Mask For Treason

[mikegriffith1]

We have seen no evidence that Booth had saddlebags that would add extra weight.

Don't want to get into an old argument again with you,but its good to know you finally admit that Booth had no 'magic' saddlebags with which he carried an extra hat. ... Wild Bill rides again!!

I don't remember ever thinking that Booth did have saddlebags. What I didn't agree with was the idea that the assassin stopped by the boardinghouse on his ride out of town to retrieve an extra get-away hat.

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I love you, Gene Cook!

If Booth had no saddlebags & didn't stop to get a new hat - Then I guess Gene's solution is the only feasible solution.

Using a saddlebag was common, especially if you thought you were going to be gone a few days. The logical assumption is that Booth probably had one. But, if the field glass had a strap, he could have simply tied it to the saddle, if he had no saddlebag.

Since no one reported seeing Booth with a field glass after his alleged stop at Surrattsville, he either lost it somehow or simply left it at the tavern. Jones didn't see it with him. Nor did Cox. Nor did anyone else who claimed to have seen him during his flight after Surrattsville.

I'm not at all sure that Booth had a field glass. We only have Weichmann and Lloyd's direct claims that he did. We have no reliable statements from Herold or Mary Surratt about this issue.

The whole poisoning scenario is too convoluted and requires too much raw speculation. It is certainly true that there are many cases in history where conspirators killed one of their own, and poison would be a good way to do it, but I see too many problems with Shelton's theory to believe it. I don't absolutely rule it out, but I don't believe it either.