Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1859-11-11
ralAL OF CAPTAIN JOHN cooK.

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ralAL OF CAPTAIN JOHN cook. |
q tie Prissner--New ressine.y
.PsSsrf.l APPEAL isr hGerey-yerdict,
- 0sney" ~
gTcosrea pondenee < ihs Balsimoss Ameriean.l
Cook ~ coettsus4 II our Circuit Court to-dSY |
- 49, so9e9es ysvy large crowd The!
s m U ferd g ne seee exceeds that Of ~
g tns $50 sied. - - fslsls looked for -
THE CoxrHssros or Carr Cook.
The confession Of Cook, which was read ye1lols
oay afternoon, caused much excitement. and Som6
character, whilst some oths1 were afsposed 10
view Il In more favorable light and the extreme
youtAf1l aepear:1ce q nx ptissa~ sttts barvss
Grown In kansas some Two ygan aE0, nd Wnied
not knowing At DE time WAT woai e the aeia
Brown Informed him sss sSs so% %s s e ss,Pss
Ferry was the place he contemp plated making He
sssnd at, and that be wished him (Cook) 70 pro-
sssd there r ana ssy and ,.sest.ia yhsthss g net
e amPsrs Fsry, - ramor hsd is.ched him .
move a contemplated, Sus wss replied 70 By
"
and that he must not now desert him. Cook here
foee started for the Perry, and took up his resi-
dsnce. After having been there sometime, he WA
insSdueed Into socissy whieh resulted I. HE
Bolivar. He then determined by all possible means
TO change the Determination Of Old brown, butan
his arguments and cntreaties failed when brought
The more important portions were fhose which
told of the Convention held In Canada, at which
the weli-kuown constitution was framed; Of the
| uon, which was 70 be Instructed by Col Forbes;
and Of his own exploration Of jefferson county,
Va, under Browns direction, to preparethe way
gerris smith, Fred. Douglas, Dr., s. O. Howe,
and Others wcre mentioned In the confession, but
not in way 70 deeply implicats them. Their
~ ~ 1i'ss ses
that the time Of the invasion would have been
different but for the Information given BY Col.
Before the case Of Cook was taken up this NOM
Ing, Geo. Sennott, EsQ tbs counsel Of COPELAND,
/ appeared and read numbered bills Of exception,
which he desired the Court to take into consider
Of the Court that IL was Of but litile avail HIS
duty TO the prisoner, however, demanded that he
should go through all the forms, even II the sub
.s sss q sss
Ing, II being Allied with denuncistions Of the
dict rendered. The adjcctives were put on In
profasion, and the effect was to bring the counsel
reading them into position Of ridicule. f-.5.a
.r.. s..t. TIE CASE OF Cook as
After the proceedings in the case Of Copeland
had been gone through with, the case Of John E
Cook was called, and the prisoner brought in and
PinGed O. ne bar He was accompanied by Gov
| ful, being evidently buoyed up with the hope Of
favorable result from the verdict Of the jury en-
Panneiied Mr.. Kennedy, his mother-in-law,
| took seat outside the bar. She seemed In great
distress Of mind, and wept, considerably during
the taking Of the testimony. Young Kennedy,
20 tS. sS giving
ance Of strangers from the adjoining counties wal
much Larger than on any former occasion, and the
pressing. were Of much interest. A large num-
was mainly a. already published. =
Kennedy, the fathefi n-law Of Cook, In his testi-
m@o1y, aid not SPEAK IN very hattering mannen
would not object to seeing him hung.
ARGUMENT OF rHE CASE.
upon tne conclusion OF the testimony, the pros.
ecgting attorney, Harding, proposed the case b
Mr. Hasssr stated shs. Ss va: ,,,,.
% far % he was concerned, to hand the case ovei
TO the jury without argument, but he was free C
say that he would never agree III he was counsel
ios defence In murder case, to submit 1t without
| Mr.. Green, one Of the counsel Tor the defence
announced that the case would be argued, a. thai
II 9
| c. B. Harding, Commonwealth Attorney, then
opened the case, and spoke Tor more than an hour
Ais-style was neither chaste nor becoming. and
n. sneerng ausion to the foreign counsel Tor the
defence and the presence Of Cocks friends wa
not endorsed BY the large and Intelligent crowd In
attendance, His declaration that he had marched
2 the Gene q So1Ais:. (which wa: made in :
| crowd. His method Of passing sentence ON the
prisoner before the Jury had acted on the caae
| was regarded a. rather an Innovation on old and
established usages. zDI o.
PLEA yoR THE PlIsoxEa.
| Hon. ID. w. voorhees,, United States District
Attorney for the State Of Indiana, followed Mr.
Harding, and spoke for On hour and a half Mr.
| V.n young man, not over s, and Il one Of the
most prominent men In Indiana. His appeal on
this occasion was one Of the most powerful ever
made in the Circuit Court Of this county. BE
stated In the outset Of his remarks that he did not
stacle In the way Of q just and impsrtisi admin.
istration Of the law, but he hst come to plead
mercy. He felt that he had right to come be-
lore 'on Jury and plead for the prisoner at the
| western states which Virgin had coded 70 the
General Government, and he did not consider
himself stranger to them. His reference to the
affair bad cast over his household was touc NO,
and produced profound silence Few eyes were
let dry, and men who had not wept Tor years
were compelled to wipe the tear from their eyes
The prisoner wePt bitterly, as also did Governor
The picture Of mercy, a. drawn by the eloquent
gentleman, was both truthful and beautiful. The
doom they ask was but q poor one at best. Indeed
e he was obliged to choose between death and a
life In prison, he would be long in making
choice. But there was something indescrbab
horrible In the gibbet. He did not think that
any jury could look ON the face Of that blue-eyed.
| fair haired boy, and say he was equally guilty
with Brown 10 this great crime against the Com
inonwealth Of Virginia. he was any judge of
the human character, az be traced in the cxprcs-
sion and couiitenance, he would sav that his
hayward boy - no murderer af heart, he was
Incapable OF the act. He had met Brown lin
Kansas aud listening 10 Aattsfing reposts. lad in
blast him forever even though his life be spared
ne thought the jury could be just to the Common
wealth, and YET show mercy, 70 the prisoner, by,
ton Of the Executive. Grant this boon. and Won
VIII not regret IT, but viii rather bless the day
when you performed your duty, and yet showed
mercy. go -, -. - -. IS - -