 |
  Home
Introduction Preface Email CHAPTER X CAPT. JOHN BROWN, as we have seen, went east late in the autumn of 1856, where he spent the winter counselling with and rallying the friends of freedom in Kansas. He returned agin to Tabor august 7, 1857, where he remained several months, and until after the fall elections in Kansas, the result of which he watched with intense interest. He boarded in the family of Jonas Jones, who then occupied the house on the northeast corner of Center and Orange streets, where President Brooks now resides. Colonel Forbes arrived two days later and remained until the 2d of November, and being an expert as a military tactician, he seemed to be teaching the captain military science. Owen Brown, son of the captain, was also here that summer. Part of the time they practiced shooting at a target with Sharps rifles. In the point of one of the prairie ridges which run north and south and just north of Dragoon hollow, they dug a hole of sufficient dimensions to contain a man comfortably. A sheet-like white cloth with a black spot in the center, suspended on two stakes, was placed on the north side of the hole, in which one of their number placed himself with his back with his back to the marksmen, fronting the target, and deep enough in the ground to be safe from any balls that might be fired. There with a long pointer in hand terminated by a black know about the size of a man's fist to render it more readily distinguishable, sat the indicator awaiting the report of the Sharps rifle half a mile or more away south, whither Colonel Forbes and Captain Brown had repaired to try their skill as marksmen. No sooner was the report of the distant rifle heard than the black knob on the end of the pointer was placed on the hole where the ball perforated the target, which the marksmen, with the aid of a field glass, could readily see and modify their subsequent attempts accordingly. A book on military science entitled, "The Patriotic Volunteer," of which Colonel Forbeswas the author, formed a text book for study, while target practice afforded them ample exercise in the open air. Thus passed the summer and autumn of 1857, and when Captain Brown learned that the elections in Kansas had passed quietly, unmolested by ruffians from Missouri, he proceeded to gather up the free state stores that had been deposited in Tabor and ship them away. Though very reticent and little disposed to publish his projects, Captain Brown was understood by his friends to be intending, in case the elections were interfered with again, to raise, clothe, arm and equip a company of mounted men and pitch in and fight it out in Kansas; but as the elections passed off quietly, he gathered all together and took his departure. Colonel Forbes took a steamer at Nebraska City for the east November 2, 1857, and Captain Brown took the emigrant road to Kansas, in a wagon driven by one of his sons. His chief object in going to Kansas seems to have been to gather about him a company of young men, whose object culminated in the Harper's Ferry tragedy. Later in the season there met at Tabor, Captain Brown, Owen Brown, A. D. Stephens, Charles Moffit, C. P. Tidd, Richard Robertson, Colonel Richard Realf, L. F. Parsons, Wm. Leaman and Captain Cook. These had intended to go to the Western Reserve to winter, but Forbes had betrayed their plans to the government authorities, and they, for this reason, together with limited finances,concluded to remain in Iowa through the winter. Here I quote from Captain Cook's confession: "We stopped some days at Tabor making preparations to start. Here we found that Captain Brown's ultimate destination was the state of Virginia. Some warm words passed between him and myself in regard this plan, which I supposed was to be confined entirely to Kansas and Missouri. Realf and Parsons were of the same opinion with me. After a good deal of wrangling we consented to go on, as we had not the means to return, and the rest of the party were so anxious that we should go with them. At Tabor we procured teams for the transportation of about 200 Sharps rifles which had been taken on as far as Tabor one year before, at which place they had been left awaiting the orders of Captain Brown. There were also other stores consisting of blankets, clothing, boots, ammunition, and about two hundred revolvers of the Massachusetts Arms patent, all of which we transported across the state of Iowa to Springdale, and from there to Liberty, at which place they were shipped for Ashtabula county, Ohio, where they remained till brought to Chambersburg, Pa., and were from there transported to a house in Washington county, Md., which Captain Brown had rented six months, and which was situated about five miles from Harpers Ferry." These two hundred Sharps rifles (twenty boxes and ten in a box) were stored in the parson's cellar for about a year. So you see how nearly the parson was implicated in the Harper's Ferry insurrection. Captain Brown and his ten young men spent the winter of 1857-8 in Iowa, in the study and practice of military tactics, under the drill of A. D. Stephens. In the early summer of 1858 he was again in southern Kansas, throwing his power on the side of freedom in the strife between freedom and slavery. The country at that time was in a state of great excitement and turmoil, constant raiding, and fighting and murdering between the border ruffians and free state men. The greatest vigilance was required to live at all. In this state of things, Captain Brown and his faithful clan endeavored to be prepared for any emergency. Two hundred Missourians were collected in Missouri, eight miles from the Kansas line, for the purpose of invading the territory. At this juncture, early in January, 1859, Captain Brown began to talk of offensive operations and proposed to invade Missouri. While yet undecided, a slave who was to be sold with his family down the river next day came to Captain Brown and besought him to deliver them from this calamity. Accordingly Captain Brown took twelve men and went up one side of the Osage river, and Kagi with eight ascended the other side, for the purpose of freeing slaves. the former freed not only the family that asked aid, but others, too, ten in all, with team and wagon as remuneration for the years of unpaid toil. Kagi's party obtained but one slave, in securing which they killed the master, who was attempting to take the life of one of the party in defense of his property. Thus Missouri was invaded, and slaves taken by force from their masters, even at the cost of life. After a short stay in Kansas, Captain Brown with his company of eleven slaves, which, by the way, had become twelve by the birth of a young John Brown, set out for the Queen's Dominions about the 20th of January, 1859, and arrived safely in Tabor with their escort early in February. They came the latter part of the week and remained several days. The small house across the street directly east of the public school building then stood where Dr. Sanborn's present residence stands, and had been used for a primary school room. In that a cooking stove was placed and there the freedmen made their home during their sojourn in Tabor. the following paper was handed the parson on Sunday morning at the beginning of the morning services: "John Brown respectfully requests the church at Tabor to offer public thanksgiving to Almighty God in behalf of himself and company and of their rescued captives in particular, for His gracious preservation of their lives and health, and His signal deliverance of all out of the hand of the wicked hitherto." "Oh, give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever." The parson preached at Glenwood in the evening and from there went directly to Quincy in Adams county, where he remained a week or more assisting Brother Penfield in a series of meetings. >p>Before the Sabbath was past it was reported in Tabor that Missouri had been invaded and life had been taken to procure these slaves, and consequently that Captain Brown might be heard in his own defense, and that all persons interested might hear and judge for themselves, a public meeting had been called for Monday morning to hear Captain Brown. A traveling Missourian chanced to stop for the night at the village hotel, and learning of the meeting, concluded to attend. This fact came to the ears of Captain Brown, who refused to speak in the presence of the Missourian and demanded that he be required to leave. The audience were unwilling to grant this, and leading persons present strongly insinuated that if no wrong had been done the actors ought not to be ashamed or afraid to let any and everybody know what they had done. The Missourian remained and Captain Brown withdrew, greatly grieved that his Tabor friends refused to approve his course.After Captain Brown left the meeting at the school house that Monday morning, the citizens proceeded to adopt some resolutions expressive of their views of the captain's invasion of Missouri. They could not approve of an armed invasion of a neighboring state with which we were ostensibly at peace. With mingled surprise and indignation Captain Brown repaired to the residence of Brother Geo. B. Gaston, whose hospitality he had been enjoying, apparently feeling that if friends deserted him he must "trust in God and keep his powder dry." In feeble health from continued exposure, beset with a persistent ague, he seemed to feel forsaken; he carefully examined and grasped more firmly his weapons and curtailed his stay in Tabor. By way of Chicago and the lakes, he reached Canada in safety with his company in due time, and appeared in Tabor but once again. About the first of September, 1859, he came to the residence of Jonas Jones on the Sabbath, less than two months before his capture at Harper's Ferry, and when taking leave on the same day, as Mr. Jones stepped out on the porch, he said very impressively, "Good-bye, Mr. Jones. I don't say where I am going, but you'll hear from me. There has been enough said about 'bleeding Kansas.' I intend to make a bloody spot at another point and carry the war into Africa." From our present standpoint, this daring deed of Captain Brown seems to have been one link in the long chain of events which hastened the final overthrow of legalized American slavery. Return to top Note: Names in bold print are to aid in your search for specific surnames that you are researching, they are not in bold in the book.  Previous
Next Copyright © 2000 - 2001 D. J. Coover |