The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1859-12-17


VA, SATURDAY. DEC,R
ATTEMPTED ESCAPE or COOK AND cOPPIc.
Excitsnssnt ~ Observation-Disclosures
fer the Executfen-. Interview With ths
Pfissnsrs. he.
The attempted escape Of Cook and Ocppio
from the Charlestown jail, Was bFIefiy noticed
yesterday. It appears from the folIowfne &C.
counts that they had been making their pre.
parations for ten days previous A teleeraphio
dispatch to the BaltimorNSun dated Oharies-
town, Dec. IS, says; @ ssss
AZ half-past eight O'Clock this evening two
OF the condemned prisoners, Cook and CCppic
escaped from the Jail, and were Aired upon by
the sentinels and driven back TO the prison.
Iney are now In the custody Of Sheriff Camp
The prisoners had mounted the Jail wall
when they were discovered by the sentinel on
the ontside, who Immediately gave the alarm
manacles asunder with the blade Of q Barlow
knlfe, which they had concealed and made
into . line saw.
Its ascertained from their confession that
1esn ,s a:s in for Ss
hole in the wall near the window, which they
concealed with paper, hiding the bricks they
removed under the bed.
u! Upon the alarm being given, they made no
discovered by the shot Of W sentinel they
The event has produced tn4 utmost excite
ment here, and all are on the alert. Mai. Gen.
Iaiiaferro is directing everything in person,
and will maintain an uniaterrupted super-
vision OF affairs until after the execu ton We
90 not spprehend any further dificnlty.
A Charlestown dispatch to the Baltimore
American says:
Great excitement prevails here at the pre-
sent time, on account of an attempted escape
are now heavily ironed, and special guard is
standing over them. The streets in front and
the Jail are also kept clear
The prisoners say that they got the shackles
on their feet by saving them withan old knife,
and then forced the bars. !
{ Misunderstanding occurred several days
ago between Gen. Taliaferro and the iaiIor in
regard to placing sentinels inside the Jail. The
The General gave way 40 him but placed q
guard on the outside, which has thus oreyen l.
ed the escape Of the prisoners. Cook says he
could have made his escape had he jumped
down and throttled the sentinel
A letter from Charlestown. dated December
IA, gives some interesting statements:
The interview between Cook and Gov. viii
lard was Of most affecting character. When
they met they embraced each other. Gov VIII
lard sobnlng loud enough TO be heard through
out the building. Throughout the whole az
fair Gov. willard has given evidence of the
possession OF feelings most honorable to him
and ne has the warmest sympathy Of all Ia
this sad affair.
There arrived in the afternoon train yester.
day, three members of the Society of Friends
understood to be from the State of Ohio who
came to see the prisoner Coppic and make some
arrangement in regard to the disposal OF hii
body, after the law shall have been executes
upon it. One of the party, it is said, had
charge of Coppic before he grew to manhood
and represents him to have been a youth O
good character, and of a gentle and obedien
disposition. The interview between Coppit
and his friends lasted over an hour and wa,
conducted in q quiet and unimpassioned man
ner. On meeting, one of them said to him. "Ed
win, thee hast broken the laws of the landn K
which Coppic made no distinct reply. Befor,
parting with him, his friends gave him som,
good advice
The prisoners tonight all seem to be in root
spirits, although Cook is looking badly. hay
ing been unwell for several days. They wer,
engaged for some time to-day in spiritual ex
ercises, under the direction of the Rev. NJ G.
North, of ihe Presbyterian church. Allioinet
in the exercise with seeming devotion. anG
seemed to look to Him above as the only hel,
In this their hour of severe trial
There was considerable excitement created
in the neighborhood of the military headq uar
ters, about noon to-day, on account of the ar
rival OF prisoner, in charge of one OF tn,
country patrol, who it was in few minute
rnmored was one Of the veritable followers 8
the late John Brown. On inquiry it was as
certained the fellow had been arrested unde,
suspicious circumstances, and that he couIi
give no satisfactory account of himself hi,
ner: "I'm Scotchman; have Id n33 ie,
broken; and am twice fifteen.''
| He was identified by Captain Seibert, o
New Market, Va, as having been arrested
fp w N N nj nd
| for the want of evidence. Captain S. SAYS b.
| answers in all respects to the description O
one Barton Hassett, for whom heavy rewar,
| is now offered, and it is alleged he is the mur
derer of a man named Evans, in Alleghan-
county, Va, some months ago. The man wa
committed TO Jail by Justice Eichelberper Il
| await future developments.
| Connected with the Charlestown affair. W
may copy statement made by one j. M. Nc
Kim. atan Anti-Slavery Fair, in Philadelphia
on Wednesday:
| The speaker mentioned in the warmes
| terms the kindness and courtesy exhibited b
| the civil and military authorities of Virgini
| towards Mrs. Brown and the party who ac
| companied her. The only complaint he mad
was, that none of the gentlemen were allowe
an interview with Brown before his execu
| ton, that privilege only being extended t
| Mrs. Brown. He said the inhabitants of Har
| per's Ferry We'd with each other in their at
| tentions to the party, by presenting them wit
keepsakes and mernentoes of Brown and hi
| two sons, who fell there, and on all hand
! there was an earnest expression of sympath
| for their fate. The authorities exerted them
/ selves to discover the bodies Of the two sons
and offered, without compensation, to disinte
the bodies of some half-dozen of the invaders
| who had been buried in one grave, to ascertai
| if the body of Oliver was among them. Thi
| grave and another containing three bodies
4 was opened in his presence, but the bodie
| were so decomposed that it was difficult I
! identify them.
Capt Barbour informed Mr.. Nick that b
/ would use every exertion to discover the bod
| of Oliver and have it decently nterred. McKir
/ then read letter from Capt. b, dated Decem
| ber eth, stating that the body of Oliver ha
] been recovered, and properly reinterred. Th
/ body of Watson Brown, the elder brothe
/ killed at the same time, was not found. 1t wa
believed to have been taken to Winchester, Va
| for anatomical purposes at the Medical Col
| lege there. In the course Of his remark
| McKim said it was not true that Capt. Moor
I who commanded the guard who escorted Mrs
Brown from Harper's Ferry to Charlestowl
| ing her opinion about the slavery question
| and contrasting the condition Of the slaves /
| Virginia with that of the negroes in the North
ern States. Mrs. Brown had informed Nj
| in the story, and that Capt Moore had treate
| her with great reconsideration and respect
reply to question put by Morris Davis. NJ
McKim stated that the history Of the Harper
reIIy duniI WHcu ~ WAS sal0 bfOWn M
written previous to his death, had not com
into the possession Of Mrs. Brown. She ha
written to Virginia, requesting, il such lei
ter was In existence, that 1t be forwarded I
i her.
/ The venerable Alfred Griffith, Of the Bait
more M +. Conference, after contradicting
statement that he had visited John Brown
jail in Charlestown, and declaring that b
pever, to the best of his knowledge. heard I
him uMtilhis Harper's Ferry raid, proceeds I
| give his opinion of the whole hand Of the in