Breaking a leg

[jonathan]

As a relative newcomer to the assassination compared to many of you, I really enjoy the questions and opinions regarding when Booth broke his leg. I know that some of you are weary of it, and I'm sure one day I will be too. But for the time being, I find myself wishing I knew exactly what was said and done at each step, down to the smallest detail, although I know this is just impossible. As far as when Booth broke his leg, I'm in the "leap to the stage" camp. I believe that the injury was aggravated during the escape, including a possible horse fall. But I just feel like the initial damage was done jumping to the stage. To me, many of the arguments of the horse fall theory are just kind of weak…

- They say nobody at the theater mentioned any kind of a limp. Well no kidding. Almost everybody in the theater had no idea what was going on…there's a man on stage brandishing a dagger, shouting something, crossing the stage and exiting the rear of the theater. Unless it was very obvious, I wouldn't expect anybody to notice. Do you really expect someone to say, "Oh, yeah, by the way, during those 10 seconds I happened to notice the guy had a slight limp"? Because I don't. Throw in the fact that by the time they were talking about it, the theatergoers knew Lincoln had been assassinated, and the trauma of that would likely have confused their minds, likely causing many of them to forget minor details. Also, keep in mind that the jump to the stage was not exactly a short one, it was done in haste, the spur got caught causing him to land awkwardly. That, to me, sounds like a fine recipe for an ankle/leg injury.

- They say he apparently mounted his horse with no problem. That may be true, but who can say for sure? He may have cringed in pain or cried out. How many witnesses were there? (Seriously, I'm asking, I'm not sure.) I know there was the guy who almost caught up to him (whose name I can't remember and don't feel like looking up), and there was Peanuts. There may have been others, I'm not sure. But how reliable are those accounts? It was dark, there was confusion. Were either of those guys really in a position to give a reliable account of how easy or difficult or painful it might have been for Booth to mount his horse? Additionally, as I've said before, I've played a lot of sports in my life, and I know for fact that you can play through all kinds of injuries when the adrenaline gets flowing. Booth's adrenaline would have been off the charts when he was making that initial getaway.

- They say that Booth appeared relaxed and pain free at the Navy Yard Bridge. Keep in mind that we're talking about a professional actor who was accustomed to performing under pressure. Throw in the fact that he was a very confident person to begin with, and also throw in the fact that his adrenaline level still would have been high, helping mask any pain that was there. Booth knew that getting across that bridge was a very big deal, and he would have been prepared to turn in a brilliant performance.

- They say that Booth and Herold told several people that Booth broke his leg from a horse fall. Okay, they also told several people his name was Boyd and that they were brothers and confederate soldiers returning home. Are those things also true? Let's not forget that fugitives on the run aren't generally above lying to aid their escape.

- They say Mudd's farmhand Thomas David said that the horse was lame. Okay, well it's not unreasonable to think that he might have lied. Maybe Mudd had some influence there.

- They say Booth's pants were muddy. Well was any other part of him muddy? If a man fell from a horse on a muddy dirt road, I would expect more of him to be muddy than his pants.

To me, these arguments, while believable, and just somewhat weak. I realize that the evidence for a jump from the box break is scant, but my gut just tells me that's the way it happened. Booth's diary stretches the truth, but he doesn't really make anything up. And as Laurie pointed out, the sequence of events regarding the attack and getaway are exactly in order. "In jumping broke my leg" can only mean one thing, and I believe that the jump to the stage is where the leg was broken. I may change my mind in the future, but for now that's what I believe.