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5.Lincoln's Hat Was Shot Months Before He Was
5.林肯被害前帽子被射
Everyone knows the ultimate fate of Abraham Lincoln, but he came very close to meeting his demise a bit earlier. President Lincoln and his family stayed at the Soldiers' Home during the summer months to avoid the blistering heat at the White House. It was only about 6 kilometers (4 mi) away, and Lincoln often made the trip on horseback alone.
大家都知道林肯最终死于非命，但他在这之前就曾与死神邂逅。当时，林肯一家为了避开白宫的炎炎酷暑，经常去6公里（4英里）外的退伍军人收容所做客，林肯还经常独自骑着马往返于两地之间。
One night in August 1864, just under a year before his assassination, Lincoln was traveling alone to the Soldiers' Home at around 11:00 PM when a shot rang out. Private John W. Nichols, who was stationed at the Soldier's Home, rushed to the aid of the president, whom he found sans hat. Lincoln explained that the horse jerked upon hearing the gunshot, and his hat went flying. When Nichols found the hat, he noticed it now featured a brand-new bullet hole. The President had narrowly missed being shot in the head. Lincoln requested the matter be kept quiet, and it was—Nichols didn't tell his story until 1867. Many have speculated that Lincoln's famous hat spoiled the assassin's aim and saved his life.
1864年8月的一个晚上，林肯一个人骑着马前往收容所，当时已是晚上11点左右，接着，一声枪响划破天空，驻扎在收容所的列兵约翰·W·尼古拉斯立马前去查看，发现林肯的帽子不翼而飞。林肯向他解释道，枪声惊动了马，把帽子给甩飞了。而当尼古拉斯找到帽子时，发现帽子上有一个崭新的弹孔，林肯要求尼古拉斯不要声张，而尼古拉斯也的确做到了——直到1867年，他才把这件事公之于众，人们不禁猜想，要不是帽子为林肯挡下这一枪，林肯可能就被害了。
The death of Lincoln even that much earlier would have had devastating consequences for America. Hannibal Hamlin would have become president, and a lame duck one at that. Hamlin was already off the Union ticket for vice president, having been replaced by Andrew Johnson. Hamlin would have faced strong opposition, because at the time, the Radical Democracy Party—an offshoot of the Republicans—and their nominee, John Fremont, had not yet dropped from the race. Despite what Steven Spielberg told us in his movie Lincoln, the Radical Democracy Party were more strongly opposed to slavery than Lincoln, which led to their formation. Had the assassin aimed a bit lower in 1864, the election in November would likely have pitted Hamlin against Fremont and McClellan (the Democratic nominee), with Johnson perhaps running on the Union ticket. America in 1864 would have been a mess.
如果林肯在那次刺杀实践中不幸殒命，美国会经历一次毁灭性的灾难——毫无实权的汉尼巴尔·哈姆林会当选总统。此前，哈姆林的副总统资格已经被安德鲁·约翰逊取代，而激进民主党的候选人约翰·福利蒙特还要和哈姆林一决高下，哈姆林势必要面临更多反对的声音。尽管斯皮尔伯格大导在《林肯》中像我们展示了林肯反对奴隶制的伟大事迹，但事实上，激进民主党的反奴态度更加坚决，这也是这个党派形成的原因。所以，如果1864年那晚的子弹打得再下面一点，那么在11月的大选可能是一场哈姆林和福尔蒙特、麦克莱伦（激进民主党候选人）的混战，约翰逊还有可能来插一杠子，导致美国陷入混乱。
4.Reagan's Would-Be Assassin Targeted Jimmy Carter
4.里根刺杀者曾陷害吉米·卡特
John Hinckley Jr. was clearly insane. In a bizarre bid for the heart of actress Jodie Foster, Hinckley infamously shot Ronald Reagan early in his first term, but what is glossed over is that Hinckley didn't really care which president he killed—he just wanted a president.
很显然，小约翰·欣克利的脑子不正常，为了赢取女演员朱迪·福斯特的芳心，他曾经在里根第一个执政期间枪杀里根，人们不知道的是，欣克利似乎并不在乎他要杀害的是哪一位总统，只要是总统就可以了。
Hinckley's plans were pretty out there. One plan was to hijack an airplane, fly it to the White House, and live there with Foster. He came to his senses, such as they were, and settled for a presidential assassination. Hinckley began stalking Jimmy Carter when he was on the campaign trail, and he actually came very close to Carter—within 2 meters (6 ft) during a stop in Dayton, Ohio on October 2, 1980, roughly one month before the election.
欣克利的诸多计划都很是出格，其中一个是劫持飞机，将飞机开往白宫，然后与福斯特在那儿共享天伦之乐。他唯一很清醒的事，就是要刺杀一位总统。自吉米·卡特四处做大选演讲之时起，欣克利就开始暗中跟踪，1980年10月2日，离大选不过一个月，当时卡特正在俄亥俄州代顿市做巡回演讲，欣克利站在离卡特不足2米（6英尺）的位置。
Hinckley is widely reported to have not carried a gun that day, but he was detained later that month in Nashville, Tennessee with three handguns in his carry-on luggage. Carter was in Nashville at the time of his arrest. With no criminal record, he paid a small fine and journeyed on to Dallas, Texas. It was there that he purchased the gun that shot Reagan.
据称，欣克利那天没有带枪，随后，他在纳什维尔被捕，原因是警察在他的随身行李中搜查出3把枪，被捕期间，卡特也恰巧在纳什维尔演讲，鉴于欣克利没有犯罪记录，欣克利交了一点罚款便不了了之了，重获自由的他继续前往达拉斯，然后在达拉斯刺杀了里根。
Did Hinckley really not have a gun with him in Dayton? Or did he just change his mind? Hinckley has never clarified that, but what is clear is that he was within spitting distance of a president and the president survived.
在代顿逗留时，欣克利是真的没枪，还是他改变刺杀卡特的主意了？关于此事，欣克利从未澄清，但我们知道的是，欣克利曾站在离总统一步之遥的地方，而总统奇迹般地活下来了。
3.Barack Obama, Ricin, And The Elvis Impersonator
3.奥巴马，蓖麻素，猫王模仿演员
The day after the tragic bombing at the Boston Marathon, a suspicious package arrived at the US Capitol mail offices. The day after that, on April 17, 2013, a similar letter addressed to President Barack Obama was intercepted at the White House mail facility. Both contained ricin.
波斯顿马拉松爆炸案的第二天，国会收到一封可疑信件，一天以后，即2013年4月17日，白宫也收到一封类似信件，两封邮信里面都有蓖麻素。
The story that follows is so unbelievable that it just has to be true. The two letters—and another that was addressed to Mississippi judge Sadie Holland—all had the same message: "No one wanted to listen to me before. There are still ‘Missing Pieces.' Maybe I have your attention now even if that means someone must die. This must stop. To see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance. I am KC and I approve this message."
接下来的事情更加匪夷所思，三封信件都夹着同样的字条（另外一封信寄给了密西西比州法官奥兰德）："以前，人们总是不在乎我的想法，现在还有一些残肢断体没有找到，但是你们已经开始注意到我了，尽管这搭上了很多人的性命，一切都应该结束了。对错误缄口不言便是助纣为虐！我是KC，我批准这条信息。"
A quick Internet search revealed that Elvis impersonator Kevin Curtis used similar phrasing in a one-sided online war against his former employer, North Mississippi Medical Center. After seven hours of questioning, however, the Secret Service began to doubt Curtis was the ricin maker. When asked about the powerful toxin, Curtis replied, "I don't like rice. I don't really eat rice. If y'all look in my house, you won't find any rice." When asked if he had any enemies, he named Everett Dutschke. Indeed, Dutschke hated Curtis so much that he had tried to frame the man for killing the president of the United States.Curtis and Dutschke harbored a deep hatred for each other. Curtis said the feud stemmed from Dutschke's refusal to run an item in his online newspaper, while Dutschke claims that Curtis cyberstalked him after his crushing Mississippi State House election loss. The two battled for six years online and through mutual friends. Dutschke was vainglorious, bragging incessantly about his Mensa membership. He thought he could outsmart anyone. Dutschke mailed the three letters, having included the judge because she was the mother of his political opponent in his failed legislature bid, and framed his bitter rival. He initially pleaded not guilty, but he changed his mind later and entered a guilty plea. His Mensa membership turned out to be less helpful than he might have thought, at least when it came to chemistry: Judge Holland opened her letter and inhaled some of the ricin, but Dutschke had mixed the ricin so poorly that it wasn't strong enough to kill the 80-year-old judge.
通过联网搜查，人们发现一名猫王模仿者凯文·柯蒂斯曾在单方面对前雇主密西西北部医疗中心抱怨中用了类似的词句。经过7小时的审讯，情报局怀疑柯蒂斯就是超强毒信蓖麻素的制造者。问及蓖麻素，柯蒂斯答道："我不喜欢大米，我也不喜欢吃米饭，你们看看我家里哪有什么劳什子大米。"当被问到他是否有仇敌时，柯蒂斯说他很讨厌艾弗雷特，艾弗雷特的确对柯蒂斯恨之入骨，恨到以杀害总统之名陷害柯蒂斯。柯蒂斯和艾弗雷特都对彼此怀恨已久，柯蒂斯的恨起源于艾弗雷特拒绝在网络报纸上发表文章，而艾弗雷特则抱怨，自从自己州议员竞选失败后，柯蒂斯就一直在网上窥探自己，于是两人就通过互联网和共同的朋友不停中伤对方。艾弗雷特为人高傲自负，很喜欢拿自己门萨国际会员身份说事儿，老是觉得别人都是蠢蛋。艾弗雷特一共邮寄了三封有毒信件，至于为什么还要寄给密西西比州的法官，据说是因为该法官是他上次州议员竞选对手的母亲，这样，艾弗雷特不仅报了仇，还给敌人柯蒂斯下了套。起初，艾弗雷特并不认罪，但最后还是妥协了，而他的门萨国际会员身份也没他想象中的那么好，至少他制作的有毒信件还没把一个80多岁的老法官给毒死。
2.George Wallace's Would-Be Assassin Targeted Richard Nixon
2.乔治·华莱士刺杀者曾欲杀害尼克松
The better-known attempt on the life of Richard Nixon was by Samuel Byck. He attempted to hijack a plane and fly it into the White House, a plot that eventually formed the basis of a movie starring Sean Penn. Arthur Bremer, on the other hand, is best recalled for his attempted assassination of presidential hopeful George Wallace in 1972. His initial target was a bigger fish, though—the sitting president.
关于理查德·尼克松，人们最熟悉的就是塞缪尔·拜客刺杀案件，拜客曾试图劫持飞机，撞进白宫，这也是后来肖恩·潘电影剧本的原型。事实上尼克松还曾经还受到一次生命威胁，这个故事的另一位主角就是亚瑟·布雷蒙，他曾经在1972年试图暗杀乔治·华莱士。
Bremer kept a poorly written journal of his thoughts, where he revealed that his number one target was President Nixon. Nixon was a more desirable target to the loner, who greatly desired to become infamous. Wallace was much more accessible, though, so Bremer decided he would be his fallback target if he failed to access Nixon.On April 3, 1972, Bremer put his master plan into action. First, he rented a car to drive to Ottawa, Canada, where he intended to hire a prostitute and lose his virginity. While in Ottawa, he planned to assassinate Nixon, who was there speaking to Canadians. His plan failed spectacularly—he didn't lose his virginity, and he didn't even get close to Nixon, who was constantly surrounded by security guards. In fact, the closest he came to shooting anyone was himself in his hotel room when the gun accidentally discharged.Ten days later, he switched his target to Wallace. After noting the vast difference between the security details on his two intended targets, Bremer followed Wallace around the country briefly before pulling the trigger in May 1972 in Maryland. Wallace survived the attack but was left paralyzed.
布雷蒙的日记中粗略了记载了自己的计划，在日记中，他写道自己的头号目标是尼克松，对于一个急欲得到人们关注的孤家寡人，尼克松成为首选暗杀目标，但是华莱士易于接近，于是他决定，杀不了尼克松，就退而求其次杀掉华莱士。1972年4月3日，布雷蒙开始履行自己的头号计划。他租车前往渥太华。首先，他想在当地找个妓女，告别处男身份，其次，就是暗杀正在加拿大演说的尼克松，然而他的计划华丽丽地失败了——他不仅没有和女人一夜激情，更别提靠近尼克松了，当时尼克松身边一直围着一层层的保镖，事实上，这几天他最容易杀害的人居然是他自己——在酒店房间里卸枪时，他差点扫到自己！10天过后，布雷蒙把目标瞄准了华莱士，看到华莱士和尼克松保安措施的天差地别之后，布雷蒙在5月的马里兰州射杀了华莱士，华莱士虽然在枪口下幸存了下来，但却落下了终身残疾。
All Bremer wanted was media attention, yet his assassination attempt on Wallace is merely a footnote to history, and his Nixon escapades are virtually unknown. If you're breathing a sigh of relief that a guy that warped is safely behind bars, we have bad news—he was freed in 2007. As of 2012, he was living in western Maryland and remains on parole until 2025.
其实布雷蒙想要的不过是媒体关注而已，然而华莱士刺杀事件很快消失在历史洪流之中，尼克松阴谋更是胎死腹中，无人知晓了。如果你听说这个性格扭曲的人锒铛入狱，如释重负地叹一口气，那你可能又要失望了——2002年，布雷蒙重获自由，2012-2025年，布雷蒙得到假释，在马里兰州生活。
1.James Buchanan Was Poisoned On His Inauguration Day
1.詹姆斯·布坎南就职当天遭到毒害
James Buchanan is recalled for being a bachelor president, the guy before Lincoln, and a hopeless failure. His election was seen at the time as a means of keeping the Union intact, as he was a Northerner with Southern leanings. That was enough to persuade some people that America would be better off if he didn't serve.
对于布坎南，很多人的印象仅限于"单身总统"，布坎南是林肯的上任，他的整个人生就是一个令人失望的悲剧。他当选总统，不过是人们认为他可以让美国停止内斗，因为他是一位深受南方人待见的北方人，然而人们有千千万万个理由证明，不选他当总统，美国会好很多。
His inauguration was March 4, 1857. Buchanan and most of his party were staying at the National Hotel in Washington, D.C., which was one of the finest hotels in the country at the time. On the evening of March 3, hundreds of patrons became sick. Buchanan was one of the lucky ones and recovered fairly quickly. Not quite so lucky were two sitting member of the US House of Representatives, John G. Montgomery and John Quitman, who ended up dead. Over 30 people died from dysentery related to the National Hotel incident. The prevailing modern viewpoint is that the primitive sewer system led to the illness, but not everyone is convinced that it wasn't a plot to take out President Buchanan. There is evidence that the disease was already spreading in the hotel prior to Buchanan's arrival, but it certainly spiked when he showed up. The hotel was infamous as a hangout for Southern sympathizers, and even John Wilkes Booth stayed there in 1864 while plotting his Lincoln assassination. The poisoning plot was no conspiracy theory—outlets as respectable as The New York Times called it "the most gigantic and startling crime of the age," while future Secretary of State William Seward insisted that physicians called it a poisoning.
布坎南于1857年3月4日就职，当时，布坎南和很多党内人员在华盛顿特区的国立酒店下榻，当时的国立酒店是国内为数不多的豪华酒店之一。5月3日晚，很多酒店内很多支持者都开始生病，布坎南还算幸运，虽然中毒，但他恢复得很快，然而有两名众议员就没那么幸运了，一位叫约翰·G·蒙哥马利，一位叫约翰·奎特曼，两人都毒发身亡。在此次事件中，大约有30人死于中毒引起的痢疾。现下流行的说法是，酒店陈旧的排水系统引起了疾病的传染，但不是所有人都相信这不是冲着总统去的。有证据证明，其实早在布坎南抵达酒店之前，就有人染病了，然而随着布坎南的到来，染病人数的确呈直线上升了。据称，经常光顾国立酒店的有许多南方的同情者，1864年，约翰·威尔克斯·布斯也是在该酒店下榻，策划刺杀林肯的计划。毒杀总统不是什么阴谋论，就连权威报纸《纽约时报》都称之为"本世纪最大规模、最骇人听闻的犯罪事件"，准国务卿威廉·西沃得称，医师鉴定该事件为中毒事件。
Was it poor plumbing or poison? It's impossible to say, but people at the time certainly thought the latter. It's worth noting that, had Buchanan died, Vice President and strong Southern supporter John C. Breckinridge would have become president. Breckinridge, interestingly, wasn't staying at the National Hotel that night.
到底是排水系统不过关，还是毒杀阴谋？这很难说，但在当时，人们肯定会选择相信后者，因为很显然，如果布坎南死了，那么副总统约翰·C·布雷肯里奇必会取而代之，而布雷肯里奇是南方的支持者，耐人寻味的是，副总统先生当晚并不在国立酒店。
翻译：赵一力 来源：前十网
