The Cavalcade of America, starring Paul Mooney, presented by the DuPont Company, makers of
better things for better living through chemistry.
I'm innocent. I didn't know the man whose broken leg I set was a murderer. I'm innocent.
That was the plea of Dr. Samuel Mudd, a Maryland physician who was implicated in the conspiracy to
assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. Did he tell the truth? Was he guilty? Well, today, after 83
years, even historians do not agree. Tonight, Cavalcade presents Paul Mooney in the role of
Dr. Samuel Mudd.
Now, the DuPont Cavalcade of America, starring Paul Mooney as Dr. Samuel Mudd.
Tell the court, Dr. Mudd. Isn't it true that you knew the actor John Wilkes Booth before the
assassination of President Lincoln?
Yes, I met him two or three times.
And yet you failed to recognize him when you operated on him?
The man whose broken leg I set wore a full beard. John Wilkes Booth was clean shaven.
Tell me, doctor, why didn't you report this strange operation performed in the dead of night on a man
who was obviously a fugitive? You knew this entire area was swarming with proof, looking for the
President's murderer, didn't you?
No, sir. As a matter of fact, I didn't find out until many an hour later that President Lincoln had
been assassinated. When I did report it, it was too late. John Wilkes Booth had disappeared.
All right, Dr. Mudd. Continue with your story, please. Tell us what happened that night.
Well, gentlemen, it was about four o'clock in the morning, about April 15th. I'd awakened out of a
sound sleep by a knock on the door.
It is 1865. The war is over. In a crowded courtroom, Dr. Samuel Mudd, the Maryland physician,
tells his story to a military court. Is he telling the truth?
And so I went downstairs wondering who it could be at four o'clock in the morning. I opened the door.
A young man about 20 was standing there. His clothes were torn and dirty. He was out of breath.
Excuse me, sir. I'm sorry to trouble you. You're a doctor, aren't you?
Yes, I am. What can I do for you?
My friend out here is hurt. It's his leg. Could you take a look at it, please?
Oh, well, where is he? I don't see him.
He's over there in the field behind the house. You'll have to help me carry him in.
Oh, well, I don't believe I've ever seen you before, Mr.
Tyson, Dr. David Tyson.
And your friend? Do I know him?
Oh, no, sir. His name is Tyler, Edward Tyler.
Hand me that alcohol, please, and the swab.
Here you are, Doctor. Is it set now or fractured?
Yeah. Good thing your friend drank so much whiskey before he got here.
He's been unconscious ever since. Well, well, well, well. Looks like he's coming, too.
How are you feeling, Mr. Tyson?
Oh, Doctor, I must have fainted. First time it's ever happened to me, I assure you.
Your foot is badly lacerated there. I had to cut off your boot to get at the wound.
You must have been riding very hard.
Oh, yes, yes, Doctor.
We were in a hurry to get here.
Gosh, Doctor, first time he's left since the accident.
Bring that lamp a little closer, please, Mr. Tyson.
Yes.
Here? So, it was an accident?
Yes. You see, Dr. Mudd.
How do you happen to know my name, sir?
Well, in the village, Doctor, they told us your name and that your sympathies were with the South during the war.
The war is over, Mr. Tyler. Oh, still, please.
There.
Well, Mr. Tyler, that's all I can do for you. You can get up now.
Doctor, do you mean you're going to send him away with a broken leg?
Well, I said it, sir. That's all I can do. My house is a small one and I...
Well, Doctor, you can't...
Dr. Mudd, if you'll be kind enough to tell me your fee.
Uh, $25.
Here you are. Mr. Tyson, help me down from this deal.
Yeah, yeah, hold him.
Doctor, he's fainted again. I can't take him out this way. You'll have to keep him...
Very well. Put him back on the bed. He can stay here until he feels strong enough to travel.
And that, gentlemen, is the truth, the whole truth concerning the events of that night.
And do you mean to tell this court, Dr. Mudd, that you still don't know that this man whose broken leg you had just set,
whose face must have been as close to you as mine is now, was John Wilkes Booth, the murderer of Abraham Lincoln?
I didn't know he was Booth. I didn't know Lincoln had been murdered. I swear it before Almighty God.
Go on with your story, please, Doctor. What happened the next day?
Well, the next day was Saturday. Sometime during the afternoon, my wife took a tray with some cakes and oranges up to Mrs. Tyler.
It was just after sundown that I returned from a visit to a patient.
Well, dear, how's Mrs. Manning?
She's all right. Sarah, I just heard terrible news. President Lincoln was assassinated last night.
What? Oh, my.
By an actor named John Wilkes Booth.
John Wilkes? Why, you know him, don't you say?
Yes, not very well.
Oh, my.
He escaped. The troops are searching this entire area, every house, every barn, every woodshed.
Oh, what a terrible thing. I hope they catch him. A man who'd do a thing like that. But what kind of a man can he be?
A legal maniac, a confused man with a terrible pride.
Oh.
They say he was in a conspiracy to kidnap Mr. Lincoln. When his friends backed down, he told them he didn't need them. He'd do it himself.
Oh.
Ah, I'm tired.
She's wonder, dear. Out all day on calls and up all night with that awful Mr. Tyler.
Oh, yes. How is he, by the way? Did you send up something for him to eat?
I took it up myself, and he refused. He asked for brandy instead. Brandy in my house.
Well, I told him a thing or two, and it evidently had some effect because ten minutes later they left, the two of them, and good riddance, too.
Well, it seemed like a nice enough chap.
That's what you think. Let me tell you something, Sam. When I heard a noise on the stairs and went out to see what it was, I saw that young fellow helping Mr. Tyler down,
and Mr. Tyler's beard was brushing up against the young fellow's arm, and there was something funny about that beard. It didn't look natural.
You know what I think. I think he was disguised. It's my belief that he...
Just a... just a moment. Sarah, are you sure that beard was false?
I think it was. I'd almost be willing to swear... Sam, where are you going?
Back to Bryantown to notify the authorities. Sarah, do you realize the meaning of this? The man might be the fellow they're looking for. It might be John Wilkes Booth.
But that's ridiculous, Sam. You know Booth.
Yes, but I'm not so familiar with his face that... well, what, with a false beard? I'd better go back and report it.
Now, dear, you're all tired out. You're going straight to bed. Tomorrow's Sunday. You can report it when we go into church.
But Sarah...
Now, dear, that will be time enough.
Ah, all right. You think it's best that way. Good night.
As we drove through the town the next morning, I kept looking about for Lieutenant Lovett, one of the army officers in security patrols.
I wanted to tell him about the suspicious character I had for a patient, but I saw no one.
And since the services were about to begin, we went into this church.
Some time later, just as we were leaving after the service, an army officer rode up. It was Lieutenant Lovett.
Well, Dr. Martin, I've been up to your place looking for you.
That's strange, Lieutenant. I've been looking for you. By the way, this is my wife, Lieutenant Lovett, dear.
How do you do, Lieutenant?
How do, ma'am? Doctor, I'd like a word with you in private, if I may. Will you excuse us, ma'am?
Certainly, Lieutenant.
So, Doctor, you were looking for me, eh?
Yes, Lieutenant. I'd like to report an event of a suspicious nature that occurred early yesterday morning.
I'm listening, Doctor.
It was about four o'clock, well, or thereabouts, that two men knocked on my door. One of them had a fractured leg.
Really? And you said it for him?
Well, naturally. I'm a doctor. It was my duty to...
Yes, naturally.
This fellow with the broken leg, what did you say his name was?
I didn't say Lieutenant, but he said it was Tyler, Edward Tyler. And had you ever seen this man before, Doctor?
No. No, I hadn't.
I see.
Doctor Mudd, why are you telling me this?
Well, Lieutenant, I've read the proclamation about the President's death. It says we should all be on the lookout for suspicious characters, so I...
Yes, yes. Did you also read the name of the man who assassinated the President?
Yes. John Wilkes Booth.
Do you know him, Doctor? This man Booth?
Casually. I've met him two or three times.
And would you be prepared to swear that the man whose leg you attended was not Booth?
Yes, I would.
Well, that would seem to be satisfactory, Doctor. If it weren't for one small circumstance.
What's that?
Doctor Mudd, since you were not at home when I called a few minutes ago, I took the liberty of looking around your establishment.
I found this under the bed on which you performed the operation. This boot.
Have you ever seen it before, Doctor?
Yes, Lieutenant. It's the one I cut from Tyler's foot when I set his leg.
You admit that, then?
Why certainly. Why shouldn't I?
Because, Doctor, the name of the owner of this boot happens to be inscribed in the lining. And that name is John Wilkes Booth.
Doctor Mudd, you will consider yourself under arrest.
Well, gentlemen, that's the story. A full and complete account to the best of my knowledge and memory.
After my arrest by Lieutenant Lovett, I was remanded to prison and finally brought before this court.
All I ask now is justice and a verdict that will clear my name and assuage my crime.
And I will be able to prove that I am guilty.
I was remanded to prison and finally brought before this court. All I ask now is justice and a verdict that will clear my name and establish my innocence of evil intent for all time.
The prisoner will now rise and face the court.
The charge against you is that you did willfully and knowingly advise and encourage, receive, entertain, harbor and conceal John Wilkes Booth and his confederates.
This commission does therefore sentence you, Doctor Samuel Mudd, to life in prison.
You are hereby remanded to the island penitentiary known as Fort Jefferson on Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas, where you shall spend your days at hard labor for the rest of your natural life.
I am innocent. I swear it, I swear it before Almighty God.
You are listening to Garden Key starring Paul Mooney as Dr. Samuel Mudd on the cavalcade of America, sponsored by the DuPont Company, makers of better things for better living through chemistry.
Dr. Samuel Mudd, a Maryland physician, was found guilty of conspiracy in the murder of President Abraham Lincoln and sent to Garden Key, a barren, windswept island in the Gulf of Mexico.
Here on a coral sand outpost is the little known monument to American engineering skills, Fort Jefferson. But to this isolated citadel were sent deserters, traitors, all those who had broken faith with their country and its laws.
And here one day in 1865 arrived Dr. Samuel Mudd to spend the rest of his natural life.
So your name is Mudd, huh? That's a funny one.
Well, Mr. Mudd, first thing I want to do is put your mind at rest and save you a lot of trouble. If you can't swim 70 miles, there's no chance to escape. You got that?
Yes, sir.
Number two, any infraction of the rules and you get leg arms. Second infraction, you get elected to the Society of Cannonball Carriers. That means you lug a 42-pound shot around the parade grounds. You got that?
Yes, sergeant.
And if you're especially nasty, we've got another treatment. We tie the cannonball around your leg, chuck you into the sea and let you soak a while. And then we fish you out and throw you in the dungeon. You got that?
Yes, sergeant.
All right. Now, Mr. Mudd, ain't you got a first name or something? I hate to call a man by a name like that.
My given name is Samuel.
That's better. Well, Sam, everybody works around here, see? Now, what'll it be? The unloading gang, the wheelbarrow brigade, what's your preference?
Sergeant, is there a physician on this godforsaken island?
Sure, Major Smith. Why?
I should like to be his assistant or his orderly.
You would, huh? You know anything about medicine?
I ought to. I'm a doctor.
Well, you don't tell me. I'm sure the Major could use a help. Wait a minute, I'll ask him. Major, Major Smith.
Yes, sergeant?
What is it?
Major got a new man here, says he's a doctor. He wants to be your orderly.
Oh, he does, huh? What's his name?
His name is Mudd. Samuel Mudd.
What?
Samuel Mudd?
Yes.
Sergeant, do you know the crime this man committed?
No, Major. The records of this last batch ain't been sent up yet.
Sergeant, this is the same Dr. Mudd who helped John Wilkes Booth escape by setting his fractured leg.
John Wilkes Booth? You mean the fellow that murdered President Lincoln?
I do indeed.
And he helped him?
Ah, say no more, Major. I'll cook his goose.
All right, Mudd. About face. On the double. Ha!
The Sergeant's reaction was shared by everyone on the island.
Dr. Mudd led a lonely life, an outcast among outcasts. Even the prisoners shunned him.
If both killed Lincoln, then he was shot. Why didn't they shoot a scunt like this Mudd?
At the conspiracy they said it was to kill the President, and there was nine of them in her mouth.
Yeah, and they hanged four out of the nine, and one of them was even a woman, that Mrs. Zarat.
Yeah, but him, they sent here, it ain't just...
All right. See, you know what we do? We ignore him, just like he wasn't there.
Nobody talks to him, see? Nobody looks at him. We'll fix him.
One day, after a change in the prison authorities had brought about especially inhuman treatment,
Dr. Mudd attempted to escape on a departing ship.
He was apprehended and brought back to Garden Key, and confined to the dungeon in double chains.
Here he stayed for many months.
And then one day disaster hit the island. Yellow fever, bringing in its wake death and the delirious cries of the dying.
Doctor, doctor, help me, please. Please, doctor.
Water, water, for God's sake, water.
Honey comes marching home again.
The Lord is my separate. I shall not want him.
Take his bed to lay down and drink.
Major, Dr. Smith.
Major, they need you. The prisoners, the garrison people, they're all dying like flies.
Oh, Major, wake up. Can't you hear me, Major?
He's dead. The Major is dead. He's dead. The doctor is dead.
The Doctor
Doctor, Dr. Mudd.
Yes, sir.
Yes, hello.
It's you, Sergeant. It's hard to see you in this dungeon.
Listen, were you really a doctor?
Yes, I was, once.
Do you think you remember anything about doctoring?
I don't know. It's been so long. How long, Sergeant? How long have I been down here?
Doc, I'm asking you, do you remember anything about doctors?
Go away. Take your puny maladies to Major Smith.
But, Doc, this ain't puny.
A running nose, a stomach upset, go away.
Doc, please, it's yellow fever. It's all over the island. We'll be dead if you don't help.
Yellow fever? Where's Major Smith, isn't he?
He's gone, Doc. The fever's got him too, Doc. Get up. Come on, please, get up.
Yes, yes. Yes, help me up.
Sure. I'm coming, Doc.
Yes.
But, Doc, do you remember?
Huh?
Do you remember anything?
I remember, yes, yellow fever, symptoms.
Headache?
Nausea, delirium, treatment, a pneumatic followed by colonel, mustard foot baths.
Yes, Sarge. Yes, I remember. Come on.
For three weeks, Dr. Mudd fought this epidemic. He tempted the sick and the dying.
And when they saw him coming, these men who had denied him companionship,
they raised their stricken eyes to Dr. Mudd and hope entered into them.
Help me, Dr. Mudd, please. Help me, please, Doc.
Doctor, oh, Dr. Mudd, thank God you're here. Thank God you're here.
And when the epidemic was over, Darden Key came to life again and things were normal.
But not Dr. Samuel Mudd, for the doctor had himself come down with a fever.
For days he lay on his cot, bitter even in his delirium.
Gentlemen of the graduating class, you will repeat after me the oath, the oath of the Hippocrates. Yes, Professor.
On my honor, I solemnly swear by what I hold most sacred that I will be loyal to the practice of medicine.
Yes, yes, Professor.
That I will lead my life and practice my art in uprightness and honor. Honor, my honor.
Yes, Professor. Yes, Professor. Yes, yes, Mr. John Wilkes Poole.
Yes, gentlemen of the jury, my honor.
Samuel Mudd didn't die, he recovered. And his great unselfish labor for those who scorned and reviled him was not to be forgotten.
Some months later as Dr. Mudd lay recuperating in the sun on the roof of the fort at Darden Key, Sergeant Folsom rushed up breathlessly.
Doc, it's come, it's come.
What? What's come, Sergeant?
The pardon, the one we all asked for.
The pardon? Who asked for? What are you talking about?
Well, look, Doc, a couple of months ago we, all of us on the island held a meeting.
We wanted to do something, Doc, something for you. So we wrote out a paper giving an account of what you did for us and how you saved our lives during the epidemic and worked yourself almost to death and finally come down with a fever yourself.
And then we wrote on the bottom of the paper how we recommended that you be given a pardon and sent home. And then we all signed it. Every man and woman on Darden Key.
I see. God bless you, Sergeant. I'm very grateful to you. And to whom did you send this strange request?
Well, Doc, we sent it to the President of the United States.
So finally, after four long years, Dr. Mudd came home to Maryland, a free man, broken in body and impoverished, but free.
Back in Bryantown, he issued a statement. It was an old, familiar statement.
I say again that I did not know that the man whose broken leg I set, whom I sheltered instead was John Wilkes Booth, the murderer of Abraham Lincoln. This I swear before the Almighty God.
Next week, Cavalcade will present the story of the great Negro educator, Booker T. Washington, our play is called The Burning Bush.
And in the role of Booker T. Washington, Cavalcade will feature Juan O. Hernandez, who has just scored a personal success on Broadway in the theater guild production, Set My People Free.
Be sure to join us next week for the story of Booker T. Washington, presenting Juan O. Hernandez on the Cavalcade of America.
Here's a special announcement. Two weeks from tonight, on November 22nd, in response to many requests, Cavalcade will again bring you its special Thanksgiving program.
It is a fable, an immigrant's idea of the first Thanksgiving, as told by a student in a naturalization class.
Hey, Jack. Hey, Jack. Mr. Barachek is not. Children didn't land on Ellis Island.
You will again hear that incorrigible Mr. Bauer. And the Chief of the Friendly Indians.
It's me, Chief of Friendly Indians with Food for Pilgrims. 16,000 sandwich. Besides 16,000 sandwich, we bring it 16,000 dill pickles.
Be sure to listen to Us Pilgrims, Frank Gabrielson's warm and humorous story, starring George Tobias and the original cast.
You'll enjoy it. The date, November 22nd, Cavalcade time.
Tonight's DuPont Cavalcade, Garden Key, was an original radio play written by Arthur Aaron.
The program was directed by Jack Zoller. Music was composed by Arden Cornwell and conducted by Donald Bryan.
The narrator was Ted Pearson. Cavalcade of America comes to you each week from the stage of the Longacre Theater on Broadway in New York and is presented by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware.
This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.