Booth's Horse Fell....

[John Fazio]

(12-24-2016 11:01 AM)L Verge Wrote:  Thank you, John, for quoting complete statements made by Davis and Washington at the Mudd farm. It is human nature to only quote what one needs to prove a point, and many historians use that ability frequently and obscure some of the facts.

For fear of upsetting some people, I would like to clarify that Tim Good worked extensively with Michael Kauffman on his original Eyewitness thesis - for that is what his project started out as, a Master's thesis. Tim had heard Mike give a talk on the reliability of witnesses, and it meshed perfectly with Tim's work as an NPS ranger at Ford's. He approached Mike for guidance, and Mike was happy to help.

The thesis proved so successful that it led to a final book publication. Behind the scenes, however, there arose some dissension over whose research went into that publication. In the end, to me, the book has been a vital part of understanding the events at Ford's since it brought together, under one cover, statements that were otherwise floating around in sundry files.

DIFFERENT QUESTION: Shortly after "recovering" from a possible fall around Soper's Hill, the fugitives encountered Polk Gardiner and companion repairing a wagon near Jenkins Corner. I do not remember what the brief conversation was (other than asking directions?), but if anyone is privy to Gardiner's statement, does it mention injuries? Seems to me that they were the first to encounter Booth and Herold after the supposed fall.

Laurie:

As nearly as I can tell, Polk said nothing about an injury. In his trial testimony (Pitman, p. 85; Poore, Vol. I, p. 255) he said nothing about the riders' appearance either, though he did describe the horses and he did mention that both riders were riding "very fast". (In his statement, he quotes his companion as saying that both men were "riding their horses to death to overtake each other".) In his statement, however (LA, pp. 584-586), he describes Booth's and Herold's dress, including Booth's slouch hat, and then says something that may be significant to this discussion, namely that Booth "did not seem to have a strong voice; it appeared to be a high-keyed weak voice". I do not recall that Booth's voice was ever described as high-keyed and weak. That it was so described on this occasion would suggest that Booth was in pain. If so, it had to be from his fractured fibula and also, probably, his painful back. Inasmuch as Gardiner encountered Booth approximately three miles out of Washington, that would mean that the injury occurred when he fell to the stage or within approximately three miles of the city, still about 11 miles from the tavern. If the latter, that would mean that the fractured fibula, despite being described by Dr. Mudd as a slight injury, was already causing him so much pain that it affected his voice. That seems unlikely. It seems more likely, therefore, that the injury occurred in the theater and that he aggravated it by crossing the stage, making his way to the back door, "hopping out the back door", mounting his horse "with difficulty" and then bounding through the streets of the city to the bridge, after the crossing of which he then rode his horse "to death" to get away from the roiling city. That scenario seems more consistent with a level of pain that would affect his voice at the three-mile mark than an injury that occurred within that three-mile distance and that was described by Dr. Mudd as not being a serious injury.

John