Identification of Booth's body

[JMadonna]

(12-08-2018 02:23 PM)mikegriffith1 Wrote:  In reviewing Dr. John Frederick May’s three statements on the appearance of the body on the Montauk, I noticed something that I had not noticed before: In his April 27 statement, given to Joseph Holt, Dr. May said that the body looked “much older” than Booth did when he saw him less than two years earlier:

Q. Do you recognize the body as that of J. Wilkes Booth from its general appearance, and also from the particular appearance of the scar?

A. I do recognize it, though it is very much altered since I saw J. Booth. It looks to me much older, and in appearance much more freckled than he was. I do not recall that he was at all freckled.


Now, what would have caused Booth to look “much older” at 26 than he looked at 24 or 25, less than two years earlier?

First of all: Booth was far from what you would call an outdoors man. Sleeping under the stars was definitely not his thing and being forced to do so had to be a shock to his body.

Most freckles are produced by exposure to ultraviolet sunlight (feel free to look it up). Booth was described as a man with 'porcelain' skin. Freckling is common for individuals with less-pigmented skin. So 10 days of exposure would easily cause this in Booth's case.

Secondly: Your description of his flight makes it sound like is was a walk in the park. He was forced to stay outdoors and walk with a broken leg for 10 days and be exposed to the elements for 24 hrs/day. If you had to endure this treatment, I'll bet it would age you at least 2years too.

You claimed: "When he did sleep outdoors, he slept among many trees and under their cover."

Have you ever camped or slept on bare ground in April? I have and I can assure you its not cozy. There aren't many trees with leaves at that time of year so there is very little shelter from the rain. The ground is still frozen just inches under your body and with nothing more than a blanket Booth must have had to drink heavily.

Most likely he didn't get a solid 8 hours sleep per night. He probably had to wait until sunrise to get warm enough to sleep. You say he was fed but he couldn't have been eating enough to make up for all the calories he was burning trying to keep warm and survive.

You also claimed: "Contrary to later mythology, Booth was not “half-starved” and “haggered” during his flight."

I know of nobody who actually witnessed Booth during his flight ever make an assertion like this. Feel free to correct me if wrong - I don't know how he couldn't be haggered and half starved.