 Among those at the station was Robert Todd Lincoln , who sixteen years before had watched his father die from an assassin 's bullet . Garfield was taken on a mattress upstairs to a private office , where several doctors examined him , probing the wound with unwashed fingers . At his request , Garfield was taken back to the White House , and his wife , then in New Jersey , was sent for . Blaine sent word to Vice President Arthur in New York City , who received threats against his life because of his animosity toward Garfield and Guiteau 's statements . 
