Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Volume IV, Number 19, 11 May 1865 — LINCOLN ASSASSINATED! [ARTICLE]

LINCOLN ASSASSINATED!

President Lincoln was assassinated about seven and a half o'clock, April 14th, by a man named J. Wilkes Booth, who entering the private box in Ford's Theatre, where Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln were seated, shot him with a common single barreled-pistol in the back of the head. The assassin then jumped over the front of the box on to the stage, and in the face of the whole audience brandished his long dagger, and exclaimed " Sic semper tyrannis" (thus let tyrants always perish), which is the motto on the of escutcheon of Virginia. The assassin escaped on horseback. This was all accomplished, it is said, in about thirty seconds.

Mrs. Lincoln's screams first revealed the truth to the audience, who were immediately xecited to the extremest pitch. But it was too late. The brains oozed out at the wound behind and above the ear. Blood was afterwards found on the back of the cushioned rocking chair, and on the partition, and on the floor. The President, though unconscious, did not die immediately. He was removed to a neighboring private house, where all possible care was shown him, but to no purpose. Abraham Lincoln died on the morning of April 15th, at 22 minutes after seven o'clock.

At about the same time that Mr. Lincoln was shot, only a few minutes later, a person supposed to be named Survalt, entered the residence of Mr. Seward, the Secretary of State, who was lying in a dangerous condition from a broken arm and fractured jaw which he had received from being thrown from his carriage. The miscreant pretended to have a message from Seward's physician. Though forbidden by the door-keeper, he rushed past, ascended the stairs, nearly killed one of Seward's sons, wounded one or two male attendants, had a terrible struggle with a soldier nurse, and finally succeeded in stabbing the Secretary three times in the neck. He then fled on a horse, as did the other assassin. It was at first feared that Seward would die of his wounds. Though pulseless, he had the presence of mind to say to the soldier "I am still alive, send for the police and the physician, and close the house." It appears that the wire adjustments he had for his jaws, which came down upon his neck, protected the arteries, and saved his life. For several days he was not informed of the assassination of the President, but when it was finally told him, instead of depressing and injuring, it seemed to rally all his powers of life, and his recovery as late as April 18th was consider«d quite probable. The terrible intensity of the anxiety and excitement of the loyal people in Washington, and throughout the Union, need not be described. On Monday, the 3d of April, Grant's forces occupied Richmond; on Sabbath, the 9th, Lee surrendered the whole of his army; and on the following Friday, April 14th, Lincoln was assassinated. From the delirium of joy over the certain prospect of a glorious peace, the nation passed in twelve days to the extremest depth of woe. This is rightly called the great tragedy of history. No event on record is like it in the wonderful relations of the event, in the terrible emotions it excites, in the appalling malignancy of the deed, and in the effect it will have on the loyal hearts of the victorious Union. It is the fitting climax of the most abominable rebellion on record. Slavery has given the last proof needed that it is the "sum of all villainies.'' The last deed necessary to nerve the heart of the North to a proper termination of this terrific war has been accomplished. Any remains of weak sentiment will give place to the highest resolve. Steady justice will now, without a doubt, be administered to all the leaders of the rebellion. Treason will now be stamped by a unanimous nation, the greatest of crimes. Southern slave-holders and Northern Copperheads die together. That small bullet which killed Abraham Lincoln did far more than any bullet before. It killed Slavery and Treason. About noon of April 15th, Andrew Johnson was sworn into office as President of the United States of America, in his private rooms, it being considered unsafe to have a more public ceremony. Mr. Johnson was formerly Governor of Tennessee, and has for six years been a Senator of the United States. He is one of those few Southern men, who have stood firmly by the Government from the beginning of the rebellion. He has long been a friend of President Lincoln, and understands his views and policy. He will be less inclined to pardon traitors. His Cabinet will for the present at least be the same as under Mr. Lincoln. The most vigorous measures had been taken for the detection of the assassins. It was soon ascertained that there was an extensive conspiracy, and that it was doubtless intended to have assassinated all the Cabinet officers, and other important leaders of the nation. At latest dates, it was supposed that the miscreant who attempted the life of Seward was secured. The assassinator of Lincoln was being closely pursued in west-

tern Maryland, who with a company of {illegible} or more horsemen, was it was thought {illegible} most certainly in the grasp of our {illegible} Thirty thousand dollars had been offered {illegible} the detection of the asaassin. Soon after the President died, his bed was removed to the Presidential Mansion where it lay in state for three days. On the 18th of April, funeral ceremonies were observed over the entire North, including in the Pacific States, with a depth of {illegible} never before exhibited.