The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1879-10-16

and Lieutenant Stuart, having obtained
permission to 20 with the detachment
Of troops. set out at once with them by
rail for Harper's Ferry.
Colonel Lee and the marines who
were about eighty in number, reached
Harpsr's Ferry during the night of the
18th, where John Brown and his party
were shut up with their prisoners in the
engine-house. This was a small build
ing just large enough to contain an
ordinary fire-eneine or two, and had
folding-doors and loopholes about the
width of one brick on each side of the
door to admit air. To this Brown had
retreated with such of his party as re-
mained and his prisoners-Colenel
Washington and others. His force was
now reduced to a very few whites and
some negroes from the neighborhood.
The rest were killed or wounded, with
the exception of those sent out into the
country who were afraid to return.
During the long hours of the night while
thus shut up in the engine-house. Brown
exhibited, according to the testimony
hension whatever. His situation was
desperate and he must have felt that
there was little probability that he
would ever leave the engine-house
alive, but he nevertheless remained un-
moved. One of his sons had been
wounded and, with his rifle in one hand,
Brown felt the young mans pulse with
the other, from time to time giving his
orders with great calmness to the rest,
and telling them that as there was not
much hope for them the best thing they
could do would be to sell their lives as
dearly as possible. The darkness must
have made the scene gloomy and calcu
lated to try the nerves Of the prisoners
who were in the back part of the engine
house. They had every reason to sus-
pect that they would either be put to
death by the raiders or be shot by their
friends when the place was attacked,
as it was certain it would be, and
Colonel Washington afterward said
that, having no other arms he had
opened pcnknife which he happened
to have about him, resolved to spring
upon Brown at the first moment possible
and stab him with the weapon. There
was one other occupant of the engine
house, q bulldog, which had been
brought in by some one of the raiders,
probably, and now added to the threat
ening state of things by his growls.
Colonel Lee, having arrived, took
command of the place, and, posting his
force of marines near the engine-house,
which stood and still stands just within
the gate opening on the grounds, pre-
pared to attack the raiders in their
mprovised fort. Owing to the natural
confusion and the absence of thorough
organization, the militia, who had
hastened in from the neighboring coun-
ties, bad not made regular assault.
1t was about night when Brown took
refuge in the engine-house and, while
the officers of the militia were consult
ing upon the best means of attacking
the place, Colonel Lee, with the United
States troops, made his appearance and
assumed the direction of everything.
About sunrise-which takes place at
this season of the year little after six
o'clock-the marines were ready to at
tack the engine-house; but Colonel Lee
first, in accordance with his orders,
sent Brown q summons to surrender.
This summons was carried by Lieutenant
Stuart, who thus made his appearance
as q prominent actor in what may be
called the first scene of the first act of
the civil war, where he filed so great
space in the public eye as commander
of General Lees cavalry. Stuart walked
toward the engine-house waving a
white handkerchief and, when he
reached the door, called out that he
wished to speak with Captain Smith"
This was the name assumed by Brown
when he reached the farmhouse in
Maryland as rendezvous for his party
and the only name by which he was
known up to this moment. In response
to Stuart's call, one of the folding-doors
ofthe engine-house was partially opened
and Browns face and part of his figure
appeared in the opening. He held
carbine in one hand, and the bulldog
mentioned absve pushed his muzzle
through the open space and growled at
the intruder. Across the doors within
was stretched strong rope, no doubt
intended to protect the doors from being
battered ina better protection than
an ordinary bar, as it would yield but
not give way. ''
As soon as Stuart saw Brown he
recognized him. They had either been
acquainted or Stuart had seen him in
the west, where he was we'll known as
Ossawatomie Brown" from the reso-
lutte stand he had made at that place
about three years before this time against
General lLane-repulsing largely su-
perior force and effecting his retreat in
safety Finding that :. Captain, Smith,
was the famous freesoil fighter in per-
son, Stuart's first words were: o
"You are Ossawatomie Brown of Kan
sas."
Brown looked at him keenly for an
instant from under his shaggy, gray
eyebrows, and then said coolly, address
ing Stuart by the title which his uni
form Indicated:
"Well. they do call me that some
times, Lieutenant" T. = e,.'sS'
81 thought 1 remembered meeting
you in Kansas" Stuart said. s"This is
bad business you are engaged in,
Captain. The United States troops
have arrived and am sent to demand
your surrender"
upon what TERMS" asked Brown,
without any exhibition of emotion, and
speaking in q matter-of-fact tone, as if
he were engaged in the transaction of
an ordinary piece of business-a tone
which General Stuart informed me he
preserved during their entire inter-
view.
"The terms are," Stuart replied,
that you shall surrender to the officer
commanding the troops, and he will
protect you and your men from the
crowd and guarantee you fair trial by
the civil authorities"
Brown shook his head, and the bull
dog, whose muzzle protruded beneath
close to Stuart's knee-uttered fierce
growl, as if no better pleased than his
master.
81 can't surrender on such TERMS"
Brown replied. "You must allow me
to leave this engine-house with my
comrades and the prisoners and march
across to the Maryland side. There
will release the prisoners, and as soon