
were all shut, the schooner’s men
started from the brig for our
own vessel, carried the brig’s
boat with them, and scuttled her.
The boxes taken from the brig
were marked with a letter—can-
not say whether it was a P or a
D. The schooner went to
Prince’s Island, from which she
came shortly afterwards in great
haste, and was run on shore at
Cape Lopez, near the river Naza-
reth. Acted as the captain’s ser-
vant, and when the eaptain ar-
rived at Nazareth, I set the table
for him in a room above stairs.
There heard the captain and boat-
swain talking together. The for-
mer said he had been obliged to
fly from Prince’s Island in con-
Sequence of news of the Ameri-
ean brig affair having reached
that place. He had purchased
$250 worth of provisions, but had
come away without them. The
captain came from Prince’s Is-
lands in February, and remained
at Nazareth four months, at the

expiration of which time the
English came up the river in
boats. As soon as they were
seen, the carpenter (Ruiz), went
into the cabin of the Panda, took
up the after seuttle, and put a
match to a keg or bag of gun-
powder. The crew then went on
shore, and the carpenter followed
soon after in a canoe, taking with
him the ship’s papers. They all
went to the barracks (huts where
they kept the slaves), The Eng-
lish took the schooner off with
them to sea, but returned in fif-
teen days, when the English com-
mander came on shore and de-
manded of the African king that
he should give up at least the
captain and carpenter of the
Panda, if none others of the
crew. The king, however, re-
fused, and the English then be-
gan to fire upon the town from
the pivot gun of the Panda. This
gun was a twelve or sixteen
pounder (brass), and she had be-
sides two small carronades. Dur-
ing the firing, the schooner took
fire. The English went away in
three days. After this, the money
taken from the Mexican was hid
in a barrel on the beach, on the
right hand side—did not know,
at the time, whether all the money
was hidden, because an order
came from the captain to go into
the bush, for the English were
coming in their boats—they after-
wards took the money up and
buried it again at Cape Lopez—
they went for it again in a few
days, by order of the captain—
five of them went, all now pres-
ent. I was one of the number.
I and Castillo dug up the money
and the others began to count it.
I told them they had no time to
count the money, to which they
replied that they had the ecap-

716 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

Mr. Child here expressed himself very strongly in relation to the
officer for the government and the court. He said he had never wit-
nessed such an exercise of the power of the powerful against the
weak, and stated that, from the most careful examination, he had
become convinced of the innocence of the prisoners, and believed them
to be victims of one of the vilest plots that had ever been invented.

Mr. Dunlap said he should not suffer personal feelings to influence
him in this matter. It had been his desire upon this, as on all other
occasions, to give the prisoners a fair trial, and he left the counsel
for the prsoners to say whether if he had been disposed to have taken
advantage against them, he had not had an opportunity of doing so.
He did not deny the right of ‘counsel to question the witness, or even
to lay traps to catch him—to see if he had spoken falsely; but he did
wish the witness to understand that this was not done by the govern-
ment, who had pledged itself to bear him harmless. If the impres-
sions under which the witness was laboring were not cleared up, he
would believe that he was dealing ‘with a faithless government; the
anchor which bound him to the government would be broken, and he
would act and speak accordingly.

After much further discussion it was agreed that the witness should
be apprized of the true state of the case, which was accordingly done,

and the cross-examination then proceeded.

Left the brig at 11 or 12
o'clock; first went aboard of her
about 8; nothing was said of the
money taken from her till after
the English took the schooner;
earried it away then from the
place where it was first buried.
There were only $11,000 of the
remainder, the captain had $4,000
in his trunk, the rest had been
spent for provisions and other
articles.

The captain brought from
Prince’s Island a patent lever
watch and a dressing case, the
two cost $800. The dressing case
contained a silver wash basin; he
also brought two bales of to-
bacco; all was bought with the
money taken from the Mexican.

When the Panda left Havana
she had not on board so much as
a quarter of a cent; I was cap-
tain’s servant, and overhauled
everything belonging to him
thoroughly. The mate had $15,
which he kept in his own hands.
Capt. Gibert also brought from

Prince’s Island two bales of
handkerchiefs, two frock coats,
which cost $26 each, a piece of
Guinea cloth, and some black and
green paint. The paint, cloth,
and one of the frock coats were
intended as a present for the
Afriean king. The $4,000 in the
captain’s trunk were buried in
the yard of the negro interpreter,
when the English came up in
their boats and took the schooner.
Castillo helped me earry it. Boy-
‘ga, Castillo, Guzman and myself,
afterwards went to Cape Lopez
for the $11,000, which we had
earried there and buried when the
English came up the river Naza-
reth in their boats; took the bags
out, and the others counted the
money. Made as much haste as
possible, as the mosquitoes were
biting my hands. $5,000 were
buried for the captain. Boyga
and Guzman buried the $5,000.
The money was in canvas bags,
and buried about half a yard

deep. The money was dug up

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 7 717

four or five days after it had
been carried to Cape Lopez. It
was buried at first before the
schooner was taken, and re-
mained buried till after the Eng-
lish took her. The captain then
sent word that all hands should
run away, as the English were
coming after them. The money
that was buried at Nazareth re-
mained there about four months.
Part of it was earried off and
buried among the mountains.
Never heard of this money after-
wards, as I and five others got on
board a boat and started for Fer-
nando Po. Before reaching the
last named place threw all the
money overboard. Was _per-
suaded to do this by the boat-
swain; he said that if ‘we carried
it with us it would prove our
condemnation. The money was
divided by Capt. Gibert. He
gave the mate $2,400; I received
only $250. The captain called me
to him; he was sitting on the
floor with the money by his side.
He said he gave me money to
buy clothes with, and that I might
go; as I had been wanting to go
for some time. When I saw the
captain he had a knife in his
bosom. Think he intended to kill
all who refused to take their share
of the money. He gave the boat-
swain $500; Garcia, $400; Cas-
tillo $250; Montenegro $250 and
Delgardo $300. Don’t know
whether others of the crew got
any or not. All who went in the
boat with me to Fernando Po had
their money in bags. Placed the
money in the bottom of the boat
for ballast.

When first landed on the beach
at Nazareth, the third mate ran
away. Captain sent him $1000.
The carpenter carried the money
to him. Sent it to the negro in-

terpreter’s hut, whither third
mate had fled. Afterwards saw
the money in the hut; saw the
mate there also, who said that
the captain had sent the money
to him. When the schooner was
run ashore at Nazareth, the eap-
tain told them if they were cap-
tured by the English to say they
belonged to a Spanish brig that
had been cast away. All the
wages I ever received from
Capt. Gibert was a month’s ad-
vance before he left Havana. Had
served on board the Panda for
nine months and a half; have no
doubt if I had not taken my
share of the division I would
have been stabbed. .

Captain had $4,000 in his
trunk, $5,000 which was left for
him at Cape Lopez, and what
remained of the $6,000 which
were divided among myself and
others. Do not know how much
remained of the $6,000. There
was no rule of division among
the crew of the Panda. The eap-
tain was sole owner of the ves-
sel and did as he liked. Angel
Garcia had $400, and I only
$250; suppose because he was a
working man and I only a boy.
At Fernando Po told about the
money that was hid at Cape
Lopez and in the interpreter’s
yard. I and five others went in
a boat from Nazareth to Fer-
nando Po—all changed their
names. Stopped at Camerone on
the way; there was an English
ship trading there; went on
board of her, and said they be-
longed to a vessel that had been
cast away; said this, that they
might not be suspected of having
money. It was the captain who
ordered the Panda to be blown
up in the river Nazareth. When
the carpenter came ashore from

714 X. AMERICAN

STATE TRIALS.

tain’s orders to count out $5,000,
and leave it there for him. We
left the $5,000, and took away
$6,000, which was all that re-
mained. This sum was divided
among us. We were told that the
captain was going to divide it,
and that if each man did not go
and get his share there would be
the devil to pay. I was not taken,
but surrendered myself volun-
tarily at Fernando Po. The boat-
swain, four seamen and myself
went to Fernando Po. Three of
them are now in court, Delgardo
eut his throat in this city, and
the boatswain died—they were
taken from Fernando Po, to-
wards the Island of Ascension,
where they found the rest of the
prisoners. I and four more were
taken to England in a schooner—
the rest followed in the Curlew,
and from England they were
all brought to the United States,
in His Majesty’s brig-of-war

Savage.
Nov. 18.

Perez, cross-eramined. The
Panda’s cargo consisted of new
rum, 30 bales of cloth, 250 mus-
kets, 250 barrels of powder,
knives, necklaces, cutlasses, flints,
axes. I shipped for $20 per
month as an ordinary. The sea-
men had $253; eannot read or
write; do not know what course
the Panda was steering when she
fell in with the Mexican; do not
understand navigation; pivot
gun of the Panda was placed
abaft the mainmast. After the
crew of the brig was driven into
the cabin, Guzman was sent to
keep a look out in the maintop;
I was in the foretop; the cook
(Antonio Ferrer) was not sent
to look out, but stayed in his gal-
ley. The Panda ran away from
the sail seen just after robbing

the Mexican. Lost sight of the
ship about 4 in the afternoon. It
was thought she was a ship: of
war. Saw the captain of the
Panda take a pistol away from
the third mate, which he had
brought from the Mexican, and
throw it overboard, saying he
wanted no such a thing on board
his vessel; only wanted money.
Did not see the watch brought
on board by the boatswain—
heard he brought one, and a piece
of duck. They took four oars
out of the brig’s boat, and then
seuttled her with an axe. Those
who went on board the American
brig at first, were armed; the
third mate with a sword, and the
rest with long Spanish knives—
the blades of these knives were
ground very sharp like daggers.
The Spanish sailors usually
scoop out a little of the back part
of the knife near the point, and
then sharpen the point. It is
customary to give the men jack-
knives, but they bring their own
long knives in their bags.

(The witness here pointed out
those of the prisoners who went
on board the Mexican, who were
now present in court, and said
that the rest were dead.)

They were thirteen in all. As
fast as they eame from the
schooner the captain sent others
in their place. Capt. Gibert
hailed the American brig, and
ordered his men to take her crew
from the forecastle and shut them
up in the cabin. Castillo told
me that a smoke was made to
suffocate them. Did not see any
fire. The boatswain had a scar
on his nose; wound had been
large, but was healed. Don’t re-
member ‘whether his nose was
straight or crooked. It was not
a negro’s nose (pointing to Fer-

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTIIERS.

ee in

rer’s), but a long nose. His hair
was black and curly. If boat-
ah 5 Bt alive, every one
‘ould Know him by the cut a 71
Merman cross with them, usua } 7
ie Bas cca fir psa the mid- should 20. shoe pce a
bit ae 6 bp > coord Do not know what at : a
wore a light felt hat, mith lon pte T did ieee

e, as I did not look particu-

i ] t oe
ce

felt hats a 43
Don’t pa he ger is pi member whether any of the
“ : é es he wor , . ‘
t th : 2 e erew wor 4
Ms fie time ; Sometimes wore yel- when tl — monkey jackets
eve and sometimes black shoes; Mexiea m= hes ne ae
ew wore shoes of ; Tey, postswain had a jack
; ack-
Yellow glee oo. ith i on et, black. Ruiz, the satan
tained skin; chow. ir oe UD~ ROE a pair of Neakin dave
and eight ea (c say for six —think he had a ea ee
five cents and on dilfery L The day we boarded the Metis
Tavana. Don’t Gecikaahar 2 hat Me captain ordered pe te shift
yha .
Soe Boyga Wore; the officers en wear ee a
ore black shoes: f € to wear eaps;
on ; aps; cannot rez
the men also had black tee De he Can Contd distinguish the
not remember wh ‘t. etter on the box *
et 1 oxes brou
her the boats- the Mexican, because I ea

wain wore a jacket or not
day of the robbery, Fee sta ters of the alphabet, P, D, O

poor man, and could not afford

Fie on board Guineamen sel-
“om wear jackets, but take one

got into a state of or i
é great excitement. He ce i i
bi struck his breast and the rail of ifr tea sc
Ge uf = iron with great Violence, and oa
: captain had divided the money.
. . e i .
take it. His object was to exculpate hiieale yh

into great confusion, and was unable, for ee oe
,

,f a considerable time, to stop

. fast taken out, and being in a

ent was procured for him.

: S 1magined he was crim}

g the questions ; i bb dees
1e qu of Mr. Child, that delusion

having no witnesses
, : they ought
v thing that might fall from the en

» no harm should re-

715

to wear a jacket at sea. The

796 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

Mr. Dunlap. I searcely know
what Mr. Child means by re-
stricting the prisoners. I be-
lieve the other counsel (Mr.
Hilliard) would not say what Mr.
Child had said.

Mr. Hilliard was perfectly sat-
isfied with the conduct of the
District Attorney on this as on
all other occasions, and should
always feel happy in being op-
posed to the gentleman.

Simon Domingo. [ Witness
identified the captain, and mate,
and the remainder of the. prison-
ers.| Went with the Panda
from Prinee’s Island to the River
Nazareth. When arrived there,
came to an anchor, and lay there
for four months, “doing noth-
ing.” They had previously trad-
ed for negroes. Soon as they
came to anchor, the captain and
officers all went ashore, and
I saw no more of them on
board. The schooner was after-
wards set on fire and sunk. She
was boarded by the English in
four boats. The carpenter tried
to set her on fire, and the crew
all took to their boats and went
ashore. The carpenter was the
last man on board, and went
ashore in a canoe; do not know
how the carpenter meant to set
the vessel on fire; saw him take
fire from the galley, got seared,
and went into the boats; went on
shore, and staid some time on the
beach—afterwards returned to
the Panda, of which the English
had then possession. When I
joined the Panda, she was under
the Spanish flag; heard all the
prisoners say that the Panda
came from Havana.

Cross-examined. Was four
months on board the Panda.
Heard some of the prisoners con-
fess to the captain of the Eng-

lish brig; know of no induce-
ment held out to them to make
them confess; some of them are
here who confessed; some con-
fessed on shore at Fernando Po;
one only on board the brig—the
rest denied it. The one who con-
fessed on board the brig was a
small mulatto, named Domingo
Guzman. He is now present.
The confession was meade to the
eaptain of the Curlew in the
cabin. The prisoners were called
in singly; was present in irons;
heard all that was said; was
called in to interpret what I could,
as Captain Trotter did not un-
derstand the Indian lauguage;
confession was written down by
Captain Trotter. Being on
shore at Fernando Po, heard the
other prisoners confess before
Guzman made his confession.
All the others, five in number,
confessed together. Know all
their names. They are Monte-
negro, Garcia, Castillo, Perez,
and Delgardo. All refused to
state any thing at first, but told
all afterwards; think the confes-
sion of Perez was written down,
as all the English were writing
at the time. Remember seeing
the justice writing, but don’t
know what he wrote. Plenty of
people present. Know Captain
Trotter was present. All the
prisoners were in one room, but
ealled up singly to be examined.
Perez confessed first and boat-
swain next; did not see boat-
swain sign any thing; all were
sworn by the justice before con-
fessing. Castillo next confessed.
Two of those who confessed are
dead—the boatswain and Del-
gardo. During the four months
that I was on _ board the
Panda, never heard any thing
said of the robbery of the Mex-

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 727

ican. Went on shore at Naz-
areth by Captain Trotter’s or-
ders, to search for the hidden
money. Two of the prisoners
guided us. Found no money.
Prisoners were accompanied by
an English officer, to whom they
were obedient; they showed him
the place where it was first bur-
ied, but could not tell where it
had been taken to. The English
captain got some money, but
don’t know how much; took it
away from Captain Gibert, at
Cape Lopez; was a prisoner, but
not in irons, Never shipped for
wages on board the Curlew, nor
did any work, excepting jobs for
the men, for which I got a few
coppers. Don’t know whether
Custom House officers came on
board at Prince’s Island, for she
set sail the very day he came on
board. Think she had been lying
about a month at Prince’s Island.
There were several other vessels
lying at Prince’s Island at the
same time. Heard that the Cur-
lew was on the other side of the
island. Saw a steam vessel of
war near the island.

Do not know the consignee of
the Panda at Prince’s Island.
Do not know whether the gov-
ernor of the island was the con-
signee. Captain Gibert was fre-
quently at the governor’s house.
Bernardo de Soto was sick and
told me he had been lodging at
the governor’s house. Every
thing that came on board the
Panda came from the governor’s.
When the Panda left Prince’s
Island she went straight to Cape
Lopez, and thence to the River
Nazareth. When they sailed
from Prince’s Island, a Custom
House boat came and took the
guard away; never saw but one
guard. The Panda was not

chased from Prince’s Island to
Cape Lopez. When she reached
the latter place she came to an
anchor the first day and got un-
der way the second, upon which
occasion she touched on the bar ~
—she did so by accident. Cap-
tain went on shore and took his
trunk with him; do not know
what it contained, but two ne-
groes carried it for him. Third
mate was aboard at this time,
and had a quarrel with the boat-
swain, whom he stabbed in the
arm. The former went on shore
shortly afterwards and I never
saw him again. They did not
fire on the Panda when they
took her; all the firing that took
place was in the evening when
the Panda was surrounded by
natives in their canoes. The
English fired the pivot gun at
them; the gun had no shot in it
—nothing but powder and wad-
ding; it was fired by Captain
Trotter’s orders. Captain Trot-
ter did not flog any one for fir-
ing the gun; there were some
men flogged after the Panda had
got out of the river—but they
were flogged because they had
been drunk. When the English
boats were seen coming, the car-
penter of the Panda said he ©
would blow her up, and one of
his comrades said, “yes, blow her
up, blow her up;” there was
much confusion on board, and all
the crew ran for the boat. Saw
the carpenter with a keg of
powder and a chunk of fire, but
the English were so close that
he could not use them, and threw
them overboard; he then got into
a canoe and went ashore. Not
sure as to the number of the Eng-
lish—think there were about
thirty; they went ashore the
same day to pursue the crew of

728 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

the Panda; did not go after them
themselves but sent the negroes
who were standing armed on the
beach; there was a great number
of negroes; don’t know how
many; they extended all along
the beach.

Captain Trotter- went to the
king two or three times to de-
mand the prisoners. At last
‘went with the crew to take the
prisoners by force. Don’t know
that Captain Gibert and men in-
terceded with the king not to
hurt the English When the

Panda was blown up, part of -

the English were saved in their
own small boats, and some of
them by the crew of a small ves-
sel belonging to Prinece’s Island.
When the Panda was taken, she
was not hailed by the English,
but they came directly on board
of her. Don’t know that Captain
Trotter was desirous of restoring
the Panda to Captain Gibert, or
the Esperanza to her owners; he
had no intention of restoring
either. Captain Trotter took the
Esperanza to England; she was
taken because they had suspi-
cions of her being accessory with
the pirates, and because she had
transported some of them from
one place to another. Don’t
know whether she proved a good
prize or not. The Esperanza
was taken up to London by her
boatswain after she arrived in
England; don’t know what was
done with her. I went to Eng-
land in the Curlew. The Panda’s
men on the passage to England,
Were some of them in irons and
some not; all were aft together.
Captain Gibert was in irons
part of the time—Captain
Gibert during the passage to
England wrote occasionally for
Captain Trotter. I did some

trifling work for the Eng-
lish officers; was paid for it. The
prisoners were allowed to walk
the deck during the day; at
night were all put in irons, and
sentries placed over them. Don’t
know that the prisoners were al-
lowed to go on shore; cannot tell
how long Curlew cruised after
prisoners were taken—she made
several cruises; did not go into
port often. Captain Trotter was
sick when he took the Spanish
Captain and went to Fernando
Po for the recovery of his
health; was sick several times on
the passage home; from the time
he commenced to look for the
prisoners, was always ill by
spells. The Curlew stopped at
Ascension, and all the erew went
ashore except those who stayed
to keep watch. Prisoners were
all put on shore; they were not
in irons; they were allowed to
range over the island during the
day; at night they were put in
barracks and _ sentinels placed
over them; marines with musk-
ets guarded the tents. All the
liquor I saw distributed on
board the Curlew was given at

-dinner—and then it was not raw,

but mixed with water. Perez
was not on board the brig, but in
the schooner.

When Perez came on board the
brig he was put in irons; was
afterwards liberated and em-
ployed in carrying food to pris-
oners; never heard of his having
received any presents, or having
been threatened with punish-
ment to induce him to confess.
He did not receive part of the
money taken from Captain Gib-
ert; only one dollar was given
him for bread money. Captain
Trotter offered the same to any
man who would not demand his

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 729

share of the bread. The English
crew were not called up to take
their share of any money. Cap-
tain Gibert went on shore when
the Panda reached Nazareth, and
came again in two months; he
was sick on board five days;
when he recovered, he went on
shore again, and did not come
on board any more. Think cap-
tain went on board once after

Anastasio Sivera. Am 23 years
of age. Shipped on board the
Panda on the 9th of February,
1833. [Witness identified Cap-
tain Gibert, the mate, and the
rest of the prisoners.] Went
first to Cape Lopez in her;
thence to Nazareth. They ran
her ashore at Cape Lopez, in-
tending to burn her—upon which
occasion they put me and three
other Portuguese on shore. The
vessel was got off afterwards and
went up the river; belonged to
her four months after that, dur-
ing all which time she lay in the
river. After she had been there
some little time, Captain Gibert
came to Cape Lopez, and sent me
and others on board again. Cap-
tain and mate lived on shore, as
did part of the crew—only eight
or nine remained on board. Did
not see the cargo she brought
from Havana, but know she took
in slaves, because saw them.
When the English boats came up
the river on the 4th of June,
1833, the carpenter told all to
get into the boat and go ashore,
as he was about to set fire to the
schooner. Carpenter was last
man who left the schooner. I
went to the barraecoon where the
captain was; staid there one
day; the captain turned me and
the rest of the Portuguese off,
Saying he could not support us.

that when I was on shore,
but am not certain. Panda had
nothing on board when taken but
provisions and water; she had
no straw mats nor palm oil;
there were plenty of muskets and
pistols on board—also rice, fa-
rina, four or five barrels of rum,
and some bread; do not know
how many flags there were on
board.
November 16.

I went to a negro hut, and staid
there nine or ten days. The
Schooner was taken out of the
river, but returned at the end of
twelve or fifteen days. There
was a Portuguese schooner lying
there; went on board and asked
captain to give me passage to
Prince’s Island; captain said he
would. Captain Trotter was on
board at the time; took him pris-
oner, and ordered him to be put
on board the schooner Panda.
Captain Trotter came there
shortly afterwards himself, and
commenced firing on the town;
at the second gun, the schooner
blew up. We were then put on
board a small Portuguese sloop

‘that lay neer, and from thence

on board the Curlew, Shipped
on board the Panda for the voy-
age out and back to Havana, and
was to receive one hundred and
twenty dollars. Don’t know
what the other Portuguese
shipped for, but one of them was
to have received the same as my-
self. The Panda was a two-top-
sail schooner, long and slim; she *
had a brass pivot gun abaft the
mainmast, and two iron earro-
nades; she had no swivel on
board; she had no regular head,
but a sort of a billet-head. It
was a long slim piece of wood,
turned up at the end.

732 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

with a stock of the best provis- on the coast, owing to the heat
ions, such as_ beef, pork, ete.; of the weather.
take but little bread, as it spoils

Mr. Dunlap asked the witness if he had ae een in the slave trade.

Mr. Child objected to the question as irrelevant.

JupcE Story did not think so, as baa! es the gen-
tleman’s (he begged pardon) the witness’s ¢ aracter.

A Soe again put his question, when the witness replied, that
when he could not get ivory, he had certainly dealt in slaves.

November 18.

The District Attorney stated that an officer had called ere
last evening, and asked his opinion whether or not he had one
wrong in permitting an individual to speak to one of the aie in
his (the officer’s) presence; the conversation relating wholly to a

-eargo of fish, and having no connection with the present
Mr, Dunlap said he did not mention this from any desire to " Jee
the officer to punishment or reprimand, but simply from a ae
that the Court should express such an opinion as would serve for
the future regulation of the matter; both jurors and officers eae
ent believing that they were justified in acting as above evyeety

The Court stated that there were some eases in which it woul
be unjust, eruel, and against the interests of Justice, to refuse a “ey
tain degree of liberty to jurors. In the present case, a juror ha
been taken ill, and had sent for and been visited by a Syepem
The permission of the Court ought, however, to be obtained, bl
ever possible, as it was of the utmost importance, during a se gr
trial, that jurors should be ae from intercourse with any but the
indivi their own number. ce
ae ton remarks from Mr. Dunlap and Mr. Child, it was
agreed that the jurors in the present ease should be permitted to
have intercourse with their friends, and to send written instructions
for the regulation of their affairs, providing always that sueh peay
views and instructions take place and be given in the presence o
their colleagues and the officer to whose care they had been entrusted.

Captain Arana. It was not Santiago Elorza. Have fol-

likely the Panda and Mexican lowed the sea five years, and have

could meet at the point where
the latter was robbed. Should
they do so, it would be a miracle;
as the clipper, sailing so much
faster than the Mexican, ought
to be greatly ahead of that ves-
sel. The weather in the months
of August and September would
be favorable for the schooner’s
passage from Havana. The
worst weather she would have
would be off the Bermudas.

been an officer three years. Have
been one voyage to Africa from
the Havana, and one from Cadiz.
There is a great difference be-
tween the sailing of clippers and
ordinary merchantmen. The
former is built entirely for sail-
ing, and the latter for burden.
Has seen eleven and a half knots
got out of a clipper, while the
brig I am in now, would not go,
with the same wind, more than

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 733

six, or six and a half. A clipper
will, on an average, sail one-third
faster than a merchant vessel.
The Panda and Mexican, would
not be likely to meet, because the
schooner ought to be much ahead
of the brig. Am well acquainted
with the currency on the African
coast. Spanish dollars are ecur-
rent there—even doubloons and
ounces will pass. Has been on
the coast as far as Congo, and
thirty leagues up the river.
Petty Sestos and Nyphoo are not
the same places. Vessels going
from the Havana always ea
specie. If they had a full cargo,
fitted for traffie with the natives,
they would carry about one or
two thousand dollars. It is five
thousand two hundred and eighty
miles from Havana to Cape
Monte. Am acquainted with
Captain Gibert; he bears a good
character in Havana, among the
most respectable mercantile
houses. Have also heard Bern-
ardo de Soto spoken well of by
captains and merchants. Do
not know whether Captain Gi-
bert has any property. Know
that de Soto owned a schooner
in ’32, and that he sold her. Aft-
erwards, heard that he had
bought the Panda, and gone out
in her. In ’27, Captain Gibert
was concerned in a mercantile
house; think the goods in their
warehouse might be worth from
eight to ten thousand dollars.
Cross-examined. By being in
the African trade, I mean to Say
that I have been the slave trade;
the English themselves sell slaves.
Captain Joseph Smith. Have
been twenty-five years in the
Navy of the United States, as a
midshipman, lieutenant and mas-
ter-commandant. Have exam-
ined the course of the Mexican,

as marked on her chart, she must
be a dull sailer not to have got
farther in twenty days than 33
—34.30. Should think the dif-
ference of sailing between such
a vessel and a clipper, in a light
wind, would be twenty-five per
cent. In rough weather, it would
not be so much; not more than
ten per cent. In August and
September, the winds, in the lat-
itude in question, are westerly
and southerly. In making the
passage from Havana to Afriea,
the clipper would, probably, get
out of the Gulf Stream in three
days, and go north as far as lat.
30 or 35 [place where Mexican
was robbed] in order to get a
favorable wind. The clipper
would reach the above latitude in
about six days from Havana. Do
not think the schooner and brig
could meet.

Cross-eramined. If the ves-
sels should meet, it would be
about where the Mexican was
met by the pirate.

Captain Bethune. Have been
ten or twelve years acquainted
with nautical matters. Do not
know much about clippers, but
should think there was twenty or
twenty-five per cent difference
between their rate of sailing and
that of merchantmen. It is mere
matter of opinion, whether the
Panda and Mexiean would meet;
but I should think it probable
that they would.

Edward H. Faucon. Have

‘been to sea twelve years; am

master of a vessel, and in the
employ of Bryant & Sturgis; do
not know the difference in sail-
ing between a clipper and mer-
chantman, excepting by reputa-
tion; should think there would
be thirty per cent difference in
favor of the clipper; should

730 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

Capt. Jeremiah Briggs. Have
commanded a merchantman 32
years. Voyages have been_gen-
erally to the East Indies. Have
been to Rio, and other South
American ports. It is customary,
when hailed, if from Salem, to
answer from Boston, as Boston
is a port more known than Sal-
em, particularly to foreign navi-
gators; was never on the coast
of Guinea.

Mr. Dunlap. Suppose a clip-
per, bound for the coast of Af-
rica, to sail from the Havana on
the 20th of August; and such a
vessel as the Mexican, a dull
sailer, to start from Salem the
29th, for Rio Janeiro; would
they be likely to meet, and if so,
where? They would be more
likely to meet in lat. 33, lon. 34-
30 (the place where the Mexican
was robbed), than at any other
spot on the chart. The schooner
would have to sail about one
thousand miles more than the
other. The route to the East In-

Capt. Benj. Rich. <A vessel
sailing from Salem to S. Amer-
ica or the East Indies, would
cross the line at 22 or 26 lon.;
not lower than 27. In going
from Salem, she would steer to
the east as far as lon. 30 or 35,
A fast vessel would not go so far
before ske would haul to take the
trade wirds. <A _ vessel sailing
from the Havana on the 20th of
‘August, would pass ont of the
oulf of Florida, and keep the
eulf stream till she arrived near
Cane Hatteras; she would then
strike off to the east, keeping a
little north, and as_ she ap-
proached our coast, could not be
a great distance from any vessel

dies and the Brazils, is the same
as to Rio.

Mr. Dunlap. Suppose the
vessels started, the Mexican on
the 29th, and the clipper on the
26th, would they then be likely
to meet? I think, if there were
no difference in their rates of
sailing, the brig ought to be
ahead of the schooner. If they
met, however, at all, they would
meet at the point above stated
(lat. 30, lon. 34-30).

Cross-examined. I never made
the voyage to Africa, ‘but have
been in sight of the coast of
Guinea. Know the different
rates of sailing between a elip-
per and such vessels as the Mex-
ican. It would depend greatly
on the wind; but the schooner, in
a light wind, and sailing on the
wind, would beat the brig one-
half. In a strong wind and a
fresh sea, going free, the schoon-
er would not beat the brig so
much. The latter would, per-
haps, go nine knots, and the
former eleven.

November 17.

which left Salem on the 29th of
August.

Mr. Dunlap. Suppose the
clipper sailed from the Havana
on the 26th, and the brig on the
29th, would they still be likely
to meet, or not? They would
come near each other, because at
that season of the year, the elip-
ner would get along very fast.
The winds in August are light,
and would give her great advan-
tage over the brig.

Cross-examined. The runs
made by merchantmen depend
entirely upon the winds they
may happen to have. The Liver-
pool packets make up from
about one hundred to one hun-

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 731

dred and twenty miles per day.
Their average rate of sailing is
one hundred and twenty miles in
summer, and one hundred and
sixty or one hundred and seventy
in winter. The passage from
New York to Liverpool is made,
during the summer, in from
twenty-seven to thirty-three
days. But the yards of the pack-
et ships are squarer than those
of ordinary merchantmen, and
they carry a heavier crew. As
an average, it may be said that
the former sail a knot an hour
faster than the latter. A clipper
will, in summer, make a passage
in a third less time than one of
our merchantmen; but in the
winter there will be little differ-
ence in the sailing of the two
vessels. In general, a clipper
may be said to sail, in light
winds, fifty per cent faster than
a merchantman.

Captains George Budd, Joseph
Bacon, Jellison, and Devens were
next examined, and all agreed in
the probability of the Panda
falling in with the Mexican in
lat. 33, lon. 34-30.

W. H. Peyton. The tonnage
of American and Spanish ves-

sels is different. Ninety-five tons
Spanish, is equal to about one
hundred and twenty American.
Think the Panda and Mexican
would meet, lat. 32, lon. 37.
Never went further north, in my
voyages, than 32 N. Have gone
through the Bahama Canal in
eight and in nine days. Ordi-
nary passage is eight days.
Don’t know average rate of ves-
sels sailing in the Atlantic. In
good breezes, will run tvyelve
knots per hour, at other times
five, three, and more or less, ac-
cording to the wind. Average
after passing Bahama, may be
eight or nine knots. Should
think a passage, in a sharp built
vessel, from Havana to the point
of southing (lat. 32, lon. 37),
might be made in twenty-eight
days. Spanish dollars are ecur-
rent on the whole coast of Af-
rica. Money is less valued at
Annabon than other places on
the coast. Not so much trade
there as at other places. Don’t
know tonnage of the Panda. It
is difficult to determine the ton-
nage of vessels, by merely seeing
‘them in the water. Might vary,
in an estimate, fifty tons.

THE WITNESSES FOR THE DEFENSE.

Baptista Arana. Tlave been
mate and captain many years.
Command a brig now lying in
this harbor. Has been four voy-
ages from Cadiz to Lima, one to
Porto Rico, and three to the
coast of Africa. Have eruised
on the coast of Africa, and am
well acquainted with vessels
trading from Havana to the
coast. Always take specie on
board: generally smuggle it.
Never knew vessel to go without
Specie on board. Specie is not

entered on aeceount of the duties,
Some vessels carry ten, some fif-
teen, some twenty thousand dol-
lars: the amount of specie car-
ried, depends on what part of
the coast the vessel trades to.
Money is valued more on some
parts than others. The usual ar-
ticles of cargo are handkerchiefs
and cottons of various kinds, ete.
Vessels do not generally carry
more than eight thousand dol-
lars. They generally take spare
spars on board; are provided

746 -X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

present. The time will come when this world will be as noth-
ing to you: when its opinions, its struggles, and its varied in-
terests will hold no more place in your thoughts than last
year’s clouds; when memory invested with preternatural
power will array before your mental gaze every action of your
past lives. Then, gentlemen, at that awful moment, believe
me, this verdict will not be forgotten; and if you have given
it without due conviction of its justice, it will lie with the
weight of mountains upon your souls. Let me conjure you,
then, as you revere the majesty of truth; let me entreat you,
as you venerate that Being in whose presence you must one
day stand, to come to this trial with minds ‘‘swept and gar-
nished.’’ Judge by the law and the facts before you; grant
nothing to prejudice; let no bias warp your minds. I do not
ask you to give a verdict in behalf of the prisoners, but in be-
half of truth. Such a verdict as, in the closing scenes of this
mortal existence, will inflict no convulsive spasms of remorse
upon your souls.

November 20.
MR. CHILD FOR THE PRISONERS.

Mr. Child. Gentlemen of the jury: Any question which in-
volves the life of a human being should be approached by
those who were to decide his fate, with deep feelings of re-
ligious awe. How much ought those feelings to operate on
the present occasion! The jury are called upon to decide a
case of as much consequence as any ever decided by twelve
men, since the institution of this form of trial. They are
placed in a situation most awfully responsible. They are
made the vicegerents of God, and the lives and destines of
iwelve fellow beings, twelve of the sons of God were placed

at their disposal. By their decision these persons might be

made to suffer, not only the pangs of the parting of soul and
body, but that in a manner of all others the most revolting.
They had here before them a most extraordinary spectacle.
One of these very persons before them, now arraigned for life
or death, had once saved the lives of those who made this

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 747

prosecution. Yes! the English officer by whom they were
captured was once indebted for his life to the leader of these
men. Mr. Quentin on the stand had stated he had no doubt
that when Capt. Trotter was in the hands of the negro king
he was saved by the interposition of Capt. Gibert. The jury
could find nothing in the whole course of the trial that went
to show that these men were the dangerous and bloodthirsty
miscreants set forth in the charges brought against them.
They (the jury) had been told there was much blood shed,
and many slaughtered on both sides, at their capture. Was
not this a total misrepresentation ?

Perez stated that he could not read or write, when it was
proved on the stand that he could do the former. Here was
a manifest falsehood. When asked to write, also, what was
his conduct? Notwithstanding he said he could not write he
handled his pen in the most clerkly manner, and with as much
grace as the most experienced writers in this city. This doe-
ument, which I hold in my hand, though not a finished piece
of chirography, yet evinces some of the first elements of let-
ters, so well drawn, and so smoothly cut, that I think had we
pressed the matter we might have obtained from him a very
beautiful and satisfactory specimen of writing. I will now
call your attention to some inconsistencies in his testimony

relating to himself. He states that he could not recollect

what was done at Nazareth, because he was so frightened at
the idea of being made a prisoner; while in another vart of
his evidence he tells you he was once carried a prisoner into
ITavana, and gives as a reason, ‘‘because they had slaves on
board the vessel.’’? Gentlemen, I do not state this as having
any bearing on the case, but only to show you how such tes-
timony ought to bear.

This witness has also stated. that upon one oceasion when
Capt. Gibert saw an English frigate, he (Capt. G.) ordered
all the knives to be taken away from the crew and concealed,
yet says, in the course of his testimony that it is the custom
for all Spanish sailors to carry long knives. How ean you
reconcile all these opposing statements. Tt appears evident

748 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

to me that the whole aim of Perez was to give a deeper hue to
the crime with which these prisoners were charged. The car-
rying of knives by Spanish sailors could excite no suspicion
in the breast of any one, if it was a customary thing. We
cannot account for such evidence in any other way than by
believing that he feared, should these men be discharged that
his own imprisonment might be protracted. Perez also tells
you, gentlemen, that the carpenter stove the American boat
with something heavy, like a piece of wood; and afterwards
he states that it was done with an axe, which was carried on
board to scuttle the brig with. Now, is not such an instru-
ment as an axe wholly unfit for such a purpose as the scut-
tling of a vessel? Again, this witness tells you he does not
know who shut the men below on board the brig, and yet he
tells you he could see the padlock with which the scuttle was
fastened, but does not know who shut it down. And Capt.
Butman in his printed statement says that the scuttle never
was shut. On another occasion he tells you he was aloft to
see all that was done on board the Mexican, and afterwards
gives this as a reason for not secing any thing. He also says,
that when in the top he could not see what shoes the boatswain
were; yet he could plainly see a padlock on board the Mex-
ican. [The Court here remarked that Perez said he could not
see the padlock, but was told about it by others. This was
also confirmed by Mr. Peyton, the interpreter, who was pres-
ent. |

Mr. Child. Perez also gives the distance of the two ves-
sels as the reason for not recognizing any of the crew of the
Mexican. Is not this wholly inconsistent with his opposite
Statements? How does he account to you for having been
confined in the top so long? He tells you he was put there
for a punishment. This was a curious mode of punishment.
A person under punishment sent aloft to look out and give
notice of the approach of any vessel which might perchance
surprise them while in the commission of a daring robbery!
Why, how easily might he have betrayed them? I think you

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 749

will be convinced, on a moment’s reflection that this could not
have been the case.

I may have trespassed in my cross-examination, gentlemen,
upon your patience; I may have been more minute in minor
particulars than prudence would seem to dictate; if we had
been possessed of any other resort this would not have been
the case. But, as it was, we could obtain not a ray of light,
excepting by the strictest scrutiny and closest examination.
Perez tells you at first that the men on board wore both black
and white shoes; and afterwards, that he saw no black shoes
on board, and, still farther, that the officers wore black shoes.
Again, he says that the boatswain was a poor man and could
not afford to wear a jacket; and afterwards he tells you that
the boatswain had a black monkey jacket. How can you rec-
oncile statements given in testimony so directly contrary in
point of fact? Why, this witness seems to me to think it a
luxury to lie; yes, he seems to luxuriate in these equivocal
statements and falsehoods. I do not think we can account
for his conduct in any other way, unless, indeed, he be in-
sane; and if that is the case; if this poor, unfortunate indi-
vidual is suffering under the visitation of God, whereby he
is deprived of reason, then that is a age aes reason for re-
jecting his whole testimony.

We next come to the division of the money, concerning
which this witness informs you there was no rule of prin-
ciple adopted. Now, I would ask, if it is probable that men
would act thus carelessly respecting the darling object of
their souls; to obtain which they had forfeited their honor,
their reputation and their very lives? The money, says Pe-
rez, was found in bags like velvet. How does this agree with
another of his statements, that the bags were made of dark,
coarse linen? He also tells you that he is but twenty-two
years of age; and the next moment states that he was a cabin
boy during the wars of Morillo.

And I eall your attention to the statements made by Pe-
rez in relation to the confessions at Fernando Po, and upon

742 X.. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

been granted to Otis only for the purpose of affording time
to the Executive to receive information from the court.

Mr, Hilliard. Some of the prisoners had been identified by
the crew of the Mexican. Now it was well known, that no
evidence was so liable to objection as that relating to iden-
tity. Nothing. changed more than the human countenance
when exposed to the influence of a tropical sun or strong ex-
citement. The records of the courts proved this. The cap-
tain thought he recollected a dead man (Delgardo) one of
those who held their knives to his throat in the cabin. It
seemed to him (Mr. H.) that if the captain could identify
any one, it would be more likely to be one of those who came
with him in the boat, in the open sea, when his mind was
undisturbed, than one of those who assaulted him in the
cabin, where the light was necessarily in some degree ob-
secured. The captain could give no description of their dress;
in fact he identified nothing. But it was different with the
mate; he never forgot any thing; he said he could remember
all the messmates he had ever seen or known; and that havy-
ing once seen a face, he never forgot it. Yet, in spite of this,
he recollected nothing of the dress of the individuals who
boarded the Mexican, except that one man had cowhide
shoes, and of these shoes he told the binding. Was it pos-
sible a man could be so minute in his observation as to be
able to tell the binding of a pair of shoes, and yet not be able
to particularize any other article of dress? Not be able to
tell something about the jackets, ete., of the other men?

Mr, ITilliard then went on to allude to the great similarity
in the appearance of Spanish sailors, their universal swarthy
complexions, ete.; to the evidence of the boy Battis, who
when on board the brig Savage, at Salem, although he said
he at that time recognized two of the prisoners, never men-
tioned the circumstances to any of the numerous friends and
companions who were about him; to the improbability of the
cook of the Mexican (Ridgely) being able to distinguish the
sears on the face of Ferrer, the cook of the schooner, whom
the former stated he saw on the fore-top-gallant yard; to the

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 743

fact that Perez had since stated that he (cook) was not there
at all; to the little weight to be attached to the tesimony of
Perez [Mr. H. referred to Perez’s statements to Mr. Badlam
in the gaol, where he (Perez) declared ‘‘that all he had pre-
viously said was a lie’’]; to the many inconsistencies in Pe-
rez’s evidence, and that of other witnesses; and finally to the
circumstance of all the crew having identified Boyga as hay-
ing been on board the Mexican, while Perez stated that Boyga
did not go on board at all.

Mr. Hilliard also adverted to the conduct of Ridgely, when
the prisoners were brought into Court to be arraigned, and
then took an entirely different ground of defense. Supposing,
he said, what he himself did not believe to be the ease, that the
crew of the Panda robbed the Mexican, it remained to fix the
relative degrees of guilt of the prisoners. He contended that
the Panda had been fitted out for a slaving voyage, for which
alone, doubtless, many of the crew had shipped; and that if
she had robbed the Mexican, only those who had been en-

- gaged in the robbery could be punished for it.

He supposed the case, that the captain, when a few days
out, on the voyage to Africa, had yielded to the temptation
and committed the act of piracy charged upon him, would it
be just to punish more than himself and the men who imme-
diately aided and assisted him in the act? It was necessary
for the government to prove intention on the part of the
others, when they sailed from Havana. Would they punish,
for example, the cook, in the galley of the schooner, the cabin
boy, setting his table in the eabin, or Perez, who had been
sent aloft to look out, and could not come down again with-
out transgressing the rules of the vessel?

If, gentlemen, said he, you deem with me, that the crew of
the Panda (supposing her to have robbed the Mexican) were
merely servants of the captain, you cannot convict them. But
if you do not agree with me, then all that remains for me to
do is to address a few words to you in the way of merey. It
does not seem to me that the good of society requires the death
of all these men, the sacrifice of such a hecatomb of human

744 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

victims, or that the sword of the law should fall till it is
clogged with massacre. Antonio Ferrer is plainly but a ser-
vant. He is set down as a free black in the ship’s papers, but
that is no proof that he is free. Were he a slave, he would in
all probability be represented as free, and this for obvious
reasons. He is in all probability a slave, and a native Afri-
can, as the tattooing on his face proves beyond a doubt. At
any rate, he is but a servant. Now will you make misfortune
pay the penalty of guilt? Do not, I entreat you, lightly con-
demn this man to death. Do not throw him in to make up
the dozen. The regard for human life is one of the most
prominent proofs of a civilized state of society. The Sultan
of Turkey may place women in sacks and throw them into
the Bosphorus, without exciting more than an hour’s addi-
tional conversation at Constantinople. But in our country
it is different. You well remember the excitement produced
by the abduction and death of a single individual; the con-
vulsion which ensued, the effect of which will long be felt in
our political institutions. You will ever find that the more
a nation becomes civilized, the greater becomes the regard for
human life. There is in the eye, the form, and heaven-di-
rected countenance of man, something holy, that forbids he
should be rudely touched.

The instinct of life is great. The light of the sun, even in
chains, is pleasant; and life, though supported but by the
damp exhalations of a dungeon, is desirable. Often, too, we
cling with added tenacity to life in proportion as we are de-
prived of all that makes existence to be coveted.

“The weariest and most loathed worldly life,
That age, ache, penury and imprisonment
Can lay on Nature, is a Paradise
To that we fear of Death.”

Death is a fearful thing. The mere mention of it some-
times blanches the cheek, and sends the fearful blood to the
heart. It is a solemn thing to break into the ‘‘bloody house
of life.’”? Do not, because this man is but an African, im-
agine that his existence is valueless. He is no drift weed on

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 745

the ocean of life. There are in his bosom the same social sym-
pathies that animate our own. He has nerves to feel pain,
and a heart to throb with human affections, even as you have.
His life, to establish the law, or to further the ends of jus-
tice, is not required. Taken, it is to us of no value; given to
him, it is above the price of rubies.

And Costa, the cabin boy, only fifteen years of age when
this crime was committed—shall he die? Shall the sword fall
upon his neck? Some of you are advanced in years—you
may have children. Suppose the news had reached you that
your son was under trial for his life, in a foreign country (and
every cabin boy who leaves this port may be placed in the
situation of this prisoner), suppose you were told that he had
been executed, because his captain and officers had violated
the laws of a distant land; what would be your feelings? I
cannot tell, but I believe the feelings of all of you would be
the same, and that you would exclaim, with the Hebrew, ‘‘My
son! my son! would to God I had died for thee.’’? This boy
has a father; let the form of that father rise up before you
and plead in your hearts for his offspring. Perhaps he has
a mother, and a home. Think of the lengthened shadow that
must have been cast over that home by his absence. Think
of his mother, during those hours of wretchedness, when she
has felt hope darkening into disappointment, next into anxi-
ety, and from anxiety into despair. How often may she have
stretched forth her hands in supplication and asked even the
winds of heaven to bring her tidings of him who was away?
Let the supplications of that mother touch your hearts, and
shield their object from the law.

I have thus endeavored to impress upon you that you are
not to judge of these men in a mass. Condemn not, I beseech
you, a single one of them, unless you see upon his hands the
red spot of guilt. It is my interest, as a member of society,
as much as it is yours, that the guilty should be punished.
Where the sin lies, there let the axe fall; but be sure that the
erime has been committed ere you inflict the penalty. You
never can be called to perform a more serious duty than the

754 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

such grounds as these. Gentlemen, there never was such a
case of piracy since the beginning of time, And is it a fact
that Quentin did not know that the log-book or any of the
papers were missing? Doubtless all the books and papers fell
into the same hands. I have no doubt that the log-book is
now in the hands of the prosecutors. The schooner has ever
been known as a two-topsail schooner ; as such, she was known
in August, 1832, in Havana, and also in Cadiz, in 1833. It is
no crime to sail in a Baltimore clipper; if it were so, many of
our most valued nautical men would, long ere this, have suf-
fered on the scaffold. The question before you is, not whether
the pirate was a clipper, but whether she fully answers the
description given of the Panda.

Perez tells you there was no money on board the Panda.
It appears quite improbable to me that he should know any
thing about it. Are you convinced of the probability, that
the captain and mate should set out on a journey like this,
without a cent of money in their pockets? That you must
believe Perez has perjured himself, is, I think, reduced to a
certainty, by the evidence of Badlam. J think you must be
also convinced that the schooner had money on board, and if
so—if she had from two to five thousand dollars on board,
that fact proves the voyage to have been an honest one. It
has also been proved that the captain paid money to the men
at Nazareth. This money was doubtless shipped for the voy-
age at Ilavana; and is it likely he would have discharged Sil-
vera, with the assurance that he could no longer support him,
if he (the captain) had possessed such a sum of money as he
is said to have stolen from the Mexican? In cases of piracy
I consider it just as important, in order to convict individu-
als of the crime, that the money should be produced, as that
in case of murder, the body should be found. As regards
the money found at Nazareth, you have no testimony
in relation to that, but the testimony of Perez, and he in one
place tells you that eleven thousand dollars were buried, and
in another, that he is not certain of it.

Mr. Child argued at considerable length on the improba-

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 755

bility of the Panda falling in with the Mexican, and read to
the jury a table of calculations, which he had made, for the
purpose of showing that the schooner must have been greatly
ahead of the brig at the time the robbery was committed.
With reference to the prisoners being engaged in the slave
trade before that circumstance was suffered to operate against
them, the Government should itself be certain that it came
into court with clean hands, It was undeniable, that how-
ever objectionable this traffic might be to New Englanders,
the whole country at present participated in it. So late even
as 1833, a direct trade in slaves had been carried on on the
Mississippi. The Constitution had also virtually given a
license to this branch of traffic for twenty years; and al-

though it had been since abolished, the English and Danes -

had had greatly the start of us, in that particular. Charles
the Fifth, too, of Germany, had done more to stop the slave
trade, and to ameliorate the condition of slaves, than had ever
been done by the Federal Government Since the period of its
formation,

I urge strongly upon the jury that even if the officers of
the Panda were guilty, you are not to convict the crew, un-
less participation and previous intention ean be proved
against them ;—the king’s crown, the judge’s robe, or the
marshal’s truncheon do not become those elevated individu-
als half so much as merey become you (the jury) upon the
present occasion.

November 23.

Mr, Child read a statement to the court to the effect that
a piratical schooner, answering the description of the Pan-
da, but clearly not that vessel, had been seen in the latitude

of Cape de Verds, and had chased and fired into the ship
Caesar, bound to Demerara.

MR. DUNLAP FOR THE GOVERN MENT.

Mr. Dunlap. Gentlemen of the jury: It now becomes my
duty, on the fourteenth day since the commencement of this
trial, to address to you the closing argument for the prosecu-

752 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

bett’s Parliamentary Tables,’’ by which he said he could _

show what kind of men had found their way into the British
navy. He could show the names of upwards of 3000 lieuten-
ants, many of them veterans in the service, who had been su-
perseded by beardless youths.

The Court said that any established work of science could
be quoted in evidence, but the mere opinions of a writer, rel-
ative to the conduct of a government, or of individuals, could
not be admitted. :

Mr. Child. Had an announcement been made of the loss of
life consequent upon the capture of the Panda, a court of
inquiry would have been held upon the subject. But no an-
nouncement had been made. There is also the probability
of Capt. Trotter having yielded in some way to the influ-
ence of corruption. Bacon, one of the greatest men that Eng-
land ever produced, had taken a bribe of one thousand pounds,
and why might not a similar course be pursued by Capt.
Trotter? Could we bring some men before us who were at
Prince’s Island at the same time with the schooner, I think
we could prove to you that the Panda was there searched by
British officers, and declared not to be the one which com-
mitted the robbery.

Mr, Dunlap begged Mr. Child to suppress any further re-
marks on this subject, or he should be obliged to disclose some
facts that would prove fatal to the prisoners. He said he
possessed evidence to show that.an American vessel arrived
at Prince’s Island about May, 1833, bringing intelligence of
the robbery; and that upon the intelligence becoming known,
the Panda immediately fled.

Mr. Child. Mr. Quentin had testified that a seaman named
Turnbull took the match from a bag of powder in the Panda’s
magazine. In connection with this statement I wish the jury
to bear in mind that this same man had been disrated in the
British service. And here I would ask, why, if this money
was left on the coast of Africa, has it never been traced?
You have been told, also, that dollars are not current on the
coast of Africa. Such an assertion, I think you must know

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 153

is false, as all travelers positively assert, that Spanish dol-
lars are current all over Africa. Their value, doubtless, dif-
fers in different parts of the coast, as the inhabitants may be
found more or less in want of other articles. And the money
was buried! How is it that it remains secreted to this very
day, with a fleet of British vessels on the coast? How is it
that it is still in possession of the natives, notwithstanding
the powerful arms of the British navy, headed by Capt.
Henry D. Trotter? Why, also, were not the watch, the wash-

basin, and the dressing ease, all of so much value, ever dis-
covered ?

Gentlemen, I never, in the whole course of my practice,
heard of any thing which appeared so utterly moonshine, as
these stories which have been told you. I do not say they are
so—but they may be, for all we know to the contrary. Do
you believe, gentlemen, that Capt. Trotter ever thought this
money was taken piratically? It was said the money be-
longed to Mr. Peabody, and if so, would it not have been the
interest of Capt. Trotter to have found it? He would have
undoubtedly received a large reward on restoration to the
owner, and also a reward from his government for having
captured a pirate. Quentin tells you that he supposes the
money was taken, and sent to the Treasury of the Navy. This
you must be aware would never have been the case, but it
would, as prize-money, have been divided among the crew.
Proceeding on this point, gentlemen, I shall endeavor to
show you, that a good and honest log-book was taken, with
the other papers, from on board the Panda, and was either
destroyed, or remains in the hands of Capt. Trotter.

Quentin also tells us of an American flag or ensign which
was found on board the schooner. Why, I would ask, has it
never been produced, as well as the many trifling articles
taken from Capt. Gibert? These stories remind me of noth-
ing so much as some old wives’ legends, or tales of the nursery,
about pots of money buried, or a treasure at the end of the
rainbow. I put it to you, gentlemen, whether it would be
consistent with your duty, to take the lives of twelve men on

750 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

the probability of his having perjured himself by the sup-
pression of important truths.—- --

T will now eall your attention to another class of this wit-
ness’ testimony. He has stated that the carpenter put fire
to a bag of powder in the hold. Would the witness himself
be willing to try this experiment? Would the carpenter have
succeeded in such an attempt, and made his escape to the
shore in safety? Is it not more probable he would have been
in another world before reaching his boat? But he (the wit-
ness) has stated to you subsequently that he is not positive it
was a bag, ‘‘that the powder was in a keg or a bag.’’

Remember the many contradictory statements which have
been made by Perez in relation to the removal of the eleven
thousand dollars at Nazareth, the attack on the English cor-
vette by the schooner, and the money sent by Capt. G. to the
second mate after the latter had absconded. Think of the
probability that the division of money on the coast, mentioned
by Perez was nothing more than the payment of wages to the
erew, and it was very doubtful that a false log-book had ever
been made by the mate. If such a log-book had been made,
why had it never been presented by the prisoners to prove
their innocence of the crime with which they were charged ?

Compare the evidence of Perez with that of the other wit-
nesses, and remember that it is easier for witnesses to adhere
to one falsehood, than for a number of witnesses to adhere to
one course of evidence without detection. Here, I would ad-
vert for a moment to the difference between the statements of
Perez and those of Capt. Butman. The former has told you
that at the time of the capture of the Mexican a musket shot

was fired from the Panda; while the latter tells you ‘‘that the

schooner gave chase, fired a gun to leeward and hoisted pa-
triot colors.’’ And, in connection with this matter, the dis-
trict attorney asked, was the gun shotted?

I next called attention to the statement made by Capt. But-
man in his log-book, that there were 60 or 70 men on board
the schooner, and that she had two brass ten-pounders; while
Perez said there were but 30 men on board, and both he and

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 751

the other witness, Quentin, affirmed positively that the
guns were iron. Perez also said there was but one man and
the third mate on board the Panda who spoke English, and
that the former of the two did not go on board the Mexican;
while the crew of the last named vessel declared that several
of the pirates spoke English fluently.

The conduct also of Capt. Trotter did not show that he

considered the prisoners pirates. He never kept them in
chains long enough to keep up the farce, if it was a farce,
and even employed Capt. Gibert as his amenuensis, regaling
him with wine, and treating him in every Way as a compan-
ion. ; :
And why was there no announcement made in England of
the arrival of these prisoners, or of the tragical death of the
officers blown up in the schooner at Nazareth? Why, too,
were they not tried in England for driving so hard a bargain
with the English corvette, in the purchase of her spars?

It has just occurred to me, gentlemen, and I think the
statement made by Domingo is worthy of your serious con-
sideration, that Capt. Trotter ever after the capture of the
Panda was subject to sudden fits of illness, ete., from which
he had not recovered when the Curlew arrived in England.
This, gentlemen, whatever effect it may have on your minds,
has given me many serious reflections.

In reference to the consul at Plymouth, it is my opin-
ion that if that consul had been a Spaniard and indif-
ferent to Capt. Trotter, instead of being an Englishman
and his friend, he would have demanded a trial of the pris-
oners in England, for the alleged robbery of the English cor-
vette. = «

tae! November 21.

Mr. Child. The capture of the. Panda doubtless had not
been effected without great loss and bloodshed on both sides,
and no announcement had been made of this, on the arrival
of the Curlew in England. I put it to the jury whether these
were the common actions of men.

Mr. Child here wished to read some extracts from ‘‘Cob-

756 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

tion. The labors of this case have been unexampled. We can
find no parallel to them in the history of judicial proceedings
of this country. None of us have as yet, however, broke down
under them, although many times the body has been weary
and the heart sick and faint. Still I do not know that these
labors ought to be to us a subject of regret, when we consider
the great importance of the case now to be decided. It is im-
portant, inasmuch as it involves the lives of twelve men, and
the interests of public justice, not only in this, but in every
other civilized country.

It is of consequence, not only to our own citizens, but to
‘fall those who go down to the sea in ships,’’ that, when re-
moved from the protection of their friends and neighbors,
they should yet be safe—protected by the moral influence of
the law, spreading over the wide expanse of ocean, and ex-
tending from one continent to the other. When then, I say,
you consider the momentous nature of this trial—that it is
connected with the interests of every nautical people, I think
I am justified in the remark that the labors of the cause
ought not to be regretted. Not only should we dismiss from
our minds all thoughts of the labor we have undergone, but
every, the slightest, personal feeling, calculated to bias our
minds, or impede the ends of justice. We should come to
the decision of this case with pure hearts, and minds freed
from all feeling of anger or irritation, however much the
course pursued for the defense has been calculated to pro-
duce them. We should come bearing in mind the great max-
im of the law, ‘‘That every person is presumed to be inno-
cent until he is proved to be guilty,’’ but with a resolution
also, should the guilt of the individuals before us be proved,
to do our duty. The prisoners have had a fair and noble
trial. If they are far from their friends; if the forms of
this court are new to them, yet have they had privileges, which
in their own country they could not have had. They have
been furnished with copies of the charges against them, in
order that they might know what those charges were. They
have had individuals acquainted with their own language to

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 757

instruct them in matters of right; they have had counsel of
their own selection; they have had the privilege of choosing
their own jury, from a large number of citizens collected from
all parts of the vicinity (and if ever there was a mode more
calculated to secure the proper administration of justice, it
is that adopted by us in this particular) ; they have had the
advantage of the purse of the government to procure any tes-
timony within the process of the court; all witnesses whose
testimony they desired are in attendance at the government
expense; and they have had counsel to aid them, not only in
relation to the law and the examination of witnesses, but also
to urge all matters as well of testimony as of the law, to the
jury. Have they not then had all the privileges which the
mildest system of laws could extend to them? Had this case,
which has already occupied the attention of this court twelve
days, at an average of six or seven hours per day, been tried
at the Old Bailey, it would have been decided between the
rising and the setting of the sun. This is not all; besides the
indulgences already stated, they have had the benefit of a
most laborious, ingenious, and talented defense. The junior
counsel, who opened this case, did it with ability and feeling;
and presented, in my opinion, every point for the prisoners
of which the case was susceptible. His address was decked
with all the graces of a brilliant imagination; and with all
the attractions of the most persuasive eloquence. But the
most refined and elaborate texture of reasoning is too often
like the most beautiful fabric of art, necessarily composed of
the frailest materials. And if the defense be inconclusive to
establish the innocence of the prisoners, I may remark (to
use the words of Lord Bacon, on a similar occasion), that the
fault is in the stuff, and not in the workman. The closing
counsel brought to the cause his untiring zeal, his great in-
dustry, his various and profound learning; and exhibited a
labor, and I had almost said a desperation, which I think
must have satisfied you, gentlemen, that the cause pressed
heavily on him, and that he was fully conscious of the weight
of the load,—the dead lift,—he had undertaken to carry.

764 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

lantry with which they, upon all occasions, risked their lives
in behalf of the general weal.
November 24.

JUDGE STORY’S CHARGE.

JupGE Story. Gentlemen: This important and protracted
case is now, I hope, drawing to a close. As regards its dura-
tion and the extraordinary nature of the circumstances de-
veloped, it is without parallel in the history of our courts.
Great diligence and exertion has been used to bring out facts;
those facts are now before the jury, and it is for you to de-
cide as to the guilt or innocence of the prisoners. The pris-
oners all pleaded not guilty, and I feel sure that in a case
like this, I need not say much to the jury in relation to the
necessity of using deliberation and caution in the formation
of your judgment; on the one side, the lives of the prisoners
are in your hands, and, on the other, the preservation of pub-
lic justice. The lives of the prisoners are dear to them, and
the due and fit administration of justice is not the less dear
to the country. The ease has been argued for the defense with
great elaborateness, ingenuity and eloquence; and the reply
of the district attorney is marked with equal diligence, mod-
eration and candor. Little more remains, then, for the court
but to sum up the facts, and present to the jury the most im-
portant elements contained in the testimony which has been
adduced before them. I wish the jury to understand (the
ease having, as I said before, been argued so elaborately and
in detail), that they are not to take the facts I give them as
all the facts, but only as the most important ones. As the
ease, for the most part, turns on a question of fact, it is for
the jury to decide upon it in that respect. The suggestions
about to be made by me are only so made for the purpose of
assisting you in coming to correct results; and if, in the
course of the remarks I am to make, I should happen to differ
in any way from you, to follow the dictates of your own
minds and consciences, without being influenced by any ob-
servations or opinions expressed by me. You are to use your

own judgment.

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 765

Many things, said Jupcr Story, had been brought into the
present case which he regretted ; but the counsel for the de-
fense had undoubtedly done right in omitting nothing that
might have occurred to their minds as likely to be of benefit
to the prisoners. The jury had had many cases read to them
to show the difficulty of deciding upon the identity of fads:
viduals. Some of these might be founded in fact, or they
might, for aught any one could say to the contrary, be fig-
ments of the brain. They were the common-places of the
law, and had been cited before him for the same purposes as
now, in almost every criminal trial in which he had been en-
gaged. If they went for any thing, they went to establish
two things, viz.: first, that unless the body were found there
ought to be no conviction; second, that, because men had tes-
tified falsely, or had been mistaken as to identity, that there-
fore testimony ought not to be taken. Now these positions
were absurd. If no conviction ought to take place unless
the body of a murdered person be found, what was to be
done in cases of murder at sea, where the body was thrown
overboard and buried beneath the broad ocean ?

The cases of murder were numerous, and were they to be
told that a jury had no right to convict, because the body
could not be produced from the depths of the sea? Men had
been convicted on false testimony; and what then? Are we
to say that jurors shall never convict, because men have been
found base and wicked enough to perjure themselves, for the
purpose of taking away the life of a fellow being? No one,
surely, will contend for doctrines of this kind. Tf they were
admitted, our courts would be ‘useless, not only in criminal
but civil cases, and instead of being here today, the law
ought to prescribe that there should be no courts, no admin-
istration of justice throughout our country. Human testi-
mony is almost the only thing upon which we can rely in this
world; and he who undertakes to shake our faith in it, under-
takes to shake our faith in every thing on earth, and I had
almost said, in heaven. Where would be the consolations of
Christianity, which are based on human testimony? How

758 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

But, gentlemen, all the indulgences I have enumerated have
been granted, not to facilitate the escape of guilt, but to af-
ford protection to the innocent; else were our laws a mock-
ery, and our courts of justice but a theatre, where the prize
of eloquence is to be won, and where, instead of protection
of the rights of our citizens, guilt might, more than in any
other place, revel in crime, and dety discovery... Hf
the prisoners are innocent, none of you, gentlemen, I am sure,
will regret the length of time, and the great labor which has
attended this investigation; on the other hand, if they are
guilty, and it shall become.your solemn duty to render that
verdict which will consign them to chains and the scaffold,
will it not be a satisfaction to you, that you have heard all
that could be said in their behalf; and that could enable them,
if innocent, to prove that innocence. My duty in this case is
plain. The counsel for the defense have had their duty to
perform; and they have done it manfully. A duty has also
been assigned to me. I have given a pledge to my country,
that if I possess any talents, those talents shall be exerted to
the utmost in the discharge of my duty. I have taken an
oath to this effect, and I must not be found recreant to that
pledge,—unmindful of that oath. Yet you shall hear from
me no rash expressions of anger against the prisoners. It is
not my duty to excite prejudices against them; but calmly,
and with a firm step, to progress through the mertis of this
case.

In pursuing this course, I shall endeavor, as much as pos-
sible to simplify this transaction—to clear it from the mass
of words, beneath which it has been, doubtless unintention-
ally, buried. After these introductory remarks, let us pro-
ceed at once to the facts of the case. There would be no
doubt that the Mexican had been robbed in lat. 33, lon. 3414,
by pirates; the great question was, whether the captain and
crew of the Panda were the individuals who committed that
robbery. Let us examine the evidence bearing upon this sub-
ject. There was a schooner named the Panda, in the harbor
of Havana on the 12th of August, 1832. She sailed thence

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 759

on the 20th or 26th of August, commanded by Captain Gi-
bert, and manned by a crew, part of whom were the pris-
oners at the bar. All this was undeniable; it was proved by
the Custom House documents, and also by the testimony of
Perez and Guzman. Perez says that she sailed on the 20th
or 26th, and the ship’s papers and Moro Pass, ete., being
dated the 18th, all induce us to believe that the 20th August
was the day on which she commenced her voyage. Now the
track of the Mexican is before us, marked by the mate of that
vessel till the day of the robbery. The Panda sailed on the
20th or 26th, from Havana, her track lies directly over the
spot where the Mexican was met, and you have the testimony
of Mr. Peabody, the owner of the vessel, now a merchant, but
formerly a practical seaman, that the two vessels would be
likely to meet. The next testimony upon this point is that of
Mr. Briggs, who has been a captain for thirty-two years, and
who informs you that the Panda would probably come as far
north as 37 deg. and that she would be more likely to meet
the Mexican in 33, 3414 than at any other point on the
chart. We have, then, Capt. Rich, who says that the latitude
just mentioned is the spot where the vessels would meet. He
tells you that were he bound for the coast of Africa he should
come north as far as Cape Hatteras. We then have Capt.
3udd, an officer in the U. 8. navy, who has commanded two
sloops of war on the Havana station; he agrees wiih Capt.
Rich and the line indicating the course of the Panda, which he
traced with his finger on the chart, passed over the very place
where the robbery was committed.

Consider also the evidence given by Capts. Bethune, Feulk-
ner, Bacon, and Devens, to the same effect. Now we have
witnesses from the Mexican, and one from the Panda herself,
who swear that the prisoners are the persons who committed
the robbery. What sort of a vessel was the Panda? She was
a clipper schooner, with raking masts, painted black, with a
white streak, and her armament consisted of two small guns
and one large pivot gun. And what does Capt. Butman tell
you? Why, that the piratical vessel was a clipper, painted

760 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

black, with a white streak, that she had two small guns, and
something like a gun covered up amidships, and that she was
about one hundred and fifty tons burthen. With respect to
the latter item (the amount of tonnage) allowances must be
made for the state of alarm into which Capt. Butman was
thrown, and Mr. Peyton has told you how difficult a matter
it is to judge of the tonnage of a vessel; he has told you that
himself and messmates were, in one instance, unable to de-
cide within fifty or sixty tons the amount of burthen even of
the vessel in which they were sailing.

Then with regard to the schooner’s armament. The Panda
had two small guns, and one pivot gun. Perez said the small
guns were six and nine pounders, and Mr. Quentin, a naval
officer, made a similar mistake in his estimate of their calibre.
Capt. Butman, however, described the guns as ‘‘neither long
nor short,’’ and a singular corroboration of his opinion has
come out in the course of this investigation. In the roll of

equipage of the Panda, read a few days ago, the small guns’

are represented as gunnades, and these pieces are, as Capt.
Butman said, neither ‘‘long nor short guns.’’ Is not this
proof of Capt. Butman’s accuracy, of far greater importance
than the mistake which he made in relation to the metal of
the guns? A mistake, too, very easily made; for who has seen
guns at sea in the same state of brightness as those exhibited
in a park of artillery? And who has not noticed the dark
and bronze state of the guns which lie in our navy yard. Re-
member the perfect agreement which existed between the
testimony of the crew of the Mexican and the witness Perez
in relation to the colors of the Panda. Reed, the mate, stated
that when the piratical vessel came up with them she hoisted
patriot colors. And Perez says that when they fired a gun for
the American brig to heave to, they hoisted the Columbian
flag. The description given by Capt. Butman of the manoeu-
vres of the piratical vessel at the time of the Mexican’s eap-
ture, also correspond with Perez’s account of the movements
of the Panda at the same period. There are also numerous
other coincidences between the testimony of the crew of the

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 761

Mexican and that given by Perez. The mate of the Mexican
says that the pirates took from them some spars, butter and
fowls, and Perez makes the same statements from his obser-
vation while in the maintop of the schooner. He also says
that he saw smoke proceeding from the galley of the Mexi-
can, and Capt. Butman tells you that his vessel was attempted
to be set on fire. You have also the coincidence from the wit-
nesses in both vessels, that all this took place on the 20th Sep-
tember. Perez mentions the 20th, as the day on which the
Panda captured the American brig, and the log-book of the
Mexican tells you that she was robbed on that day. Well,
the Panda proceeds on her voyage to the coast of Africa, and
in a few days after the period of the robbery, changes her rig,
with the spars and duck taken from the Mexican; she also
changes her paint. On her arrival at her destination she
stays a short time in the river Nazareth, and then proceeds to
Prince’s Island, first removing her figure head and substi-
tuting an awkward piece of wood; and the next thing we
hear of her is, that she has fled from Prince’s Island, because
the news of the robbery of the Mexican had reached that
place. Her officers then propose running her on shore and
destroying her. Now, why, if they had done nothing wrong,
destroy their vessel? What was the burying of the money
for either ?—why put that into the care of the negroes? If
they had brought it from the Havana with them, they would
have kept it in its proper place, under the guns of their ves-
sel. And if they were not pirates, what had they to fear
from a cruiser of his Britannic Majesty’s navy?

The English boats came up with the Union Jack hoisted ;
that flag which was the protection of honest men, but the ter-
ror of pirates—the flag of the queen of the ocean! But these
men preferred to destroy their vessel and place themselves
under the protection of the negroes, rather than submit to the

' search of a lawfully commissioned cruiser of the greatest na-

val power in the world. They had nothing to fear even on
the score of their being slavers, because no vessel can be cap-
tured unless she have slaves on board, which the Panda had

762 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

not at the time she was taken. And what became of them
after they left the vessel? Why they sought refuge among
the negroes and in the forest. How different was the conduct
of the Portuguese, who shipped at Prince’s Island, and had
no concern with the robbery. One of them went on board
the Panda immediately after the English had taken possession
of her, and the other sought a passage home in a vessel lying
very near the Panda. From the instructions of the captain
of the Panda, I believe the whole affair was a regular pirat-
ical and slaving speculation, on the part of certain individu-
als in the Havana, for the Panda had not a sufficient cargo
to purchase the number of slaves (450) she was going for,
and the wages of the crew also were $1000 per month. Mr.
Peyton informed the court that slaves on the coast of Africa
could be purchased for $12 each.

I shall now advert to the alleged contradictions in the evi-
dence of Perez. The statement of this witness, ‘‘that he had
not been drunk, and had not had rum given him,’’ was not
contradicted by the statement he made in gaol to Mr. Bad-
lam. He told Mr. Badlam that on that occasion he had had
wine given to him; but never acknowledged that he received
rum, or that he had been drunk. The witness’ state of mind,
too, when he said this should be taken into consideration. He
believed he had been dealt faithlessly with by the govern-
ment, and under this impression made use of words attrib-
uted to him. At the conclusion of the interview, however, he
stated that ‘‘when before the judge he would tell the truth,’’
thus clearly intimating that his previous statement about the
wine was a falsehood. In relation to Perez’s declaration, that
he could not read or write, he had used the words in their
common acceptation and meant to say that he could not read
as others did, with any degree of fluency.

If Perez had declared he could read and had given no bet-
ter specimen than he did in the court (reading or rather
spelling two lines in five minutes) the counsel for the prison-
ers could have accused him of laying claim to a qualification
which he did not possess. But, even admitting that Perez had

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 763

said previously that he could not read, and that in coatradic-
tion of that assertion he did read in court, this cireumstance
would be one of the strongest proofs that he had testified
truly. It would prove that however bad he was in other re-
Spects, whatever falschoods he might have stated elsewhere,
he had come into court upon the present occasion with a full
knowledge of his precarious situation; with the conviction
that his life depended upon his veracity ; and with a determi-
nation to tell the truth, even should he contradict any thing
he might have previously stated. How easy would it have
been for him, when asked by the counsel for the defense ‘‘if
he could read,”’ to have replied in the negative.

To proceed to the consideration of the question ‘‘whether
the whole of the prisoners were implicated, supposing the
captain and officers to be guilty.’? In relation to this ques-
tion, there is one circumstance which removes all doubts that
the whole crew were copartners in the crime; which extin-
guished at once in my bosom, the hope I had so fondly cher-
ished in favor of Ferrer, the cook, and Costa, the cabin boy.
This damning circumstance is the fact that not a Single indi-
vidual of the crew had ever mentioned the robbery to the
Portuguese, who were so many months their companions. This
unnatural silence proved that they were all equally impli-
cated in the crime and all felt the necessity of keeping the
secret; that they had cast in their lot with their officers, and
were bound together as a band of brothers, by a common sense
of guilt and danger, the captain being like Byron’s Conrad,
the master-spirit of the whole—‘one formed to lead the
guilty, guilt’s worst instrument.’’

The nautical gentlemen, who were brought forward by the
counsel for the defense in numerous instances, although
called in behalf of the prisoners, corroborated the evidence
of the government witnesses. Almost all piracies are now
committed by slavers, slavery being the only pretence on
which a piratical vessel could now-a-days be fitted out. Mr.
Dunlap concluded by passing an eloquent eulogium upon
Capt. Trotter, and the English navy generally for the gal-

@ cow

768 X&. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

tried here with reference to it. Suggestions had been thrown
out, and questions asked, as to whether money had not been
divided among the crew of the Curlew. This question no per-
son could misunderstand for a moment. Now he must say,
as an individual, that, on the most careful examination, he
had found nothing as done by Capt. Trotter, that a man in
his situation might not fairly do. The learned judge farther
stated, in reference to this matter, that if, in this first in-
stance of national reciprocity, British officers found them-
selves accused without sufficient reason, it would be, as it
was the first, most assuredly the last time they would expose
themselves to such consequences. It was, however, possible
that Capt. Trotter might have acted with perfect propriety,
and yet the prisoners be innocent of the crime imputed to
them. On the other hand, Capt. Trotter might have done
wrong, and the prisoners, notwithstanding, be guilty. The
jury were to bear in mind that Capt. Trotter’s conduct, was
a matter separate from the guilt or innocence of the pris-
oners. With respect to the capture of the Esperanza, the
rule of law was that a probable cause would justify taking
possession of her; and if this could be proved, no damages
could be recovered. Damages could only follow a wanton
and manifestly improper seizure.

Jupae Srory passed from this topic to the merits of the
ease between the government and the prisoners. He admon-
ished the jury that if there remained a reasonable doubt in
their minds, as to the guilt of the prisoners, they were to give
them (the prisoners) the benefit of it. It must, however, be
a reasonable, and not a vain and trifling doubt. The present
ease, he said, might be divided into three questions: first,
Was the Mexican robbed? Secondly, was that robbery, if
committed, committed by the Panda? Thirdly, If robbed by
the Panda, were all the prisoners present implicated in the
crime? With regard to the first question, there could be no
doubt. No one attempted to deny that the Mexican was
robbed in lat. 33, lon. 3414; and that, after the specie had
been taken from her, her crew were placed below, and at-

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 769

tempted to be destroyed by fire. It was obvious that the in-
dividuals, whoever they were, after committing the robbery,
had resolved upon consummating their crime by the sacri-
fice of every one of the crew, by the murder of those against
whom they could have no angry feeling, and whom they had
never before seen. It was a horrible crime; but the horror
which it excited was not, at the present time, to weigh an
atom against these prisoners, in the minds of the jury. They
(the jury) were first to see if the prisoners were guilty.

Jupce Story then proceeded to the consideration of the
remaining questions into which he had divided the case, Viz.:
Whether the Panda was the vessel that robbed the Mexican,
and if she was, whether all the prisoners on board her were
equally guilty? .

He went over the whole of the evidence bearing upon the
first point, and finally summed up in a manner that could not
but have proved conclusive in the mind of every one as to
the guilt of the prisoners. Upon the last question, however,
he expressed himself decidely in their favor. Only those of
the crew, he said, could be convicted, who were proved to
have participated in the crime. The mere fact of their be-
ing on board the Panda was not sufficient to condemn them.

With reference to the good characters given by some of
the witnesses of Capt. Gibert, the judge said that a good
character certainly availed much, but numerous instances
were on record of men, long held in high estimation, sud-
denly committing the greatest and most horrible crimes.
With regard to De Soto, the generous act performed by that
indvidual was fully estimated by every person in the court.
I stand humbled before you, gentlemen, by a fact brought
out in the course of the testimony you have heard; the fact
of an American ship passing by and leaving American citi-
zens to perish in sight of their countrymen. We have had
from the counsel for the defense an eloquent allusion to the
parable of the priest and the Levite, and never from the days
of our Savior till now can that parable have been more fully
illustrated than by the fact to which I have alluded. The

766 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

could we support our claims to property, or claims of any
other kind, but by human testimony? The only purpose for
which these cases ought ever to be called before a jury was in
the way of caution; and if they were urged farther than this,
it was an urging of the jury to betray their duty. He regret-
ted to see them introduced into an American court, because
our tribunals were not characterized by a thirst after blood;
on the contrary, if we had any thing of which we could justly
boast, it was that, in our code of laws, there were few capital
crimes, and that the administration of that code was con-
ducted with the severest and most punctilious caution. It
had been objected to us that we were even over-merciful.

There was another topic on which he must say a few words,
and that was the remarks which had been made in relation
to the manner in which the prisoners had been brought here,
and upon the circumstances of their capture. He should feel
himself unworthy of the station he occupied, if he did not
advert to this topic, because, if he rightly understood the pris-
oners’ counsel, an attempt had been made to throw a great
deal of doubt over the motives and actions of Capt. Trotter.
and even of the British government itself, for having sent the
case to this country. The British government, on this occa-
sion, finding persons in England in custody of one of her own
officers, and accused of piracy on an American vessel, chose
to send those persons here, where the best evidence could be
obtained, and where the greatest facilities and advantages
for their trial were to be found. Over piracy, all nations ex-
ercise equal jurisdiction, and the British government might
justly have exercised it in this case; but they preferred that
the offenders should be tried by the citizens of that country
against whom the offense had been committed. And I may
say that this conduct of the British government can searcely
receive too much praise from an American citizen.

How could this cause have been decided in England. None
of the crew of the Mexican, nor her owner, were there. How
could the evidence heard before this court, and which oc-
cupied its attention during the three first days of the trial,

~ “AX

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 767

have been heard in England. Let them look, too, at the eon-
duct of Capt. Trotter. He was an officer of the British navy,
stationed on the coast of Africa, with directions to use his
exertions in suppressing the slave trade. He was there dis-
charging the particular duty which had been assigned to him,
and was under no obligation to trouble himself about pir-
ates. But he receives information of the robbery of the
American brig, and that the pirate is supposed to be on the
African coast, and immediately goes in quest of her. What.
motive could this gallant officer have had to interfere in this
matter, but a sense of justice, and a desire to protect the
rights of the whole world? He had nothing to gain, and he
might encounter a great deal of peril, obloquy and respon-
sibility. Under these circumstances Capt. Trotter does in-
terfere. He goes in search of the pirate. And you know,
gentlemen, said the learned judge, it was no ordinary peril
he encountered. Mr. Quentin has stated facts sufficient to
prove to you the danger of the undertaking, even when the
crew of the Panda were not on board to make resistance. Had
the crew remained on board, and used the means in their
possession, the loss of lives among the British, they being in
open boats, must necessarily have been great.

Now what inducement had Capt. Trotter to encounter all
this, but a high sense of public duty, not merely to his own
country, but to the commercial world. It is said that there
was something mysterious about the eonduct of this brave
officer. I have never observed anything of the kind, gentle-
men, during this trial. It remains for you to say whether
anything of the kind exists. His station was on the African

coast, and he could not leave it without orders from home.*

He made the capture and communicated it, where he was in
duty bound to do, to the heads of the admiralty. We know
that he did this, because we find that the British government
taking cognizance of his act, and sending the prisoners to be

* In allusion to the remarks of Mr. Child as to the length of Capt.
Trotter’s eruise and no announcement having been made in the
papers of his capture.

@-4 he

770 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

American passed by the sufferers, the Spaniard stopped and
saved them. But the prisoner’s guilt must outweigh all
these considerations. We cannot dispense mercy. That is
the attribute of a higher power. You and I, gentlemen, are
bound to do our duty according to law, and we should be
false to our oaths, our country and our God, if we were to
shut our eyes to the force of the testimony before us.

The concluding part of the charge was very favorable to
Portana, Velasquez and Ferrer. No participation what-
ever, JuDGE Story remarked, was proved against Portana—
the only circumstance against the second was the statement
of Perez that he was with him (Perez) when the money was
buried; and the third, Ferrer, was evidently a servant and
an African. Although set down in the ship’s papers as free,
that fact was by no means conclusive. Vessels going on a
slaving voyage would never carry a native African with
them as a slave, because that circumstance would subject
them to capture by the English or other cruisers. There was
therefore every reason to believe that Ferrier, although de-
scribed as a free black, was in reality a slave.

JUDGE Story, in the course of his charge, made the following
remarks in relation to the slave trade. This inhuman traffic,
he said, had long been the reproach of Christendom. It had
been carried on with as much zeal by England and America
as by the French and Spanish. And although Christianity
had blessed us with its light for 1800 years, it was only until
very lately that this species of commerce had been wholly
abolished. He could not agree in the remarks which had
been made by both counsel for the defense, upon the conduct
of the United States as connected with this matter. The
Constitution had never sanctioned the slave trade. It met an
existing state of things, and passed an act taxing the trade,
and enabling Congress to prohibit it altogether at the expira-
tion of 20 years. It did this in ’88, and in 1806 a prospective
act was passed to take effect in January, 1807, declaring the
slave trade forever abolished in this country. He was not
aware that the traffic had been carried on during the first 20

Fi ay be:
a
PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 771

years by more than one or two of the Southern States. Con-
gress could do no more than it did at the time of the forma-
tion of the Constitution. They wished to have prohibited the
traffic at once, but there were opposing interests to be re-
united, and they~had no other alternative than to sacrifice
the Constitution, or submit to a limited evil. They had many
prejudices to overcome, and had they not secured the Con-
stitution by a temporary sacrifice of their wishes, they never
would have been able to have destroyed the slave trade at all.
Let it be known, then, that America made the first step in
this matter. She did what she could in 88, while England
did not stir till years afterwards, and then, when Pitt and
Wilberforce exerted themselves upon the subject, the bill
which they introduced fell dead in the House of Commons.
Even Pitt, the Prime Minister of England, with all his pop-
ularity, could not break down the prejudices of his country-
men, and nothing effectual was done in England till the year
1807, while in 1806, America, by the prospective act which
she had passed, abolished the slave trade throughout all the
States, thenceforth and forever. To America, then, is due
the credit of having, while yet a child, and possessing but the
elements of government, looked forward to the time when a
traffic in her fellowmen should no longer disgrace her annals.

Nov. 25.

The Court assembled at 11 o'clock, and after the lapse of
about half an hour the jury came in with their verdict.

The Clerk. Gentlemen of the jury, have you agreed upon
your verdict ?

The Jury. We have.

The Clerk. Who shall speak for you?

The Jury. Our foreman.

The Prisoners were directed severally to rise as soon as
called and receive the verdict of the jury. The Captain,
Pedro Gibert, was the first named. He arose, raised his

hand, and regarded the jury with a firm countenance and
steady eye.

bes
i

772 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

The Clerk. Jurors look upon the prisoner; prisoner look
upon the jurors. How say, you, gentlemen, is the prisoner
at the bar, Pedro Gibert, guilty or not guilty.

The Foreman. Guilty.

The same verdict was pronounced against De Soto (the
mate), Ruiz (the carpenter), Boyga, Castillo, Garcia and
Montenegro. But Costa (the cabin boy), Ferrer (the negro),
Guzman, Portana and Velasquez, were declared Not Guilty.

The Foreman read to the Court the following recommenda-
tion to mercy:

“The sympathies of the jury have been strongly moved in behalf
of Bernardo De Soto, on account of his generous, noble and self-
sacrificing conduct in saving the lives of more than 70 human be-
ings, constituting the passengers and crew of the ship Minerva;
and they desire that his case should be presented to the merciful
consideration of the Government.”

JupcE Story replied that the wish of the jury would cer-
tainly be complied with both by the Court and the prose-
cuting officer.

The acquitted prisoners, on motion of Mr. Hilliard, were directed
to be discharged, upon which several of the others loudly and angrily
expressed their dissatisfaction at the result of the trial. Castillo
(a half-caste, with an extremely mild and pleasing countenance),
pointed towards heaven, and called upon the Almighty to bear wit-
ness that he was innocent; Ruiz uttered some words with great
vehemence; and Garcia said “all were in the same ship; and it was
strange that some should be permitted to escape while others were
punished.” Most of them on leaving the court uttered some invect-
ive against “the picaro who had sworn their lives away.”

On Costa, the cabin boy, being declared “Not Guilty” some degree
of approbation was manifested by the audience, but instantly
checked by the Jupcx, who directed the officers to take into custody
every one expressing either assent or dissent. -

The jury were discharged; the Jupcr thanking them for the great
patience and attention they had exhibited throughout this painful
trial, and hoping they would find, in the approbation of their fel-
low citizens, and in the testimony of their own consciences, that
pstoae which always resulted from the performance of an act of

uty.

The convicted prisoners were then sentenced to death.

Hes

PEDRO GIBERT AND OTHERS. 773

THE EXECUTION.

‘Delargo committed suicide in Salem Jail before the tisk 4 436
After the conviction, De Soto, the first mate, through the interces-
sion of Mrs. David Lee Child, the wife of the counsel, was par-
doned. A strong point in his favor was his bravery in rescuing a
vessel in circumstances of great peril, with her crew and passen-
gers of women and children, as she lay aground on the Bahama

Banks. . . . The others were hanged at the Leverett Street Jail
and many people came in boats to witness the execution, which I
also saw. . . . Boyga cut his throat and was hanged sitting in a

chair; Ruiz pretended to be insane, but soon it was decided that he
was shamming and he was accordingly executed.”®

8 Willard’s “Recollections.” Ante, p. 701. Mr. Willard was also
present at the Trial.

BUCK, Rufus, and gang, hanged Fort Smith, arkansas, on July 11, 1896,
(Federal) :

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WESTERNER MAGAZINE, March-April, 1969.

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Creek, they came upon Jim Staley
riding a fine horse. Buck suggested a
trade. Staley refused, and Buck
knocked him out of the saddle with
the stock of his Winchester.

The thugs watched with pleasure as
Staley writhed in the dust, blood run-
ning from his head and begging them
to spare his life and take the animal.
His desperate pleas served to enter-
tain them for a few minutes. Finally
Buck became bored.

“I'll just put him out of his misery
and blow off his damn’ head!”

July said: ‘“‘Let’s take a vote.”

The gang voted--two for killing
him, three to let him live. So Buck
took his horse. and saddle, fifty dol-
lars in cash and a gold watch, and
left him bleeding on the trail.

Shortly after dark, the band
reached the home of Gus Chambers,
a white renter. As they approached
the barn to steal fresh mounts, Cham-
bers opened up on them with his
shotgun. More than 100 shots were
exchanged while the farmer stood his
ground and his wife and small son
hid under the bed. The Bucks “filled
his house with lead,” but ‘miracu-
lously no one was hurt, and the out-
laws left without the horses.

Sweeping southeast across the Cus-
Setah, they reached the U-Bar ranch
on Grave Creek shortly after day-
break, August 4th. Benton Callahan,
the ranch owner, and his hired man,
Sam Houston, were moving some cat-
tle down the creek to a new pasture,

The gang burst over a ridge, firing
54

their rifles. They shot Houston’s
horse from under him. Houston tried
to escape on foot, and Buck brought
him down with a bullet through the
lungs.

Buck’s second shot burned along-
side Callahan’s head, tearing off the
top of his left ear. Then the gang
swept up around him, covering him
with their weapons. In the same mo-
ment Buck recognized the rancher.
Callahan’s father had been the super-
intendent at Wealaka Mission who
had kicked him out of school for
unruly conduct. .

“If I'd known it was you,” Buck
snarled, “‘I’d have killed you too!”

The gang took Callahan’s horse and
saddle, two dollars from his pockets,
and his boots, then rode off at a
breakneck speed northwest.

The hired man and his horse were
dead, cattle had stampeded in every
direction, and the rancher was bare-
foot. It was late afternoon before he
could get help and a wagon to take
Houston’s body into Checotah. Dep-
uty Marshal Jones led a posse to
Grave Creek. With darkness coming
on, he didn’t pick up the gang’s trail
until the morning of August 5th. On

Judge Isaac C. Parker, who sentenced
the unholy quintet to be hanged by
their necks until dead. Lynching was
averted because the crowds knew of
Parker's record as a hanging judge

Several hundred people gathered at the
Missouri-Pacific dept. in Fort Smith,
Arkansas, for their first view of

those “fiends in human form” as they
were brought in to face trial.

that date the unholy quintet reached
the home of Henry Hassan between
Duck and Snake Creeks, twenty miles
south of Sapulpa.

The Hassans were honest, hard-
working people. Besides Henry, there
were his wife Rosetta, a kindly, well-
proportioned woman of 30, her aged
mother, and three small children.
They were seated beneath an arbor
preparing fruit for the family larder
when the Bucks rode through the
front gate. Living in a secluded area
where travelers seldom passed, they
had not heard of the gang’s organiza-
tion nor its depredations.

Hassan greeted them pleasantly and
asked if they were hunting.

“Sort of,” Buck replied. The out-
laws dismounted and asked for water.

Hassan arose and started to the
well for a fresh pail when he discov-
ered that one of the number was
Lewis Davis. Hassan had built a snug,
split-rail fence around his place. A
few weeks previously he had asked
Davis to please close the gates when
he passed through the farm. Davis,
cursing, had told him: “I got more
important things to do; I oughta tear
down the whole fence!”

Hassan could only guess what ill
will he bore him now. He hesitated,
turned pale and slowly started back-
ing toward the corner of the house,
hoping to reach cover, then enter a
side door inside which hung his Win-

THEY WOULD GO DOWN AS THE MEANEST,
DIRTIEST LITTLE BAND OF OUTLAWS IN AMERICA

The Sunday afternoon quiet of
July 28, 1895, in the struggling little
village of Okmulgee, capital of the
Creek Nation, Indian Territory, was
suddenly shattered by a loud whoop
and the roar of a six-shooter. Alec
Berryhill, an Indian policeman, was
standing in the drug store talking to
Doctor Bell, the proprietor. They
glimpsed a horse and rider sweep past
the window. By the time they
reached the doorway, the horseman
had disappeared in a patch of timber
at the edge of town.

Old man Parkinson, who operated
a grocery store on the corner of 7th
and Morton, came running up the
street. ‘“Doc Bell,” he cried, ‘‘You’re
needed at my place--Marshal Garrett
has been shot! Hurry!”’

City Marshal John Garett lay on
the floor, the shadow of death on his
face, a .45 slug in his chest near the
heart and bleeding badly. He strug-
gled to sit up as Doctor Bell reached
him.

Doctor Bell eased him back and

did what he could to staunch the
flow of blood. ‘‘Who shot you?” he
demanded.

The marshal muttered to words:
“Rufus Buck. . .” then lapsed into a
coma. A few moments later, he was
dead.

Parkinson finished the story. Rufus
Buck was in process of robbing his
store when Garrett came in and com-
manded him to raise his hands. In-
stead, Buck had whirled and shot the
marshal, leaped on his horse and rode
away.

Berryhill organized a posse and
rode out to apprehend the outlaw.
Heknew-~Buck well. Rufus was a half-
breed member of the Euchee band, a
stocky built youth of 22, with wild
black hair and sullen, fiendish black
‘eyes. As a boy he had been kicked
out of the old Wealaka Mission
Boarding School for being unruly. His
father, John Buck, a prominent Euch-
ee politician, had done little to curb

his son’s sheer bravado and wanton- ~

ness. Already Rufus had served a
term in the federal prison at Fort

The Buck Gang, finally in chains but
still defiant.~ From left: Maomi July,
Sam Sampson, Rufus Buck, Lucky Davis
and Lewis Davis. Their crimes were
raw; their justice was swift

by DEAN GLYNN

Smith, Arkansas, for selling whiskey.
He was suspected of stealing several
horses and cattle from local ranches.
Marshal Garett had been keeping an
eye on him. Now Garret had ben
disposed of...

The posse searched for Buck the
rest of the afternoon and far into the
night. But the countryside seemed to
have swallowed him.

Deputy United States Marshal
Frank Jones, of Checotah, reached
Okmulgee the next day. He rode to
the home of Buck’s father near Weal-
aka, but no one was there. He lay in
wait around the place three days.
Finally, Rufus’ sister showed up and
pulled a gun on Jones, and Jones
disarmed her. But she knew nothing
of where Rufus was hiding.

When the Creek Nation heard of
Buck again, he was riding with his
whiskey-peddling friends Lewis Davis,
a Creek “Freedman,” and Lucky
Davis, Sam Sampson and Maomi July,
Creek fullbloods of the Cussetah trib-
al town, Tulwa. All had served terms
in the Fort Smith prison for offenses
committed in Indian Territory.

All were as twisted as Buck him-
self. They cared little for the money
and valuables they took, and cared
less, actually, for the cause Rufus
Buck claimed he was fighting for.

There had been wide-spread differ-
ences between fullbloods and mixed-
bloods in the creek tribe this year of
1895. Whites were entering the
country by the thousands, leasing
Creek lands, sneering at their metho
ds of self-government and painting
glowing pictures of statehood and the
advantages in casting their burdens
upon the strong shoulders of the
United States. Rufus Buck, like his
father, was for throwing the white
man out. While John Buck carried his
argument to the old _ rock-walled
Council House at Okmulgee (where
the two branches of the remnant of
Creek sovereignty, the House of War-
riors and the House of Kings, held
their sessions), Rufus claimed there
was a quicker way. What he really
needed was an excuse to shed blood
and pillage.

He had begun by robbing Parkin-
son’s store and killing City Marshal
Garrett.

For the next thirteen days, he and
his cohorts would write the most hor-
rible chapter in the annals of Indian
Territory brigandage. Their campaign
of terror across the Creek Nation

would make the Cook, Starr and Dal-
ton gangs, who preceeded them, look
like Sunday school superintendents.
They would go down as the meanest,

‘dirtiest little band of outlaws in

America.

Buck became their leader. Not be-
cause he had brains, but because he
seemed to be the most moronic and
depraved ot the five. They made no
attempt to conceal their criminal ac-
tivities, and thieved so often they be-
gan to make a joke of it and play
cruel tricks on tlfeir victims. .

While Deputy Marshal Jones
searched for Buck at his home near
Wealaka, Mary Wilson, a tenant farm-
er’s widow, was moving her house-
hold goods from one farm to another
a short distance to the north. Mrs.
Wilson was driving the lead wagon,
followed by her 14 year-old son,
Charles, and Freddie Malcolm, a
neighbor boy, in a second wagon,
when Buck and his companions burst
from the thick underbrush.

At sight of the woman, they halted
momentarily for a whispered conver-
sation. Then they came dashing up
on their steaming mounts in sweaty
dust-caked jeans, big black and white,
wide-brimmed hats and flapping vests,
long-shanked spurs Jingling, and six
shooters drawn.

First, they went through the
woman’s possessions. After taking her
money and what loot appealed to
them, they ordered the two boys to
drive on. Then Lucky Davis placed
his revolver to the woman’s head and
ordered her to get out of the wagon.

“Stand by, fellers,”” he challenged
his companions, “and watch how an
expert makes love.”’

After he had ravished the woman,

the other four nodded their approval,

then fired at her feet as she fled into
the brush. The boys finally returned
to find her unconscious and near

. death from fright and abuse. They

hauled her to her home and sum-
moned a doctor.

The gang continued north. Near
the little village of Natura, they met

another woman named Ayers, travel-. ae
ing horseback. They seized her, ~~

dragged her from the saddle and sad-
istically subjected her to a series of
carnal ‘“‘tests,”’
“‘competitions.”” When she was barely
conscious and only half alive, Buck
yelled, ‘‘Let’s ride!’”? and the band
galloped off in search of new victims.

Eight miles farther, on Berryhill

“experiments” and -

ace ais SPREE DS

chester. He gained the corner safely,
and ran towards the door. As he
started to enter, he was stopped by
Maomi July, who already had entered
the front of the cabin and securing
the coveted rifle now brushed his
face with its muzzle. Sam Sampson
ran up and covered him with a six-
shooter.

With vile oaths, the pair hustled
him back to the arbor. Rufus Buck
shoved him into a chair. ‘‘Make an-
other move,’ he warned, ‘‘and we'll
blow your brains out both ears at
once!”” Turning to Mrs. Hassan, he
ordered: ‘‘Cook us a good meal, wo-
man, and be damn’ quick about it!”

The old mother shushed the fright-
ened children. Inside the cabin, Ros-
etta put more wood in the stove and
hurriedly prepared ham and eggs and
black coffee.

While Lew Davis stood guard over
Hassan, the rest of the gang rifled the
house top to bottom. They appropri-
ated $5.95 cash, a suit of clothing,
some baby dresses, various articles of
feminine apparel, and whatever struck
their fancy. The snickered like imps
from damnation and cavorted about
with the undergarments of the poor
woman.

Then they hunkered at the table,
gulping down platters of food and
coffee, and stared at Mrs. Hassan in
ominous silence. Their darkest foulest
crime was beginning. The meal fin-
ished, they came out and stood guard
over Hassan, the old mother and
children, while Lewis Davis went in
to dinner. ;

The smelly, sullen freedman wolfed
down his food quickly, eyeing Mrs.
Hassan’s ripe figure. His appetite ap-
peased, he told her: ‘‘You go to the
barn with me.”

Mrs. Hassan pleaded with him not
to take her away from her husband
and babies. Davis snarled: ‘“‘We’ll kill
your husband and throw the God
damn’ brats in the creek!”

Believing it was the only way to
save her family, the woman finally
obeyed. She walked to the barn,
while Lewis Davis held the muzzle of
his six-shooter close to her head. In-
side, he ordered her to lie down...

What happened afterward was re-

_ peated, one, two, three, four times,

each of the slobbering, sweating
brutes taking his turn at the revolting

The Fort Smith Federal Court where
the Buck Gang was tried for the rape

of Rosetta Hassan. Judge Parker is
on the bench, trial jury on the right.
(Photos from the author's collection.)

crime while at all times three of the
gang remained ready to send bullets
crashing through the head of her hus-
band if he attempted to remon-
strance.

Their lusts satisfied, they mounted
their horses, ordered Hassan to re-
move his boots and walk to the creek
before them. Here, for another half
hour, they amused themselves by
making him dance, firing random
shots at his bare feet to keep the jig
lively. Next, they threw him in the
water, then compelled him to wrestle
and fight them until he could stand
the ache and pain in his muscles no
longer and dropped in a faint from
sheer exhaustion. Rusfus Buck awoke
him with a couple of back handed
blows, and this parting warning: “If
you ever appear against us, we'll
come back and kill you.”

To his companions Buck remarked:
“After this day, other whites will
think ten times before even entering
the territory to work the soil of an-
other Indian!”’

The rapist-robbers whooped in
agreement, and rode off.

A few minutes later, a neighbor
driving past discovered the badly
beaten and bruised farmer. Hassan
crawled painfully into the wagon, and
they drove quickly to help his wife.
They found the old mother, virtually
helpless from the infirmities of age,
in the yard sobbing and trying to
quiet the screaming children. Rosetta
was missing.

“Where is she? ” cried Hassan.
‘‘Where did she go?”

The old mother could only shake
her head and point toward a nearby
cornfield. Hassan saw the tracks then
where his wife had dragged herself
from the barn into the corn to hide.
There he found her, trying to cover

her shame with the ragged remnant —
of her bloody skirt and babbling half
out of her mind from apprehension.
Gently he carried her to the house,
while the neighbor went for a doctor.

Word of their ordeal spread like
wildfire, adding fuel to the fever of
fear that already swept the country-
side. White men everywhere, shocked
and horrified, vowed such bitter,
fierce vengeance on the terrorists that
it must have shaken the old gallows
of ‘‘Hanging Judge” Isaac C. Parker’s

- court at Fort Smith.

S.M. Rutherford, United States
Marshal for the Northern District of
the Indian Territory, at Muskogee, or-
dered every available deputy on the
Buck gang’s trail. Within twenty-four
hours, thirty armed manhunters, -
equipped to spend weeks in the field
if necessary, set out to hound down
the inhuman wretches.

It was also too much for the Creek -
natives, who still didn’t like the
whites, but realized that wild animals
like the Bucks must die. The Creek
Lighthorse (Indian police), under
Captain Edmund Harry, were dis-
patched in full force.

They scoured the country two
hard days and nights, while Buck
kept his thugs on the move, down
through the Tuskegee hills, across the
Deep Fork of the Canadian, through
the timbered valleys of Wolf and Salt
creeks.

On August 9th, the gang robbed
the Red Store at Norberg, driving
twenty persons down the creek, blaz-
ing at their heels with .45s and Win-
chesters, looted Orcutt’s store near
McDermott, and doubled back west
of Okmulgee to loot the general store
of a man named Knobble. They
bound Knobble hand and _ foot,
stuffed their saddle bags and two

Continued on page 75

er ——- 2.2 ee oe a

(

GHOST TOWNS AND MINING
TOWNS: In thinking about the great
gold and silver camps in the Ameri-
can West, there is a tendancy to con-
( sider only the true ghost towns, those
that are dead and deserted. These are
fascinating to visit--as with our trip to
Big Bad Bodie on pages 14-17 but
there are many bonanza camps that
never did die. Somehow they escaped
the almost inevitable fate of such
communities when the rich lode
j played out.
Along Highway 49, which winds
through the Sierra faothills in Cali-
} fornia’ Mother Lode country, there
are more than half a dozen major
gold camps that are still very much
alive and flourishing, even though
mining and placering are now only
weekend hobbies--Nevada City, Grass
Valley, Auburn, Placerville, Jackson,
Sonora. In the Southern Mines of the
Mother Lode there is Columbia, an
inhabited “ghost town’? and State
Park. Columbia is a beautifully pre-
served and maintained example of the
« Gold Rush days.

Virginia City, southest of Reno,
isn’t as meticulously preserved as Col-
umbia, but it certainly maintains a
livelier frontier spirit, with a dozen
old-fashioned saloons open all year.
With gambling legal in Nevada, you
can “belly up to the majogany”’ or
) “buck the tiger’? very much as it was
) “due in the boom years, a century or
‘more ago.

to roam the deserted ghost towns and
abandoned mining areas of the West,

METAL DETECTORS: If you plan
remember one thing. Many of the

| the Glory Hole :

EXPLORING THE WEST TODAY
by W.R.C. SHEDENHELM

miners and prospectors buried their
pokes of gold to keep them safe.
Some forgot where they had buried
their nuggets, some were killed in
mine accidents and shootings, and a
great many more took sick and were
shipped ‘‘back to the States” without
recovering their caches. The modern,
transistorized metal detector is light-
weight and extremely sensitive, and is
certainly as essential to the modern
day prospector as ever a gold pan
was.

TOYOTA LAND CRUISERS: For
the Bodie trip we borrowed the sta-
tionwagon version, and a few years
back crossed every pass across the
Sierra Nevada-- from Tehachapi on
the south to Beckwourth on the
north--in the smaller soft-top model.
These Japanese-made jeeps are incred-

- ibly rugged, will go almost anywhere

with their four-wheel drive and two-
speed transfer gears, yet can be
driven at competitive highway speeds.
The factory claims a top speed of 85
mph; we’ve never tried this, but

Femme al

we’ve found that 65-70 mph is a
comfortable cinch.
or a, a Ry O00. gt

|
|
|
|
|

BUCK GANG’S
13 DAYS OF TERROR

Continued from page 55

gunny sacks with clothing, coffee,
meat, tobacco and ammunition, and
fled north.

This was great fun.

But it didn’t last long. At noon
next day they halted in a little glade
at the base of a flat-topped hill near
Preston to rest their horses and began
arguing over how the plunder should
be divided.

Rufus Buck didn’t like it. He told
his thugs he would divide the loot
himself and, since he was the leader,
take first choice. The others didn’t
like that. They started quarreling
again. At that moment they were
sighted by Deputy Marshals Sam
Haynes and N.B. Irwin and Captain
Harry and his Indian police.

The officers attacked from three
sides, firing into their midst. Strange-
ly, none of the five were hit, but the
onslaught was so sudden, so unex-
pected, the gang had no time to
mount. With muffled oaths, they
grabbed their rifles and ammunition
and fled to the top of the plateau,
pumping veueys at the pursuers be-
low.

The heated tattle continued nearly
an hour. The officers spread around

the base of the hill, firing and moving -

upward behind rocks and bushes as
safety permitted, by degrees. The
outlaws, flattened around the rim,
kept up a rattling reply. When their
weapons were empty, they would re-
tire to the center of the knob, reload,
creep back to the edge and fire again.
The gunfire echoed through the
countryside until nearly 100 citizens
hunting the gang arrived on the scene
and joined the fight.

Shortly after 1 p.m., just as federal
court convened, a dispatch reached
Fort Smith that the huge posse had
the Buck gang surrounded. Their vic-
ious acts had filled the border press;
their names were on everybody’s lips.

Like a flash the news of the possibil-,

ity of their capture found its way to
every nook and cranny of the city.

It reached the 400 persons who
packed the corridors and courtroom
to hear, the petty cases being tried;
instantly everything was confusion.
Judge Parker smiled pleasantly, called
for order in the court and proceeded
with the regular business.

Then came a second dispatch an-
nouncing that more than 100 citizens
had joined the deputy marshals and
Indian police. ‘‘There is no chance
for the Bucks to escape!”’

The bustle in the gourtroon tin? ya

Rcithhdewatoalntin Aeiae ucocathstiieeet

creased. Attorneys even forgot to ask
questions and witnesses to answer
them. Again and again, Judge Parker
called for the bailiffs to preserve or-
der. But his tone was kindly, and he
seemed to join with the crowd in
secret exultation. The eager uneasi-
ness continued throughout the after-
noon, and Judge Parker’s voice would
Sing out over and anon:

“The United States against------- :
bring in the prisoner; swear the wit-

_Nesses; order in the court!”’

And when court finally adjourned,
everyone hurried to the telegraph and
newspaper offices to learn of any
later reports on the fight and gath-
ered in little knots on the streets to
discuss its probable outcome.

Marshal Rutherford hurried from
Muskogee with a fresh posse, reaching
the scene at dusk. The constant

‘pumping of lead with the accompany-

ing flashes gave the appearance of a
blaze of fire, and smoke hung over
the knob so thickly the belligerents
were sometimes hidden from each
other. The officers had worked their
way almost to the top by lying full
length on the ground, hugging grass
roots and firing upwards at an angle
of thirty degrees.

Finally, an old Indian named Shan-
sey, rose bravely to his feet and
yelled: “I’ve had enough of this;
Let’s stand up and fight like men!”

At the same time he pushed a
dynamite cartridge into his rifle. in-
tended to stand only the force of
exploding gunpowder, raised the
weapon and pulled the trigger.

The explosive struck the rim at the
point where the gang’s fire was con-
centrated. A piece of the shell cut
Rufus Buck’s cartridge belt, and as it
dropped to the ground, he threw
down his Winchester and fled. This
demoralized the gang and all ran pell
mell down the opposite side of the
hill into the arms of Rutherford’s
posse. In a few moments, all five had
been manacled and put in chains.

Bonfires glowed over the country-
side as hundreds of people, who a
few days before would rather have
met Satan himself, eagerly gathered
to get a peep at the terrible bucks.
During the early evening muffled
threats were made. Soon lynching
was being talked of openly. The
Creeks had been repeatedly accused
by the whites of laxity in upholding
the law and failure to assist in its
prosecution. They smarted under the
accusation, and here was an oppor-
tunity to work summary punishment

at rope’s end, ss

Marshal Rutherford told them:
“You cannot have the prisoners with-
out a fight, and my men will shoot

straight. The life of one of you is not
worth the lives of all five of them!”
Coolly, dispassionately, he assured
the crowd: “If left to me and my
deputies, they will be landed in the
Fort Smith jail where swift justice
will be meted out.”

He referred to the austere, white-
haired Judge Parker, who already had
ordered 162 men to die and hanged
seventy of them, and added:

“I promise they will be tried be-
fore him.”

The Creeks moved back, gathering
around their fires in ominous silence.
Rutherford consulted earnestly with
the prisoners. He told them if they
remained there they would be
lynched; that, in the darkness, he be-
lieved the officers could easily steal
them through the lines, but for the
clanking of the heavy chains that
bound them together. It is a matter
of record that these wretches, who
had so little regard for- the lives of
others, but valued their own so high-
ly, picked up the chains and carried
them a full half mile without a
sound, From this point the prisoners
were rushed fifty miles to Muskogee,
where they hastily boarded a conven-
ient train.

The grim cargo reached Fort Smith
on Sunday morning, August 11th.
Several hundred persons jammed the
missouri-pacific depot on the bank of
the Arkansas at the end of Garrison
avenue for their first view of these
“friends in human form.”

There was no time lost. Garrison
avenue ran _ southeasterly. Three
blocks from the depot was the gate
to the old government barracks enclo-
sure, from where a path led diagon-
ally south to the federal jail. The
crowd fell back as the prisoners came
off the train, their chains clanking at
every step. The marshals headed for
the sidewalk, some leading the way
and others bringing up the rear. The
crowd closed in and followed only
after the procession had marched a
safe distance. Somebody ran to a
nearby church and began ringing a
bell. Within a few minutes every
church bell’ in town was tolling the
news that this fierce band had been
brought to know the majesty of ‘the
law. ee,

During the week Assistant District
Attorney Buck McDonough gathered
a mass of evidence concerning their
crimes. The rape of Rosetta Hassan,
considered the most vile of their
deeds, was laid before the grand jury
and an indictment returned August
19th. Their trial was held September
23rd. When the story of their human
savagery and brutality had been pre-
sented, William M. Cravens, one of
the give attorneys appointed for the

defense, arose and stated, simply,
“May it please the court and you
gentlemen of the jury. . I have
nothing to say.” The jury returned a
guilty verdict within three minutes.
Two days later, all five appeared
for sentencing before Judge Parker.
The judge was a big man, over six
feet tall and weighing 200 pounds.
His deep voice rolled to the corridors
and every corner of the courtroom.
“The verdict is an entirely just
one, and one that must be approved

- by all lovers of virtue. . .

“The lawmakers of the United
States have deemed your offense
equal in enormity and wickedness to
murder. It has been proven beyond
question the manner of its commis-
sion leaves no ground for the exten-
sion of sympath. . .

“I sentence you, Rufus Buck, to
be hanged by the neck until dead.
May God, whose laws you have —
broken, and before whose tribunal
you must now appear, have mercy on
your soul!” :

The sentence was then pronounced
upon each of the remaing four, being
interpreted to Maomi July by a Creek
squaw. Judge Parker set October 31st
as the date of execution. °

Lucky Davis sneered. The others
“exhibited no sign of emotion and
seemed to care nothing for it.”’

A stay was afterwards issued to
await the results of Rufus Buck’s ap-
peal to the Supreme Court on
grounds that, if given an opportunity,
he could prove an alibi. But the high-
er court affirmed the decision of the
Fort Smith court, and the members

_ of the gang were re-sentenced to be

hanged on July 1, 1896.

The five sat on a bench on the
gibbett and glanced over its hideous
paraphernalia as the death warrants
were read to them by Colonel George
J. Crump, the United States Marshal.
Then he asked each in turn, ‘Have
you anything to say?’

“No,” they replied, one by one,
till he came to Lewis Davis. “I would
like to be hanged by myself, ” he
said. .

To this Colonel Crump objected.
The questioning over, he motioned
the men to stand on the hinged trap
under the dangling ropes. Gazing over
the crowd, Buck saluted the throng.
Lucky Davis saw one of his relatives
standing in the corner of the yard,
and called, ‘‘Goodbye.”’ .

The black caps were adjusted, the
lever pulled. The cumbersome trap
dropped with a heavy “chug,” and all
that was left of the terrible Bucks
hung limp and quivering. es

Fort Smith felt easier, and out in ; te
the Creek Country all breathed more

freely again.
75

be Scop ai

66] ITTLE BOY, tell truth!” Lewis Davis

shook his finger at ten-year-old
J. I. Belford. Davis was displeased with
young Belford, who certainly was not the
first to be admonished by an elder and
obviously not the last boy to receive the
time-honored admonition—this was seven-
ty-nine years ago.

But J. I. Belford had a good reason for
fibbing. Lewis Davis was a member of
the notorious Buck Gang that was terror-
izing the Indian Territory, eleven years
before Oklahoma statehood; and young
Belford was instrumental in directing the

- posse that captured this “unholy gang.”

Now ninety years of age, J. I. Belford
has been a Tulsa resident since 1953, when
he retired and: moved from Beggs.

It had been Belford’s first. visit to
Tulsa in 1893 which led to his ultimate
encounter with the Buck Gang. His father,
N. R. “Newt” Belford, a Missourian with
a family consisting of. a wife and three
small children, had followed the Frisco
Railroad tracks in a covered wagon south
from Kansas. Newt. paused in Tulsa to
board with relatives until he could find a

suitable site for a trading post. J. Ii, his

oldest son, was eight years old, the girl
was five, and the other son was two.

J. I. quickly formed a friendship with::

his Cousin Frank, who was about the
same age. “He and I fished in streams
quite a bit,’ Belford recalls, “and we

didn’t have to’ go very far from Main —~

Street to do it.” He also, recalls attending

| Even a child wasn't safe ~

7M. 5
% A oe

sa. J. I. Belford is the last surviving’

~< days.

ui 66Q)F COURSE my father had heard
oh that the Indian Territory was a

/ated,” Belford says, “but like most new
settlers, we didn’t pay much attention to

showed me-three bullet: holes in a tele-

riding on a galloping horse. Those three

»- prominent pioneer ranchers in the area.
) Their spread ‘had a_stock-watering pond
that was later encompassed by the grow-
ing town. For years the pond was known

<<: of the present town of Beggs. * >. <4
hide house of green lumber with a shake

those shakes. Then’ he built. the store. It
was made of cottonwood’ 1x12s with a
cedar shingle roof. The store’ opened in
1894 with stock purchased from‘the J.°M.
+Hall store in Tulsa. Soon: we had a ‘post
office in our .store, ‘and “it: was) named
M“

‘July-August, 1976

“services at a-brush arbor which was the |;
forerunner of the present-day Boston =
Avenue United Methodist, Church in Tul-_:

*“ attendee of that congregation’s fledgling
&coner fgets

place where gunslinging outlaws oper- :

the stories. Then. Cousin Frank took me 5
to a little road by.the Tulsey “depot, He °

graph pole where, the year before, Bob —-
“tex Dalton had _ fired “a six-shooter while >

{bullet holes were finger-level in the pole.
_—he really knew how'to handle a gun.” )
A. D, arid Adaline Hodge Orcutt were:

as Orcutt Lake. (Today it isthe sylvan ~
setting of Swan Lake at. 18th and Utica °~
Streets.) The Orcutts aided. Newt Bel- .
«ford in selecting. a' site for his trading ~
. post, about five and a half miles ‘north 2" Top: The massive gallows at Fort

“Father built our hovse first—a raw- =~

roof. I. think.I must’ haye*made ‘half. of.

Orcutt). Ie T.,after® A\LD,: dnd* Adaline:

Orcutt. A part of ‘my chores was back-
stamping incoming letters. With a store

and postoffice, we became well acquainted ~

with all the settlers. By the time I was
ten years old I had my first meeting with
Lewis Davis:and Lucky Davis, both mem-=
bers of the Rufus Buck Gang.”

-The Buck Gang, while only thirteen
days on the scout—and‘ some say less—
established a heinous record that had
Indian Territory residents up in arms in
1895. Rufus Buck was a full blood Euchee
Indian. Gang members-were Sam Samp-
son, Lewis Davis, and Maomi July
(Creeks), and Lucky Davis (a Freedman).
The gang members had records of minor
offenses and each had been in Judge Isaac
C. Parker’s Federal Court at Fort Smith,
Arkansas. But they progressed to felony
on July 28, 1895 when Rufus Buck shot
and ‘killed City’ Marshal John Garrett. of

‘wanted the city marshal out of the way

anyhow, because the officer had become
suspicious of the gang’s activities with
livestock belonging to’ settlers. Rufus
Buck was boasting that his gang would .
make “settlers sit up and take notice.”
The boast was not an idle one.

Most of the outlaws during the In-

dian Territory days of Oklahoma
sought material things—bank deposits,
railway express car valuables, wallets,
watches and jewelry of individuals, and
fine livestock on remote ranches. If there
is a credit side of the ledger for those
outlaws who kept Judge Parker’s mar-
shals busy, it was the fact that they shied
from any mistreatment of women, 4

BY C. H. McKENNON >

Photos Courtesy Author

Opposite left: The Buck Gang in =
“leg irons (left to right): Maomi <
July, Sam Sampson, Rufus Buck,
. Lucky Davis and Lewis Davis.

» Smith. The Buck Gang, hanged

+ as a quintet, were numbers 74,”
75, 76. 77 and 78 out of the total -
79 culprits sentenced to the gal-
lows by Judge Isaac C. Parker.
+ Above: A. D. Orcutt. Above right: |:
]. I. Belford knew the members.
+ of the gang when he was a boy
in the Indian Territory. Right: N.
R. “Newt” Belford rounded up a

\O hy
ON® ct
oO g

i!
it

Not so for the Buck Gang, whose mem-*

bers were branded a “depraved bunch of
dogs” by the newspapers of 1895. And

~ Indian Territory residents, both Indians

- and whites, thought this was an insult to

the dog population.

After the shooting of Marshal Garrett,
the gang rode away from Okmulgee and
encountered widow Mary Wilson on the
road. She was in the process of moving
from one farm to another, using two
wagons driven by her young son and @
hired man, At gun point, the gang or-
dered Mrs. Wilson out of the wagon, and
made the wagon drivers proceed. Each
member of the gang then brutally assault-
ed the woman. Later, as she fled hys-
terically down the road, they fired shots
at her heels.

The outlaws next encountered a horse-

~ man, Jim Staley. They robbed him of his

ipo

horse and saddle, fifty dollars, and a gold .

watch. They also debated among them-
selves about shooting their victim but for

“/ some reason let the terrified man flee un-

harmed. Probably they enjoyed his fright
too much to shoot him.
The Buck Gang then headed for the

" Herford Ranch, not far from the Belford .
Racans “S. ;

store. The ranch foreman, Gus Chambers,’

was known to have fine horses on the
spread, and the gang intended to steal
them. However, Chambers managed to
reach refuge in his house and was able

to protect the corral gate with blasts ‘
from his shotgun. Frustrated, the gang *

riddled Chambers’ house with rifle fire
and left.

The next victim was Benton Callahan,
a stockman. The gang robbed him and
even took his clothes and boots. They then
amused themselves by firing at Callahan
as he fled naked. Some stray~ shots
wounded the stockman’s hired hand. ~

At the prompting of Lewis Davis, the
Buck Gang next went to Henry “Hank”

\« Hassen’s ranch near Newt Belford’s

store. As soon as the armed bunch of
ruffians accosted Hassen he knew someé-
thing was in the wind. He had argued
some time previously with Lewis Davis

over Creek tribal affairs, during which’
he had noticed Davis’ close scrutiny.| of
his wife, pretty Rosetta Hassen.” é
Hassen tried to defend himself. He ran
into his house to get his Winchester rifle,
but Maomi, July, entering the back door,
beat him to the weapon. Others in the
house were Rosetta’s aged mother and
three small Hassen children. Roughly
Rufus Buck ordered the old lady to take
the three children and leave, or he would.
“throw the damn brats in the creek.” Then
the gang leader told Rosetta to prepare
a meal. t :
After stuffing themselves, the gang
_members ransacked the house, taking all
valuables they could find, including wom-
en’s apparel. For a time the outlaws
amused themselves by donning feminine
bits of clothing and cavorting “like Sa-

tan’s imps.” Then Lewis Davis took Ros-.”

etta Hassen out to the barn while the

other gang mambers kept their rifle

© tridge belt with holstered six-gun and two.
“hats at the®store; stating that he had
‘found them “under. a «tree. This honest
“fellow said that he found the articles not:
~ far from the.store, and the owners would
“probably be by. asking about:their prop-’

Left: Deputy Marshal Sam Haynes led the, +

manhunt. Above: Deputy Marshal Bud Led-
better. Right! Deputy Marshal Paden
“bert helped avoid a lynching. 4 .-=

barrels jammed against Hank Hassen’s
~ head. One by one, the outlaws followed

Davis in the rape of Rosetta Hassen. La-
- ter she fled in a state of shock to a near-
by orchard. ;

When Hassen’s hired man came to the
house, the outlaws, covering the surprised
man with their rifles, decided to give him
a good scare. They forced him to “wrestle
and dance” with Hank Hassen in a pool
of water. The outlaws fired shots at
their victims’ feet to “keep them moving.”
‘sTiring of their sport, the ruffians mount-

cartridge belt and he would find twenty-\
“one dollars,” J. I, Belford: stated, “and =
“he was surprised when he found them
“. The real owner of’ the hogs; Jensie George =24

Tol- =

interesting sidelights about the infamous
Buck Gang: : : : :
Shortly before the gang. went: on its
rampage, Lewis-and Lucky Davis camé @
to Newt Belford’s store with twenty-three
fine hogs they wanted-to sell. Newt sus-
pected. that; the hogs” were stolen ‘ but»
Lewis’ insisted, that he and Lucky had
“raised them back in the woods.” Newt.)
remarked ‘casually to Lewis that he had
not made a trip to the Tulsa bank lately.
and that he had only ‘$21 in cash. He of-
fered that amount for the hogs and bal-
ance in trade at the store. Lewis decided ©
he would take Hostetter’s Bitters in trade ‘
and accepted Newt’s twenty-one’ silver “41:
dollars. :
J..I. Belford, an interested ten-year-old. *!
spectator, saw Lewis furtively hide the big
coins in a Secret coin pocket of his car-
tridge bélt... Then Lewis and Lucky’ “>.
grabbed ‘up their bottles, of bitters‘and,
loft. hse ; pe
The next .day

a passerby left a car.

erty. es & ‘
“T told my father to look inside: thes.

who lived nearby with her husband, had

already been by, identified her property, ~

and herded. them home.” j '
Lewis and Lucky-Davis had gone on a

sed their horses and warned the two ex-. §

hausted men that they would ‘come back
and silence them for good” if they” re-
“ported the incident. The outlaws then

spurred their horses. into ‘gallops. and °

S-rode: away... rt

ey ee as NE

J. BELFORD in recalling those hectic
,.J* days of his boyhood, provides’ some

Ness wie i True West

“<- “bitters binge” and left the gun be
<> hats under: the trees +> :

* but» I-could hear hint telling - my: father

‘but he suffered from chills occasionally.

.. Creeks. Including his father, Newt Bel-

officers who battled

It and ©
inet

“After the attack of' the Buck Gang on ;
Hank Hassen’s wife.”’ Belford said, “Hank:
came to our place. I was already.in bed:

about it. Father saddled a horsé and rode’ « »
off to gather a posse. Each neighbor he
contacted saddled. up and notified oné ~
other neighbor. By sunup there were over. ~
a hundred ‘armed men gathered ‘at the
store. Be See

‘“Lewis Davis knew that Hank Hassen’
was a professional buck-and-wing dancery

that: made his muscles cramp. That’ was :
why Lewis. forced Hank; andthe hired
man to wrestle in water. He made'them,
get’into a spring near the Hassen ranch, . ©
and the water was icy cold. That would
put a stop to Hank’s dancing for. somé
time!?? Asie 22: pas Bia paca

Belford recalls some of thé people who
formed the posse, many of whom were

ford, they were:.Hank Hassen, “Cicero.
era ton oma Ses BS < ae
SP ee : ; :

Above: Deputy Marshals Yoha West (left) and John Peacock were among the Federal
the Buck Gang. Below: Deputy Marshal Frank Jones joined in the
pursuit. > Ei Ag Rae ete SNS 2 Seu ;

JulysAugust, 1976—

“ney Sewel, Dave onakya, Ben McIntosh, ”
© John Lunsford, Ben. Grayson, Jo Friday,
©’ Pleasant “Duke” Berryhill, Dave Deri-—
>.saw, Turner Taylor and Albert Stake,;" =

«= “We'll be back.”

“Stevens, Han ) Alex McNack, Par- |

Also in the posse were Lighthorse Cap- —
tain Edmund. Harry and Lighthorsemen

N. B. Irwin joined the group
* soon: followed. suit. 4-4.

a a i ne |

the angry posse, began to feel the
pangs of hunger. On August 7, the gang
stomped into Newt Belford’s place of —
business. Young Belford was “minding
the store” and he recalls his uneasiness: ©
“Lewis Davis announced that the bunch
was, hungry. I cut a big slice off a wheel
of cheese and told them to help them-
selves to cans of sardines and crackers.”
After they had stuffed themselves,
Lewis handed the boy a ten-dollar bill.
- But Newt Belford had the foresight not
to leave cash in the store while he was
* away on posse duty. s 3
“TJ don’t have any change in the cash .
drawer,” J. I. explained to the outlaw.
“That’s all right,”.Lewis Davis replied.

' When Newt Belford checked in at his }
home for a few minutes’ respite from ;

~ manhunting, he gave the store key to his t
young son. It was Newt’s opinion :that - i
the outlaws would not harm a small boy, :

* and there was no use of their having to i
break down the door if they came back.

On August 9, the Buck. Gang did: re-
turn. J, I. Belford and his six-year-old
‘brother were in the store when the out-
laws entered, Lewis Davis immediately
wanted to know the whereabouts of Newt
Belford. ‘

“Where’s your pappy ?” Lewis growled.

“Didn’t you see him at the hog. pen.
when you were riding in?” Am
_ “He ain’t there,” Lewis growled again.

“Maybe he is up in the orchard,” J. I.
suggested. :

Then the youngest Belford boy piped
up: “He ain’t neither—he’s out hunting -
the Buck Gang!” . :

The men. laughed uproariously at the —
startled look on J. I. Belford’s face. Then
Lewis Davis turned to him and made the
old-fashioned “for shame” gesture -with
the two forefingers of his hand. 3

“Little boy, tell truth!”- he ordered.

With this warning. Lewis Davis quickly
got down to business. He plucked a pair
of boots that hung on the center post of
the store, and cut about a yard and a
half of quarter-inch rope from a coil to
tie the boots together. Then he went be-
hind the counter and stuffed the boots
full of cartridges, including shotgun
shells. At this moment, Freeland Bruner,

a Creek who was suspected of riding with
the Buck Gang, entered the store. Bruner
shook hands with the gang members and © >
they chatted, sometimes in Creek, some
times in Euchee; and a few times in Eng-
lish. J.. I. overheard some startling re- —
marks when the group lapsed into. Eng-
lish: iat

“Where you go next?” Bruner inquired.

“We go Tuesday sunup around lake,
arid south. to. the spring and east.to the

xe (Continued on page 48) 2
27

pposite direction by five
1 guns drawn. Within two
was afoot, robbed of $50
) listen to the outlaws as
1 about killing him. They
ted on it! Fortunately for
elieved Steffy, those in fa-
sly murder lost three to
e setting him free, they
oney, horse and saddle.
n five miles from the site
ffy robbery the outlaws
in. This time the victim’s
Wesley Calhoun who was
an Territory buying stock.
rchased about three dozen
| mules from area owners.
r had agreed to deliver the
stock pens in Okmulgee

inded
wasa
ib. When
er, they
ntire
tory to
in 13
7S.

|houn would take posses-

th the bulk of his bankroll
houn, with a black teenage
per, was on the way to Ok-
hey would spend the night
1 drive northeast to Fayet-
‘kansas.
ding the horse stolen from
> renegades accosted Cal-
the youngster, ordered
e ground and ordered Cal-
ind over his money and ex-
ots. When the stock buyer
o giving up his boots, he
for target practice. All ex-
hot missed. That one near-
his ear off.
‘wasn’t so lucky. Within
ts nest of buzzing bullets
which slammed into his
hough not immediately fa-
sed death within hours.
ntly, nothing within the

Buck gang list of events was given a
moments thought until it actually
happened. Meanwhile, however,
their animal instincts still in com-
plete charge of their direction, they

‘were riding at night near the ranch

of Gus Landers when one of the five
recalled that Landers maintained
many horses. Why not steal a few?
Run them to Sapulpa about 10 miles
distant and have them sold even be-
fore Landers discovered the loss?

But on Duck Creek where Landers
lived, the five outlaws made so
much noise attempting to steal hors-
es that the rancher, fully warned and
well armed, began blasting away at
the milling riders. Surprised and an-
gered by the unexpected resistance,
the horse thieves retreated just far
enough in the darkness to be rela-
tively safe. There they returned the
fire, opening up with all guns on the
Landers’ house. Dozens of holes
were blasted through the fragile
weather boarding.

Ironically, not a single bullet from
either side drew a particle of blood.
And the outlaws rode away with on-
ly one horse.

Calhoun, the stock buyer the bul-
lies had robbed and shot earlier, had
purchased a few of Landers’ better
horses. Calhoun also had politely de-
clined to even “name his own low
price,” for this same worthless horse
just stolen from Landers at great risk
of life and limb. By sunup, when the
outlaws had better light to really see
the inferior old animal, they turned it
loose on the prairie.

Still chagrined by the failed raid
on the Duck Creek horses, the Buck
outfit, determined to salvage some-
thing of the moment, robbed at gun
point a pair of isolated rural stores
located in that same area. Once
again, they just happened to ride by
these stores, one owned by Emanuel
Norcott, the other by William Or-
berg.

At both stores, located about five
miles apart, the gang followed an
identical pattern. They marched in
with guns drawn, announced the
holdup and started to loot the place.
Both unresisting store owners were
brutally beaten with pistols and ri-
fle butts and left for dead. But both
eventually recovered.

Saturday, August 10, promised to
be another sizzling hot day with
sweltering humidity. Early on, the
Rufus Buck outlaws sought shade

beneath a stand of trees on a gently
rising hillside a few miles south of
McDermott. They would take it easy,
divide their plunder from the store
robberies then lie back on the sun
bleached prairie grass and relax, per-
haps even sleep a little, while shel-
tered from the blazing heat.

Even as the outlaws boasted over
their heaping stack of spoils, at least
100 heavily armed men cautiously
maneuvered to surround them. Be-
cause of the hilly terrain it was rel-
atively easy for members of the
Creek Light Horse law enforcement
division and Deputy U.S. Marshals,
moving carefully around the base of
hills, to approach the outlaws’ posi-
tion. Equally concealed were con-
tingents of the citizens brigade.

To the astonishment of the five
complacent outlaws, hundreds of
bullets from every direction sud-
denly whistled around them. They
burned through the brown grass and
thudded into the dry ground, kick-
ing up little patches of dirt and
chipped slabs of trees. The desper-
adoes lurched for their horses that
were, by now, wild eyed and pan-
icked from the fusillade of gun fire.
One horse bolting down the hillside
and all others followed, leaving
Buck’s boys with their own panic,
on foot and scrambling frantically
for higher ground.

Paradoxically, the shady spot on
the hillside chosen by the outlaws
was about 200 feet below the sum-
mit. This was the highest ground
with a sweeping view of the entire
area. So they had the right hill but
the wrong altitude. From the top, a
lone sentry sitting in shade cast by
his horse could have easily spotted
the posse’s approach, giving the
band plenty of time to escape. That

‘they chose immediate, if temporary,

creature comfort over what amount-
ed to life or death was their final
thoughtless decision.

So now five frantic men, forced to
the summit of the hill, were raining
bullets down upon lawmen and out-
raged citizens of the Creek Indian
Nation. And there was no scarcity
of ammunition. Among the things
filched in the store robberies was a
large stock of ammunition for rifles
and handguns.

Despite scorching heat, the battle
dragged on for hours. Neither side
gave an inch of ground. It was
Lewis Davis, however, who first de-

cided to give it all to the determined
posse. Superficially nicked twice
with bullets, Davis reasoned that he
had had enough. He cut and ran. It’s
inexplicable that the route down the
hill Davis just happened to take was
completely unguarded. His escape
was clean, without a shot fired at
him. Freedom, however, was fleet-
ing; he was captured two days later.
’ Meanwhile back on the knob, Ru-
fus Buck, Sam Sampson, Maomi Ju-
ly and Luckey Davis fired and fell
back, reloaded, crawled to the edge,
fired and fell back.

Below them a segment of the law
officers and possemen decided they
had stretched their patience to its
limit with this deadly cat and mouse
game. To their knowledge, and
knowing nothing of Lewis Davis’
swift abandonment of his colleagues,
not a single outlaw had even been
winged with a bullet. Fortunately,
and rather miraculously, there was
no blood spilled on the side of the
lawmen either.

It was agreed among the officers
that, considering the extended time
of the siege, the outlaws just had to
be running low on ammunition. So
the minute it appeared that their rate
of fire was slowing significantly
would be the appropriate time to
mount a charge up the hill.

But the Creek Indian portion of the
posse, thinking that a charge was a
good idea, didn’t wait. They started
up that hill firing Winchesters as fast
as new rounds could be levered into
chambers.

Rufus Buck had his gun belt shot
away. As the force of the blow tore
it from his waist and spun him half
around, Buck flung his rifle away
and ran glassy-eyed and hysterical
down the back side of the hill. His
unchecked retreat triggered the same
reaction in his companions. They
dropped their rifles and followed
Buck, right into the waiting guns of
lawmen.

If the killers thought they would
be taken quickly and safely to the
federal jail in Fort Smith, Arkansas
they were mistaken. The battle had
lasted so many hours and was so
noisy it was the rare person within
miles who had not heard that the
dreaded Buck gang had been sur-
rounded. And because it was grow-
ing dark, the Deputy Marshals elect-
ed to wait until the next morning to

start for Fort Smith. So, an ominous
2§

crowd gathered near the shackled
rapists.

As the crowd grew by the hour,
there was more and more talk of
lynching the captives. Now more
than a hundred people, all in an ug-
ly mood, had gathered to urge an im-
mediate mass hanging. The situa-
tion became so serious that Marshal
S.M. Ruthorford spoke to the dis-
gruntled throng, assuring them that
the law would dispense the justice
due.

Apparently satisfied for the mo-
ment, the milling crowd split up in-
to small groups and went back to
their bonfires. But Rutherford and
his fellow law officers, huddled in
quiet conversation, agreed that the
reprieve was only temporary. Those
whipping up the notion for hanging
would, sooner or later, persuade oth-
ers to wait no longer and get the job
done. If they were to deliver live
Captives to Fort Smith, something
had to be done in a hurry.

“Boys,” Rutherford addressed the
thoroughly cowed fugitives, “as I see
it, you’ve got only one chance to get
out of this mess without being
lynched. Now, we’ve got to sneak
away in the dark and I mean do it so
quiet that not even a nervous horse
snickers. Understand what I mean?”

In unison the outlaws nodded their
heads. They had heard the talk of
lynching. They had seen the expres-
sions of hate and revenge on faces
pressing near them. Now they were
eager to cooperate with the law in

saving their worthless lives.

So, as inconspicuously as possible
under the prevailing circumstances,
individual officers began to lead their
horses away from lighted areas. Fi-
nally, enough horses, including those
for the captives, were in position to
be mounted and ridden away from
the trouble site.

Fifty miles later in Muscogee the
captives were put aboard a Missouri

Pacific Railroad train headed for Fort

Smith. Oklahoma Territory was
within the huge geographical baili-
wick of Federal Judge Ike Parker, the
“Hanging Judge” of Fort Smith.
Within hours of the time the Buck
gang was introduced to the bowels
of the federal jail, they were indict-
ed by grand jury for the multiple
rape of Roberta Hanson.

U.S. District Attorney James F.
Read, convinced that for the moment
the rape charge was most likely to
bring a conviction and the harshest
penalty from Judge Parker, decided
to first go with the best he had.
Nothing of murder or the rape of
Mrs. Stillson or armed robbery ap-
peared in the original indictment.

Read made the prudent choice. Ear-
ly Tuesday, August 20, the outlaws
were brought to court and arraigned.
After pleading not guilty, their trial
was to start September 23.

Judge Parker’s court was an ex-
ample of remarkably swift justice.
When Henry and Roberta Hanson
finished their precise and explicit de-
scriptions of those terrifying hours

Talisman.

secrecy. And inaccessibility.

P.O. Box 91, Rouses Point, N.Y. 12979-0091

Talisman Changes Lives For Millions

An extraordinary phenomenon is sweeping the North American continent, it was
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Money, wealth, happiness, love and prosperity unfold the moment the famous
Zarina’s Talisman is worn or carried. What is this Talisman? It is a specially minted
coin that mysteriously convert. upon the wearer or carrier an almost certain prop-
ensity for happiness and success in every venture of life. There is only one stipula-
tion, however. Instructions must be followed meticulously because for some pecul-
lar reason the effectiveness of the Talisman is dependent upon them. A set of these
Instructions is enclosed with each Talisman.

People who have worn or carried this mystical Talisman have reported an almost
immediate reversal of their luck. Most report that sooner or later their lives are
radically changed. Others report a gradual, though definite, change.

Madama Zarina is not available for comment though reporters have been dogging
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suffered at the hands of the Buck
gang, none of the five defense attor-
neys, astonishingly, had a word to
Say in rebuttal. They willingly
passed.

Of the same mind the jury retired i
from the courtroom for deliberation _| |
which took only seconds. Returning
even before their chairs had cooled,
they found all defendants guilty as
charged.

Equally extraordinary is that in-
stead of having the convicted felons
returned to their jail cells, Judge
Parker ordered them to remain seat-

ed in court. An unprecedented pro-
cedure was unfolding so rapidly that
it was precious time and effort wast-
ed to have the criminals taken back
E.

to jail.

Even as the infamous five had
heard announced the verdict which,
in all probability, would send them
to the gallows, the grand jury was
recommending their indictment for
the murder of the Deputy U.S. Mar-
shall at Okmulgee.

Now in the courtroom, Judge Park-
er quickly dismissed the first jury,
requested a second 12-man panel be
selected to replace them and, with
that done, immediately gaveled the
opening of the murder trial. By noon |
the following day, the second verdict |
of guilty was soberly announced.

The date for sentencing was set for
Wednesday, September 25, just two
days following the opening of the
case of rape against the Buck gang. 0 |

On that day, Judge Parker said that
the five were guilty of “one of the
most brutal, wicked, repulsive, and
dastardly crimes known in the annals F | T
of crime.” He then sentenced each
of them, “to be hanged by the neck __
until you are dead.” The following |
October 31 was the date set for exe-
cution. |

Because Luckey Davis insisted that |
his case go to the Supreme Court, |
there would be delays by appeal and |

awaiting the decision by that august
body. Nonetheless, the higher court
upheld Judge Parker’s decision. And
they didn’t take 10 years to do it.
To the contrary, all five criminals
walked up the steps to the Fort Smith
gallows July 1, 1896. They died less |
than a year from the day they hurled
their ill fated 13-day career into the |
depths of what Judge Parker called
“most horrid and brutal depravity.”
Not one of the five had yet reached
his 21st birthday. *

Metadata

Containers:: Box 44 (2-Documentation of Executions), Folder 31
Resource Type:: Document
Description:: David Herrold executed on 1865-07-07 in Washington, D.C. (DC) Mary Surratt executed on 1865-07-07 in Washington, D.C. (DC) George Atzerodt executed on 1865-07-07 in Washington, D.C. (DC)
Rights:: In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Date Uploaded:: July 8, 2019

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