The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1899-08-29
Weather forecast for Fred
erfcks6uT0 and cicinitV.
Generally fair Tuesday, mod
crate temperature.

or, paid the forfeiture Of their lives FOL
their fool-hardy and desperate attempt
to liberste the negroes Of Virginia and
slay their masters. Old "Assawotta
mie" and three Of his miserable dupes
were captured in the guard house al
Harper's Ferry. where they had taker
refuge. and where. from holes picked
through the brick walls they killed sew
eral citizens Of Jefferson county. Col. Lee,
afterwards General r. Z. Lee Of Con.
federate fame, was the officer who com.
manded the marines who battered down
the door of the guard and cap
tured Brown and his followers. These
four were tried. convicted and hung at
Oharlestown, the county-seat Of Jeffer-
son. One of the four was Cooke, a
young man Of good parentage, and the
nephew of Daniel Voorhees,. of Ohio
This gentleman came down to Virginia
and defended his Inflated nephew
The speech he made on that memora.
BILE occasion may justly be ascribed as
the foundation of the great fame which
he afterwards acquired as an orator,
worthy to be linked with Erskine and
Curran and Prentiss and Choate and
Webster. He placed the defense Of
Cooke upon high grounds His plea
was that this youth was a misguided
abolition enthusiast. melted and led on
by the teachings of Thad Stevens and
Henry Ward Beecher and Charles
Sumner and the Thousand followers
Of these leading abolitionists. Ia
his great, his grand, defense Of Mr..
Cooke. Mr.. Voorhees, laid the great crime
Of the John Brown invasion. with its
attendants Of rapine and murder, at
the door Of these conspicuous and un-
scruplous northern abolitionists who
had melted the credulous and mis-
guided followers Of John Brown to
undertake what they were persuaded
to consider q crusade against slavery
and tyranny. and in behalf Of human
freedom. So far from offending the
Southern sentiment. in his splendid
oratory. Mr.. voorhees, SO won upon
the Southern people that he was, the
following year. invited by the Literary
Societies Of the University of Virginia
to deliver the grafton at the commence
ment in June, 1860 This he did and
q magnificent masterpiece Of eloquence
it was.
There were ten OF John Browns
iohoWets AiAou III tho uSnehnS 0u"'
occurred in and around Harper Ferry.
Three OF the dead bodies were taken
for dissection TO Winchester. Seven
were buried In the vicinity Of the
tragedy. Within the past three weeks
the skeletons Of these seven marauders
and murderers have been dis.interred |
and taken to North Elba. in
the State Of New York, and buried |
by the side of their grim chieftain,
whose body, according to the fami liar
song lilies Wondering In the ground,
while lie soul is marching on"
The seven skeletons were all placed in
one saroophagus. A great effort is being
made to impart importance and pres
tige to the burial Of these comrades of |
John Brown by the side Of their fool
hardy and infatuated leader. Presi-
dent Mckinley, Governor Roosevelt |
and many other notables have been in
vited on the occasion. 1t is said that |
Governor Roosevelt has accepted the |
invitation and will be there with his
staff. Let him do 1t. His fate as q
Presidential aspirant will be then and
there sealed. AS to the idea that Pres
ident Mckinley would for moment
hearken to the suggestion Of attending
these posthumous honors to the mis-
ereants and highway robbers and muir
derers who followed the black flag Of
John Brown, we do not, for q moment
credit any such idea. But there Is one
item In this mixed program to which
The Free Lance desires to invite at
tentIon. Il 10 given out that Secretary
Of War Root has ordered detail from
the Twenty sixth Infantry to fire
salute over the graves Of these
seven followers Of John Brown.
The Free Lance discredits this rumor.
u does not believe that Secretary Root
i . natural born fool and idiot
John Brown was. In one sense, an
,nshusiass. but he was in another and