Elyse: WE'RE THE HISTORY DETECTIVES, AND WE'RE GOING TO INVESTIGATE SOME UNTOLD STORIES FROM AMERICA'S PAST.
THIS WEEK, IS THIS A MISSING MURDER WEAPON FROM THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE?
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHOOT IT?
Tukufu: DID THE FATHER OF JOHN WILKES BOOTH THREATEN TO ASSASSINATE A SITTING PRESIDENT?
SOMEONE HAS WRITTEN "ANONYMOUS."
IS IT BY JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH OR NOT?
THERE'S NO QUESTION, JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH WAS INSANE.
Wes: DID THIS METAL BOMB EXPLODE A MORBID BLACK MARKET TRADE IN 19th-CENTURY OHIO?
FIRE IN THE HOLE!
Elvis Costello: ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ I GET SO ANGRY WHEN THE TEARDROPS START ♪ ♪ BUT HE CAN'T BE WOUNDED 'CAUSE HE'S GOT NO HEART ♪ ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ IT'S JUST LIKE WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ Gwendolyn: THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.
Elyse: OUR FIRST STORY INVESTIGATES A WEAPON THAT MAY HAVE BEEN FIRED IN ONE OF THE NATION'S MOST INFAMOUS CRIMES.
FEBRUARY 14, 1929, ST. VALENTINE'S DAY: GANGSTERS TURN A DAY OF LOVE AND REFLECTION INTO A BLOODBATH, EXECUTING SEVEN MEN IN A CHICAGO GARAGE.
[ machine gun firing ] AUTHORITIES SUSPECT THE HAND OF POWERFUL GANGSTER AL CAPONE, WHO WAS FIGHTING TO CONTROL THE CITY'S ILLEGAL LIQUOR TRADE.
THE DAYLIGHT KILLING OUTRAGES THE NATION AND BECOMES A SYMBOL OF THE FAILURE OF PROHIBITION.
HOWEVER, NO ONE IS EVER CONVICTED OF THE KILLING AND THE CRIME REMAINS UNSOLVED.
NOW MIKE LUX OF LAKE GENEVA, WISCONSIN, BELIEVES HE HAS THE MISSING WEAPON FROM THIS LEGENDARY GANGLAND MASSACRE.
THIS GUN MAY HAVE TAKEN THE LIVES OF TWO MEN.
I'M ON MY WAY TO MEET MIKE AND LOOK INTO HIS STORY.
VERY NICE TO MEET YOU.
OH, WOW!
12-GAUGE SHOTGUN.
LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT IT.
AND WHAT'S THE STORY BEHIND IT?
IT WAS SUPPOSEDLY USED IN THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE.
THAT WAS IN CHICAGO IN 1929.
YES.
YOU KNOW, JUST BY LOOKING AT THE GUN, TO ME IT KIND OF LOOKS LIKE THE BARREL IS NOT PERIOD TO THE PIECE.
CORRECT.
I HAD THIS BARREL PUT ON TO MAKE IT LEGAL.
ORIGINALLY THE BARREL WAS CUT OFF PROBABLY ABOUT RIGHT HERE.
AND I ACTUALLY HAVE A COUPLE PICTURES OF IT.
OH, AND I CAN SEE THE BARREL'S MUCH SHORTER.
MIKE TELLS ME THAT SHORT-BARREL SHOTGUNS ARE FEDERALLY REGULATED AND THAT HE PUT A LONGER BARREL ON THE GUN TO COMPLY WITH THESE RULES.
HOW'D YOU GET THE GUN?
I HAD INHERITED IT FROM MY FATHER WHEN HE PASSED AWAY.
MIKE SAYS HIS FATHER GOT THE GUN FROM A FORMER CHICAGO FIRE COMMISSIONER, ROBERT QUINN.
MIKE BELIEVES THAT QUINN, WHO IS NOW DECEASED, MAY HAVE USED HIS INFLUENCE TO SECRETLY ACQUIRE THE GUN.
I THINK WHEN QUINN ACQUIRED IT, IT HAD TO HAVE BEEN IN THE MID-'70s.
MIKE'S FATHER WAS KILLED IN AN AIR CRASH IN 1979.
TWO DAYS LATER, ONE OF HIS FRIENDS TALKED TO ME, AND HE WAS VERY UPSET ABOUT THE PLANE CRASH, BUT HE WAS ALSO VERY WORRIED THAT NOW I OWN THIS PIECE AND HE DIDN'T WANT ME TO BE SHOWING IT OFF OR TELLING ANYBODY ABOUT IT, AND I HAVEN'T.
THAT'S WHY I'VE HAD IT FOR 30 YEARS HIDDEN AWAY.
WHAT'D YOU THINK WHEN YOUR DAD TOLD YOU THAT THIS WAS USED IN THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE?
I THOUGHT, "COME ON, YOU'RE PULLING MY LEG."
AND HE WAS DEAD SERIOUS.
AND HE WAS A SERIOUS KIND OF GUY.
WHEN IT CAME TO WEAPONS LIKE THIS IN HIS COLLECTION, HE WAS NOT FOOLING.
MIKE, WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?
IF IT TRULY IS THE SHOTGUN THAT WAS USED AT THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE.
I WILL SEE WHAT I CAN FIND OUT.
DO YOU MIND IF I SIT HERE FOR A WHILE AND EVALUATE IT?
ABSOLUTELY NOT.
I USED TO WORK IN THE GUN DEPARTMENT AT CHRISTIE'S, SO I KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT GUNS.
AND THE FIRST THING I NEED TO DETERMINE WAS IF THIS GUN WAS EVEN AROUND IN 1929.
WAS IT PERIOD TO THE TIME OF THE MASSACRE?
IT CERTAINLY APPEARS TO BE.
THE WOODEN FORESTOCK IS FOR A REPEATING, OR PUMP-ACTION, SHOTGUN.
THAT MEANS IT CAN FIRE MULTIPLE SHOTS WITHOUT RELOADING.
I KNOW THAT THERE IS A SERIAL NUMBER HERE.
AH, HERE IT IS: 18514 B.
THAT MAY HELP US MORE PRECISELY DATE THE GUN, ALTHOUGH BACK THEN I'M PRETTY CERTAIN A PURCHASER WAS NOT REQUIRED TO REGISTER THEIR WEAPON.
I SEE THAT IT SAYS "WESTERN FIELD" ON THE PLATE.
YOU KNOW, I DID NOTICE SOMETHING UNUSUAL OVER HERE ON THE STOCK.
THERE ARE TWO NOTCHES.
MAYBE WE COULD GET SOME INFORMATION FROM THAT AS WELL.
IF THIS GUN REALLY WAS USED IN THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE, THEN IT'S AN EXCEPTIONAL PIECE OF HISTORY AND ITS COLLECTION VALUE WOULD BE VERY HIGH.
ON THE MORNING OF FEBRUARY 14, 1929, SEVEN IMMACULATELY DRESSED MEN GATHERED IN A GARAGE ON CHICAGO'S NORTH SIDE.
SOME WERE MEMBERS OF A GANG LED BY THE NOTORIOUS BOOTLEGGER BUGS MORAN.
WITHOUT WARNING, GUNMEN STORMED IN AND UNLEASHED A HAIL OF BULLETS THAT LEFT ALL SEVEN DEAD.
WITNESSES REPORTED SEEING WHAT LOOKED LIKE TWO POLICE OFFICERS LEAVE THE GARAGE.
THE MID-MORNING SLAUGHTER TURNED THE MEDIA SPOTLIGHT ON THE CITY OF CHICAGO AND THE VIOLENT STRUGGLE BEING WAGED OVER CONTROL OF THE ILLEGAL LIQUOR TRADE.
I'M IN CHICAGO TO MEET THE AUTHOR OF THIS BOOK, ART BILEK.
HI, ART.
HERE IS THE GUN.
TELL ME YOUR OPINION ON THAT.
WHAT DO I HAVE HERE?
IT'S A 12-GAUGE SHOTGUN... ART IS ALSO A FORMER POLICE OFFICER AND FAMILIAR WITH THE WEAPONS OF CHOICE OF CRIMINALS.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT HAS A SAWED-OFF STOCK.
GANGSTERS IN THE 1920s HAD THESE STOCKS MODIFIED SO THAT THEY COULD CARRY THESE UNDER THEIR OVERCOATS LIKE THIS.
SO IT'S A GANGSTER GUN?
OH, YES.
IN FACT, THAT'S THE WAY I WOULD REFER TO IT, AS A GANGSTER GUN.
ART SAYS EXACTLY HOW THE VICTIMS WERE LURED TO THEIR DEATH WAS NEVER ESTABLISHED.
INVESTIGATORS SUSPECTED THE PHONY POLICEMEN WERE AL CAPONE GANG MEMBERS.
WHEN THEY ORDERED THE RIVAL GANGSTERS TO LINE UP AND TURN AROUND, MORE CAPONE MEN ENTERED, CARRYING WEAPONS.
WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WENT ON EXCEPT TWO OF THE MEN PULLED OUT THOMPSON SUBMACHINE GUNS AND BEGAN RIDDLING THE BACK OF THESE SEVEN MEN WITH MACHINE GUN BULLETS.
GETTING INFORMATION ABOUT THE CRIME WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE.
THE CHICAGO UNDERWORLD WAS RULED BY FEAR.
BEFORE DYING, ONE OF THE VICTIMS, FRANK GUSENBERG, TOLD INCREDULOUS POLICE, "NOBODY SHOT ME."
INVESTIGATORS TURNED TO EVIDENCE FROM THE BLOOD-DRENCHED GARAGE.
SERGEANT JAMES LOFTUS, WHO WAS THE FIRST OFFICER ON THE SCENE, WAS ABLE TO COLLECT FROM THE SCENE SEVERAL ITEMS.
HERE IS A COPY OF THE INVENTORY REPORT THAT HE FILED THAT VERY DAY.
THERE WERE SEVERAL .45-CALIBER SHELLS AND BULLETS, THE SIZE OF AMMUNITION USED IN THE TOMMY GUN.
ART POINTS OUT SOMETHING OF PARTICULAR INTEREST.
AND THERE IS THE ITEM RIGHT THERE: TWO SHOTGUN SHELLS, 12-GAUGE.
THAT'S THE SAME GAUGE AS MIKE'S GUN.
I TELL ART THAT MIKE BELIEVES HIS WEAPON ONCE BELONGED TO ROBERT QUINN, A FORMER CHICAGO FIRE COMMISSIONER IN THE 1950s THROUGH THE 1970s.
HE WAS ONE OF THE MORE NOTABLE FIRE COMMISSIONERS IN THE HISTORY OF CHICAGO.
HE SAYS QUINN WAS PART OF AN INNER CIRCLE AROUND THE MAYOR IN A PERIOD WHEN CONTROL OF EVIDENCE, ESPECIALLY FOR A CELEBRATED COLD CASE, WAS NOT NEARLY AS TIGHTLY HELD AS TODAY.
DO YOU THINK THAT HE COULD HAVE OWNED THIS GUN?
HE KNEW ALL OF THE TOP OFFICIALS.
HE WOULD HAVE KNOWN THE CORONER VERY WELL.
AND HE WOULD HAVE KNOWN OTHER PEOPLE IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
IT'S ENTIRELY POSSIBLE THAT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER HE MIGHT HAVE MET A MAN THAT HAD POSSESSION OF THIS GUN.
ART SAYS THE DESCRIPTION OF TWO OF THE KILLERS DRESSED IN POLICE UNIFORMS TURNED UP THE HEAT ON INVESTIGATORS, BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL TEN MONTHS LA TER THAT THEY CAUGHT A BREAK: AN AL CAPONE ASSOCIATE NAMED FRED "KILLER" BURKE WAS INVOLVED IN A FENDER BENDER AC ROSS STATE LINES IN MICHIGAN.
WELL, THERE WAS A POLICE OFFICER ON THE NEXT CORNER, AND HE BEGAN WALKING DOWN.
WITH THAT, KILLER BURKE DRIVES OFF, THE POLICEMAN JUMPS ON THE RUNNING BOARD, BURKE TAKES OUT HIS GUN AND SHOOTS HIM.
THE OFFICER TUMBLES TO THE GROUND DEAD.
A HUGE MANHUNT FOLLOWS, AND THAT'S HOW THEY FOUND BURKE'S CAR OVERTURNED WHERE HE TRIED TO MAKE A TURN IN THE ROAD AND FAILED.
ART EXPLAINS THAT BURKE WAS A CAREER GANGSTER AND HIT MAN.
A WORLD WAR I VET, HE WAS SUSPECTED OF INTRODUCING THE THOMPSON SUBMACHINE GUN TO THE DETROIT MOB, HELPING MURDER THREE MEN IN 1927.
IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY KILLINGS, BURKE WAS HOLED UP IN A SMALL MICHIGAN TOWN.
AFTER KILLING THE OFFICER, POLICE RAIDED HIS HIDEOUT.
AND UPSTAIRS ON THE SECOND FLOOR, THEY OPENED A CLOSET AND THERE WERE THE TWO MACHINE GUNS, A SHOTGUN, AND SOME OTHER ARMORY-TYPE DEVICES.
FORENSIC ANALYSIS WOULD LATER CONNECT SOME OF FRED BURKE'S WEAPONS TO THE MASSACRE.
WHERE ARE THOSE GUNS NOW?
THE GUNS AT THE CURRENT TIME ARE BEING HELD BY THE BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN, SHERIFF'S OFFICE, WHERE THEY WERE RECOVERED IN THE FIRST PLACE.
I'M IN BERRIEN COUNTY TO MEET WITH LIEUTENANT KEITH HAFER, THE WEAPONS EXPERT IN CHARGE OF THE MASSACRE GUNS.
WOW.
THESE ARE THE TWO THOMPSON SUBMACHINE GUNS USED IN THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE.
LIEUTENANT HAFER EXPLAINS THAT FOR YEARS, THE GUNS WERE HELD BY THE FBI AT THEIR BALLISTICS CRIME LAB IN QUANTICO, VIRGINIA.
IN THE LATE 1970s, A MICHIGAN DE TECTIVE TRAINING WITH THE FBI SPOTTED THE GUNS AND ASKED FOR THEIR RETURN.
ARE THESE THE ONLY GUNS THAT YOU HAVE?
THERE WERE OTHER GUNS SEIZED FROM FRED BURKE'S HOME, BUT THOSE GUNS ARE LONG GONE AND I HAVE NO RECORD OF THEM.
WELL, I'M INVESTIGATING THIS SHOTGUN THAT I BELIEVE MAY HAVE BEEN USED AT THE MASSACRE.
IT'S CERTAINLY THE RIGHT AGE AND IT LOOKS LIKE A GANGSTER GUN.
WHAT I NOTICE IMMEDIATELY ARE THESE TWO NOTCHES CUT INTO THE PISTOL GRIP OF THIS SHOTGUN.
LIEUTENANT HAFER SAYS CRIMINALS SOMETIMES CARVED NOTCHES ON THEIR WEAPONS WHEN THEY KILLED A MAN.
AND THE THOMPSONS THAT WE HAVE HAVE NOTCHES CARVED INTO THE TRIGGER GUARDS.
HE'S NOT SURE IF THE MARKINGS CAN CONNECT OUR GUN TO THE MASSACRE, BUT OFFERS TO TAKE ME TO THE FIRING RANGE TO SHOW EXACTLY WHY OUR GUN AND THE TOMMY GUN WOULD HAVE BEEN FAVORITE GANGSTER WEAPONS.
FIRE!
HIT HIM RIGHT IN THE CHEST, KEEP GOING.
THE TOMMY GUN CAN FIRE CONTINUOUSLY.
LIEUTENANT HAFER HAS TOLD ME TO FI RE JUST THREE SHOTS AT A TIME BECAUSE THE WEAPON IS DIFFICULT TO CONTROL.
IT'S PRETTY POWERFUL.
LIEUTENANT HAFER SAYS THIS MODEL TOMMY GUN COULD UNLOAD A DEVASTATING 700 ROUNDS A MINUTE.
I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY A GANGSTER LIKES THAT GUN.
IT WAS THE HIGH-TECH WEAPON OF ITS DAY.
HE TELLS ME THAT BEFORE THE INTRODUCTION OF THE TOMMY GUN TO THE CHICAGO CRIME WORLD IN 1924, THE REPEATING SHOTGUN WAS THE GANGSTER GUN OF CHOICE.
WHAT YOU HAVE HERE IS A PUMP-ACTION REPEATING SHOTGUN, WHICH WAS A VERY COMMON AND DEVASTATING WEAPON OF THE TIME.
OUR GUN IS CAPABLE OF FIRING SIX SHOTS BEFORE RELOADING, UNLEASHING A DEVASTATING SPRAY OF SHOTGUN PELLETS.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHOOT IT?
YEAH, DEFINITELY.
PULL IT IN TIGHT, YEP.
AIM AT YOUR TARGET AND SHOOT WHEN READY.
[ gunshots and reloading ] WOW, THAT'S GOT QUITE A KICK TO IT.
WHY DON'T YOU OPEN THE BOLT AND LET'S MAKE SURE IT'S EMPTY.
OKAY.
NOW, DO YOU THINK THAT THIS GUN WAS USED IN THE ST. VALENTINE MASSACRE?
IT'S CERTAINLY A POSSIBILITY.
LIEUTENANT HAFER SUGGESTS I PICK UP THE SHELL CASINGS.
IF OUR GUN WAS USED IN THE MASSACRE, THE SHELLS MAY BEAR USEFUL FORENSIC INFORMATION.
HE'S NOT SURE WHAT REMAINS IN THE OLD POLICE FILES BUT SUGGESTS I SPEAK WITH POLICE HISTORIAN CHRISS LYON AT THE HERITAGE MUSEUM AND CULTURAL CENTER IN ST. JOSEPH.
HI, CHRISS.
HI, ELYSE.
GREAT TO MEET YOU, WELCOME TO ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN.
THANK YOU.
CHRISS SAYS THE POLICE FOUND A TR OVE OF INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE WHEN THEY RAIDED FRED BURKE'S HIDEOUT.
THIS ONE IS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL PHOTOS OF SOME OF THE WEAPONRY THAT WAS FOUND IN FRED BURKE'S HOUSE.
OKAY, SO I SEE HERE THE TWO TOMMY GUNS THAT WERE FOUND IN HIS HOUSE.
AND THIS IS ALL THE ARSENAL.
AND THIS MUST BE THE SHOTGUN.
CHRISS EXPLAINS HOW THE CHICAGO AUTHORITIES HAD TURNED TO A FORENSICS EXPERT NAMED CALVIN GODDARD TO EXAMINE THE BURKE WEAPONS.
WHEN GODDARD TOOK THESE GUNS TO BE TESTED BALLISTICALLY, HE TOOK THE TOMMY GUNS AND HE TOOK THIS GUN, WHICH IS A 20-GAUGE.
NOW, WE KNOW THAT THERE WAS A 12-GAUGE USED IN THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE BY THE SHELLS THAT WERE FOUND.
SO IF THIS GUN WASN'T USED IN THE MASSACRE, THEN IT'S STILL POSSIBLE THAT OUR GUN WAS.
I'M CURIOUS, HAD GODDARD ALSO EXAMINED THE 12-GAUGE SHELLS FOUND AT THE CRIME SCENE AFTER THE MASSACRE?
CHRISS SUGGESTS I SPEAK WITH FORMER CRIME LAB DIRECTOR PAUL DOUGHERTY, WHO HAS STUDIED THE MASSACRE AND THE SUBSEQUENT POLICE DETECTIVE WORK.
OKAY, SO HERE'S THE GUN I TALKED TO YOU ABOUT.
YES.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
THIS IS A WESTERN FIELD, WHICH IS MADE BY STEVENS.
IT HAS A FAIRLY LOW SERIAL NUMBER, WHICH INDICATES IT'S FAIRLY OLD.
PAUL SAYS THE MODEL WAS IN PRODUCTION FROM 1905 TO 1932 AND PERIOD TO THE MASSACRE.
HOWEVER, HE CAN'T PRECISELY DATE THE GUN BECAUSE THE MANUFACTURER'S SERIAL RECORDS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED.
SO TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT GODDARD.
WELL, CALVIN GODDARD WAS A FIRST-CLASS SCIENTIST AND HE APPROACHED EVERYTHING THAT HE DID AS A SCIENTIST.
PAUL SAYS GODDARD TRAINED AS A PHYSICIAN, BUT IN 1926, ENTERED THE EMERGING FIELD OF BALLISTIC SCIENCE.
HIS FORENSIC WORK, WHICH HELPED CONVICT ANARCHIST NICOLA SACCO IN THE CELEBRATED SACCO AND VANZETTI MURDER CASE, CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF THE CHICAGO CORONER.
IT WAS THE ENORMITY OF THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE THAT BROUGHT THE NEED FOR SCIENTIFIC CRIME DETECTION TO THE PUBLIC ATTENTION AND TO THE ATTENTION OF AUTHORITIES OF CHICAGO.
GODDARD TEST-FIRED THE BURKE RAID TOMMY GUNS AND COMPARED THE SHELLS TO THOSE FROM THE SCENE OF THE CRIME.
HE EXPLAINED TO THE CHICAGO INVESTIGATORS HOW SPENT SHELLS HAD THEIR OWN IDENTIFYING MARKS.
HE WOULD PUT THE CARTRIDGE CASES UNDER THE COMPARISON MICROSCOPE, ONE ON EITHER SIDE.
THEN HE COMPARED THEM THROUGH THE EYEPIECE, WHICH IS HERE.
SO, PAUL, TELL ME WHAT I'M LOOKING AT.
USING A REPLICA OF GODDARD'S MICROSCOPE, PAUL TELLS ME TO COMPARE THE IMPRESSIONS ON TWO SHELLS FROM GODDARD'S PERSONAL COLLECTION.
SO THE FIRING PIN IMPRESSIONS ARE THE SAME.
BY MATCHING FIRING PIN IMPRESSIONS, GODDARD DETERMINED THAT FRED BURKE'S TOMMY GUNS WERE USED IN THE MASSACRE.
SO THESE CAME FROM THE SAME GUN.
WELL, I HAVE THESE SHELLS, AND I SHOT THESE SHELLS FROM MIKE'S GUN.
PAUL OFFERS TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK.
ALTHOUGH THE CARTRIDGE SHELLS FROM THE CRIME SCENE ARE LONG GONE, HE SAYS GODDARD DID EXAMINE THEM AND TESTIFIED IN FRONT OF THE CORONER'S GRAND JURY.
THE CHARACTERISTICS THAT GODDARD EMPHASIZED IN HIS TESTIMONY, THOUGH, WERE THE EXTRACTOR AND EJECTOR MARKS.
EXTRACTOR MARKS ARE THE MARKINGS THAT OCCUR WHEN A SHELL IS IN THE CHAMBER OF A GUN AND IS EXTRACTED FROM THE CHAMBER, AND AN EJECTOR MARKING OCCURS WHEN THE SHELL IS KICKED OUT OF THE GUN.
WE TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT OUR SHELLS.
OH, THOSE TWO LITTLE SCRATCHES?
THAT IS CORRECT.
I SEE THEM.
WHAT PAUL TELLS ME NEXT IS CERTAINLY GOING TO BE OF INTEREST TO MIKE.
INVESTIGATORS FOUND BULLETS AND SHELLS AT THE SCENE OF THE CRIME, AND TWO OF THOSE SHELLS WERE FROM A 12-GAUGE SHOTGUN, THE SAME GAUGE AS YOUR SHOTGUN.
THAT GETS US VERY CLOSE.
I TELL MIKE THAT THE STRANGE CARVED NOTCHES ON HIS WEAPON COULD HAVE BEEN A GANGSTER SIGNATURE, INDICATING THE WEAPON HAD BEEN USED IN A MURDER.
SIMILAR MARKINGS HAD ALSO BEEN SEEN ON THE THOMPSON SUBMACHINE GUNS USED IN THE MASSACRE.
ALTHOUGH MISSING EVIDENCE MADE A DIRECT COMPARISON WITH HIS SHELLS IMPOSSIBLE TODAY, AT THE TIME OF THE MASSACRE, THE EXPERT BROUGHT IN BY THE AUTHORITIES HAD CONDUCTED A THOROUGH FORENSIC INVESTIGATION.
GODDARD DID CLOSELY EXAMINE THE SHELLS THAT WERE FOUND AT THE SCENE OF THE CRIME, AND HE MADE A PRETTY INTERESTING DISCOVERY.
THESE ARE THE TYPES OF MARKINGS THAT GODDARD FOUND ON THE SHELLS FROM THE SCENE OF THE CRIME.
GODDARD HAD DETERMINED THAT THE SHOTGUN USED IN THE MURDER OF SEVEN MEN ON ST. VALENTINE'S DAY, 1929, WAS A PUMP-ACTION GUN, TOO, THE SAME AS MIKE'S.
SO IN YOUR OPINION, COULD THIS GUN HAVE BEEN USED IN THE MASSACRE?
YES.
IT IS THE RIGHT VINTAGE.
IT HAS BOTH THE EXTRACTOR AND EJECTOR MARKINGS WHICH GODDARD IDENTIFIED.
WE CAN PROVE THAT THE GUN THAT WAS SHOT THAT DAY WAS A 12-GAUGE REPEATING SHOTGUN.
YOUR GUN IS A 12-GAUGE REPEATING SHOTGUN.
RIGHT, RIGHT.
THAT'S GREAT.
I TELL MIKE THERE ARE NO SURVIVING POLICE RECORDS OF ANY OTHER SHOTGUN BEING RECOVERED BY POLICE AND TIED TO THE KILLINGS.
WHILE WE CAN'T CONCLUSIVELY LINK YOUR GUN TO THE MASSACRE, NO EVIDENCE RULES IT OUT.
VERY INTERESTING.
SO IF THE ORIGINAL SHELLS SURFACE, THEN WE WOULD BE ABLE TO FINISH GODDARD'S WORK AND DETERMINE IF YOUR GUN FIRED THEM.
HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR FATHER WOULD FEEL, THE FACT THAT WE'VE COME THIS FAR?
HE WOULD BE ECSTATIC.
HE WOULD SAY, "I TOLD YOU SO."
THANK YOU, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
FRED BURKE WAS NEVER CONVICTED FOR THE MASSACRE.
INSTEAD, HE WAS PUT AWAY FOR KILLING POLICE OFFICER CHARLES SKELLY.
CAPONE WAS EVENTUALLY BROUGHT DO WN ON CHARGES OF TAX EVASION.
BUT GODDARD'S WORK BROUGHT CREDIBILITY TO THE YOUNG FIELD OF BALLISTICS.
HE WAS GIVEN RESOURCES TO OPEN ONE OF THE NATION'S FIRST INDEPENDENT CRIME LABS AND CONTINUED TO PIONEER TECHNIQUES THAT ARE STILL USED TODAY.
FOR MORE OF MY INTERVIEW WITH ART BELIK, VISIT HISTORY DETECTIVES ON THE WEB AT pbs.org.
THE GUN THAT MADE THE '20s ROAR WAS INSPIRED BY WORLD WAR I TRENCH WARFARE.
THE THOMPSON SUBMACHINE GUN WAS DESIGNED BY RETIRED GENERAL JOHN THOMPSON.
EARLY MACHINE GUNS WERE EXTREMELY HEAVY AND TOOK SEVERAL MEN TO OPERATE.
THOMPSON'S SOLUTION WAS A RAPID-FIRING WEAPON OPERATED BY A SINGLE SOLDIER.
THE "TRENCH BROOM" WAS DESIGNED TO SWEEP THE ENEMY OUT OF FOXHOLES.
BUT THE GUN WASN'T READY UNTIL AFTER THE WAR ENDED, SO THE GENERAL TRIED SELLING IT TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.
ONE NOTORIOUS AD FEATURED A COWBOY DEFENDING HIS RANCH FROM BANDITS.
DEEMED SIMPLE, SAFE, STURDY, AND SURE IN ACTION, AN ORIGINAL TOMMY COULD FIRE 1,500 ROUNDS PER MINUTE.
GANGSTERS SAW THE POTENTIAL.
THE GUN WAS SUCH A FAVORITE OF THE CHICAGO MOB THAT IT WAS ALSO KNOWN AS THE CHICAGO TYPEWRITER, THE CHICAGO PIANO, AND THE CHICAGO ORGAN GRINDER.
FOR CONCEALMENT, THE COMPACT GUN COULD BE TOTED AROUND IN A REFITTED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT CASE.
THE THOMPSON DID MAKE IT TO THE BATTLEFIELD IN WORLD WAR II.
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS WERE ORDERED AT A COST OF NEARLY $130 MILLION TOTAL.
BY THE END OF THE WAR, LIGHTER AND CHEAPER COMPETITORS ENDED THE TOMMY'S REIGN.
Tukufu: OUR NEXT STORY INVESTIGATES A DEATH THREAT SENT TO ONE OF THE FIRST PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.
ON APRIL 14, 1865, A MAN STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S THEATER BOX FIRED ONE FINAL SHOT.
IT WAS THE FIRST ASSASSINATION OF AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT, AND JOHN WILKES BOOTH'S MOTIVES HAVE BEEN QUESTIONED AND STUDIED FOR GENERATIONS.
NOW, ALMOST 150 YEARS LATER, MARSHA MULLIN OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, HAS LEARNED OF A LETTER SUPPOSEDLY WRITTEN BY JOHN WILKES BOOTH'S FATHER TO ANOTHER AMERICAN PRESIDENT.
TODAY SOMEBODY WOULD BE TAKEN OFF TO JAIL IN FIVE MINUTES FOR WRITING A LETTER LIKE THAT.
MARSHA HAS INVITED ME TO THE HERMITAGE, PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON'S FAMILY HOME IN NASHVILLE, WHERE SHE IS CHIEF CURATOR.
SO WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR ME?
WELL, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, A VISITOR BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION THIS LETTER, WHICH WAS A DEATH THREAT TO ANDREW JACKSON WRITTEN IN 1835.
I REALLY DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT, SO I GOT A COPY OF IT FROM THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.
THE SIGNATURE ON THE DEATH THREAT READS JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH.
JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH WAS A VERY FAMOUS ACTOR, BUT INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, HE WAS ALSO THE FATHER OF JOHN WILKES BOOTH.
NOW, THAT'S AN INTERESTING CONNECTION.
IT'S VERY INTERESTING.
IT'S DATED THE 4th OF JULY, 1835, FROM BROWER'S HOTEL, PHILADELPHIA.
"YOU DAMNED OLD SCOUNDREL, I WILL CUT YOUR THROAT WHILST YOU ARE SLEEPING."
HE'S INSISTING THAT JACKSON PARDON TWO MEN ON DEATH ROW.
"I'LL HAVE YOU BURNT AT THE STAKE "IN THE CITY OF WASHINGTON.
YOUR MASTER, JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH."
MAN, NOW THIS IS A THREAT.
SO THE FATHER OF THE GUY WHO KILLED LINCOLN THREATENED TO ASSASSINATE A PRESIDENT.
WELL, THAT'S THE QUESTION.
BECAUSE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE BACK OF THE LETTER, SOMEONE HAS WRITTEN "ANONYMOUS."
AND SO THAT WAS VERY CURIOUS.
IS IT BY JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH OR NOT?
JACKSON SCHOLARS SEEM TO BELIEVE THAT IT WAS WRITTEN BY SOMEONE ELSE.
WE'D LIKE TO KNOW IF JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH REALLY WROTE THIS LETTER, AND IF HE DID, WHY?
WELL, LET ME SEE IF I CAN FIND AN ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION.
THE SINS OF A FATHER ARE NOT NECESSARILY VISITED UPON THE SON.
BUT PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S MURDER ALTERED AMERICAN HISTORY.
IF JOHN WILKES BOOTH'S FATHER ALSO THREATENED THE LIFE OF A SITTING PRESIDENT, THAT'S CERTAINLY INTERESTING AND POSSIBLY SIGNIFICANT.
JACKSON WAS THE 7th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND FIRST TOOK OFFICE IN 1829.
JUNIUS BOOTH WAS THE POPULAR SH AKESPEAREAN ACTOR OF THE DAY.
THE QUESTION IS, WHY HAVE HISTORIANS DOUBTED THAT JUNIUS BOOTH WROTE THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE?
MARSHA'S LEFT ME 20th-CENTURY PUBLICATIONS OF A JACKSON BIOGRAPHY AND A COLLECTION OF HIS CORRESPONDENCE.
BOTH VOLUMES INCLUDE MENTION OF OUR LETTER.
JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH HERE IS IN QUOTATION MARKS.
BOOTH, IN QUOTATION MARKS, TO ANDREW JACKSON, JULY 4, 1835.
THE QUOTATION MARKS INDICATE THE AUTHORS AND EDITORS ALSO DOUBTED THAT BOOTH WROTE THE DEATH THREAT.
I NEED TO FOUND OUT IF THESE DOUBTS ARE BASED ON SOME ACTUAL EVIDENCE.
THE LETTER WRITER, WHOEVER HE WAS, WANTED TWO MEN PARDONED: DE RUIZ AND DE SOTO.
I WONDER WHAT OTHER CLUES THERE MIGHT BE.
IT SAYS DOWN HERE IN A POSTSCRIPT, "YOU KNOW ME, LOOK OUT."
DOES IT MEAN THAT HE KNEW HIM PERSONALLY?
DOES IT MEAN THAT HE KNEW OF HIM?
"I WROTE TO YOU REPEATED CAUTIONS."
DID HE WRITE MORE THREATS TO THE PRESIDENT?
THE PAPERS OF ANDREW JACKSON PROJECT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE IN KNOXVILLE IS IN THE PROCESS OF PUBLISHING AN UPDATED VERSION OF EVERY KNOWN DOCUMENT TH AT JACKSON WROTE OR RECEIVED.
DAN FELLER IS THE DIRECTOR AND EDITOR OF THE PROJECT.
LET'S GO INTO THE JACKSON PAPERS.
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THIS LETTER BEFORE?
OH, YES, WE KNOW IT WELL.
WE DON'T THINK THAT THE REAL JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH WROTE IT.
OUR ASSUMPTION IS THAT THE ORIGINAL NOTATION WAS CORRECT, THAT IT'S ANONYMOUS.
DAN EXPLAINS THAT PR ESIDENT JACKSON'S STRONG-HAND AND OFTEN UNPOPULAR POLICIES HAD MADE HIM A LIGHTNING ROD FOR CRITICISM AND THREATS.
SIX MONTHS BEFORE OUR LETTER WAS WRITTEN, HE WAS THE VICTIM OF TH E FIRST ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AGAINST AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT.
A DERANGED HOUSE PAINTER ATTEMPTED TO SHOOT HIM OUTSIDE THE CAPITOL BUILDING, BUT THE PISTOL MISFIRED.
SHORTLY AFTER THAT, THE WASHINGTON GLOBE PUBLISHED SEVERAL COLUMNS OF ASSASSINATION LETTERS THAT IT SAID JACKSON HAD RECEIVED.
LET ME PUT THESE UP ON OUR COMPUTER SCREEN SO YOU CAN READ THEM BETTER.
HERE'S ONE.
"DAMN YOUR OLD SOUL, "IF YOU DO NOT DO SOMETHING FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY, I WILL MURDER YOU."
WOW.
DAN SAYS JACKSON DREW PUBLIC CRITICISM BECAUSE HE WANTED TO DO AWAY WITH THE FEDERALLY CHARTERED BANK OF THE UNITED STATES, WHICH HE REGARDED AS AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL CONCENTRATION OF FINANCIAL POWER.
HERE'S ANOTHER ONE: "REMOVE THEM DEPOSITS BACK AGAIN AND RECHARTER THE BANK, "OR YOU WILL CERTAINLY BE SHOT IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS, AND THAT BY MYSELF!"
THE UNITED STATES SENATE ACTUALLY CENSURED JACKSON FOR REMOVING THE DEPOSITS, THE ONLY TIME A PRESIDENT HAS EVER BEEN CENSURED BY THE SENATE.
DAN SAYS THE RUIZ AND DE SOTO MENTIONED IN OUR LETTER WERE SPANISH PIRATES OPERATING OUT OF HAVANA.
WITH TEN OTHERS, THEY HAD ROBBED AN AMERICAN MERCHANT SHIP IN SEPTEMBER 1832.
THE PIRATES' CAPTURE AND SUBSEQUENT TRIAL ELECTRIFIED THE NATION.
THIS WAS A HUGE CASE.
IT HAD ALL OF THE ASPECTS OF A MODERN SHOW TRIAL.
ONE OF THE SPANIARDS, DE SOTO, WAS PARDONED MOST LIKELY BE CAUSE HE PREVIOUSLY HAD SAVED THE LIVES OF SOME AMERICAN SAILORS.
DAN SAYS THE PARDON WAS ALMOST CERTAINLY NOT AS A RESULT OF THE DEATH THREAT.
HOW SERIOUSLY WAS THIS THREAT TAKEN?
DAN DOUBTS THERE WAS ANY OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE LETTER.
THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT DID NOT HAVE THE PROTECTIVE LAYERS IT HAS TODAY.
THERE WAS NO SECRET SERVICE, THERE WAS NO FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, THERE WERE REALLY NO WHITE HOUSE POLICE.
IN FACT, ASSASSINATING THE PRESIDENT OR THREATENING TO DO SO WAS NOT A FEDERAL CRIME.
HERE HE SAYS, "I WROTE TO YOU REPEATED CAUTIONS."
DO YOU KNOW OF ANY OTHER COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN BOOTH AND JACKSON?
IF THERE WERE ANY, WE WOULD HAVE SEEN THEM.
WE KNOW OF ONE LETTER FROM SOMEONE CALLING HIMSELF JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH TO JACKSON, AND THIS IS IT.
AND THAT'S IT.
AND NOT ONLY NO LETTERS FROM BOOTH OR TO BOOTH, BUT NO MENTION OF BOOTH IN JACKSON'S CORRESPONDENCE.
WHOEVER WANTED THESE PIRATES PARDONED, DAN'S CONVINCED IT WASN'T BOOTH.
EVERY HISTORIAN PREVIOUS TO US, EVERY JACKSON BIOGRAPHER, HAS ASSUMED THAT BOOTH DIDN'T WRITE IT.
SOMEONE IN HIS OFFICE -- AND HE HAD A NUMBER OF CLERKS WORKING FOR HIM -- PROBABLY WROTE THIS WORD "ANONYMOUS."
JACKSON DID NOT WRITE IT.
IT DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE JACKSON'S HANDWRITING, NO.
HAS THERE BEEN AN ANALYSIS OF THE HANDWRITING IN THIS LETTER?
AS FAR AS I KNOW, NO ONE HAS EVER TAKEN IT TO THAT STEP BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT IT WAS UNNECESSARY.
THAT SEEMS A CURIOUS OMISSION.
THE FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY IN WASHINGTON, D.C., HAS SEVERAL JUNIUS BOOTH LETTERS IN THEIR COLLECTION.
HEATHER WOLFE IS CURATOR OF MANUSCRIPTS.
SHE'S MADE SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS WITH THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS TO OBTAIN THE ORIGINAL THREAT TO JACKSON.
HEATHER, NICE TO MEET YOU.
SO THIS IS THE ORIGINAL LETTER.
I PICKED TWO OF OUR JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH LETTERS FOR A HANDWRITING ANALYSIS.
I PICKED THESE TWO LETTERS BECAUSE THEY WERE CLOSEST IN DATE AND FORMAT TO THE 1835 LETTER TO GENERAL JACKSON.
IT'S THE FIRST TIME HEATHER HAS SEEN THE ORIGINAL LETTER TO JACKSON, AND A COUPLE OF ITEMS STRIKE HER AS ODD.
HE SIGNS THE LETTER TO JACKSON WITH HIS FULL NAME, JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH.
ALL OF THE LETTERS AT THE FOLGER ARE SIGNED J.B. BOOTH, AND THAT WAS HIS TYPICAL SIGNATURE.
THE REST OF THE LETTER LOOKS AS IF IT COULD'VE FLOWED FROM THE SAME PEN.
AND YOU SEE HERE, "I WROTE TO YOU REPEATED CAUTIONS," AND SEE THE BOTTOM OF THAT C, HOW IT LOOPS AROUND DRAMATICALLY?
WELL, IN THIS LETTER HERE, WE SEE THE WORD "CAMP" WITH THAT SAME VERY DISTINCTIVE MAJUSCULE C, WHICH IS VERY UNIQUE TO JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH.
ONE OF THE MOST DISTINCTIVE ATTRIBUTES HE HAS IS THE CROSSBAR ON THE MINISCULE T's.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE WORD "THE" IN THIS LETTER, THE CROSSBAR GOES FULLY ACROSS NOT JUST THE T BUT ALSO THE H AND THE E. IF BOOTH DIDN'T WRITE THIS HIMSELF, SHE SAYS THE FORGER WAS AT THE TOP OF HIS CLASS.
HEATHER'S MADE ANOTHER DISCOVERY.
THIS LETTER FROM 1834 MENTIONS THAT HE NEEDED TO ESCAPE THE FARM FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS AND GO TO PHILADELPHIA, AND IT SAYS, "THEREFORE I STROLLED TO PHILADELPHIA.
BROWER'S HOTEL IS NOW ABOUT THE BEST IN THAT CITY."
SO HE HAS A HISTORY OF FREQUENTING THE BROWER'S HOTEL IN PHILADELPHIA.
SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?
DID JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH WRITE THIS LETTER?
BASED ON HANDWRITING ANALYSIS ALONE, YES, IT IS A JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH LETTER.
BUT I'M NOT A BOOTH EXPERT, SO I THINK THAT'S A QUESTION FOR BOOTH SCHOLARS.
WE'D NEED TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE CONTEXT OF THE LETTER.
WHY DID A FAMOUS SHAKESPEAREAN ACTOR CARE ENOUGH ABOUT THE FATE OF TWO SPANISH PIRATES TO HAVE PENNED A DEATH THREAT TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES?
GENE SMITH HAS AGREED TO MEET ME AT THE FOLGER LIBRARY'S ELIZABETHAN THEATER.
HE'S THE AUTHOR OF A BOOK ON THE BOOTH FAMILY'S INFLUENCE ON AMERICAN THEATER.
IN ADDITION TO BEING A GREAT ACTOR, JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH WAS A GREAT MADMAN ALL HIS LIFE.
THERE'S NO QUESTION HE WAS INSANE.
GENE SAYS THAT THE WILD AND ERRATIC BEHAVIOR ONSTAGE LED BOOTH TO BE DUBBED "THE MAD TRAGEDIAN."
HIS BOUTS OF LUNACY COULD INTERRUPT A PRODUCTION.
HE WOULD RUN AWAY FROM THE THEATER AND BE FOUND WALKING NAKED DOWN THE STREET.
BOOTH'S EXCESSIVE DRINKING EXACERBATED HIS MADNESS.
THEATER MANAGERS WOULD LOCK HIM UP TO KEEP HIM FROM GETTING DRUNK.
FREQUENTLY, HE WOULD ESCAPE AND SIMPLY VANISH FOR THREE OR FOUR DAYS.
DID HIS FITS OF MADNESS LEAD HIM TO ACTS OF VIOLENCE?
YES, BUT ONLY VERY OCCASIONALLY.
HE WAS CAPABLE IN THE MIDDLE OF A PERFORMANCE OF BECOMING SO INVOLVED IN KILLING DESDEMONA AS OTHELLO THAT WHEN THE MOMENT CAME TO PRESS THE PILLOW AGAINST DESDEMONA'S FACE, PEOPLE WERE AFRAID HE WOULD ACTUALLY MURDER THE ACTRESS.
WELL, THIS LETTER IS A THREAT TO ASSASSINATE PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON.
COULD THAT VIOLENT BEHAVIOR HAVE EXTENDED TO MURDER?
IT IS POSSIBLE.
HOWEVER, IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH HAD A REVERENCE FOR LIFE THAT WAS EXTRAORDINARY.
GENERALLY, HE HURT NOBODY BUT HIMSELF: HIS KIDS WERE FORBIDDEN TO SWAT A FLY, HE WOULD NOT CUT DOWN A TREE.
HIS DEATH THREAT, IF BOOTH PENNED IT, MAY HAVE BEEN A BOUT OF ALCOHOLIC MADNESS, HIS REVERENCE FOR LIFE BIZARRELY PROVOKING HIM TO THREATEN MURDER.
MY GUESS WOULD BE THAT MR. BOOTH PROBABLY READ THAT JACKSON WAS CONSIDERING THE EXECUTION OF THESE TWO MEN AND, IN ONE OF HIS FRENZIES, THREATENED TO KILL HIM.
HE DOUBTS PRESIDENT JACKSON TOOK IT SERIOUSLY.
INDEED, THE LETTER SAYS, "YOU KNOW ME," AND HE DID KNOW HIM.
JACKSON AND BOOTH WERE CLOSE PERSONAL FRIENDS.
I THINK JACKSON WOULD'VE PROBABLY SAID, "WELL, THAT'S BOOTH FOR YOU," AND JACKSON WOULD'VE LAUGHED IT OFF.
GENE PAINTS A PICTURE OF A TURBULENT AND DEEPLY TROUBLED MAN FREQUENTLY ABSENT FROM HIS FAMILY.
JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH WAS AWAY ON THE ROAD, TROUPING AROUND AS AN ACTOR FOR MUCH OF THE YEAR.
BUT GENE IS RELUCTANT TO MAKE ANY CONNECTION BETWEEN THE DEATH THREAT JUNIUS BOOTH MAY HAVE MADE TO PRESIDENT JACKSON AND HIS SON'S MURDER OF AB RAHAM LINCOLN 30 YEARS LATER.
I THINK IT'S EXCEEDINGLY IMPROBABLE.
HIS KILLING OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS SO ALIEN TO HIS FATHER'S REVERENCE FOR LIFE THAT THERE CANNOT BE ANY TRACEABLE PATH.
I'M NOT SURE WHAT TO MAKE OF ALL OF THIS, AND I STILL DON'T HAVE ANY SOLID EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE HANDWRITING ANALYSIS.
[ cell phone rings ] HEY, DAN, HOW YOU DOING?
IT'S DAN FELLER.
SEEMS OUR MEETING PROMPTED HIM TO DO SOME ADDITIONAL RESEARCH.
I TELL DAN ABOUT THE HANDWRITING COMPARISON AND WHAT ELSE I'VE LEARNED ABOUT JUNIUS BOOTH.
IT'S BEEN SUGGESTED TO ME THAT JACKSON AND BOOTH WERE ACTUALLY FRIENDS AND THAT THIS LETTER WAS WRITTEN IN JEST.
I DOUBT THAT VERY MUCH.
WE HAVE HERE ALL OF ANDREW JACKSON'S LETTERS THAT ANYONE KNOWS ABOUT; WE KNOW OF NO EVIDENCE TO PUT JACKSON AND BOOTH TOGETHER IN ANY WAY.
HIS TEAM HAS UNCOVERED SEVERAL NEW PIECES OF INFORMATION.
OUR LETTER'S DATED JULY 4th.
HE'S BEEN ABLE TO FIGURE OUT BOOTH'S WHEREABOUTS THAT DAY.
THESE ARE NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENTS SHOWING THAT BOOTH WAS INDEED IN PHILADELPHIA ON JULY 3rd AND 4th.
HE WAS SCHEDULED TO PLAY OTHELLO ON THE 3rd AT THE CHESTNUT STREET THEATRE...
I SEE.
AND SCHEDULED TO PLAY RICHARD III ON THE 4th.
THAT PUTS BOOTH IN PHILADELPHIA AT THE TIME THE LETTER WAS WRITTEN.
AND HERE'S THE REAL CLINCHER.
THIS IS ANOTHER LETTER THAT BOOTH WROTE IN AUGUST OF 1835.
HE APOLOGIZES FOR "THE UNGRATEFUL AND SHAMEFUL CONDUCT "I HAVE EVINCED TOWARD THE WORTHY MANAGERS "OF THE CHESTNUT STREET THEATRE ON A RECENT OCCASION, FRIDAY, JULY 3rd, AND SATURDAY THE 4th.
IN FACT, HE DID NOT PLAY ON JULY 3rd AND 4th; HE DIDN'T SHOW UP.
SO HE WAS THERE, AND MAYBE IN ONE OF HIS FITS OF MADNESS, DID NOT PERFORM.
EXACTLY.
BUT AS FOR THREATENING TO ASSASSINATE THE PRESIDENT, I STILL DON'T HAVE A SMOKING GUN.
BUT LOOK FURTHER DOWN IN THE LETTER.
THERE AT THE END, JUNIUS BOOTH HIMSELF GIVES ME MY FINAL PIECE OF THE PUZZLE.
"MY INSANE BEHAVIOR..." I THINK I FINALLY HAVE AN ANSWER FOR MARSHA.
VERY INTERESTING INVESTIGATION.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET INTO THE LIFE OF JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH.
I TELL MARSHA THAT THE HANDWRITING OF THIS ASSASSINATION THREAT MATCHED OTHER LETTERS PENNED BY BOOTH.
THAT'S COOL; I AM REALLY PLEASED.
BUT WHAT TIED THE CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE TOGETHER WAS AN OPEN LETTER FROM BOOTH THAT SEEMED TO BE AN ADMISSION OF GUILT.
HE SAYS, "MY INSANE BEHAVIOR IN WRITING INSOLENT LETTERS "TO MY BEST PATRONS AND TO THE AUTHORITIES OF THIS COUNTRY I CAN SCARCELY HOPE WILL BE PARDONED."
"THE AUTHORITIES OF THIS COUNTRY."
YOU THINK HE'S REFERRING TO PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON HERE?
I'LL BET HE IS, BECAUSE ONE SENTENCE FURTHER DOWN, HE SAYS, "MAY GOD PRESERVE GENERAL JACKSON AND THIS HAPPY REPUBLIC."
DAN SAYS OUR HANDWRITING ANALYSIS AND HIS QUESTIONING OF CONVENTIONAL WISDOM HAVE CORRECTED THE HISTORICAL RECORD.
PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S KILLER, JOHN WILKES BOOTH, WAS FATHERED BY A MAN WHO ALSO THREATENED TO MURDER A SITTING PRESIDENT.
WE HAD ASSUMED, AS THOSE BEFORE US HAD ASSUMED, THAT THE REAL BOOTH DIDN'T WRITE THIS LETTER ON THE BASIS OF THAT ONE WORD, "ANONYMOUS."
IT TURNED OUT HE DID.
IT REMINDS US ALWAYS TO CHECK OUR FACTS, ALWAYS TO GO BACK AND VERIFY, EVEN WHEN WE THINK WE KNOW WHAT REALLY HAPPENED.
THAT IS AMAZING.
I'M SHOCKED.
I MEAN, IT'S AN INTERESTING COINCIDENCE THAT HE WROTE SUCH A LETTER AND THAT HIS SON ENDED UP ASSASSINATING LINCOLN.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO INVESTIGATE THIS STORY.
THANK YOU.
WHOSE JOB IS IT TO PROTECT THE PRESIDENT?
WELL, BEFORE THE SECRET SERVICE, IT WAS SOMETIMES THE ARMY, SOMETIMES THE LOCAL POLICE.
BUT LOTS OF TIMES, IT WAS NO ONE.
JEFFERSON WALKED TO HIS OWN INAUGURATION UNGUARDED.
MARTIN VAN BUREN WALKED TO CHURCH ON SUNDAYS ALONE.
ON THE NIGHT LINCOLN WAS ASSASSINATED, A LOCAL WASHINGTON PATROLMAN HAD BEEN ASSIGNED TO PROTECT THE PRESIDENT, BUT HE ABANDONED HIS POST TO GET A BETTER VIEW OF THE PLAY.
THE SECRET SERVICE WAS CREATED FOUR MONTHS AFTER LINCOLN'S ASSASSINATION NOT TO PROTECT THE PRESIDENT BUT TO PROTECT THE ECONOMY.
ITS AGENTS WERE CHARGED WITH FIGHTING COUNTERFEITING.
TWO MORE PRESIDENTS WOULD BE ASSASSINATED BEFORE PRESIDENTIAL PROTECTION BECAME A FULL-TIME NATIONAL PRIORITY.
ONE GUNMAN KILLED PRESIDENT GARFIELD AT A WASHINGTON TRAIN STATION IN 1881 AND ANOTHER GUNMAN SHOT PRESIDENT McKINLEY AT THE PAN-AM EXPO IN BUFFALO IN 1901.
AFTER THREE ASSASSINATIONS IN LESS THAN 40 YEARS, CONGRESS FINALLY ASSIGNED THE SECRET SERVICE THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SAFETY OF THE PRESIDENT AT ALL TIMES.
Wes: OUR LAST STORY EXPLORES A BLACK MARKET TRADE THAT SCANDALIZED POST-CIVIL-WAR OHIO.
SINCE BEFORE THE TIME OF THE PHARAOHS, CIVILIZATIONS HAVE BEEN BURYING THEIR DEAD ALONG WITH PERSONAL EFFECTS, JEWELRY AND ARTIFACTS THAT COULD MAKE A THIEF RICH OVERNIGHT.
BUT LEFT UNGUARDED, THESE COFFINS AND TOMBS FREQUENTLY BECAME THE TREASURE CHESTS OF GRAVE ROBBERS.
OVER THE CENTURIES, COUNTLESS SITES HAVE BEEN DESECRATED, LOOTED, AND VALUABLE HISTORIC ARTIFACTS LOST TO THE BLACK MARKET.
HENRY DORRUM OF CHESANING, MICHIGAN, BELIEVES HE'S FOUND THE 19th-CENTURY ANSWER TO THIS HISTORIC PROBLEM.
I'VE BEEN COLLECTING FOR ABOUT 25 YEARS, AND THIS IS THE MOST UNUSUAL OBJECT I'VE EVER FOUND.
[ ♪♪♪ ] I WANT TO GET A LOOK AT WHAT KIND OF STRANGE GADGET HENRY BOUGHT FOR HIMSELF.
WELL, WHAT'S IN THE BOX?
I DON'T KNOW.
I THOUGHT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN AN EXPLOSIVE DEVICE.
IT'S A HEAVY LITTLE DEVIL.
OH, THAT IS HEAVY.
WHERE'D YOU GET THIS THING?
AT A FARM AUCTION IN SAGINAW COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
I LIKE UNUSUAL ITEMS OF ALL KINDS.
I'M A COLLECTOR OF ANYTHING.
I'VE GOT TO ASK YOU, ARE YOU SURE THAT IT'S NOT GOING TO EXPLODE?
OH, NO, IT'S BEEN THOROUGHLY CHECKED.
I'VE HAD IT FOR A LONG TIME, AND YOU CAN LOOK DOWN IN THERE, AND IT'S COMPLETELY VOID OF ANY POWDER.
HENRY EXPLAINS THAT ONCE WHEN HE HAD IT ON DISPLAY AT A BALTIMORE GUN SHOW, A PASSERBY CLAIMED HE RECOGNIZED THE DEVICE.
HE TOLD HENRY IT WAS A KIND OF GRAVE ALARM.
I'D SEEN A PICTURE OF IT IN A MAGAZINE YEARS AGO, AND THAT'S WHAT IT WAS, A GRAVE ALARM.
I'VE GOT TO TELL YOU, I'VE NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING.
THE STRANGER TOLD HIM GRAVE ALARMS WERE USED TO PROTECT JEWELRY AND OTHER VALUABLES THAT MAY HAVE BEEN BURIED WITH THE DECEASED.
THEY WOULD PUT ONE OF THESE IN THE CASKET, AND WHEN THE GRAVE ROBBER OPENS THE COFFIN, IT'S GOING TO BLOW UP IN HIS FACE.
WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT ME TO FIND OUT ABOUT THIS?
I WANT YOU GUYS TO FIND OUT IF THIS TRULY IS A GRAVE ALARM.
WELL, HENRY, I'LL SEE WHAT I CAN DIG UP.
I CAN'T FIND ANY MAKER'S MARK OR SERIAL NUMBER, WHICH IS A LITTLE ODD IF THIS HA D BEEN MANUFACTURED FOR SALE.
I'M SKEPTICAL THIS IS AN ALARM, AS HENRY BELIEVES.
IT LOOKS MORE LIKE SOME KIND OF CIVIL-WAR-ERA WEAPON.
THIS IS A BOMB.
I MEAN, THIS THING WOULD'VE HELD MAYBE HALF A POUND, THREE-QUARTERS OF A POUND OF BLACK POWDER IN HERE.
IT WEIGHS ABOUT EIGHT POUNDS AND IT'S MADE OF CAST IRON, WHICH WOULD'VE TURNED INTO SHARDS OF DEADLY SHRAPNEL IF THIS THING HAD EVER EXPLODED.
THIS IS A SPRING-LOADED HAMMER THAT WOULD'VE BEEN SET BY MOVING THIS METAL BAR ON THE COLLAR AROUND.
IF SOMEBODY STEPPED ON IT, THIS FIRING MECHANISM WOULD'VE ALMOST CERTAINLY HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED.
SO WHEN THIS LITTLE COLLAR IS MOVED EVEN A FRACTION OF AN INCH, THE HAMMER DROPS, AND THEN IT HITS AN EXPLOSIVE CAP, ALMOST LIKE A CAP GUN.
AND IF YOU LOOK, YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE'S A HOLE ON THAT NIPPLE, SO A SPARK WOULD TRAVEL INTO THAT INTERIOR, IGNITE THE GUNPOWDER, AND BAM!
I'VE COME OUT TO THE CORDOVA DRAGWAY PARK, ABOUT TWO HOURS WEST OF CHICAGO, TO SEE JUST HOW DANGEROUS OUR EX PLOSIVE DEVICE WOULD'VE BEEN.
LARRY LEFFERTS OF CENTRAL STATES FIREWORKS CONFIRMED THE AMOUNT OF BLACK POWDER OUR DEVICE WOULD'VE CARRIED.
WHAT WE DID WAS WE TOOK THREE-QUARTERS OF A POUND OF BLACK POWDER AND WE BURIED THEM AND PUT A LITTLE BIT OF DIRT ON TOP TO SIMULATE WHAT IT MAY LOOK LIKE.
FIRE IN THE HOLE!
FIRE IN THE HOLE!
Wes: WHOA, THAT THING COULD DO SOME SERIOUS DAMAGE!
ABOUT AN HOUR FROM THE DRAGWAY IS THE ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL.
ESTABLISHED IN 1862, IT'S THE NATION'S LARGEST GOVERNMENT-OWNED AND OPERATED ARSENAL.
KRIS LEINICKE IS THE CURATOR OF THE MUSEUM, WHICH HOUSES AN EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF HISTORIC MILITARY WEAPONS.
THIS IS THE DEVICE I WANTED TO SHOW YOU.
OKAY.
WOW.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IT COULD BE?
IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE IT MIGHT BE A CIVIL-WAR TORPEDO.
TORPEDO?
KRIS EXPLAINS THAT TODAY, TORPEDO IS KNOWN AS AN UNDERWATER WEAPON LAUNCHED FROM A SUBMARINE OR WARSHIP, BUT IT ONCE HAD A MUCH BROADER DEFINITION.
BEFORE THE FIRST WORLD WAR, A TORPEDO MEANT ANY HIDDEN EXPLOSIVE OR LAND MINE.
KRIS SAYS THAT PERCUSSION CAPS, WHICH FIT OVER THE NIPPLES AND PRODUCE THE SPARKS THAT IGNITED THE GUNPOWDER, WERE A CIVIL-WAR TECHNOLOGY.
SO IS THIS A MILITARY DEVICE, THEN?
I DON'T THINK IT IS, BECAUSE IT'S NOT MARKED, AND A LOT OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT AT THAT TIME DID HAVE MARKINGS.
THE OTHER THING IS THAT THE COLLAR ON THE NIPPLE IS DIFFERENT THAN ON MILITARY WEAPONS OF THAT TIME PERIOD.
LET ME SHOW YOU.
WE HAVE HERE A CIVIL-WAR WEAPON THAT WAS MADE AT WATERTOWN ARSENAL, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THIS ITEM THAT WE HAVE HAS A SQUARE COLLAR.
IT'S A TINY DETAIL, BUT KRIS EX PLAINS THAT THE U.S. MILITARY ROUTINELY USED SQUARE COLLARS ON PERCUSSION WEAPONS.
OUR COLLAR IS RECTANGULAR.
I ASK KRIS IF SHE THINKS THERE'S ANYTHING TO WARREN'S IDEA THAT THE DEVICE WAS DESIGNED TO DETER GRAVE ROBBERS.
THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING, BUT I'VE NEVER HEARD OF THAT BEFORE.
AND IF THIS HAD BEEN BURIED, KRIS SPOTS WHAT APPEARS TO BE A FATAL FLAW IN THE DESIGN OF OUR TORPEDO.
THE OTHER PROBLEM IS, ONCE YOU BURIED IT, YOU'D HAVE DIRT IN HERE, AND THEN HOW WOULD THE HAMMER HIT THE PERCUSSION CAP THAT'S ON THE NIPPLE TO CREATE THE EXPLOSION?
BUT IT'S DEFINITELY PROFESSIONALLY MADE, SO IT HAS TO HAVE SOME KIND OF PRACTICAL USE.
YOU KNOW, IF OUR DEVICE REALLY WAS MEANT TO DETER GRAVE ROBBERS, THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME ACCOUNT OF ONE OF THESE GOING OFF.
I TRY SEARCHING ONLINE TO SEE WHAT I CAN FIND ABOUT GRAVE ALARMS.
I DON'T TURN ANYTHING UP SEARCHING UNDER GRAVE ALARMS, BUT GRAVE TORPEDO, WHICH IS THE TERM KRIS USED, RETURNS A CURIOUS HIT.
OKAY, HERE'S AN ARTICLE FROM THE RICHWOOD GAZETTE, 1881 IN OHIO: "GRAVE ROBBER KILLED."
"THREE MEN WHO ATTEMPTED TO ROB A GRAVE "NEAR GANN, IN KNOX COUNTY, OHIO, "MET WITH A HORRIBLE OBSTACLE.
WHEN NEARING THE COFFIN, THEY STRUCK A TORPEDO."
SO THESE THINGS REALLY DID EXIST.
ONE OF THESE DEVICES, PATENTED IN 1881, SOUNDS SIMILAR TO OURS.
THOMAS HOWELL OF CIRCLEVILLE, OHIO, PATENTED AN EXPLODING SHELL THAT WAS BURIED RIGHT ABOVE A COFFIN.
AND IF ROBBERS TRIED TO DIG UP THE COFFIN, "THE SHELL WOULD EXPLODE, INJURING OR KILLING THE THIEVES."
IT APPEARS THAT IN THESE CASES, AT LEAST, THE GRAVE ROBBERS WEREN'T TRYING TO SWIPE JEWELRY AND OTHER VALUABLES, THEY WERE TRYING TO STEAL BODIES.
IT SAYS THAT DURING THE 1800s, MEDICAL SCHOOLS STOLE CADAVERS TO DEMONSTRATE GROSS ANATOMY TO THE STUDENTS AND THAT THIS WAS PARTICULARLY A PROBLEM IN OHIO.
SCOTT GAMPHER IS THE DIRECTOR OF HISTORY COLLECTIONS AT THE CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER AT UNION TERMINAL.
HE'S NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE OUR DEVICE, BUT HE UNDERSTANDS THE HISTORIC NE ED TO PREVENT BODY SNATCHING.
THERE WERE A LOT OF DISSECTIONS THAT WERE TAKING PLACE IN THESE MEDICAL COLLEGES, AND THUS A NEED FOR A LOT OF CADAVERS.
BETWEEN 1865 AND 1890, THE NUMBER OF MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN THE U.S.
ALMOST DOUBLED.
CINCINNATI-AREA MEDICAL SCHOOLS COMPETED WITH EACH OTHER TO OFFER PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE TO STUDENTS.
BUT BODIES WERE NOT EASY TO COME BY: THE CHURCH OBJECTED, AND MANY STATES ONLY PERMITTED THE BODIES OF EXECUTED CRIMINALS TO BE USED FOR DISSECTION.
AND SO, REALLY, THE ONLY AVENUE FOR THESE SCHOOLS TO OBTAIN CADAVERS WAS THROUGH THE BLACK MARKET.
IN OTHER WORDS, BY DOING BUSINESS WITH GRAVE ROBBERS.
IN THE 1870s, PUBLIC CONCERN ABOUT BODY SNATCHING WAS AT A FEVER PITCH IN OHIO IN PARTICULAR BECAUSE OF A NOTORIOUS INCIDENT.
THE BODY OF JOHN SCOTT HARRISON, FATHER OF FUTURE PRESIDENT BENJAMIN HARRISON, HAD GONE MISSING FROM HIS GRAVE.
HIS BODY WAS DISCOVERED DANGLING FROM A ROPE DOWN A DARK SHAFT AT THE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF OHIO, PROVOKING ENORMOUS OUTRAGE.
IT WAS PARTICULARLY BAD BECAUSE MEASURES HAD BEEN TAKEN BY THE HARRISON FAMILY TO PREVENT THIS VERY THING FROM HAPPENING.
SCOTT SHOWS ME AN ARTICLE FROM THE CINCINNATI DAILY COMMERCIAL WRITTEN IN 1878 JUST AFTER HARRISON'S BODY WAS STOLEN.
"IF CEMENTED WALLS CAREFULLY AND SKILLFULLY CONSTRUCTED, "AND VAST WEIGHTS, REQUIRING THE STRENGTH OF MANY MEN TO LIFT, "AND HIRED AND PRE-PAID WATCHMEN "COULD NOT SAVE THEIR LOVED AND HONORED PARENT'S GRAVE FROM DESECRATION AND DISHONOR, WHAT COULD?"
WOW.
AND I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SHOCKED THE PUBLIC SO MUCH: "WELL, IF IT COULD HAPPEN TO THE HARRISONS, IT COULD HAPPEN TO ANYBODY."
THE PUBLIC HAD RUN OUT OF WAYS TO SECURE THEIR LOVED ONE'S GRAVE, SO THEY TURNED TO DEADLY EXPLOSIVES AS A LAST RESORT.
BUT IS OUR DEVICE REALLY ONE OF THESE TORPEDOES?
WITHOUT A MAKER'S MARK OR A CLEAR EXPLANATION FOR HOW IT MIGHT'VE WORKED, I'M STILL NOT SURE WHAT WE HAVE.
SCOTT PUT ME IN CONTACT WITH PAUL MAYBERRY, THE LOCAL HISTORIAN OF PICKAWAY COUNTY, OHIO.
PICKAWAY INCLUDES THE TOWN OF CIRCLEVILLE, WHERE THOMAS HOWELL INVENTED HIS TORPEDO.
MY RESEARCH LED ME TO CIRCLEVILLE BECAUSE OF THIS OBJECT.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?
WELL, THAT'S REALLY SOMETHING.
PAUL HAS NEVER SEEN ONE OF THESE BEFORE, BUT HE SAYS GRAVE TORPEDOES HAVE A LONG HISTORY IN THE REGION.
OUR LOCAL CEMETERY ABOLISHED THE USE OF THEM, I THINK, IN 1890 BECAUSE IT WAS TOO MUCH OF A DANGER TO THE PEOPLE WHO WERE WORKING IN THE CEMETERY.
SUPPOSEDLY THERE WAS A GUY NAMED THOMAS HOWELL WHO LIVED HERE IN CIRCLEVILLE WHO MADE DEVICES LIKE THIS.
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF HOWELL?
YES, I HAVE.
I'VE DONE SOME RESEARCH ON THOMAS HOWELL.
HE WAS A WATCH MAKER AND TIMES GOT A LITTLE TOUGH FOR HIM, AND HE DECIDED TO RESOLVE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS WE HAD WITH GRAVE ROBBING.
PAUL ASSEMBLED A NUMBER OF LOCAL ARTICLES ON HOWELL THAT HE COPIED FROM OLD NEWSPAPERS.
THIS IS SOME OF THE ADVERTISING THAT HE DID.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S FROM THE NEWSPAPER FROM JULY 11, 1879.
THE AD SAYS, "SLEEP WELL, SWEET ANGEL.
"LET NO FEARS OF GHOULS DISTURB THY REST, "FOR ABOVE THY SHROUDED FORM LIES A TORPEDO, "READY TO MAKE MINCE-MEAT OF ANYONE WHO ATTEMPTS TO CONVEY YOU TO THE PICKLING VAT."
WOW, THAT IS INCREDIBLE!
I MEAN, THAT'S PRETTY GOOD DIRECT MARKETING, ISN'T IT?
IT IS.
BUT THE PICTURE OF HOWELL'S GRAVE TORPEDO LOOKS NOTHING LIKE OURS.
DO WE HAVE A GRAVE TORPEDO?
AND HOW WOULD IT HAVE WORKED?
HERE'S THE PROBLEM THAT I HAVE.
IF YOU SET THIS THING AND YOU PUT IT INTO A GRAVE, WHAT'S TO PREVENT IT FROM EXPLODING IN YOUR FACE?
WELL, THIS IS AN INGENIOUS DEVICE.
WHAT PAUL SHOWS ME NEXT GIVES ME THE ANSWER I NEED FOR WARREN.
WHEN YOU FIRST SHOWED ME THIS THING AND YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SOME SORT OF A GRAVE ALARM, I SAID, "COME ON, THIS GUY'S CRAZY!
IT COULDN'T BE A GRAVE ALARM."
BUT AS I GOT INTO THE INVESTIGATION, I DISCOVERED THAT THIS IS NOT SO MUCH AN ALARM AS IT IS A DEADLY WEAPON.
OH, YEAH?
I TELL HENRY THAT HIS DEVICE WAS DESIGNED TO DETER THIEVES STEALING BODIES, NOT VALUABLES.
WELL, THE GUYS I TALKED TO WERE HALF RIGHT, ANYWAY.
HERE'S THE THING I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT: HOW COULD YOU PUT THIS INTO A GRAVE, SET THE TRIGGERS, AND FILL THE GRAVE UP WITHOUT BLOWING YOUR HEAD OFF?
YOU GOT ME IN SUSPENSE HERE!
THOMAS HOWELL WAS SO SUCCESSFUL WITH HIS FIRST GRAVE TORPEDO THAT HE DESIGNED ANOTHER ONE, AND I HAVE A PATENT FOR THAT ONE HERE.
NO, REALLY?
"GRAVE TORPEDO, DECEMBER 20, 1881."
THE OLD PATENT PAPERS SHOW A CURIOUS PARABOLA, OR ARC, OVER THE TOP OF OUR TORPEDO, AND SUDDENLY I UNDERSTAND HOW OU R DEVICE IS SUPPOSED TO WORK.
WHAT'S MISSING FROM HERE IS A THIN METAL SHIELD THAT FIT OVER THIS THAT HAD A HOLE IN THE MIDDLE...
RIGHT.
THAT ACCORDING TO THE PATENT PAPERS, YOU'D TAKE A LONG TUBE, LIKE A STANDPIPE, YOU'D PUT A FUNNEL UP AT THE TOP, AFTER THIS IS BURIED IN THE GRAVE...
CORRECT.
AND YOU'D FILL THIS CHAMBER UP WITH GUNPOWDER.
THEN ONCE THE CHAMBER'S FILLED UP, YOU'D DROP A CORK DOWN THE STANDPIPE, OR SOME STOPPER.
WHEN THE TRIPWIRES SECURED TO THE COLLAR ARE DISTURBED BY A GRAVE ROBBER...
THE THING GOES KA-BOOM!
WOW, I WOULD SAY THAT'S THE SAME DEVICE.
BECAUSE HIS DEVICE HAS NO MARKINGS ON IT AND BECAUSE IT'S NOT AN EXACT MATCH, HENRY MAY HAVE A PROTOTYPE OF HOWELL'S PATENTED GRAVE TORPEDO.
IT'S SO CLOSE THAT IT'S GOT TO BE IT.
IT'S GOT TO BE.
YOU GUYS REALLY DID A JOB ON THIS.
THIS IS WORTH KNOWING.
THIS IS -- I MEAN, THIS IS HISTORY.
WELL, THIS HAS BEEN A GREAT INVESTIGATION, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THIS TO ME.
YOU'RE RIGHT ON THE BALL, WES.
PUT 'ER THERE, PAL.
IN 1881, THE YEAR HOWELL'S GRAVE TORPEDO WAS PATENTED, OHIO ENACTED THE ANATOMY LAW.
IT PERMITTED MEDICAL SCHOOLS TO USE UNCLAIMED BODIES FROM PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.
BY THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, BODY SNATCHING CASES HAD SIGNIFICANTLY DECLINED.
CADAVER STORAGE AND PRESERVATION IMPROVED, ALLOWING SCHOOLS TO ACCUMULATE BODIES, AND THE NEED FOR STEALING FRESH HUMAN CORPSES WAS A THING OF THE PAST.
EVEN PRESIDENTIAL BURIAL SITES WERE PREY FOR GRAVE ROBBERS.
ELEVEN YEARS AFTER ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S ASSASSINATION, A CRIMINAL GANG HATCHED A PLOT TO RANSOM HIS CORPSE.
THEY WANTED $200,000 AND THE RELEASE OF AN IMPRISONED COHORT.
ON ELECTION NIGHT 1876, THE THIEVES RAIDED LINCOLN'S TOMB IN SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS.
BUT THE 500-POUND CEDAR AND LEAD COFFIN WAS TOO HEAVY TO MOVE.
TIPPED-OFF SECRET SERVICE AGENTS ARRIVED IN TIME TO CATCH THE WOULD-BE GRAVE ROBBERS IN THE ACT.
AFTER THE ATTEMPTED ROBBERY, THE NATIONAL LINCOLN MONUMENT SOCIETY SECRETLY MOVED LINCOLN'S CORPSE TO ANOTHER PART OF THE TOMB.
FOR YEARS, THE PUBLIC PAID THEIR RESPECTS TO AN EMPTY SARCOPHAGUS.
BEFORE LINCOLN'S BODY WAS LAID TO ITS FINAL RESTING PLACE, IT WAS EXHUMED AND CHECKED TWICE TO MAKE SURE THE CORPSE WAS STILL THERE.
AS A LAST SAFETY MEASURE, IN 1901, PRESIDENT AND MRS. LINCOLN'S BODIES WERE ENCASED IN LEAD.
THEIR COFFINS WERE CAGED IN STEEL AND BURIED BENEATH 10 FEET OF CEMENT, ENSURING THAT LINCOLN WOULD STAY IN SPRINGFIELD FOREVER.
HISTORY DETECTIVES WILL RETURN IN A MOMENT, BUT FIRST... 10,000.
15?
15, YOU THINK?
20-, 21,000.
600.
20.
18,500.
24.
IT'S AT LEAST 40.
FORTY-FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND.
650.
20.
650.
This textile would be worth about a half a million dollars.
HALF A MILLION?
NO WAY!
I KNEW IT.
IT'S JUST A BLANKET.
Laying on the back of a chair.
Well, sir, you have a national treasure.
Wow.
A national treasure.
Congratulations.
I can't believe this.
ON THE NEXT HISTORY DETECTIVES: WAS THE OWNER OF THIS CUP ONCE A FOUR-POUND SIDESHOW EXHIBIT?
IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY NEVER DISCUSSED AT HOME.
IT JUST SEEMS LIKE SHAKY MEDICAL ETHICS.
WHAT DO THESE PHOTO ALBUMS REVEAL ABOUT THE BIRTH OF THE SILVER SCREEN?
Man: ABSOLUTELY AMAZING THAT THIS HAS SURVIVED.
AND WHAT'S THE MEANING BEHIND THE SYMBOLS IN THIS ROCK?
SOME NAVAJO COULD SAY THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DONE.
NO SECRET IS SAFE, NEXT TIME ON HISTORY DETECTIVES.
Tukufu: BE A HISTORY DETECTIVE YOURSELF.
GO TO pbs.org AND LEARN MORE ABOUT INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES OR SUBMIT YOUR OWN MYSTERY TO THE TEAM.
YOU CAN ALSO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT TONIGHT'S INVESTIGATIONS ONLY AT pbs.org.
THIS EPISODE OF HISTORY DETECTIVES IS AVAILABLE ON DVD.
THE COMPANION BOOK TO THE PROGRAM IS ALSO AVAILABLE.
TO ORDER, CALL PBS HOME VIDEO AT... OR VISIT US ONLINE AT... Captions by LNS Captioning Portland, Oregon www.LNScaptioning.com Elvis Costello: ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ IT'S JUST LIKE WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ Gwendolyn: THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.
WE ARE PBS.
[ New Radicals' "You Get What You Give" plays ]