On a Sunday in November of 1864, John Wilkes Booth first made the acquaintance of Dr.

Samuel Mud.

The men discussed a horse sale and Booth was invited to spend the night at

mud's home. On December 23rd the two men met again by accident this time on a street in Washington DC. Four months

later John Wilkes Booth shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln.

He broke his left leg in the process, leaping to the stage at Ford's theatre.

He and his getaway man, David Harold, knocked on the door of Dr. Mud at 4 in the morning for assistance.

Mud set splinted and bandaged the broken leg.

The two stayed with mud for about 12 hours as the doctor's handyman made a pair of crutches.

Within days, Dr. Mud was arrested and charged with conspiracy and with

harboring Booth and Harold during the escape. Though he had met Booth on at least two prior occasions, Mud told authorities he did not recognize his patient.

He was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment, one boat shy of the death penalty.

Mud was imprisoned at Fort Jefferson and what is today dry tortugas National Park, an isolated Gulf of Mexico

Island Fort. He attempted to escape but failed before an epidemic of yellow fever

broke out on the island.

The fort's physician died and mud took over care of the sick.

Due to his efforts, he received a full pardon from President Andrew

Johnson and was released from prison a hero. I'm Jason Epperson and this is the America's National Parks podcast and today we're

revisiting the story of Dr. Samuel Mud.

One of the earliest stories we told on the show, but you aren't going to hear it from me.

In 1936, a film was made loosely based on Mud Story called The Prisoner of Shark Island.

And then two years later, it was adapted into a radio drama

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