AND I-lIS MEN .- W'ilh Some Account of the Roads They T raveled to Reach lIarper's Ferry
RICHARD J. HINTON
,.. .., .... V "J(""J~. " AdI#."•• •• "K"IU," H,,~N.. I L ....lff'I," "PAil"" II,,, .., s ...."" ..... " ··V. S. I<.~rls ... 1 ....(1 .. ,..• • , '8JIS-'."..' '"", ' <,)I. 'Nt\!) ¥Ol"k PUNK lit WAGNALLS COMPANY LONIX>N ANI> T".. o !<'TO C II A PTER VI I. RF.ACH1";(l TO " CUUI I!'i'ATION, '1'/", elM/ham, C"",,,I,,, C"'/1'ol(i911- Tlu rC/IIKC 0/ flu /1I;:ili1'ts-J!fm'ollcllls i" lIu /!.(uJ- TdlillJ: G'~rril .$'milll alUl Fl'a,,!.- fl, S""(",, II 0/ llis illl""lioll t,} rI"il SI"I'OY- TI,,, li,~' /riouls .111<1 CIJllllrilors-Jlf"rfill R. Dd"I/(fS /Hisaffre/Ullsioll "'l'/u .L"/lJ:lfC 0/ I~ih", Iy" - Dr. Ross, 0/ CllIU"/Il - If'haI1,'"s m"" IIll>y Ilu Pro. f'isio",,1 COlIstillltioll-ffllKII F(lrbrs 1111,1 1,,'1' u'ill1rls - !Yd,,)' (lllIIosl /11'"1- Thr(nl'illg !'{lrMS off Ihc sUIII 'l'/,C UCOIllP'OIl COIli/illllioll- JlI,'SSa(re 0/ /ru· sl"It' IIICII ftellllilillg Ille lill/( i1,II1f{. J OHN B ROWN "rrived at the farm of 1\11-. \Vhitnwn. ncar L awrence. Oil the 5th i\'ovemher. On the next day lie sent for J <.>1111 E. Cook and myself. At tllat date I was tcm porari I y absellt and Ila , Tlle . ~ w.,,·., ",b.,. qu"s';ons e","r~eed in Ihe "pp"~i'i..,n '0 "oting 10'- S,,,,,, ollieers Ulldel" 'he Le~t>,,,p't>n Con.,itn'ion. be.ides 'h,,' 01 the recognition .... f ,lie •. bug"s laws" it di,-"",Iy ;"""I-·"d. [" S"",h",,, )(: .. ,,""s, "~p"d,.llr, 'he oo·., .. II"d "1>1""k I"w" f,ee_ ~1" '''' O " ",o""""y had" str""ghol Springdale, the Qu"kel' comml",;ly he h " .1 selected for tempo ...,, ·y I·esidcnce. \VI"·,, ,,",sembled the pnrly consisteu o f J o l'n B "own himself, I. isson Owen, An"on D wight SI<','en s, J ohn li e ",,; K ;' gi, J o l,,, Edwin Cook, Richard [{ ea I f, Chi, des 1'1" In Iller T idd, \V i II irun 1 1cn ry L eeman, Lll ke F . 1-';" '110 11 ", Charles \V. I\ l ufTc u, with Rie hn"d [{;dlanlsull, eo10l'cd, cleve " '" aiL John Brown uepartcd almost immediately fo ,' t.I' e gast, le:.ving Steve"s i n charge a s ,n;liu.ry ;nstq' clo'·. Be f ... ,''! sp." i"g o..:a" ,e the eo"'p"n >" was stren gthened by t h e a ccession of G eO"ge u,. Gill, Steward Taylor, Edw;n 1r" ... U.,c, ,,, .h" "nk " r "'''ki''lI" a r,.e .. _ ~'~,,,, De ",,,,,.·,,,,,.. Some "",,0"11" " .. ".,,)' h .. ~", .<: o".ld ... "d 110" ""''''''1:'' o( 'h", !("'p"blic.n p""y a B no' lip IU ,I.e ",c"~"r" or i.s "",,; . ~i,, " ,,. d",y, bll' ,I." .., IV"" "0 h ... I'MI,,,, In ~u.I,,'n;"1J: i, ,, ~ "1J: .. i,,~ ' "" "dn,I"I"r". i"n n ""no.;nc ), Io"ci ".'1'"'''''' .....,"erc;!:"'y." I .. ,hi. w,, ), 'he eo._ . ·e ~I'"'"I,,,,". COl ... ",,1 ,he !rio, .... II ... .."" "I G. \\'. Ih""'''' E ll T 10" )'er . •"",,,,10,, . .. it 1~ ,u,e " cleve n desperadoes, ,. a s hc jesti "gl y tef"lllcd I,;s fat he,· and tilei,· new \:o,l1rades. John I-I e'''·; K agi, who had visitcd a shon t ime at Camp C'·cek, Nel"·aska, wi lh I,is falhe,· and 5isLC'·, soOn joined the comm"nd, and '·ctllHi"cd wiLh it "ntil thc Chath am, Canada, ,lI0VClllenL WaS made in A p,·il. The Sha,·pc·s rines, revolve,.,;, ammunition and othe,· maLe,·inl which Copt"in B ,·own had found at Tabo,· and taken possession of Were shippeu as height t o n o,·thern Ol,io in J ohn Bro"''', J ,.. ·s, e a,·c. T he o,·ig_ inal i"t<,ntiOI1 was to Lake p <1rtof the men to Ashta· bula County, Ohio, I ["gl, Fo,·bes being expect eu to be '" cha'·ge Lhc,·e, and Colonel \Vllipple (Stcvcns) ,·e,nn;n bchillu among t l,,: Iowa Q""k",·s. \Vitll the ",ithd,·"",.,[ of Fod)e!!, conccnu·ation i ll 10"''' WaS the ,nost ,·casonable p["". T hc mell were Uoa,·ued by tbe l\ l axsons at thc very small ,·alc of one (I o !l~,,· each pc,· week,' tlte cnli,·c cost o f thei,· wintc,··s '·cside"ce nol c x ceedillg $zso. Most of thc "'e" <.lid some wo,·k in a(lditio" to II,c drilli"g"ndgul1 p,."elice they ...;g u_ lady followed. Stevens,.1 VC'·)' competc"t d,·illm',ste'· alld s,,"o,·clsma", fo""d apt pupils. Cook. who was almost a pheBomcnal marksmun ""d h "u a passion h),· fin:",.,,,s, ,·eudily led the ,·ccord at lhe target. Stevens had se,·ved seve,·al yea,·s a,. " U"ited Stales (trag-oon at (,·ontier posts, ""d had le."·tlcd much o f ,·oug), c a", paigning. Iii,. lessons wc,·c .Ii! of a pn.c tical order. The,·e was no attempt to m"ke a SCCl"(,t of thei,· drilling-, n"d as Gill shows anu Cook stated i ll his" co"fes~;on,'" the neighbod'ood folks all ""de,·· stood that this band o f c",."est young men we ..." ]>,"". , Se~ lhe "CCOll'" given by GeOTll'e B. Gill in ,10" Appendix. I ' T h~ ""'y w; ' ''cos l>efo.-c 'he VioJ;I"Io", e mu' .. 10" " " u re ,,, Albe,-. H .. zk"·~ I',u",,,ce In .he H ~ ( I'~' · . t'crry nllh. IV"" K ,",." """,ed 11..,,,",. "" l(i~h_A'''e(lc.'' .eh""" ,,,••• ~ ( . whoo" tife lt~.le" I. '''1'''11''..1 '" I•• ,ve .... '·"'1. T I'; ••'"',, U' ''''' i. ",,,..I,, ..,, .he au,h"._ i.y "f Geo.¥c AII.ed ..." .. """, ..1. wh.. lIi,'~. io ... "" ... ing I .. ,.,,, B",..y him",,'I, The 10""" i •• he ",,'hor o{ .he p .• mplol~. "" I Io,.-pe,'" Ferry. pub'i,hc" ",, (Iou\.>tedly the signaluI"e l(, m}" kuers t hat m ade h i nl use th.., name of Ilarrisou WiLe" a rrested. T he~e letlers were captl1l"cd in the carpet-bag at the Virgini" scllUulhouse, and Governor \ Visc himself told me at R i(;hmond in , 857, that two wert: sec,·etly litho graphed alld sent to Illany leading 111(;"1' of the South and Southwest as evideno:::o: of the plots thaL were b .. il1g formed. It i5 to be p ,·esumed that these wen: two that gave al1 account of discolltcnL anlong the slaves in southwest Arkansas, 1I0nhwest I.ouisiana, and those held oy theChoct loi"'scJf moved eastward about the 20th inslan t, called '-'bieR)' by the fa ct that For-bes had all'cady beg"" a campai,g-Il against his chief.' H is cat'lier leHers Were addressed to 0 .-. I l owe, Sen.nor SUlUllcr, "lid some other of the more ,..I<.lica] a n ti-slavery men. l ie de- 1l1'lI1dcd tha t -Brown be ",; ( hd,-awn f,"om com"lall~l, and that h e himself 01" some olhe,' person be placed in Ch'''-gi:. E vidently I." thought there ,"'ls a political revolutionary conspl,-acy Oil (,)ot. ()( CO"'"SC such letters p,-o""ced cO"''''Ol ion "lid <.:a ll "cd a lllloyan<: .~. D ,", I I...,,,,,, ""elllS to have 1>",,," most s(:,-;ollsiy atTecl(-d b y (],cm. For bes had '""<:";'-0;:<,1 ~"fli.., i ,,"l cOlllid"n<.:cs f rom John B ,-own 1<'> be <1101" to " pp"c],,,1ld SOm" of t he wcak",· poi"ts, or n,lher lie knew whe ....~ the joints in Ihe a'"mor werc. The (ac~ that tt,,~ Cal'" lain·,; "tools" wcre appal"enLly tl,.: ,. properly·" of Ihc ]\.] assach useus Ka nS"s Com mit tce, "nd til ill B ,-ow II had been mad" thei,· ." ;)gc1I l ,.· would ~cell' tu have causcd a fe~\1· ll"H that body mighl b c charged with a b '·cach of It"Ust if F orbes"s nt1egnliolls sho"ld l'ccu'nc p u blic p,·opcrly. TI,c'·c is nu c\'idclIcc that l'tcssrs. StC;U·IlOS, Ilowc, P ;l1·kc,", Gcn";t Smith, Sanborn, I l ig" gillson, or c\'c n Senalor Sumncr- who k"cw "olbing" of thc Comlllillec·s work except 1.>)' hearsay-were trou bled a s to rcp,·isa]s ,-,n s]a\'ery itself. i\]r. Stca,·"s certainly was "Ot, 010'- Itiggillson, S;)nborll, P ."kcr. D r. 1-1 owe, SOlllet i mcs overwl"ought hy t h c m ut 1; p!ici ty of his laborious dllties, ",as cvidell lly exci t ed hy the p ossi bi I i ty of l·cfleCli,)" s Oil Il,c i 11 tcgri ty of the Ka""" s Aid Committee. of Wllich IIC 1,;)<1 been ;,n aClivc mcm" bel". As a matter of fa ct, the material in John Brow,,'s ' [ ",>1 h~re '".Id"",,! chi~fly I" 1'>1,. S.",bom "s ,. Life ,,,,,I L<:lIclS of John B ruw .. ," ChHP_ X I t., pp.. p S, el ,,/., fur du' e" , e . C_ IU:ACHINt; 1"0 ,\ CULII I~ "rION. , G , possession as "ag<.:nt·· was not tll<.: p"·op<.:,·ty o f ""Y cOUl",itlee, hilt of G eorgc I,. Sle"r"s, who had paid fo,· "nd OWIlcd it. Thc relatiuns of (he Massa<.;hu_ Sclls Cu",,,"itlec wc,·c protc<.;led uy I;ncr !ette,·s (1\Iay, ,858) hom 1\1,·. Stca,..,s, effons and ass()c;alions of many others of their raCe leaders. They held the theory tloat ,t ""IS the duty of ,,11 educated eolured "'ell tu mould thei,- pe(,ple ;nlo sepanlte and violent n:siSlancc. In their minds thc ,'eaction to "acc oppression and out,-age led to a countcr r"ce contempt, antagonism, and rage. They wanted no hell' from white ' 'Alter ,~Ie"i"g ,,,,, I,,"e. Irom 'h" Garibaldia". of J"",,,,ry ~7lb, 'he Cap'"in o,un"es a reply'" b" .,-rilten ,,, F","~~ h)' John . • ~yi"I1'·· I am .. "xi"". 1<, d",.,- hi", Oll, ,,""><~ {llily. ~nd .v""ld ... 1." Hke,o k.<:!' hi,n a li"l" e"~o,,n.ged ~",l MJoida'l "I'''' rill''''''' /~,. "/"" "·,,h ,,/ ""J' rut,." "e ,hen add., Suppose )'"'' •• ,·i,,, Fori",. ,lillO, .. Yo", I,,"er '" "'r la'hn. have d"cided '" ...:I,m, ,,, r"", ", "'" "" •• illi"I'" he should. wi,h "II his ,,,her c"'e<. Iw '·e~"d wi,l, wh .• ' I Mill "I'I""h"". sh'e h~ will"ccep'''~ h'!:hly "rrc"~iv,, ""d h,."hi,,!> . .,-b;l" I k,,",w , (" )011::< I bent on d elivering h is intended blow. and ca me t o the East determined to s:n.in ever)' nerve to obt a in the moder"te means needed to begi" with. l ie "ealized t l,,1t his h andfu l of keen-witted. brave, and devoted young 'llen. then at Sp,·ingdaJ .... wldh; heat cd t hrou gh to thc annealing point U)' the f",.,,,.ce of K a n s,' s ",ar (""c, we,-e liable to all the cooling inn"cnces' of 1. hei,· years and tempen\lIlen ts. a nd such '1\""' ifying con· dilions as the ~hif l il1g phases of T illle m ighl readily Iwing to hea,' on Ihem. l ie wallted 10 strike. 13esidcs he de~i"cd to use the colored people if poss,ble. It mn",! h" I" , Mr, S~"I><"" II,,,,,.ioncd Ed'~in Monon .. 0"" who ...... COII_ tided in, ..... he , ilne that g~".I""'M" Wh8 .11 in"''''e "f Mr, S",i.h'. hu""" as a .IIt..,r ,0 his son~, "",I 11" Ioe'ecl "t , Sec Chap'",. XII .•. Life "",I J-"',,,,~ of J"I,,, n .. OW,l." Mhlc ,,]S(; TO A (;UI_~IINATION_ Mar.£=h 8lh, 'Ioe carried Willi I,in' SSQO in guld ,,,,,I a~1>"ranccs of ollle'- support. l ie pa~~ed Illrougll New York un the 2<1, p'·eh:.-ring \0 go ro""d rather tilan take Ihe risk of being recognized in weSiern Massa chusetts, 0" IhO;! loth of ;\Ian:h, F"edcrick Douglass, I lenry Iligldand G''''uet, of New York, Stcphen Smilh a"d 'Villi:lln Still, o f Philadclpllill, with Jol'n B"oWI1, )1'., met the Captain in confcrcnce at the dwdl;"g of eilher Smith .... r Still. Others may hllve us::cn pn:scllt, hut their "'"11eS al'c nowhcre g;veu, End;c" lctters to his ddc~t son show in parI what must have heel! "nd IIl~t Il a ... ·;et hrollgl" (lui sev.., n ,I , hOIlI'I\(\d slav..,!).' J ohn Urvwn always o.;alled hcr "General," and once in t roduced he'" 10 Wendell Phillips by saying ,; I bring you olle .... f the hest nnd bn. vcst penon!) on this conlinent-Gt!Hu·,,' T uhm'111, as we· call her."' Will· iam Lambert, who died in ])etroit a few years since, being \'e'·y nearly one hundred years old, was "nOlher of those of the race who devoted ,hem selves to the work for which J ohn Brown hoped 10 strike" c II 1· min"tillg blow. Be,ween , 829 and ,8G2- lhi,·ty·th,·ce years- ' Villiam is reported to Imve aided in the es· enpe o f 3°,000 slave~. lie lived in D etroit, and was one of the roremo~, rc p res//nlatives of l,is people in both Michigan "nd Ont"rio. Unde,·grollnd.n,ilroad operations euln1inating chiefl y a t Cleveland, San· dusky, and Delroi" led by b,·oad and defined routes through Ol,io, to the borde'· of Kentucky. TI,rough IlInt State, into Ihe he:tn of the Cumberland Mnun· la;n!), n or.hern Georgia, cast Tennessee, and nonll. ern Alabama, the limestone CaVeS of tl,e n :gion ~en'ed a usef"l purpose. And it is "fact t~,at the colored people living- in Ohio we,·e often l>older nnd more de· te .. mined than wns the I"ule elsewhere. T he Ohio. Kentucky roules probably served more fugi tives t han others in the N'l1"lh. T he valley of the M ississippi was the most westcdy channel, "nt il K"nsas opened a bolder way of eseal)C from the Southw<:;st slave section. John Brown k new w h atever was. 10 beJplowIl o f all IIIi9 unrest, and he al!:iO must have kn~\'n of , .. I b"de. - T he M""". of he. Penpl"." D)· SMah II, H• • ttfo« l. G""'t" R . 1.""1.,,, ...... 1. New V",k. ,S86. M, • . "l" u"'"Hn "I"d o.....,n .fl~ • • he pul>lIc.";on "r t his liltle \·01"",,,. , ,. JOliN I 'A lellcr fi'oln 0 •. Alc,"UKlc. Milton Rou, ...... 'Sec ApI'en,' i" (or e",r"e' from \he Del"ny biography, ' n su,'veyt,r s," as tlley lcnned thel11!)clvcs. At this dalc thc BO!)IOII and Pelcr!.>oro friends, according to 1\1t,. Sallborn, cxpectcd to h c;\!' of ., his fl ock" being turncd "loose abolll LI,e 'sth of May." J, 1-1 , K"g i, C. P . Tidd, ;",(1 L. F. P a"sons had prcce~led by a few days Ihe main bod)'. which left \Vest Liberty on the " ,,8 JO"S" "ROWS. 27th. At Clwtham, where they arrived On the 30th just., they WeI"(, joined hy these lh"ce associates. Thc ...~ were in nil of the Bro wn party. i"eluding: tile CapUlin Ilimsclf, thirteen persons, o1le being c"t ored. T]'e cOll\'en(ion did not assemble till the Sth of Muy, and there WC I'., only [ony-six p"cscnt, twelve o f whom wer'e white .nCIl. The others wen~ all colored men; O<>ctor Delnny bcillg ti,e only one of any wide rCI>"tHlion, T Il..,r" is " 0 cvirlcncc to silO\\' that D ougia<;s, L ogue". Garnet, St.ephen Smith, G 10nce"(,,,', I ,lOngstOIl, or a thens of tile p,'om i n ell I men of colo" in the Slales wl,o kllew John B,'oWl1, wcrc invited to the Chatham meeting. It is donbtful if their "ppearance wonld h nve been wise, as i\ \\'ould HSSU" edly hav" bec" CO"'"l"I1t"d 011 "ud ",'ouscd suspicion, But thc siugular fa(;t remains, looked at in either wny, whether asked or nul, that theil' influence had no visible n:p,'csenlaliuu 0" 1>,'''Se11(;''. J ol' n and Owen B,'own, falhe" and svn, J o1'11 H en"i Kagi, AiI"on Dwight Sleven>;, still known as Cha"les \Vhil' pic, John Edwin Cook, Richard R ealf, G eorge B, Gill, Cl",des P lnmmer Tidd, \Villi"m Ile"ry Leemnn, Ch"rles \V, Moffett, L uke F, P a,'sons, I, l[ of I TIn: "'U"CI,ES NOT YOll "I",n: fl',,1< .-HI " The forcgoing A"lide~ shall not he COttstrued so as i" nny way to cn.-.,ur:.ge the overthrow of any Stale G oVC'-""'cnl, 0 '- of lhe G"n",·,,1 ( ; ovcr""'''"t of the Uttited S t "te~, and look to no di;.so]utio n of tl,c .80 )0"" "'«)"'''. Union. but simply to 1\"'''''U'''<-'1l[ ""d Rep""L And 0111' nag shaH he the ""me t1,a[ 0"" Fatl,e,.s fought u",I.;,- in the R evolnlion." The motion 10 sl!'ike this 0l1 ( Came f,-orn G eoq.~·e J R CYIlolds. J Ie is ",cn(iolle..! both by D r. R oss ""d ~'h. Gill, as " leading mem!)"r of the" L"aguc of Libert y." \Vhe" 1oh" Brown, J "" was engaged d" ri "g All).:'",,! "",1 September of the next ycn,- ill the cff"l"t to get the Chatham Convention I1",n logelher for the 11"1"1>""'''' Fe,.,.y movem"nl, he W"O(C f,'om S"ndusky, Ohio, to K agi nl Ch"m bers!>" rg, P e"n"ylvania. that the "Coppel-sll.i(h" was" one of those men who muSt be obtai""d if possihlc." This refe,-"nee is ,... ,,1<;,',,100<1 to he tel I\h. Reynolds. I" the ,\is(;lIssion whi<;h fol_ lowed, R eynolds "'as the only advocate of the motion. r..II". D c!,.n}', Eldcr 1\1 "" ...;oe, and i\-Tr. Kinn"nl, ,oil col. ol·cd. lVel'C sU'en"Ous in opposing: "nd Capt"in B,'own Kagi, and Realf "'''(\c earneSt "rgnlllclIl agaillst the motion. Anide XLVI. was '" fact the keynote of J ohn B "own's position. I-Ie was defending the Union "nd the Govcrllme"t under it, t\1I"eat."ned as hc ,'e"~' ollcd, hy the c.~istence of c1lallc1 slav ..,,·)", having, un· der misapPI'ehend"d p"o\' isions, political powel's which neCessilaled ""d cncouraged the formatio" of a d"n~el ' O"S «lid cont i nuous pl'o-slavel'Y conspinw y. TI,e p""sc"cc of this Article makes cOllsistellt the dccl""ation Sllbse may he judged, it is ueecss;lry to ;lpp,·t:·h",nd clearly. in o nl ", r to estimate jllstly, tIle menUlI processes of this rellHlrk;:lhle persollality. Certainly, there is noth, ing ""archisl;c in them. The" roads" John Brown mapped Oll t and which he '!ollght 10 travel, ca""ied, in his mind :ll least, the highest respect fOI' 1:1\\" a"d recognized to the full the responsihility 10 social o rder .",(1 equity. Thc difference b etween him (as he sa,v it) a nd the eSlablished "disordcr;· was Illat the latter 11:1<1 ils strength in wrong·doing. :\l1d thre:otened frec in<;litutions 10 the degree that the reser ved rights of th<: citizen could justly be call<:d IIpon fo.· resist, :wce. Kennedy·s motion had the s u pp,,,·t on ly of I. is own \'ote. "Iessrs. Kagi and R ealf wen:• partiCld .. rly vigorou~ and cloquent i., their arguments, a '! Gill and others report. J ohn Brown made the o pening and prin<:ipal specch o f ,lie convention. No orat or, ce,·t,linly no ,·lIdori, cian, ),et he was sententious, logic,,!. {lireCI, ver), apt in illustration, and, like a ll men o ( intellectual reserve, brooding usu"lly o n solitude "nd silence o\'er large issues, quile aphoristic and len;c in expression. )01111 Iho,," n l.ad .·c.,d well and tho,,!:l.t dead)' withi" the .leep lines his brain and charact er wrought Ollt (or ;.ction.' In his evidence bdore the United States I I" ~h1loJh'-'<-"1. y",nh . ""d ",,,,,1000<1 ,he Bible wa~ his cO,,~' allt .".. 1 y. M r. G i 11 "")' • • h", " '·ol"",c ul • he ··5 .. Yi"t:~ 01 Con f"dll~.' · w~~ one 01 hi. h" e ' I """d , ,,~. H e ,'",,0.1 .• Pitg.illl·S 1""1:.""'55." .he •• Ufe of t'.an k li n." •• A':~op·" I··.I.JI~~.'· .• 1'11I1" • .:II·s Li '·e~:· •• tlil>lt.raphy of W".hill!;'o".·' all Hc,·"h.l.iolll"y m"'erlal. and IlIal'e " ., ud Y 01 M a rlu" ."d SU'" pie, .• c,.. "cr .... N" 1>oleo" ""oJ I lis M",~hals." lbx.e I', .. S" i".s' R"s'," .. It " noolo ",~: ' .. JQ""ph liS:' anll Icv" •• 1 • hcoh.ollical ", ... k.. II".· ,..1 . h ~ '''''.'1>'''''''' .. ",I Wal well infurm"d in clltre,,' hi.,,,'y,,,,<1 ;"ven';,," . • ,8, JOII:;l IlROW N Senate Committee on the" Ilarpcl"s Ferry In" .. J uhn Uruwn. on ri~ing." 5"id Realf . o.he CUIll,"inee (II. ¢- 97 of Repon), .. 51,,,,,,1 ""'l fo r Iwen,y or thiny r"ar5 'he idea h:,,1 pu ss"~s,,d hilll like a p"~5ion of giving lif;,·"ty to Ihe 5bn,s, lie s''',ed i"""ed",,"'), ,I".,.",,((er, III". he Ill",le a jour"ey '0 E ngl,,,,,[ in , 85 ' , ill "hieh yo:" r he took 10 ,he I nte rna tional E "hihi'ion '" 1.0... [.. " ~,""pk!!' of wu.. l from Ohio, during which [>C"ioo! he "".d" a tour "I)"" th" Europe"" cun"lIcnl,inspeo;ting ,, 11 (",.,ir,Cfllio"s, ,,,,,I eSI','d"lIy all e:lI'lhwo,.k furts which II<' co,,'d 1,,,,1, with a "i!:'w. "5 he 51''''',1, o f Hp ,;"-i"){lhe knuwlcdgl' , h\l5 I{""inrd, wilh l ~nd subdivid"d into s",~11 co"'p~nies, aCling simultaneousl)", yel se p ~ r aldy, Ihey wilhstood the whole consolid"led power o f Ihe Rom,,,, Empire O\1"ongl1 " number of years. I n ,,,Idilion \0 this, he s"td he h"d beeome ,'er y f"",iliar with Ih" successful w,.rfnre "'ngo:d by Schnmyl,lhe Circdss;"" chid, againSI tho: ){U"Si,ms; he had poslo:d himself ;n ,·"Iat;on to the "'drs of Toussaint L ·Overture, and th " oll.. :r phas"s o f the warS in 11:o)·li and I he '51,,,,ds round al;oout; and from all theso: IhinJ;:"s he had d.·"wn the conclusion. h elieving, a s he slated Ihere he did believe, and as we all (if I may judge from myselO heliev"d, Ihal up Geo q;~e B. Gill /Jives b r iefly hi~ (ecoll<.'t;lio ll " , w ritten to ,ne . 'IS f..,llow» ; ".~ACHINC TO A CULMIN",\T ION. . 85 -, \Villi,,,,, l\Ium'oe, as p"esident of the co'n-elltion, si~ned !he commissiuns isslled. The sessio,,~ we,'c not fllily ha'·"'o"ious. T here "'Cr e some s'"all points of difference, which werc satis_ factorily adjusted in the end. I only remember a few of the color.. d Ille" : a"""'g"st the'" ",,,5 D,·. M. R. DelallY. J. J. J"cksoll. \V",. C. ~ ' u"roc, of Chath,,,,,. G. J. R eynulds. of San_ dllsky City. T he only whites present were me",t",rs of our party. The ",ost of uS at that ti",e did nOI appreciate the necessity of keeping jour·"als. I a'", howe,·er. indebted to ab I"'e"i:oled nO!eS for the prt'cision in my ",."nory on m""y points . .. The '''''in business of !he co""ention was the adoption o f a cons!i\"tion. which Il"own h"d already I"'epared, lind the or ganizalion of a I"'o"is;o"a[ go.-c,."menl "",ler that instrument. ~rh c election of officers occurred on the 10th. John Ill-own was. of CUU1-SC. elecled co",,,,,,ndc,'_;n_chid, K"g;. secretary of w"r, Realf, sec'-eta,'y of state. the I'-"as".-., r "'''s Owell Umwn. ""d Ihe seen'tary of the 1reaslIl'y was GCOI"g"C 11. Gill. Me-milers of cong""ss chos"n Wer" Alfred 1\ 1. Ellsw''''!h :"HI Osbon'" P. An,le'·son. color",1. ! am Sur" tha! Brown did not communi. e"tc· the del"ils of his pla"s to the ",,,"'hers or the co,,,,,,"I;o". I1wr" th"" in a "c"y g<'ne]";,1 way, r" 1.' john Brown." I.)' I),. ]1~rIl1811" VOII J [ ola •• pmfeuor a' .b., Unive .. ~i'y ,,/ F dehe' l!. in lI~de" (Il .. 1 "I S,ale U .. ive'~il y. 1\b That able histol'ical wI'iter speaks o f the" P ,'ovisional Constitution" as ".1 COil fused medley of "hsuI'd because absolutely i"applicable fo,'ms, and of me'IS ul'es well c.d<,;ul"tcd fOI' the end in view,- of sound common sense and of absurd syStcm~ltizillg; of cool computation 1ll0ne)"Illaking, a means ollly for opening new hInds and uuiluillg mOre t owns; something by which deb t ~ could be collected ,,,1<"\ onler maintained, plus the constable and I.h e C;:lllllon. TIl is w:.s not J oh n Brown's conception. r t is no wonue,·, ther efore, that he was deemed" ill~:.lne." It will b.;; obse,'ved III the pap.;;,·s a d opted nnd plans proposed at Chatham, thM certain object:; were defi nilely kcpt in view: First. T hat slavery was ,n dcrog:ation o f thc ... R epublic and contrary t o jllst law, its righteous inter preta!.i",", and to the PU1'poses of the Ame,'icaTl Union. Secollu. Tltat, thcrefol'e, it wa~ sb\'eholdel's, IlOt liberator~, who we,'e traitors and l'ebels. H elice JOhll B rown's justification of his cons1itution alld his denial , when o n I"ial, of having l'ais.;;u an ;llsu'''-cctiotl. Tlli,·d. ll is puq)ose to organize a utllority among his a(lherents. \Vith this idca ill view, the simple orgallizat ioll J ohn 8ro\\'n projecteu IS seell to be adlllirably auapled for the cond.tions he ;mticip;:\ted c"eatil'g- a widely scattered :;t"le of "esistancc among an ullII'ailled but willing set of people, to a sy>:;tem of oppression,- lltcrI rcsistance being pI'es\l11led to be set ill conditions half lcalling to their own views and necessities. Fonrth. The military plans can be seen by the ne)(ible fOI'm of organizatioll, Seell '" "General Order No. I ,'" to be adapted to al1 insnrgent war" fare. The bands, sections, piatoolls, al.d eornpallies were designed to act separalely or together. In Ihis will also be seen some explanation of why an , Sec App<:nuix. '9° JOliN llROWN. ;,ttack was made with so s"'nll a force. ElIch one of thnt ba nd was filte The Chatham Convention adjourned on the 10th o f May, ,858, I\n neti,'e and 1Icrid conespondcnce had bccn p,'ogTes"ing whil .. lhc " Liber;rto r s " wc,'c ill co""cil. 1\ letlcrof Ilugh F orbe .. ,datcd !'Iay 5th, sir owed that I'e ("llowed s,:lmcwlwt clos ... ly ... "eh of lire next moves. John Brown On lhc '4th wrote hi ~ eldest $011 to watel, him clo~e and fo",,,a"d all details . •. , A Vok" fro." 1I ... .,.,c'. t'" ..' y:· Ilu ~tu" • • 1Ib •• p, 60. REACHING TO A CU I,MINATIUN. '9 , F ollowi"g M~. Sa"ho",,'1I n;.lnative' it is stated that G. L. Ste,u·ll s a nd Theodo'·e Pa,·ke,· we,·e fo,· postponing for a year. ,,'It-. Sanbo,·n "';IS in doubt; T. \ V. lI iggill_ son in favo,·of immediate action; Dr, I-'I o\\'e, on the 9,h of, o\Iay, held Ihe same view; on ,he ' Sth he demanded immediale pOSlponement; Gerrit Smitl, on the 71h wished lC> go 110 funher: J Jiggin son, and probably I lowe, suggested Ihal" when Ihe thing is wellstarled, who cares what he (F'orbes) w i ll suy," Steps were takell 01\ r-.Iay ~olh 10 chunge the loca tion o f the armS and uwt edal, for" reasons that call - 110t be w ,·itten," A meeling of t h e Capulin's f'·iends. Messrs. SOl ith, Stea'·"S, I I owe, Pa,·k e '·, I I igginson, alld Sl\noorll was held ttl Ihe Revere I i ouse, BOStOI1, on the "4th of May, when.:os Mr, S:lUbo~n wriles, it was "resolved that B row" ouglollO go to Kans:, ,, at once .. · On the 3 ' st insl., tile C a p",in reached U,-,Slon. He was fun of reg~et and 11llH;h lS "to blind Forhe" by going to Kans:,s,:,,,d to t~ansfer lhe p,·ope,·t}' so "" to relielle Il'e i\ i assachusetts Kansas Committee of rc sponsibili t y. "no they i n fut"re were 1101 10 k"ow his plans." To all this, the Capt";,, objected Ihat his force would be demoralized; .. it wo"ld not con twenly-fi\'e dolla,·s apiece to mo\'e his thirteen men , ,. Life and Lel1er. "I J "h" Brown," 1' . .jw. d "I. f" Life Knd L""",.., uf Jult n Ihuw"," 1'. 46 ~ . JOliN 1I1I0W1'<, f ,'om Ohio;" he would ~ tn " t if he had but three hu n_ u,'eu dolla,-s, The knowledge F o rbes could give to h is o pponents" would be injlll'iotls, fo" he wished" the m "to uudel-rllte hi m , but s ti ll the i,,_ creased terro,' p,·oduced would pe,' lmps co" ntet"b "l_ a nee t his, .toHI it would lIot ,nake much diffe,·cncc. I f he had l l.e lI1 e;II1"', I.e \\'0111,1 lIot losc a {lay,'· Jliggillson's ,'epo,' t is undouhte' fo,' votillg for or "gni"sl thc w'·ctched in!:lII'1Imenl. The Govel·nor SOO ll aftc,' named Augu!:ll ~d (01' the polling of thi.s foregone conclusio n ,' I The "0'''. C:OS' uP"" Ih" fin .. t "fJnn 10 fOl'ce ~I,,'·e, - y "1'""" K"", s,,~ ,,,.,, I"Slm"Ii,'''' Th.-y were: Electio" "f dclq,:,,,e~.<> L"""",p. I"" C"n~,;,,,,ional Co",·cn,ioll (".,ponioll"'''''' f,,,,,,I,,I,,,,,). J"n" '5. ,857, ~."oo"o'e~. 1::1"",;"" "I S,,,,,, o lli ee ... "" But this was not all, nor thc chief inci{lcnt whi<.:h d"dder] J ohn B,·own·s fri"nds and John Bn.>wll himself, that it was a duty .,s wcll ("; th" best policy fOI· him to l·ctUI·" forthwith to Knnsas. On the 18th of Ma\·- , along" the Ca~nC1"l1 hOI·dcl" of L illn COlJllty, SOllt1>el·1l Kans as, cleven peaceable, unarmed cjtj~cns, at wo,·k in licld, (ol·ge, and dwelling, 0'· all thc lllllh,·catencd highway, wc,·e suddenly captured at diff"rent points w ithin a small radills by an anned hand o f lwenly fIve ",,,n, wh o appca,..::d to ris" a s it were f,·om th" ground, so s~Hlden and IInexpcctcd W.IS the;,· p'·csence and actioll. [speak f ... .>111 personal knowledge of the terrible deed. known as thc "Mar"is dcs Cygnes·· m"ss"cre. The twenty_five armed Inen were a renl nant of thc Buford gang of two ye,\I·s befo'·c. Thcy wel·e led by one Chades I-I ,,,nilton, who \\".,'1 with m<)st of his .,ssoc1ates opcnly shclterNl at F OI· l Smith, A,·kansas, and whose tc,.,.ibl" and unqllalilied act of assassination waS boastingly defcnded .tll .dong the southwest slavc bOI·dcl·s.' , Ssg; vole "" "s 'IS f"llO\v~: "ga;,,', 'Q.2~b; for, w;Ih ~lal·"'T '38. w;,h"", 25: 10\,,1 '0,3$<) C,, " ~ r ,,~~ S"O"';11,,Ih",·~). L"k", and \\'illia,,, Y ea lo<"l< . Th.,,,,.. ,. J,,,·k>'(>n. Ja",.. ~ '\"""e, L~wis 11""d<;'·5nn. \v. H. B,,,<;I.:e11. 11".11n, Ike.:". and ~b,_ lO<::k. The na"'c~ 01 I;'" ",h",. '''in""" "'·"rt"d' ·cl ~ ''1)P~'H I .. l,e los!-a late llo", ;s I1I" ,·i,,<::d. ·1 h" J l:t,nilwns W",·e me" of "d,,_ ca';"". '·es;d;"g. [ believe, ,,' ",. ,,,,,,,. \\',·s' P";,,,. /I.·lu.: all "I the,n • R£ACBING TO " (;Ul.~"N" ION. '9' These inoff,,"sivc ,nCIl, ekvell ,11 number, were marched to a point near the Snyder forge, an ope" log bui Idi ng,-someti Illes called by the high to': ned cor respondents and politicians of those days, "Snydel"s FOI"1," - th<:re rna(le to stand In line, while a volley was fired into them, killing fivc ollu'ight, and wound_ ing five othe'-s• very severely. fl was a lovely aftel'- lIoon, and the scene of Illurdc" IS the centre o f a landscape ,-e"",,·k:,.l)le f o,- its placid feat u res and "'''-al I)eaul),. The (Iced s tartled lI,e country; the No.-th, slow of ,u'ge'-, was "ollscd to p " s>;io natc hc"t; the free state people~ who IVere divided into savage (actio,,;;, melted and fu sed tog-ethe,- agai" IInder a comlllOl1 ho,,,,ol' and n single pu q >ose. R obel·t B. Mitchell, " leading free-state conservative. ,'ode with J amcs Montgome,-y, the fighting n.dic,,1 of southe'-" K ansa s. in the cndeavo" ',0 oven"ke tl,c [["milton gang'. At F o,·t Scott, just bcfo,'c this deed, Sheriff Samuel J. \V"lker, of D o"gl"ssconnty. acting:IS d eput}' Uniled St.ates marshal, Imd placed Montgomery ""der fl)'- we",. I belie ..e. Idll., n~Sl, for aelS previously done in de(cllse of his neigh bors' and his own ,·;glllS. At (he same lime leaders of the nlflian dement were abo alTest..,tl by this same cool and fearless ot1it:c... r.lontg-01l1cry was released on his parole; the United States Court dischar-g-ed lhe pro sluvc,-y c,-imi""],,. No n:wal"{] was offered by allY authority fo,- the capture of the I [amilton m u nler-ers . The Govcnlor of Missouri (lid not feel his juris(iinioll• outraged. and the P,-esirient otTered no rcwal"{!. T he G ove,",,,),' of Kansas contented himself with plac Frem; h voyageurs, who served at Chollea,,'s T radi ng P ost , close by which the terrible <.Iced occu rred. The dosing 5lan ""5 o f \Vhittic r 's poem have tha t pl'O phet;": t Oile, w h ich in the su preme moments of human conflict , Hlways makc the tnle p oet u 5eer~proclaim ing what will be. Il ow prescient are \.h e wo,'ds: "Not in ,'ain on Ih" . Iial Th" shnde mO,',,5 along' T o poi,u the gTe,,' eont"' !!l5 Of right "",I o f ""'ong: F ree homes "",I f,·.,,, "h"rs, And lields of .-ip" fQ<)d: T he r.,., .• On Ih" li"t.,15 of K ""II"" That 1>1<>0<1 s1o:.11 "01 .Iry: l k"cdonh I he h"d ""gel Shall har","'"" go 11)': Ilcneeforth 10 Ihe ""n~ct Ullcheeked on Iwr "'Hy. 5h,,\1 lihert y follnw The """'ch of Ihe ,1:0),," The Joh n B ro", ,, mcn werc scaucn,d u fl ~r the ad jO""""'ent of the Ch a tham COllvr-nlio n,;' little <.Iis couragcd, tOO, a s Stew"rd T"ylo,' \\"I'ote 011 t h e IJth of 1\'Ia)' to D,·. II. C. Gill at Taho,', Iowa, by the "spec! of ",h .. ! was" t he IIlOst c r i t ical point" in their e"deavors. Owen B rown wenl to visit his b"other );oson Ht Akron, Ohio. Coo k left Clevel"nd for the neighborh ood of 11 ""per's Ferr'y, R e alf left Co " New Yo r k, "nd fro'" tl,ere wellt to Engl"lld, n ot to be heanl o f 0" (" o m again unti l ""Tested in Texas, dur_ '98 JOliN IlROWN. ing the winter of 1859-60. Gill, who tells the story elsewhere in a simple l1arr:lli\'c full also of uncon scious art, went to work in a Shaker settlement, prob ably Lebnnon, Ohio, where Tidd was :dready elll ployed. Stc\\"ard Tnylo r went to Illinois where he h:\d acquailllallces. Kagi and Stevens waited Brown's rClurn at Clevcl.tnd. Parsons and .'- Joffett stayed 11 short time in northern Ohio, an(1 then