JOHN BROWN 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. <U. ,/~. '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<l also concluded a contrac t fO I' twclve months' newspaper' work. R ic1l'lrd Rcalf and Luke F. Parsons we"c nam("d to John B"own U)' John E . Couk. On the 14 th Cl>ok, Realr, and P arsons readied Topeka. joining J<.>hn RrOWI1 there, lea viIIA' almost immediately fOI'Tabor, Iowa, with" Colonel Whipple," as Aaron D . Stevens was then know n, Chades \\'. MofIett, from Monlour, lowa, and Richard Rich"rdson, an inlel1ig-enl 111"" of colo,'. \\'ho h,,([ lhe yea,' hefore been assisled rrnm slavery in Mis50UI·i. A her reach i ng Canad ... however, 'S< JOltS " ltOJ"'S. in i\'I"y, ,851:1, h.., does not ;:,g.\ln a ppea,' '" the record. Captain Urow,,'s p,"esc "";,, in K ansa s at this period w .. s known to a very few pcrsulls. Th" SLaLIlS o f th e T el'· ,' ito'-}' wa" by no ",canS n senled 011<:, owi n g to the pcnu"",,y of the L ccOll'lHon Constitution, and It \Va" " favond)le ckmCtll Oil the fn,<: -stalc s ide to have it b elieved thaL John Brown "'as snpposed to be my,,­ tCI-;O""]Y h over; ng along th,> nonller n Ii nCo The aCl; ve ,-esislHn"e;ll this pCI"jod of James :'Ionlgomcq'. aftcr. wtlnls colonel of the Second 501.111, Ca,-oli na Colored Volunteers, to the policy of vOling undc,- 11>" "bogus laws," was keeping south"r" Kansas in a state of fer­ mellL, which had, however, a sume;..," t basis i" the exist· ence of plots and ,-u nian 1y cffo1"ts to d,'; vc f,·cc·stalc SCl­ tlc'-H;n thal sc<:tioll {ron' U,cir public [nod enlrics "nd settlcmcnts.' From Tabo,- J oh ll Brown soon movcd to , 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<l. To "")n'e ""'''''' Ih" lead".,. o( Ihi. (.,<:<ion were 111O r <: u"f~i r ,I",,, w",,, ,I .., pm . I"""ry p""y pl'''p<:r. A "'''''''''''''''' w,,~ 0'" (..,01 a[ ' I,;~ ,i",,, ' 0 hr""k do,,", 'he 'cal ('-ec .''''c pan)". I>y ~I1l>sti"";"11 (0,. it .. so...;all<:d Ucmoo:rfllic "ne ... h k h wOI;!d II" "e "in '''' l!y ~ ""·,,d "II I he i",,,,',,.,. of 'he sl" ,'e. pnwer. ,. i1 hoI" I"", i "II .• "h"uel i_ '" ,. ",,' "" II Y ".t"hli,h"d. S"",,, ,,( lI,,, ,,'"'''' ~"t;:"dolls p,.".~l',,"ery "'c" ),,,,1 cl'" lid. r""li1~" 11.00 ;",poss;hili')" .. I ",.,Id,,!: K~"5"5 ~ ~l",'c S""". T h" ~I"',,;,d "I ... ",· ClcS <0 ,ht ~ 0""'''0.,,1;'; ",,,,'cm,,,,' ,.,,..,, 'h" J "h" 1I,'"wn f<-cli"g . 'h,,"gh the C~I""i," had '''' p,,,'i,,,,,, ,d",i",,~ wh"t<:v~I'; Captai" l\Io"'g"",e,-y"s oIde",,, n/lh", r'~e .• '''le ~ ~"Ie, ". ",," ' he u,uiring '",sIUi,y "f 'h" N,,,',hcn> "ewsp"I''''' c"rr~~I'<""I""I~ "I J 855 - ·~·7. "hc)' IV cre "u' """'y i" n"",I,clS; 'heir p~"s lOc"",lIy gh"p"d ",,, p"licy "f 'he f,.c,,_~ojl " ,,,I "",i 1.""'''''1'''''' 1" "".' Go,''''''''''' H"bcn J. W~lkc. I"""" Ihis ",,' ,.he," he f,rs' I."", his "'.""e IHACltlNO TO A CU1.\II"' ATJO><. • 55 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 <In(1 B,u-day ('OPll<>C. Geo,'gc B . Gill a"d U,,,rclny Coppoc had enlC"cd K"n """ the p"cvioll", yea,' with thc Eldddge - P e " ry em;gn,"l trains and hnd 'Tlet tl'erein l{ich<lnl R calf nnu oll,c"s; a lso met John I:h 'own cuming Ollt, and finding Stevens on the ."Oad g"I" 'ding lhe ll'ai"s i"to Kans" ... Owen l3,.o",,,'s diary loo.;"te'; t he ''''rival of !!ugh F orb es at Tabo,' 0" Aug"st 9th. lie ".,.ites .,( "cading fo,' the fj ,-sl l ;,,'C" T he 1\1: .. "",1 of tile P nt,';otic Volun­ leers ": menliu"" one o f the Coppoo..:s, prohahl)' 13"r­ o.;I"y, undc " t h e ,,,,m.., of C<1'·pcnler . 0 .. the 4th of N ovell,bc.- Owe1l ",.-Ites II'a[ h e IVas t1,;,·t)"-thre(' years old. A feIV da),s Inler he m e ntions the a ... ·;val o f 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<i y LlSel ...... ' .. ""m.,.. Tltey ""'''''inl)' h:."e bee .. e"litled l.y ~"""iee , ,, ."",e.hl"lI: <liff., ..." .. , f", ,,, lhe" enl<! "houl_ d ... ,'· h is',,";cnll), ~r", .. ~i"l<. ,.hi,·" i~ "It , h .. i. ,york I",. I" ' he "',.;" . ecelved In,,,, " " ".as w<lleu of ],,'c< y"" rB. JOliN ""'OWN. " 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,.