The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-11-03
JOHN BROWN AS HE LIVED
ON HIS ADIRONDACK FARM
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
Benjamin R. Brewster, a retired lum-
Der man of Lake Placid, remembers John
Brown as he was fifty years ago on the
eve of the Harpers Ferry raid, the semi
centennial of which desperate adventure
falls upon October is. Mr. Brewster
memory of the man and of the event that
so moved the people of this country halr
, a century ago is the more lively because
the Harpers Ferry raid widowed his SIS
ter Martha, who had recently married
John Browns son Oliver member OF
the little group who marched with old
Ossawatomie to free the slaves and per-
ished in the attempt.
Mr. Brewster, hale and stocky ana
looking nearly ten years less than his
sixty-three, sat in his comfortable house
overlooking the valley of the wild little
stream that flows between his hill perch
and the Lake Placid railway station and
talked of John Brown, his family, ana
his companions. Few men now living knew
SO many of the Harper's Feerry raid
ers. for not only his brother-in-law fol-
10ved John Brown in that adventure, but
so did two of the neighboring Thompson
bows. whose sisters were married to two
of Browns sons.
The strong active boy of thirteen went
to live with the Browns on their hlsh'
rocky farm, still about the highest culu-
waited land in the state, in the most rest
less year of John Browns restless life,
namely, the winter of 1859 when Brown
inter having been forced to postpone his
undertaking by the treachery of his drill
master was again preparing for 1t, TINS
time with greater secrecy than ever
Not in the Secret.
.sOf course" said Mr.. Brewster, Il, as
a mere boy, was not taken into the Sc
eret. but | remember John Brown ana
all his family well, for / went 10 school
with the younger children before l be-
came q. member of the family. The
Browns had been settled on the farm for
a good many years and were known
pretty well to their few nelghoors'
though nobody saw much of John Brown.
"He came and went about his secret
business of running off slaves ana pre-
pairing for his work in Kansas ana Tor
the .Harper's Ferry raid. l walked to
school with the Brown children You
can almost see from here the little scnool
house down there in the valley.
eve were poor, almost everybody
else was up here, and as the Browns
certainly were. and | had to work for
board. lodging and little wages. |
lived in the family for two fails and
winters. and l never knew better or
kinder people. Mrs. Brown was IKE
mother to me. ] remember that she
gave me the very first money l ever
earned. When | had been at the place
q little while she came to me one day,
saving that she'd been watching and
found that l did my work faithfully,
and then she put gold dollar into my
hand, the first coined gold Ia ever
seem"
IT is a curious fact that, vivid was
the impression that John Brown made
,lpon thosee with whom he came in con-
tact. there is a difference of recollec-
ton as to the appearance of the man.
This is partly owing to the fact that
late In life he changed his smooth
shaven face by growing a beard. but
there is even a difference of tradition
as to the height and figure OF the man.
what did he look llke?" said Mr..
Brewster In answer to a question, and
then he crossed to the wall of his libra
w and showed an unusually well exc
cuted crayon portrait of Brown, with
head and bust considerably less than
life size, but extremely clear and char
acteristic.
The picture was copied from photo
graph. which in turn may have been
taken from life or from the full-length
life size portrait in oils which hangs in
the Boston Athenaeum. 1t shows the
great spade-like white beard and heavy
white mustache which John Brown grew
to disguise his countenance when he de-
cided on postponing the Harpers Ferry
raid to return to Kansas after the Doyle
murders.
THAT" said Mr. Brewster, sis exactly
the man as / remember him I gave a.
better copy to be hung in the capitol at
Albany. He was nearly six feet tall,
~-btt spare, though broad shouldered AS
/ recall him. he was erect, and although
then SO years old, strong and active.
His sons were much like him in
height and shape My brother-in-law.
oliver Brown, was one of the best made
Young men I ever saw. John Brown
never stayed long at the farm when
was there, but I saw him often and
heard him speak In his everyday life
with the family. He seldom worked
much about the place, but I remember
working half day with him smoothing
up a piece Of rough ground that had
been cleared OF timber.
Was a Hard Worker.
s'He was not like most Bosses at
least not like those who boss public
Jobs said Mr.. Brewster with a remin-
fscent smile. evidently born of his
perience as president of the village. "for
he worked along harder than everybody
else stopping only now and then to give
elders and hardly speaking a word at