The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1909-10-15
JOHN BROWN.
CONTINUED from Page H.

and John Alstadt. Without realizing
what had happened, the planters and
leading citizens, with their slaves,
were conducted to the armory. The
citizens were seized one by one as
they were returning to their homes
from the protracted meeting At day.
break the armory yard was crowded
with prisoners.
Although Brown had cut the tele-
graph wires, he did not stop the rail
road trains from passing through
Harper's Ferry The news of the
raid spread rapidly throughout the
surrounding country, and the farm
ers, arming themselves as best they
could, hurried to the town. Several
skirmishes took place between the
farmers and the raiders. Thomas
Hurley, who advanced on the in
vaders with a shotgun, was shot, and
Alexander Kelly received a bullet
through his hat.
First Shots by the Mob.
Of Colonel Lees force Luke Quinn
was killed, and a comrade, Rupert
by name, had his lip torn away by a
bullet.
The following account. of the raid
was told by Jacob Wildner, of New
Lisbon, Wis, the last survivor of
Browns band:
"On Sunday, October 16, 1859, John
Brown and our men crossed the rail-
road bridge over the Potomac River,
seized the United States arsenal,
stopped the railway trains, captured
number of citizens, set free such
slaves as they could find, and held
the town for more than "a hours.
"The telegraph lines were cut and
arms sent to the slaves, with the ex-
pectation that they would rise up at
once, but this, for some reason un-
known to me, they refused to do.
"The situation was thus unexpect-
edly made critical for us, and our
leader ordered pickets to be estab-
lished to warn us of the coming of
citizens who were arming against us.
They attacked the arsenal the next
day When we saw them coming
John Brown gave us positive orders
not to begin hostilities, so we held
our fire until attacked. The first
shots were fired by the mob. We re-
turned the fire, of course, to the best
of our ability, and succeeded in hold
ing them at bay for a time. 1t soon
became apparent to us, however, that
the building could not be maintained
against our assailants, whose num-
bers were increasing every minute.
John Browns Career.
Brown was an old man of vener-
able appearance, sedate and calm
apparently, but after an acquaintance
a man of stolid, inhexible demeanor
He was born in Torrington, Conn.
May 8, 1900. His fraternal ancestor
Pete Brown, came over with the his
toric party in the Mayaower, 1920
At an early age John Brown was ia
ken by his parents to Ohio, where he
became acquainted with the Indians
who were dwelling all around. He
took great delight in going on adven-
turous expeditions. Early in life he
was married to Diana Lusk, widow
by whom he had seven children His
wife dying, he shortly afterward mar
ried Mary Ann Day, who died in San
Francisco, Cal, in 1884. Thirteen
children were born to them.
Brown was engaged in various un-
dertakings and lived for a time in
Ohio, Pennsylvania, ard Massachu-
setts From this state he made trips
to England with cargoes of wool. He
subsequently purchased a farm at
North Elba, ~ Y, and settled there.
During all this time he was secretly
engaged in abolition enterprises I'M
der assumed names. Five of his
sons, in the year 1854, removed to
the state of Kansas, the father join
ing them the next year, settling near
the town of Osawatomie. There the
whole family become mixed up in the
fierce factional contests over slavery.
Finally they had to leave the state.
In several bloody fights they were
charged with the murder of five pro-
slavery men, who were secretly called
from their beds at night and muir
dered. Brown collected a quantity Of
money from abolition sympathizers
in the North, and with this money
purchased quantity of firearms,
spears, swords and other weapons.