Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1870-03-19
Secret History Of the John

BROWN RAID ON uahfbh fLnhi'
Brown and five of his inch arrived
in Detroit with fourteen slaves from
Missouri, in tho summer Of 1855
One of the slaves gave birth to n
male child on the way. The boy
was named John Brown, and now
lives in Windsor. By a strange
coincidence Fred Douglass happen
ed to be lecthi'ihg in tlis city the
same evening that Brown arrived.
After the lecture the leaders of the
insurrcctionary movement got to-
gcther in the hbusc of WIN. Webb,
on CUngrcss street, near Anoinc
street, and arranged the plan for
the raid on tho South, which broke
out grpmaturely at Harper's Ferry.
Mr.. Webb was for many years man.
agcr of the plug tobacco factory on
Jefferson avenue, and was a highly
respected inaf He is now dead
Tho leading colortd te5plc Of De-
troit and Chatham were also present
at the meeting Fred Dotiglass OBJ
jectcd to John Browns plan, which
originally was to make raids on sin
gle plantations until he had collect
cd d force ofabout 1000 slaves, and
thyh sweep down on the large towns
ard cities, collecting force and mate
rihl as he progressed. Brown grew
wfathy, and asked Douglass if he
was n coward, and refcrred to his
Successes in Kansas rs an augury
of the Virginia campaign. Doug
lass replied that he was not q cow
ard, and would give material aid TO
the plan if he did not approve of it..
or did not 60 himself. Geo:ge Dc
Baptiste also disapproved of the
plan, but proposed gunpowder
plot, by which some fifteen of the
largest churches in the South wo,ild
be blown up on fixed Sunday
Brown objected to that plan on the
score of humanity, asserting that
by his plan not a hundred lives
would be lost, his intention being
not to SIZED Blood Unless It bccame
absolutely NECESSARY. De. Battiste
still urged radical measures, dcclar-
ing that Browns plan would fail,
and perhaps cause the loss of mil
lion Of lives before the troubles like
ly to ensue would be ended. HI
cited in support of his position the
fact the Nat Turner Instruction, in
1881, by which fifty -three white
were lost, had the effect of causing
the next Virginia Legislature to con-
slider bill for the gradual enamel.
patton of the slaves, which bill was
lost by only two votes. 20
Ossawatomie's counsel finally pre-
vailed, and tho only favor besides
money and advice, that he asked OF
his Detroit friends, was to furnish
him one map, which they did-a
Chathamite. The news of the dis.
turbance at Harper's Ferry, which
took the nation with SO much sur
prise, was perfectly well understood
by tho colored people of this city
They were anticipating the event,
since one Foster has divulged in
Washington the plans of Brown.
who, in consequence, was obliged
either to abandon his enterprise OF
precipitate matters, even if at fear
full odds. He chose the latter alter.
native.
The seqel is sufficiently well
known. These facts, however, have
boen kept with sworn secrecy, until
lately, by the colored men of De.
troit. The particulars have neve:
been published. 1t may be only
necessary to add that subsequent to
the meeting at Webb's house, on
Congress street, a meeting was held
IN Chatham, at which the ''car
sheaf" was put on the plan. Now
that the negroes are equal, politi.
cally, before the law, they have nc
fear in letting their connection with
this affair be known. They glory
| in it,-IDetreit Free Press r1af :