Telegram-herald., 1891-05-17

he'd, AID va allowed considerable
liberty. Escape wss an !mposssblsity
for Governor Henry A. Wiss va thor
ouzhiy rsltlsc, and De had thousands
Of troops GA nAnd % prevent any up
rising or attempt at = rsscue. I've IA
idea. too that 4 there had been mere
handful 70 guard him, ne would have
been rsscusxi- Many . time "a tne
night vnsn vzs On guard have seen
rockets shoot I'D from Maryland
heights. across the river. anu Dc an
swered BY others mllss away. We had
An easy rnls. however, and ylbrated
between our quarter and the hotel and
the JAN At the hotel were some or the
arms captured with tns pEIsoaeFs-
John Bsowa's big swivel gun was tie
ch.sf object OF interest The old man
must have possessed tremendous
strength, for not one man OF the thou
sands who tried, could put the gun 10
his shoulder .Ant hold It out. but he
could do IL with ease. Our chief duties
we're standing guard and drawing ra-
tons. Our eommlsssFy ofhcer, BY the
way, Was the famous John Wilkes
Booth.
Brswn Ma . Crank
Ant man 10 meet; full OF quaint
pleasantly and piety. He WAS ali right
until you got 10 the subject OF slavery
and then be Was q violent crank. No
one who knew him well aud saw him
from day 10 day could doubt his
sineerlty on honesty OF purpose. He
would talk pleasantly and lecture on
the errors of our WAY, but he sternly
v~fF 10 "a A. "a
there were . good many disappointed
photographers In consequence- One day
Lieut. George Austin, OF our company
and . typo on the Richmond Enquirer.
was IN Browns room with myself and
two other militia nen and the artist
correspondents OF Harper's Weekly and
Frank LesIies. one OF the artists II
don't remember which onel put ms
tablet on Austln's back and began 10
sketch Browns picture a. he lay IN bed.
Brown caught hlm al il and pulled the
clothes over his head but the artist
yelled "your too late, you old duffer,
I've got you this time and no mistake"
'Did you ever know c. Z. sexton, Of
~thIs town when he was alive, Well,
John Brown was a perfect image OF
him, only he was u little shorter ant
heavier built lie Was badly used up
IN the night, MS head Was bandaged and
he looked worn and wasted with suffer
ing lie never complained and went
through his trial and execution with
the cheerful patience OF martyr.
Browa'x wife Had Nerve.
After the trial was over and he was
condemned to death. Mrs. Brown. who
was at Washington, wished 10 come 10
Chsrlestown- Some of the strong abo-
htionists advised her not To 90, for fear
that some violence would be offered
her. but she came and was treated like
y queen. Capt. Pat Moore went with a
carriage To meet her At Hsrpsr's Ferry,
and Col Turner Ashley, afterward the
commander of the famous black horse
cavalry, went with a mounted escort.
think Booth was one of the escort. Mrs
Brown was brought To the jail and re-
NAMED with her husband to the end.
He WAS executed on q very chilly morn
ing, and remember how we militia
men kicked because he delayed US for
nearly an hour while he made some
alterations in his will. His coffin was
q handso one made Of walnut, and
I visited the shop while it was being
made and got some OF the pieces Of
=
Well, finally the old man finished his
will and came out. I remember that
he wore q pair of old carpet slippers and
. brown slouch hat. The wagon was
standing at the door of the old stone
Jail and the coffin was in it. Some Of
the men brought an old shoe box and
put it beside the wagon for him to
step on "a he got in. Two officers took
him by his pinsoned arms TO assist him,
but he said, "rm all right; don't need
any help" and stepped into the wagon
and sat down on his coffin as calmly Us
ii he was going on, in the country for a
load of wood. The gallows were erected
about half a mile from the town in the
middle of a vide. level field. tramped
along beside the wagon with the rest Of
the guard. and the old man talked
cheerfully with Us all the way.
brave In tn. Face of Death.
He locked all around, seeming to en-
Joy the scenery very much. ats a
beautiful morning. boys; and q fine
country about here" he said once.
When we arrived at the scaffold the
militia forrSed an open square about
IL. and thousands of spectators crowded
around on the outside Every roof IN
town was crowded with people. Brown
walked firmly up the steps and took
his stand upon the trap without a
tremor. The sheriff asked him, Have
you anything To say to the people, Mr.
Brown, before you swing OFF, "Oh,
no." said ne cheerfully, "only be quick
about IT." The moose was adjusted
and the trap was sprung IN 4 moment.
Inside OF an hour from the time we left
the jail. his dead body was lying IN the
coffin and on the way back TO his wife,
who waited at the jail.
Two OF his companions, Cook and
Coppett. were executed afterward.
Dan Worries defended one OF them
and made the effort of his life. The
men were given an opportunity to es-
cape but were not clever enough to
take advantage of 70.
When the war broke out T entered
Company III OF the Fifteenth Virginia
Confederate regiment and stayed two
years and half. My own brother was
in the Fifth New York regiment and
MAS captured add confined in Belle Isle
and Libby prisons. When got out Of
the army went on the stage as a COM
medisn and was playing in Richmond
nj the close q the war. Then I went
10 the Bowery in New York and finally
drifted out west. / am here yet, you
zee.