The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1882-11-02
PaSSmOre Williamson on the Raid at
Harper'S Ferry.
AN ALARM MING ARM Y.
Twenty-one Men and a Cow
Strike Terror to Virginia.
from the PHILADELPHIA Press

Inc qulNOilC movement OF JOHN biONH
caused a great deal of feeling among the
Abolitionists of Philadelphia. L don't think
any of them knew of the fiasco at Harper's
Ferry until it was published in the newspapers.
Mr.. Brown had been in the employ Of the assO-
Citations for pushing Free-State settlements in
Kansas, and he was well known all over the
country as an enthusiastic advocate and actor
in the cause of real abolition. His undertaking
in Virginia was the result of persecution he
received in Kansas, which embittercd him
more than ever against the institution of slav-
cry. His real purpose was believed to be the
establishment Of an underground railroad upon
such scale as to enable him to defy the civil au
thOrities and to escape from any military power
which might be employed for its suppression.
To this end he first organized body Of men
numbering twenty-one, who were to aid him in
the scheme. His idea was to establish in the
mountains of West Virginia an impregnabe
underground railroad station. He intended to
place his men somewhere in the mountain fast
ncsscs, where they would be hidden from the
world at large and be safe from any ordinary
military attack. Tt was his intention to keep
up an open line of communication with the
slaves and aid them in escaping to the North.
As wild as this project seemed to be, experience
had taught Mr.. Brown that there was mys-
FERROUS connection between the negroes Of all
parts of the South, which made the project
feasible. BY some system of secret communion
ton any matter looking to the freedom Of the
slaves was spread amongst them in some effect
nal way and it was this that Mr.. Brown de-
Ill. q l. i.
same secrecy and shrewdness among the black
men were noticed during the war. They often
aided our military commanders in ways that
were unaccountable. They knew more about
the movements Of the enemy, frequently than
their masters, and the instructive love Of free
dom taught them where to take the Informal
ton.
The mistake John Brown made was always
attributed to the fact that he had reason to
suppose that he had been betrayed by an Eng
lishman of the party. This precipitated the
foolish movement on Harper's Ferry with
result which could not have been otherwise
expected. Mr.. Brown had plenty of arms and
ammunition, and he had nothing to gain by
Selling the Government property.
When it was known that John Brown was
arrested the question arose: What aid could be
afforded him? I don't know that anything
was done by the Philadelphia Abolitionists.
1t was generally understood that Mr. Brown
did not wish it, hut preferred to rely on his
own resources, and in no way to compromise
his friends. In the East a number of them
volunteered to give him the benefit of such
legal advice as would be useful at his trial, and
lawyers were sent to Virginia. The action of
Governor Wise and other pro-slavery politicians
did much to prevent any active support of Mr..
Brown in the North. They interviewed him
and did their best to discover facts to implicate
leading AbolitiOnists of the North, but without
avail. The late Clement L. Vallandigham, of
Ohio, was one of those who went to see Mr..
Brown. They all came away from the cell
with the idea that the prisoner was not an
ordinary criminal but an enthusiast who was
ready to do and die for the cause, who had
acted from a high moral or religious sense of
duty.