Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 2.djvu/41

 he started on, after appointing a place to meet them before morning. They waited at the meeting place long and anxiously but never saw him again.

The story of the fearful sufferings of these men as they wandered for thirty-six days through the wilds of the Maryland and Pennsylvania mountains would fill a volume. Subsisting on unground field corn, occasional fruit, raw chicken now and then, without shelter or fire, huddling together when sleeping amid chilling rains, sleet and snow, with feet lacerated by sharp rocks and thorns, always nearly perishing from hunger, human suffering reached its limit. They were pursued by human and brute bloodhounds—the first eager for blood money and the latter thirsting for their life blood. Merriam soon gave out. He was left on a railroad track, entered an obscure station and, at a great risk, took a train and escaped.

After reaching northern Pennsylvania, starving and utterly exhausted, the others at last ventured to seek shelter at a farmhouse. Weeks had elapsed since they had escaped and not a word had reached them of the fate of their comrades. A paper was lying on the table. Tidd took it up and began to read. His face paled as he read on. Owen and Barclay were watching him intently. With a forced calmness Tidd then began to read aloud the story of the trial and death sentence of John Brown and Edwin Coppoc and the capture of Cook and Hazlett. Tears rolled down Barclay’s cheeks as the fate of his brother, the old captain and the gallant Cook was read; but not a word dared they utter. After leaving them, it seems that Cook had suddenly come to a clearing in the woods before dark, and found himself face to face with three wood choppers. Two of them were stalwart brothers named Logan, professional slave-catchers. They had seen the description of Cook and knew of the $1,000 reward. They recognized and seized him at once, and binding his arms, delivered him over to the Virginia officers and obtained the reward. One of the Logans joined the rebel army two years later and was