Page:The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade.djvu/872

 

On Monday, the 11th of October, 1859, the entire Union was thrown into a state of excitement by the following startling head lines which appeared in the telegraph columns of all the papers of that day:

"Insurrection at Harper's Ferry — United States Troops ordered out — Ossawatamie Brown the reported Captain — Tremendous Excitement!"

The following was the first dispatch:

"., Oct. 1Y. — An insurrection is reported to have taken place at Harper's Ferry. An armed band of abolitionists have full possession of the United States Arsenal at Harper's Ferry. The express train running east was fired into twice, and one of the railroad hands, a negro, was killed while trying to get the train through the town. The mob arrested two men who came in with a load of wheat, and took the wagon, loaded it with rifles, and sent it into Maryland. They are led by about 250 whites, with a gang of negroes fighting."

So totally unprepared was the country for anything of the kind, that thousands regarded the story as a humbug, got up to startle the country and to amuse the operators. But the next day brought the confirmation of the first report. A band of seventeen whites and four negroes, under the command of John Brown, of Kansas notoriety, had seized the United States Armory buildings, imprisoned many prominent men of the vicinity, and held military possession of the town. The first steps were taken on Sunday night, the 16th of October, and complete possession was obtained of all the shops, together with the railroad bridge, &c., before morning.

John Brown made his first appearance in the vicinity of Harper's Ferry more than a year prior to this outbreak, accompanied by two sons, the whole party assuming the name of Smith. He inquired about land in the vicinity, and made investigations about the probability of finding ores, and for some time boarded at Sandy Point, a mile east of the Ferry. After an absence of some months, he reappeared in the vicinity, and rented or leased a farm on the Maryland side, four miles from the Ferry. They bought a large number of picks and spades, and this confirmed the belief that they intended to mine for ores. They were seen frequently in and about Harper's Ferry, but no suspicion seemed to have existed that Bill Smith was Captain Brown, or that he intended to embark in any movement so desperate and extraordinary; yet the developments of the plot leave no doubt that his visits to the Ferry and his