THE ASSASSINATION PLOTS.—TRIAL OF THE CONSPIRATORS.

Evening Post, Issue 169, 23 August 1865, Page 2

THE ASSASSINATION PLO TS.—T RIAL OF THE CONSPIRATORS.

A correspondent of the New York Daily Times, after describing the court and personal appearance of the various prisoners, says : — The last and most prominent of the accused is Mrs. Surratt, who sits apart from the other prisoners, at the west end of the reporters' table, and near her counsel. This woman is dressed in full mourning ; she wears her bonnet and veil during the sessions of the commission, Her age is probably fifty. She is a large Amazonian class of women, square built masculine hands, rather full face, dark grey lifeless eye, hair not decidedly dark, complexion swarthy ; altogether her face denotes more than ordinary intelligence. She seems too strong to be weighed down by the crushing testimony against her, and whilst conclusive evidence was being rendered, which, if true, makes her part in the horrible tragedy of the most coldblooded, heartless character, she but once seemed disturbed. Her eye is rather soft in expression and strangely at variance with the general harshness of her other features. She seems a woman of undaunted mettle, and fitted for Macbeth's injunction to " bring forth men children only ;" and yet she does not appear as Lady Macbeth prayed to be, " from crown to toe-top full of direst cruelty." This unfortunate woman, like the other prisoners, is in irons. A bar of about ten inches in length passes from one ankle to the other, and is there attached to an iron band that encircles each leg. Her hands are free. All the other prisoners, except Dr. Mudd, are heavily ironed. Their feet and ankles are ironed, as in the case of Mm. Surratt, and attached to each leg is a chain about six feet long, to which is appended a ball weighing 501bs. Besides this a bar and bands like those about the feet confine their arms. When the prisoners thus heavily ironed are required to move about, the officer in attendance upon each carries the ball. Nearly all the accused are required to wear a peculiar cap when they return from the Court to their rooms. The cap is constructed of cotton cloth, padded, and covers, helmet-like, the entire head and nearly all the face. It was suggested some weeks ago by the attempt of I Payne to take his life by butting his head against the prison walls. At Fortress Monroe, Mr. Davis occupied the rear room of a casemate of two apartments, the windows being heavily barred. Two guards occupied the room with him ; while in the outer room were constantly stationed a commissioned officer and guard, all charged with the duty of seeing that the prisoner did not escape. No one was permitted to speak a word to him. Mr. Clay, who surrendered himself to answer to the charge of complicity in the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, was confined in adjoining casemate. Mrs. Davis, her four children (one an infaut), her brother and sister, and Mrs C. C. Clay, were refused permission to go North and were sent back to Savannah from Fortress Monroe. During his confinement in Fortress Monroe, Davis was manacled on both ankles, the connecting chain being three feet long. He resisted manacling, and it be-

40 came necessary to throw him down a., hold him until the irons were clinched. On the Ist of June he was removed to the old capitol prison, in Washington. The accounts of his having been placed in irons are somewhat conflicting ; but there is no doubt that, by orders of the War Department, unnecessary cruelty was actually perpetrated. One account states that Mr. Davis was shackled in consequence of having expressed his disgust at his rations, and thrown them in the face of the guard. He is said to have struggled violently while the irons were being placed upon him. Another account states that he had become very violent, and had knocked down two of the guard with a chair. A day or two previous to the removal of Mr. Davis from Fortress Monroe his irons were removed, an attending physician, Dr. Craven, having declared that the prisoner could not otherwise live three days, his health having become dangerously affected. While the gyves were upon him, which was for three days, Mr. Davis remained in a recumbent position upon his pallet, and finally refused food. His diet was, in order to prevent his death, changed, and he was supplied with decent food by Dr. Craven.