Whoa. That's really small, but I guarantee you will love what you find upon clicking through. I've spent a good chunk of my afternoon in the NYPL on a research mission from God (my brain - 5% nation of islam - what?) in order to dig up some primary sources on McKinley's assassination. I now have a veritable wealth of material and will slowly post and comment upon each article as they all present very different and interesting takes on the matter.
The first is the core of the assassination - a NYTimes account as hardboiled and delightfully sinister as any great crime novel. I particularly enjoy the section headings, which present an evolving sense of thrill while detailing the crime, initial crowd reaction and the near lynching.
It begins with an almost wholesome byline - very innocent - that takes on a few great meanings. "How The Deed Was Done" implies the shooting is a singular act, yet "deed" makes it seem small. Sometimes I do a good deed for my neighbor by holding the front door to my apartment building open or carrying some groceries up a couple flights of stairs.
Then, "The Assassin Appears." This adds a certain theatrical element to the day. I could imagine this moment in a cheesy high school play with curtains rising to reveal the hidden hand with dingy home depot lightbulbs. Could McKinley have noticed his appearance in any way? I doubt it. The presidential handshake session is akin to factory workers engaging in mechanical reproduction. A quick "hello," a focused "what's on your mind," a firm shake - rinse. repeat.
The shots are fired and "Confusion Reigns." I'm into this heading, which details how the crowd falls into a piercing silence. We know that silence well. Bolano referred to it as the moment of silence after you hear something truly beautiful (or something to that effect). I would guess that there's a universal reaction when a loud blast or bang occurs. Everyone shuts the fuck up. Everyone looks around in every direction.
Of course, this never lasts long. The crowd pounces and our Polish friend ends up more than a bit bloody. McKinley is "In The Hospital." We now know how great everything looked by the ridiculous telegram updates sent out by the press corps. We also know about the gangrene and eventual death. In retrospect, this reminds me of one of those horrible movie moments where a Bruce Willis is on the astroid and we know that the explosion equals his certain death. At least that's what I think happened in Armageddon. I can't remember because I was crying too much.
I'll let the last section speak for itself. The language is lively and powerful. You can feel the scene in this one:
Crowd Ready To Lynch... In a few minutes the crowd had grown from tens to hundreds, and these in turn quickly swelled to thousands, until the street was completely blocked by a surging mass of eager humanity. It was at this juncture that some one raised the cry of "Lynch him!" Like a flash the cry was taken up, and the whole crowd re-echoed the cry, "Lynch him!" "Hang him!" Closer the crowd surged forward...
More on this later in the week. I think next I'll detail the reaction within New York City churches.
