Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 February 1919 — LAST HOURS of WASHINGTON [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

LAST HOURS of WASHINGTON

’ INTIMATE FACTS DISCLOSED BY \ DIARY KEPT BY \ TOBIAS LEAR, / \SECRETARY / OF THE L

“■ COMPLETE account of the last days of G eorge WashTaSJn iiigum.- first president of the United Ntates, was writa j ten by Tobias Lear, who BK J was his private secretary and intimate companion for many years. This account, which was the only on<> written, has been preserved, and as it has been garbled and distorted in the biographies of Washington it is herewith presented as a matter of historical reference. For the of. Lr.u-fness, -hmveyer.- mln+>r d entails will be summarized. Mr. Lear I dates his account “Mount Vernon, Saturday, December 14, 1799,” and he wrote its follows: “This day has been marked_bx—an_ event which will be memorable in the history of America, and perhaps of the -world; —I shall give a particular state-' ment of it, to which 1 was an eyewitness. “On Thursday. December 12, the general rode out to his farm about ten -o’clock and didhoTATt urii "home until past three. Soon after he went . ont - the weather been me very bad—ra In. hail and snow falling alternately, with a eold wind. When fie came in I carried some letters to him to frank, intending: to send them to the post office In the evening. He franked the letters, but said the weather was too bad to send a servant to the office. I observed to him that I was afraid he had got wet. He said no ; his greatcoat . had kept him dry. But his neck appeared to be wet and the snow was hanging upon his hair. He etjine to dinner (which had been waiting for him) without changing his dress. In the evening he .appeared as well as usual. “Friday, Decern her 1 13, 1799. A heavy fall of snow took place on Friday, which prevented the general from rid- ‘ Ing out as usual, tie iiatFraken cold,; undoubtedly, from being so much exposed the day before, and complained of a sore throat. He, however, went out in the as t ernoon in t o tile ground between the house and river to mark some trees which were to be cut down for the improvement Of the spot. He had a hoarseness. Which increased in the evening, but lie made light, of it Became 111 in Night. “Saturday. December 14, 1799. 2:30 a. m. Between two and three o’clock Saturday morning he awoke Mrs. Washiitgfoti and told her he was very unwell and^had„ljjjjdLaii-agu^«—She-tfir served that he could scarcely speak, and breathed wiThdirtkmlty;nrrdivould have got up to call a servant, but he would not permit her, lest she should take a cold. As soon as the day appeared the woman (Caroline)went Into : the room to make a fire, and Mps. Washington sent her immediately to call me. I got up. put on my clothes as quickly as possible and went to his chamber. Mrs. Washington was then up. and related to me his being ill. as before stated. I .found the general breathing with difficulty, and hardly able to utter a Word intelligibly. He desired Mr. Ra w lins (one of the overseers) might be sent for to bleed him before the doctor could arrive. I dispatched a servant immediately for Rawlins and another for Doctor Craik, and returned again to the general's elinnifier.“A mixture of molasses, vinegar and butter was ,prepared to try its effects on the throat, but he could_ndt-JCTcal— Tow a drop. Tn soon after sunrise and prepared to bleed him. When the arm was ready the general, observing that Rawlins appeared to-be—agi tn 4s he could speak, ’Don’t be afraid? And when the incision was made he . observed. ‘The orifice is not large A’lKingit.' However, the blood ran pretty freely. Mrs. Washington, nor ktiowing Whether bleeding was proper or ' not in the general’s, situation, begged : that much might not*.be taken from him, lest it should be- injurious, add i about to untie the string the general

put up his hand to prevent it, and, as soon as he could speak, said, ‘More, tnore.’ Mrs. Washington being stitl very uneasy lest too much blood should fie taken, it was stoppeTTafter taking" about half a pint. Finding that no relief was obtained from bleeding, and that nothing wnuld go down the throat. I proposed bathing Tt extenniHjQvHh ' -sal volatile; which was done, and in the operation, which was vvitii the hand, and in the gentlest manner. he Doctors Are Summoned. “In the meantime, before Doctor Craik arrived, Mrs. Washington desired me to send for Doctor Brown of Port TotHiCco, Md,.whom Doctor CrailT hatFrecommended to be called if any ctise should ever occur that ’•was seriously alarming. Doctor Craik came in soon after and put a blister of cantharides on the throaty.took.some more blood from him and had a, gargle of vinegar and sage tea prepared, and ordered some "vinegar and hot water for him to inhale the steam of it, which he did, but in attempting to use the '-gargl tTlie'vv as. alni os t _ s u fto ca t ed. W hen the gargle came from the thrbat some phlegm followed, and he attempted to cough, which the dpcior"encouraged' him to.do as much as possible, but he could only attempt it. ••11 ;1 . 1IL _. I Craik requested that Doctor Dick be sent for, as lie feared Doctor Brown would not come in time. A messenger was accordingly dispatched for him. About this time tlie general was hied again. No effect, however, was produced by it and he remained in the same state, unable to swa 11 ovv anything. “3 p. m.—Doctor Dick arrived about three o’clock, and Doctor Brown arrived soon after. Upon Doctor Dick seeing the general, and consulting a few minutes with Doctor Craik, he was bled again. The blood came very slow, was Thick, and did not produce any symptoms of fainting. Doctor Brown came into the chamber soon after, and* upon feeling the general’s pulse the nhvsirians Doctor Craik returned soon after. The general could now swallow a little. Calomel and tartar Trnetlc“were - ad-’ ministered, but without effect. “4 p. m.—About four o’clock he desired me to—call Mrs. Washington to his bedside.- he requested her to go down into his room and take from his desk two wills which she would find there and bring them tp him, which she did. Upon looking at tfiem. he gave her one. which he observed was useless, as being superseded by the other, and desired her to burn it, which she did, and took the other and put in Into her closet. Knew End Was at Hand. “After this was done I returned to his bedside and took his hand. He said to me, ‘I find I am going. My breath cannot last long. 1 believed from the first that the disorder would prove fatal. Do you arrange and record all •my late military letters and papers. .taTMigiiAmy- acemmts- and settle mj“ books, aS-yoli know more about them than ahj- one else. and let Mr. Rawlins, finish recording my other letters which he has begun.’ I told him, this should ed anything which it was’essential for h’iin to do. as he had but a very short time to continue vvith iis. I told hiuj “tfiatTcoufd recollect nothing, but that I hoped he was not so near his end. He ..bserved. smiling, that he certainly was, and that, as it was the debt which we must all pay. he looked to the event with perfect resignation “5 p. m.—Doctor Craik came again into the room, to the

bedside the general said to him, ‘Doctor. I die hard, but l am not afraid to go; I believed from my first attack that I should not survive it. My breath cannot last long.’ The doctor pressed his hand, but could not utter a word. He retired from the bedside and sat by the tire absorbed in grief. “6 p. m.—Doctor Dick and Doctor Brown came into rtre~TUOiu, and with Doctor Craik went to his bed, when Doctor I’raik asked him if he could sit up in bed. He held out his hand, and I raised him up. He then said to the physician. ‘I feel myself going. I thank you for your attentions, but I pray you take no more trouble about me. L e t me go off quietly. I cannot lafet long.’ They found That mtt^which had been done was without effect. He lay dovvn again, and all retired, except Doctor Craik: Physicians Abandon Hope. “S p. m. —About eight o’clock the physicians tame again into the room and applied ..blisters and cataplasms of wheat bran to his legs and feet, after which they went out, except DoctoF'Craik, without a ray of hope. “10 p. m.—About ten o’clock "fie' made several attempts to speak to me before he could effect it. At length he said, ‘I am just going. Have me decently buried, and do not let my body into the vault in less than three days after I am dead.’ I bowed assent, for I could not speak. He then looked at me again and said, ‘Do you understand me?’ I replied, ‘Yes.’ ‘ ’Tis well,’ he said. “About ten minutes before he expired (which was between ten and eleven o’clock) his -breathing- became easier. He lay quietly; he withdrew his hand from mine and felt his own pulse. I saw his countenance change. I spoke to Doctor Craik, who sat by the fire. He came to the bedside. The general’s hand fell from his ’wrist. I took it in mine and pressed it to my bosom. Doctor Craik put his hands over his eyes and he expired without a,struggle or a sigh. “While we were fixed m silent grief, was sitting at the foot of the bed, asked with a firm and collected! voice:.‘ls he gone?’ I. could not speak, but held up my hand as a signal that he was no more ‘ ’Tis vvell,’ she said in the same voice. ‘All is over now? I shali soon follow him, I have no more trials to pass through.’ “At the time of his decease Doctor Craik and myself were in the situation above mentioned. Mrs. Washington was sitting near the foot of the bed. Christopher was standing near the bedside. Caroline, Molly and Charlotte (servants) were in the room, standing near the door.”

At the time of Washington’s death congress was in session in Philadelphia. When the news was received both houses immediately adjourned. A joint committee of the two houses was appointed, which reported resolutions recommending that a marble monument should be erected to commemorate the great events in the military and political life of Washington ; that an oration suited to the occasion should be pronounced in the presence of both houses of congress; that the people of the United should wear crepe 011 the. lef t arm _3Q-days as a badge of mourning, and that the president, in the name of congress, should be requested to write a letter of condolence to Mrs. Washington. From that time the American people ha velibnofedlfie - fisher of the!r country on his birthday to demonstrate by speech and act their appreciation of his virtues and to reaffirm the eternal principles of liberty and democracy, of which he was the foremost champion.