The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1859-10-27
The Harper's Ferry Tragedy.
DETAILED NARRATIVE,

From the Baltimore American.
Brown made his first appearance in the
vicinity of Harper's Ferry more than year
ago; accompanied by his two sons, the
whole party assuming the name of Smith.
He inquired about land in the vicinity,
and made Investigations about the probable
ity OF finding ores, and for some time board
ed at Sandy Point, mile east of the Ferry
After an absence of some months he reap
peared in the vicinity, and rented or leaseda
farm on the Maryl,nd side, four miles from
the Ferry. They bought 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 seems to
have existed that Bill Smith was Capt
Brown, or that he intended embarking in
any movement so desperate or extraordinary;
vet the developments of the plot leave no
doubt that his visits to the Ferry, and his
lease of the farm, were all parts of his pre-
par ton for the instruction, which he sup
posed would be successful in exterminatine
slavery in Maryland and Western Virginia
Browns chief aid was John F.. Cook, com
paratively young man, who has resided
in and near the Ferry for some years. He
was first employed in tending a lock on the
canal, afterward taught school on the Mary
land side of the river, and after brief lesi-
dence in Kansas, whare, it is supposed, he
tuv CIT uuu nrurr1ru trrcrr. -
He was regarded as man of some intelli-
gence, known to be anti-slavery, but not so
violent in the expression of his opinions as
to excite any suspicious. These two men,
with Browns two sons, were the only white
men connected with the Instruction that
had been previously about the Ferry. All
were brought by Brown from distance, and
nearly all had been with him in Kansas
The first active movement in the instruction
was made about halfpast ten, Sunday night
w. NJ. Williamson, the watchman on the
Harper's Ferry bridge, whilst walking across
towards the Maryland side, was seized by a
number of men who said that he was their
prisoner, and must come with them He
recognized Brown and Cook among the men
and knowing them, he treated the matter as
joke, but enforcing silence they conducted
him to the Armory, which he found already
in their possession. He was retained till af
ter daylight and then discharged. The
Waterman who was to relieve Williamson at
midnight found tho. bridge-lights all out, and
was Immediately seized. Supposing it an
attempt at robbery, he broke away, and his
pursuers, stumbling over, he escaped. The
next appearance of the insurrectionists was
at the house of Col. Lewis Washington, a
large farmer and slave-owner, living. about
miles from the Ferry. A party headed by
Cook proceeded there, reused Col. Washing
ton, and told him he was their prisoner.
They also seized all the slaves near the
house, took away several carriages and hors-
es, and large wagon with two horses. When
Col. Washington saw Cook, he Immediately
recognized him as a man who had called up
on him some months previous, to whom he
had exhibited some valuable arms in his pos
session, including an antique sword, present
ed by Frederic the Great to George Wash
ington, and pair Of pistols presented by
Lafayette to Washington, both being heir
looms in the family. Before leaving, Cook
wanted Col Washington to make trial of
skill at shooting and exhibited considerable
certainty as marksman.
! When he made his visit on Sunday night,
1 he alluded to his previous visit and the cour-
tesy with which he had been treated, and
regretted the necessity which made it his
duty to arrest Col. Washington. He, how
ever, took advantage of the knowledge he
obtained by his former visit to carry off all
the valuable collection of arms, which Col
| Washington did not re-obtain till after the
final defeat of the instruction.
From Col Washington's the party pro-
ceeded with him as prisoner in his own
carriage, and twelve of his negroes in the
wagon, to the house of Mr. Allstadt, another
large farmer on the same road. Mr.. Alstadt
and his son, lad sixteen years of age, were
taken prisoners, and all the negroe within
reach being forced to join the movement.
They returned to the armory at the Ferry.
All these movements seem to have been
made without exciting the slightest alarm in
the town; nor kid the detention of Captain
Phelps train at the upper end of town, at
tract attention II was not until the town
was thoroughly walked up, and found the
bridges guarded by armed men, and guard
stationed at all the avenues, that the people
found they were prisoners
A panic appears to have Immediately en-.
sue |, and the number ofthe insurrectionists
at once increased from fifty, which was proba
bly, their greatest force, including the slaves
who were forced to join, to from five to six
! hundred. In the meantime, a number Of
workmen, knowing nothing of what had oc.
Cured, entered the armory, and were sue.
cessfully taken prisoners, until they had al
one time not less than sixty men confined in
the armory. Among those thus entrapped
were Armisted Benz. Mills, Master of the
Armory, and j. L. Dangerfield, Paymaster's