THE ASSASSINATION OF GARFIELD

(1881)

A CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNT1

On the morning of July 2d, the President set out from the Executive Mansion with Secretary Blaine for the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station, where he was to join several members of the Cabinet for a trip to New York and New England, including visits to Williams College and the White Mountains. The two entered the station arm in arm, and while they were passing through the ladies' waiting-room two pistol-shots were heard in quick succession, one of which took effect in the President's back. He sank to the floor, bleeding profusely, and for a moment was unconscious, and then was affected with vomiting. To get him out of the confusion he was carried to the offices of the company, on the second floor. Several physicians were summoned, and, after a superficial examination of the wound, the President was taken back to the Executive Mansion. The result of their first careful examination was the opinion that the bullet had penetrated or grazed the liver, and had lodged in the front wall of the abdomen. They believed that the injury was not necessarily fatal, but concluded that it was not advisable to attempt the removal of the bullet.

1 From Appleton's "Annual Cyclopedia" for 1881. By permission of D. Appleton & Company.

The person who had fired the pistol at the railroad station had been promptly seized and taken into custody. He proved to be Charles J. Guiteau, who had been a persistent but unsuccessful applicant for an appointment, first as minister to Austria, and then as consul-general to Paris. He describes himself as a lawyer, a politician, and a theologian, and is reported to have said, on being taken into custody: "All right, I did it, and will go to jail for it. I am a Stalwart, and Arthur will be President.' A letter was found on his person in which the death of the President was spoken of as a "sad necessity" that would "unite the Republican party and save the Republic." Guiteau was lodged in the District of Columbia jail, to await the result of the President's wound.

The news of the attempted assassination created intense excitement throughout the country, and it was considered in some quarters as an indirect result of the political system that encouraged unregulated office-seeking and occasioned many disappointments, and to the quarrel between the so-called "Stalwarts" and Administration Republicans, which had originated in the controversy over appointments in the State of New York. There was an almost universal outbreak of sorrow and indignation at the crime, and sympathy for the sufferer and his family, and this found expression in the action of numerous public bodies and political assemblies, of both parties, and in all sections of the country. It extended to foreign lands, and brought forth many official and unofficial expressions of sympathy.

After the first shock had passed, the announcement that the wound was not necessarily fatal, and that there was a chance of recovery, gave rise to a hopeful feeling, which increased with daily reports of favorable progress. As early as the 10th of July Governor Foster, of Ohio, suggested to the Governors of all the States the appointment of a general day of thanksgiving for the President's escape from death, and the prospect of his speedy recovery. In several States this suggestion was acted on. The favorable reports continued for some days, and the President's recovery was confidently predicted by the surgeons in attendance. They concluded that no important organ had been injured, and that the bullet was likely to become encysted and harmless, or might possibly declare its presence in a way that would admit of its successful removal.

The first check in the favorable symptoms was on the 18th of July, and was followed by an apparent resumption of progress. The first serious relapse occurred on the 23d of July, being attended with chills and more or less of fever. The bullet had entered between the eleventh and twelfth ribs, about four inches to the right of the spinal column, the assassin standing about six feet behind and a little to the right of his victim, and the bones had been somewhat splintered. The diagnosis assumed that there had been a deflection which sent the bullet downward and to the right. The probing and treatment of the wound had followed this supposed course, where there was by this time a channel several inches in depth. The unfavorable symptoms were caused by obstruction in the flow of pus, and on

the morning of the 24th an incision was made to give a freer passage from the supposed track of the wound. This was followed by relief and a resumption of hopeful reports. On the 28th there was a slight recurrence of fever, and day by day thereafter there was more or less of febrile rise in the temperature and pulse, attended with abnormal respiration.

The heat of the season aggravated the difficulty of dealing with the case, and artificial means of cooling the atmosphere of the Executive Mansion were resorted to. Large quantities of ice were placed in the cellar, over which air was passed and then admitted to the sick-room by means of an apparatus specially devised for the purpose. The case was also believed to be more or less complicated by malarial influences prevailing in and about the White House.

Favorable reports continued during the first days of August, and plans were discust for removing the patient to the Soldiers' Home. On the 6th unfavorable symptoms were reported as the effect of the heat, and on the following day they were declared to be more serious, and attributed to further obstruction of pus in the wound. A new incision was made, this time below the rib, giving another and freer outlet from the assumed track of the wound. Relief and renewed progress were announced as the result, but there seemed to be no satisfactory evidence of healing. On the 10th the President, for the first time since the shooting, signed an official document, presented for the purpose by the Secretary of State, being one of the papers in an extradition case pending with Canada.

About this time there was considerable discussion as to the correctness of the medical treatment, and also as to the propriety of leaving the Executive Department of the Government without an active head, some maintaining that the exigency existed under which the Constitution provided for the devolving of the powers and duties of the presidential office on the Vice-President on account of "inability."

After the 10th of August the reports from the sufferer were less hopeful, and unfavorable symptoms declared themselves on the 13th. On the 15th the patient was admitted to be in a precarious condition. His pulse went to 130, and he was affected with "rigors" and vomiting. Thereafter the stomach was continually troublesome, and much of the time nutriment and stimulants were administered by injection. There was an apparent recovery from the relapse of the 15th, and hope was still cherished. On the 18th inflammation of the right parotid gland was announced, which increased until an incision was made in it on the 24th. The condition of the patient was fluctuating during these days, and he began to express a strong desire to be removed from Washington. On the 25th his condition became critical, and on the day following fears of a fatal ending of all hope were entertained throughout the country. There were, however, slight indications of improvement on the 27th, which increased until by the 30th there was a renewal of hopeful announcements. On the 1st

of September the question of removal was taken up again, and the gastric disturbance returning on the 4th, it was decided to take the patient to