The Washington herald., 1907-06-02
Sole Survivor of the TweIpe Men Who Conpicted
Old Osawaton1ie Is Living DOVn in Virginia,
Hearty and Strong Recalls the Scenes
and Incidents of the Famous Trial
By WALTER EDWARD HARRIS.

The Judge who presided at the trial OF
John Brown. the clerk of the court the
sheriff and all his deputies, coun-
sci on both sides, the jailer' ana
eleven members Of the jury have lohs
been dead. The solitary survivor oI
those Who played such prominent parts
in the prologue TO the great drama or
the civil way is still living ia Virginia,
not many miles from Charlestown, where
he sat in Judgment on Old Osawatomie.
and voted with eleven associates TO send
him TO the gallows.
81 believe the world thinks I am dead.
said lIr. Martiu-Wtlliam Abrams Mar
lin is the name of this lone survivor oil
the John Brown trial I found him only
after long drive through the Fauquie,
hills. living with his wife in tree-md-
den. vine-emb0wcred cottage, n the lit
tie village Of Hard Scrabble. Hard Scrab-
ble is situate at the foot of a long Hl,
the descent Of which in a vghicle strains
the nerves Of the traveller who is unused
10 declivitous roads, and such bad ones
as that which stretches away from Della
plane TO the struggling settlement where
Mr.. Martin has just celebrated his
seYenty-ffth birth anniversary.
"Hard Scrabble"
'Yes. this is Hard Scrabble" said my
host. as he wiped the sweat from ms
brow with his apron, and gave me a seat
on threc-Iegged stool in his wheel
wright shop near his cottage. 1T is q
good name for It, It is hard scrabble
to get here. a hard scrabble TO get away
and hard scrabble 90 make lyiug
while you are here"
It was a matter of more or less diff
Guilty 10 induce Nr Martin to recall the
trial of Brown. He is a constant ta.Sar
when out in his shop, away from Mrs.
Martin. but he has evidently described
the celebrated trial so often that he has
tired of the subject
yes" he repeated, ct guess people
think I am dead. Nobody ever comes
this way Hard Scrabble is at the end
of the road. You don't have TO pass it
10 get anywhere else worth going t.
Besides. Il IS near half century since
the trial Of Brown and everybody who
had anything 20 do with the trial ought
10 be dead by rights
Mr. Martin shook his head so seriously
and spoke with such apparent s1lemniC
that was constrained % think he VAS
weighed down with the recollection of
his vote 10 send John Brown 10 his death
1 expressed my thought in % question.
40. ] have never regretted my part
in hanging John Brown, was the ready
reply. 'I believe he ought 90 have beer
put TO death. The jury. under their oaths
could not have found any other verdict
Brown a Desperate Man.
"The truth of the matter is," Le wcu
on. eve members of The jury ueve
drcamt that other people would ragar.
Brown as DE was and is regarded 10y s
many. He was d desperate man, wh
undertook TO do murder i'm a most dosper
ate manner. and who did Kill "a numse
OF peaceful citizens. lie was q despgrad.
who ought % have been executed. But
have received hundreds of letters. prob
ably. from an over tae country. den5gnc
ing me for having voted TO convict Brown
These were very frequent some years ago
but the only one 7 have received in reeen
years was from d lady up North some
where. who wanted tp know whethe
was able To sleep soIHdly; whether th
recollection Of John Brown did not caUs
me to l.e awake at uiEht2 I wrote her
ate three square meals a day. made
living for my old woman and myself ans
slept eight or ten hours out of ever
twcuty-fogr.
.I was born in Bedford County. Pa
july o. ISL
"What, Born in Pennsylvania I I'm
tcrruptcL
"Yes. sir,' and the old gcuuoma
ChuekLsd. And I was not i'm the Coufad
crate army either, though they fought a.
around me- I moved To- jefferson County
Va with my mother when I was ahou
ten years Of age. We had some property
not much. I was taught the trade of
wleelWright and have worked az il ah0u
all my life. / have always been "a yer
temperate man. smoking "a good DEAL bu
not enough o. hurt me. though the Ol
WOmTu-
"TeI me about the John Brown trial
] interrupted again. for I saw he wa
about TO wander far adeId.
story of the Trial.
p
tected q note of superiority iu his word
and chucklo. "Wcu, 1 don't know q
there is anything 7 can tell YOU ab0u
the trial that you don't already know.
was not on the inside { ALL I just hear
the next morning about Brown and j
men having terrified Harpers Ferry an
killed several people and fortified then
selves i'm the engine house You know a
about Col Lee and Jeh Stuart comm
down from Washington with the marin,
and st0rmiug the engine house and cal
turing Brown and such 0f his men
want dead. There was q lUt Of excite
ment, I ten you and many people wei
afraid the negroes were going % rise d
and murder every white man and woma
and child. The papers were lul of a
counts OF the raid. but they didn't urH
as much about it as they have been prin
ing about the TEaw case, not as much
the Virginia papers have published aho-
the Str0ther case over at Culucper.
Il did not get much excited, and kel
on 1T work. But ! happened To go d
about the courthouse ON t,e day of u
trial, or. maybe. the day before, and I DID
into Sheriff Campbell, and he summon,
me TO serve ON the jury. I hated
awful bad, but there wasn't any gettlr
out Of f.
80 7 showed mp in the courthouse q
the 2ith day of October. 1852 There W.,
a great crowd il town Soldiers fro
Richmond, and Winchester, and Ere
erick. and I do not know where els
guarded the courthouse. You see, Go
Henry A. Wise was afraid there migl
be more 10 Browns raid than could
seen. He was afraid that an attem
might be made from the North To rescr
him, and he wouldn't take any chance
I remember seeing cannon planted ia t.
courthouse square. The courtroom W.
crowded when I went in I didn't 81
Brown till I got I'm the box TW5nty-f0-