Destiny of the Republic (43 page)

Chapter 18: “Keep Heart”

1
“I hope the dangers are nearly passed”: Lucretia Garfield to Mrs. Logan, July 14, 1881.

2
Although she continued to spend: Feis,
Mollie Garfield in the White House
, 88.

3
“I hope I shall not disappoint you”: Shaw,
Lucretia
, 91.

4
“Blundered!”: Lucretia,
Diary
, April 20, 1881, in Garfield,
Diary
, 641, 4:641.

5
“In these few weeks of trial and anxiety”: “The President’s Wife,”
New York Times
, Aug. 28, 1881.

6
“She must be a pretty brave woman”: Mabel Bell to Alexander Graham Bell, July 25, 1881, Bell Family Papers.

7
“His gradual progress”: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 31.

8
“day of thanksgiving for the recovery”: “Thanksgiving for the President,”
New York Times
, July 13, 1881.

9
“You keep heart”: “A Typical American Family,”
New York Times
, July 25, 1881.

10
“Every passage of his bowels”: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 18.

11
“rarely spoke of his condition”: Ibid., 14.

12
His only link to the outside world: “Still Brighter Prospects,”
New York Times
, July 8, 1881.

13
“
Strangulatus pro Republica
”: Theodore Clarke Smith,
The Life and Letters of James Abram Garfield
, 2:1193.

14
“There was never a moment”: Rockwell, “From Mentor to Elberon.”

15
Finally, nearly a month after the shooting: Harriet S. Blaine and Beale,
Letters of Mrs. James G. Blaine
, p. 220.

16
“But I move the diaphragm”: “Still Brighter Prospects,”
New York Times
, July 8, 1881.

17
“I won’t talk to you”: “At the Patient’s Bedside,”
New York Times
, July 5, 1881.

18
Friends and family members in Ohio: “The Feeling in Cleveland,”
New York Times
, July 4, 1881.

19
“Everywhere,” one reporter wrote, “hope and confidence”: “The President’s Fight for Life,”
New York Times
, July 7, 1881.

20
“out of danger”: Harriet S. Blaine and Beale,
Letters of Mrs. James G. Blaine
, 221.

21
“large quantity”: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 38–39.

22
“neither ashamed nor afraid”: Fisher,
Joseph Lister
, 130.

23
“was looking very well”: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 39.

24
“he is feverish”: Ibid., 40.

25
“drenched with a profuse perspiration”: Ibid., 41.

26
“the President bore”: “Complete Medical Record of President Garfield’s Case Containing All of the Official Bulletins,” 25–26.

27
He vomited repeatedly: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 43.

28
“weak solution of car bolic [
sic
] acid”: Ibid., 42.

29
Unbeknownst to his doctors: Autopsy of James A. Garfield, 4.

30
An enormous cavity: Ibid., 3.

31
“We received every morning”: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 23.

32
One man sent the doctors plans: Ibid.

33
A man in Maryland wrote to Bliss: Prichard and Herring, “The Problem of the President’s Bullet,”
Surgery, Gynecology, and Obstetrics
, 2 (May 1951), 625–33.

34
Although Bliss admitted: Ibid., 626.

35
“had a suspicion”: Ibid., 627.

36
“bullet has pierced the liver”: “A Great Nation in Grief,”
New York Times
, July 3, 1881.

37
At least one doctor in Washington: Baker,
President Garfield’s Case
, 1–8.

38
Baker even drew up a diagram: Ibid.

39
“I felt,” he would later explain, “that it was improper”: Quoted in Rutkow
, James A. Garfield
, 117.

40
“These bulletins were often the subject”: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 19.

41
“If the slightest unfavorable symptom”: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 19.

42
“Your arrival and ‘Professor’ Tainter’s”: Mabel Bell to Alexander Graham Bell, July 16, 1881, Bell Family Papers.

43
“the experiment will be watched”: “Search for the Pistol Ball,”
Washington Post
, July 15, 1881.

44
“Ordinary telegrams I presume”: Bell to Mabel Bell, July 26, 1881, Bell Family Papers.

45
Since he had agreed to a brief interview: Bell, “Volta Lab Notes,” July 18, 1881.

46
“carried a bullet in his body”: Bell,
Upon the Electrical Experiments
, 18.

47
“sonorous spot”: Bell to D. W. Bliss, July 23, 1881, quoted in Bell,
Upon the Electrical Experiments
, 54.

48
“Will you do us the favor”: D. W. Bliss to Alexander Graham Bell, July 26, 1881, Bell Family Papers.

49
“tired, ill, dispirited”: Bell to Mabel Bell, July 26, 1881, Bell Family Papers.

50
If Bell added a condenser: What was then known as a condenser is today called a capacitor.

51
Breaking open the instrument: Bell to Mabel Bell, July 26, 1881, Bell Family Papers.

52
Not only did it improve the sound: Bell,
Upon the Electrical Experiments
, 20.

53
Bell could now detect a bullet: Bell,
Upon the Electrical Experiments
, 16–20; Bruce,
Alexander Graham Bell and the Conquest of Solitude
, 345.

54
“trial of the apparatus”: Bell to Mabel Bell, July 26, 1881, Bell Family Papers.

55
“Mr. Garfield himself is reported”: Mabel Bell to her mother, July 17, 1881, Bell Family Papers.

56
“so calm and grand”: Bell to Mabel Bell, July 26, 1881, Bell Family Papers.

57
“the look of a man”: Ibid.

58
Frantically, Bell tried everything: Bell,
Upon the Electrical Experiments
, 55.

59
The sound, however, was distracting: Bell to Mabel Bell, July 26, 1881, Bell Family Papers.

60
Taking in the long wires: Mackenzie,
Alexander Graham Bell
, 237.

61
“His head was so buried”: Bell to Mabel Bell, July 26, 1881, Bell Family Papers.

62
After carefully pulling: Ibid.

63
As everyone in the room: Ibid.

64
“sharp and sudden reinforcement”: Bruce,
Alexander Graham Bell and the Conquest of Solitude
, 346.

65
Finally, with the president quickly tiring: Bell,
Upon the Electrical Experiments
, 55.

66
“I feel woefully disappointed”: Bruce,
Alexander Graham Bell and the Conquest of Solitude
, 346.

67
Returning to his laboratory: Bell,
Upon the Electrical Experiments
, 55.

68
“Private and confidential”: Bell to Mabel Bell, July 26, 1881, Bell Family Papers.

Chapter 19: On a Mountaintop, Alone

1
On July 23: “Conkling and His Friends,”
New York Times
, July 24, 1881.

2
Conkling, who had always worked: Chidsey,
The Gentleman from New York
, 3.

3
“renew their pledges”: “Roscoe Conkling Beaten,”
New York Times
, July 23, 1881.

4
“must not reap the reward”: Chidsey,
The Gentleman from New York
, 355.

5
“moody and fretful”: “Conkling and His Friends,”
New York Times
, July 24, 1881.

6
“done with politics”: Conkling,
The Life and Letters of Roscoe Conkling
, 306; Chidsey,
The Gentleman from New York
, 115.

7
“I presume that if Mr. Arthur”: Chidsey,
The Gentleman from New York
, 354.

8
“Disguise it as they may seek to do”: “The Senatorial Contest,”
New York Times
, July 6, 1881.

9
Some took a tactical approach: “Arguing About Possibilities,”
New York Times
, July 6, 1881. Arthur had been born in Vermont.

10
“shoulder their muskets”:
Chicago Tribune
, July 3, 1881, quoted in Ackerman,
Dark Horse
, 394.

11
“There is no doubt that he is suffering keenly”: “Vice President Arthur,”
New York Times
, July 5, 1881.

12
“seemed to be overcome”: Reeves,
Gentleman Boss
, 242.

13
“unable to conceal his emotion”: “Gen. Arthur in Washington,”
New York Times
, July 4, 1881.

14
Finally, a journalist from New York:
New York Times
, July 5, 1881.

15
“his head bowed down”: Ibid.

16
“received no visit”: “Conkling and His Friends,”
New York Times
, July 24, 1881.

17
“The hours of Garfield’s life are numbered”: Julia Sand to Chester Arthur, August 27, 1881, Chester Arthur Papers.

18
“dead and buried”: Reeves,
Gentleman Boss
, 296.

19
“Your kindest opponents say”: Julia Sand to Chester Arthur, August 27, 1881, Chester Arthur Papers.

20
Over the years, he would keep: Reeves,
Gentleman Boss
, 478.

21
“It is not the proof of highest goodness”: Julia Sand to Chester Arthur, August 27, 1881, Chester Arthur Papers.

22
“As the President gets better”: Reeves,
Gentleman Boss
, 242.

23
“thoroughly aired and cleaned”: Clark,
The Murder of James A. Garfield
, 9; Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 44.

24
Soon after taking charge of the case: Rockwell, “From Mentor to Elberon.”

25
Now, Bliss took over: “President Garfield’s Case,”
American Observer
, 494.

26
“devoting all my professional skills”: D. W. Bliss, on White House stationery, August 13, 1881.

27
“farther into the cavity”: Reyburn,
Clinical History of the Case of President James Abram Garfield
, 46.

28
“Courage”: Mabel Bell to Alexander Graham Bell, July 29, 1881, Bell Family Papers.

29
When Bliss’s letter arrived:
Boston Herald
, quoted in Bruce,
Alexander Graham Bell and the Conquest of Solitude
, 347; author interview with Roger Sherman, National Museum of American History.

30
“Splendid!”: Bell, “Volta Lab Notes,” July 30, 1881.

31
In just four days, he had managed: Bell,
Upon the Electrical Experiments
, 24, 29.

32
“forced exertions”: Ibid., 26–27.

33
“In its present form”: Bell to D. W. Bliss, July 31, 1881, in Bell,
Upon the Electrical Experiments
, 56.

34
On July 31: Bell, “Volta Lab Notes,” July 31, 1881.

35
“no difficulty”: Bell to D. W. Bliss, July 30, 1881, in Bell,
Upon the Electrical Experiments
, 57. Just the day before, Bell had tested McGill with no success, writing dejectedly in his laboratory notebook that he had been able to “get no indication” of the bullet in McGill.

36
“no need of further secrecy”: Bell to Mabel Bell, July 31, 1881, Bell Family Papers.

37
“Come up and see us”:
Boston Herald
, quoted in Bruce,
Alexander Graham Bell and the Conquest of Solitude
, 346–47.

38
“My new form of Induction Balance”: Bell to D. W. Bliss, July 31, 1881, in Bell,
Upon the Electrical Experiments
, 56.

39
“suspected spot”: Bell,
Upon the Electrical
Experiments
, 32; “The President’s Case,”
Washington Post
, August 1, 1881.

40
“the only other person present”: Bell,
Upon the Electrical Experiments
, 32.

41
Finally, he asked the first lady:
Harper’s Weekly
, August 13, 1881.

42
“a general expectation”: Bell,
Upon the Electrical Experiments
, 32–33.

43
“if success crowns the effort”: Ibid., 32–33.

44
“now unanimously agreed”: Prichard and Herring, “The Problem of the President’s Bullet,” 627.

45
“In the absence”: Bell,
Upon the Electrical Experiments
, 33.

46
“perfectly sure”: Ibid.

47
Still, Bell was not convinced: Ibid.

48
He had just begun: Ibid., 34.

49
Determined to find a way to keep working: Tainter, “The Talking Machine,” 37.