USA > Massachusetts > The story of western Massachusetts, Volume I > Part 42
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of their own choice; others would flinch. That would be taking them at their own words. You may make a tumult in the court room where a trial is going on by burning gunpowder freely in paper packages, if you cannot think of any better way to create a momentary alarm, and might possibly give one or more of your enemies a hoist. But in such case the prisoner will need to take the hint at once and bestir himself; and so should his friends improve the opportunity for a general rush.
"A lasso might possibly be applied to a slave catcher for once with good effect. Hold on to your weapons, and never be persuaded to leave them, part with them, or have them taken away from you. Stand by one another, and by your friends, while a drop of blood remains; and be hanged, if you must, but tell no tales out of school. Make no confession.
"Union is strength. Without some well-digested arrangements nothing to any good purpose is likely to be done, let the demand be never so great. Witness the case of Hamlet and Long in New York, when there was no well-defined plan of operations or suitable prepara- tions beforehand. The desired end may be effectually secured by the means proposed ; namely, the enjoyment of our inalienable right."
AGREEMENT.
"As citizens of the United States of America, trusting in a just and merciful God, whose spirit and all-powerful aid we humbly implore, we will ever be true to the flag of our beloved country, always acting under it. We whose names are hereunto affixed do constitute ourselves a branch of the United States League of Gileadites. We will provide ourselves at once with suitable implements, and will aid those who do not possess the means, if any such are disposed to join us. We invite every colored person whose heart is engaged in the performance of our business, whether male or female, old or young. The duty of the aged, infirm and young members of the League shall be to give constant notice to all members in case of an attack upon any of our people. We agree to have no officers except a treasurer and secretary pro tem., and after some trial of courage and talent of able-bodied members shall enable us to elect officers from those who shall have rendered the most important services. Nothing but wisdom and undaunted courage, efficiency and general good conduct, shall in any way influence us in electing our officers."
Lovejoy, whom Brown here refers to, was an antislavery editor in Alton, Illinois, who was killed by a mob in November, 1837. Charles Turner Torrey was a native of Massachusetts, who went to Maryland to devote himself to antislavery labors, where he was tried and sentenced to imprisonment for aiding slaves to escape, and died of consumption in the state prison at Baltimore in 1846. Hamlet and Long were escaped slaves who were captured in New York and sent South under the Fugitive Slave Law.
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With the fate of such predecessors staring him in the face, few men would have persevered as Brown did in such dangerous business; but physical fear was an element absolutely unknown in the make-up of the old hero.
An anecdote has recently been told which illustrates his inex- haustible resources against physical pain. It happened that the Reverend Doctor Sunderland once lectured on animal magnetism at the old Hampden Hall in Springfield, where the Five Cents Savings Bank Building now stands. After the speaker had got well into his subject and seemed to be trying to hypnotize as many of his audience as were susceptible to his dreamy, singsong manner, the quiet was suddenly broken. A man, tall, erect, with clean-shaven face, light brown hair cut short and bristling out in every direction, arose, and violently denounced the speaker as a fraud and the whole thing a humbug. He said he had paid his money to learn what there was in this new mystery, but he believed the whole thing was a sham and the man an impostor. The audience, sympathizing with Dr. Sunderland, hissed him, cried, "Put him out!" and tried to shut him up; but he said he would be heard, and he was heard. He offered to submit himself to any pain that might be inflicted on any persons in the magnetic state, and if he could not endure it as long as they, he would admit that he was in the wrong. It was finally agreed that cowhage should be rubbed into the skin of the neck and upper part of the chest. A young woman who traveled with Sunderland, and who was then in the magnetic sleep, was to try her power of endurance with him. After a somewhat prolonged rubbing, under the direction of two physicians who were in the audience, the man winced, while the girl did not move a muscle. Upon seeing this the audience cheered, and very soon the man disappeared from the stage. The girl, upon being restored to her natural condition, went into convulsions from the pain, and was again put into the hypnotic state. The hero, it was said, needed the service of a physician during the early part of the night to relieve the intense burning caused by this irritant. In a card in the morning paper he acknowledged that there must be something in animal magnetism; and signed to the communication was the name of John Brown.
Following the letter of advice given above came a constitution or set of by-laws called "resolves", as follows:
"RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED JAN. 15, 1851 :
"1. Resolved, That we whose names are affixed do constitute our- selves a Branch of the United States League, under the above name. "2. Resolved, That all business of this Branch be conducted with the utmost quiet and good order; that we individually provide our- selves with suitable implements without delay; and that we will suffi- ciently aid those who do not possess the means, if any such are disposed to join us.
"3. Resolved, That a committee of one or more discreet, influen- tial men be appointed to collect the names of all colored persons
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whose heart is engaged for the performance of our business, whether male or female, whether old or young.
"4. Resolved, That the appropriate part of all aged, infirm, female or youthful members of this Branch is to give instant notice to all other members of any attack upon the rights of our people, first informing all able-bodied men of this League or Branch, and next, all well-known friends of the colored people; and that this information be confined to such alone, that there may be as little excitement as possible and no noise in the so doing.
"5. Resolved, That a committee of one or more discreet persons be appointed to ascertain the condition of colored persons in regard to their conduct in any emergency.
"6. Resolved, That no other officer than a treasurer, with a president and secretary pro tem., be appointed by this Branch until after some trial of the courage and talents of able-bodied members shall enable a majority of the members to elect their officers from those who shall have rendered the most important services.
"7. Resolved, That trusting in a just and merciful God, whose spirit and all-powerful aid we humbly implore, we will most cheerfully and heartily support and obey such officers, when chosen as before; and that nothing but wisdom, undaunted courage, efficiency and gen- eral good conduct shall in any degree influence our individual votes in case of such election.
"8. Resolved, That a meeting of all members of this Branch shall be immediately called for the purpose of electing officers (to be chosen by ballot) after the first trial shall have been made of the qualification of individual members for such command, as before mentioned.
"9. Resolved, That as citizens of the United States of America we will ever be true to the flag of our beloved country, always acting under it."
Following this come the signatures of twenty-seven Gileadites. Tradition says that there were seventeen more, making forty-four in all; but no record of them can be found, and in all probability they are lost to the world forever. Here is the list as taken from a copy of the New York Independent of that period, together with their occupations, as far as can be ascertained at this date:
B. C. Dowling, barber,
John Smith, tinsmith.
Reverdy Johnson, druggist.
Samuel Chandler.
J. N. Howard, sexton of South Church.
Charles Rollins, laborer.
Scipio Webb.
Charles Odell.
L. Wallace, employee of R. M. Cooley, soap and candle fac- tory, East State Street.
Henry Johnson, employee of David Smith, carriage builder, Park Street.
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G. W. Holmes, millwright.
C. A. Gazam.
Eliza Green.
Jane Fowler.
H. J. Jones.
Ann Johnson.
Cyrus Thomas.
Henry Robinson, lumber dealer.
Henry Hector, laborer.
John Strong, machinist.
Wm. Burns, waiter.
Wm. Gordon, waiter.
Joseph Addams, barber.
Win. Green, jobber.
Wm. H. Montague, hairdresser, Cooley's Hotel.
Jane Wilks.
James Madison, employee, Harris & Colton, woodworker, foot Howard Street.
These were white men and colored,-the Negroes probably being fugitive slaves, which may account for the lack of information con- cerning many of them. Later Brown distributed arms among the members and taught them how to use them, thus putting the League on a practical basis for fighting the slave laws.
After the Osawatomie fight, the Freesoilers sent emigrants to Kansas and Missouri, not to fight slavery by force of arms, but to cast an honest ballot against the ruffians of the country, though the nature of their errand necessarily became the primary cause of much rioting and bloodshed. The chaplain of one company afterward men- tioned marching into church every Sabbath day and laying his sword on the pulpit within easy reach, not knowing at what moment he might be called upon to collect his little force to fight a band of desperadoes.
Just after the sending out of one of these bands a meeting was held in Springfield of a society of gentlemen known as "The Club," at which the subject was brought up for discussion. Hon. Reuben A. Chapman, afterward chief justice, expressed as his opinion that these settlers should not be sent out unarmed and helpless, but that the club should do their part toward arming them, and wound up by saying that for his share he would give one Sharp's rifle. These astounding words fell like a thunderclap on his audience. Judge Chapman inciting to riot and bloodshed! Judge Chapman defying the United States laws! But they soon recovered. "I will give one gun," said Dr. Buckingham. "And I, another." So the chorus went round the room till nearly every member had promised a gun. Judge Chapman's law partner, Franklin Chamberlin, rather demurred at the idea, saying that it was not right to defy the laws in that way. "In that case," quoth the judge, "I will give two guns,-one for myself and one for the credit of the firm."
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So the guns were bought and collected. But then came the ques- tion of sending them so as to escape capture and confiscation. The problem was solved by sending them to the offices of the Connecticut River Railroad, where President D. L. Harris secreted them in his private office. There they were taken apart, the stocks being packed in one case, the locks in another, the barrels in a third, and so on. The cases were sent by different routes, at different times, and reached their destination in safety.
Judge Chapman never hesitated to proceed alone on a rocky trail, when he failed to secure the co-operation of his associates. At one time, when he was an officer of the Emigrant Aid Society and a United States Commissioner as well, strong pressure was brought upon him to resign the latter office that he might avoid the offensive duty of returning fugitive slaves to their masters. "I refuse to resign," was his firm reply. When an explanation of his position was asked, he said: "In the event of the pursuit of a slave to Spring- field, as an officer of the Emigrant Aid Society, I would forward the fugitive to other parts. Then as United States Commissioner, I would issue a warrant for his arrest".
Springfield offered many a helping hand to Brown in his unending search for arms and money for his cause. To one of these sympa- thizers he wrote as follows :
"Osawatomie, Kansas Territory, 20th Febry, 1856.
"T. W. Carter, Esqr, Agent,
Massachusetts Arms Company,
Chicopee Falls, Mass.
"Dear Sir,-
"Your kind favour of the 5th Jany was received a few days since, mentioning receipt of draft and offering a further supply of arms. I would again immediately take the responsibility of ordering another lot but I am not at this moment prepared to say how I would dare to have them directed. The other lot I came on with myself bringing with them other arms contributed by the Friends of Freedom in Massachusetts and other parts. I cannot just now name anyone who is coming on, suitable to take charge of them. Gen. Pomeroy went east lately but I do not know where a letter would find him. I now think I shall immediately make a further and more earnest appeal to the lovers of Freedom in New England for the means of procuring Arms and Ammunition for the maintainance of that cause in Kansas as I think the crisis has not yet come. I firmly believe that the Ad- ministration intends to drive the people here to an abject submission or to fight the Government troops (now in the territory ostensibly to remove intruders from certain Indian lands). Bow in submission to the vilest tyranny or be guilty of what will be called treason: will I believe be the next and only alternative for the Free State of Kansas. O God, must this thing be? Must the people here shoot down the poor soldier with whom they have no quarrel? Can you
W. Mass .- I-27
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not, through your extensive acquaintance, aid me in this work if you can be satisfied that I am trustworthy? I am well known to many at Springfield. I very much want a lot of the carbines as soon as I can see any way clear to pay for them and then to get them through safe. Please write me the lowest terms at wholesale for just such carbines as you furnish the Government.
"I may write you further within a few days.
"Very Respectfully Your Friend,
JOHN BROWN."
From this time Springfield saw but little of John Brown. When he did stop in the city it was usually at some private home, though in a few instances it was at the Massasoit House, not under the name of Capt. John Brown but simply as Mr. Brown, as he wished to avoid publicity. Not that he feared arrest for personal reasons; but he had work to do, and wished no interference until it was completed. Pos- sibly this was the reason why he commenced, at this time, to grow the grotesque beard which he wore in his later days.
As Brown studied his plans and campaigns, he saw that a resort to arms was unavoidable and wishing to provide a home for his family and a place for his grave if he should be killed, he moved to North Elba, New York where Gerrit Smith, had given land for the benefit of escaped slaves, and Brown proposed that he should live on one of these farms and help the fugitives. The slaves were not used to such hard labor as was needed to clear the land; the climate was hard for them and they needed some one to teach them to till the soil and be father to them. Smith saw the necessity of some such arrangement, and believing Brown to be the ideal person for such a position he gratefully accepted his offer, and the family moved to the bleak woods.
A plot of land was selected where mountain peaks towered on every hand and a one-and-a-half-story dwelling erected. Nearby is the little cemetery where sleep John Brown and his sons; where the bodies were laid to rest by Wendell Phillips, and the huge boulder,- God's grandest monument to his martyr. Shortly before his death Brown had the headstone brought from the grave of his grandfather in Connecticut so that it might be placed over his own grave; and when the bodies were buried, his name and that of his son were cut upon its face in addition to the name of Captain John Brown. Years later, some of the friends and admirers of the man visited the place, and being struck with the instability of the monument, determined upon erecting a more fitting memorial. Casting about for some design which should be not only simple but lasting, they hit upon the happy idea of cutting upon the boulder, on the side opposite the headstone, in letters covering nearly the whole face of the rock, simply the words "John Brown, 1859."
So long as the rock lasts, the inscription will last also, for the letters are cut deep enough to withstand the exposure of centuries.
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JOHN BROWN
Though by the world at large the man is considered a dreamer who threw away his life in a reckless way, when he might have kept it for a better use; yet to the most careful students of his character this is far from being true. He well knew that sooner or later he should fall in campaigns, and every move he made was with that idea in mind. He was far from being a dreamer. His Harper's Ferry schemes failed only from a slight miscalculation. Had he left the armory in time he could have escaped to the mountains, where the country was better known to himself and his men than any one else. Here the slaves would have flocked to his standard and a successful uprising would have been the result. But he waited too long and history tells how dearly he and his little band paid for this neglect to take advantage of opportunities offered.
Bleeding and wounded, with his sons and friends dead around him, he was at last captured and after being carried into court on a stretcher, a trial by jury was enacted and the verdict was guilty, and the sentence, death. Though he knew that he was working against the inevitable, life was dear to the man and he made a brave fight in his defense. To his old friend, Judge Chapman of Springfield, he dictated the following letter, being too weak to write it himself, though he signed it with a trembling hand :
"Charlestown, Jefferson County, Va., Oct. 21, '59
"Hon. Rufus Chapman, Springfield, Mass.
"Dear Sir: I am here imprisoned with several saber cuts in my head and bayonet stabs in my body. My object in writing to you is to obtain able and faithful counsel for myself and fellow prisoners, five in all, as we have the faith of Virginia pledged through her Governor and numerous other prominent citizens to give us a fair trial. Without we can obtain such counsel from without the slave states, neither the facts in our case can come before the world, nor can we have the benefit of such facts as might be considered mitigating in the view of others upon our trial. I have money in hand here to the amount of $250, and personal property sufficient to pay a most liberal fee to yourself or to any suitable man who will undertake our defense. If I can have the benefit of said property, can you or some other good man come immediately on for the sake of the young men prisoners at least ? My wounds are doing well. Do not send an Ultra Abolitionist.
"Very respectfully yours, "JOHN BROWN."
Brave and generous to the last he asked for counsel, not so much for himself as "for the sake of the young men."
But Judge Chapman was unable to render any assistance and on November 2, 1859, the sentence of death was pronounced. On being asked by the judge if there were any reasons why this sentence should not be carried out, Brown made that short, eloquent speech which
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Ralph Waldo Emerson says can be compared with only one other American speech; that of Lincoln at the dedication of the Gettysburg cemetery.
JOHN BROWN'S LAST SPEECH.
"I have, may it please the court, a few words to say.
"In the first place, I deny everything but what I have all along admitted-the design on my part to free the slaves. I intended, cer- tainly, to have made a clean thing of this matter, as I did last winter, when I went into Missouri and there took slaves without the snapping of a gun on either side, moved them through the country, and finally left them in Canada. I designed to have done the same thing again, on a larger scale. That was all I intended. I never did intend murder or treason, or the destruction of property, or to excite or incite slaves to rebellion, or to make insurrection.
"I have another objection, and that is, it is unjust that I should suffer such a penalty. Had I interfered in the manner which I admit, and which I admit has been fairly proven (for I admire the truth- fulness and candor of the greater portion of the witnesses who have testified in this case)-had I so interfered in behalf of the rich, the powerful, the intelligent, the so-called great, or in behalf of any of their friends, either father, mother, brother, sister, wife or children, or any of that class, and suffered and sacrificed what I have in this interference, it would have been all right, and every man in this court would have deemed it an act worthy of reward rather than punishment.
"This court acknowledges, as I suppose, the validity of the law of God. I see a book kissed here which I suppose to be the Bible, or at least, the New Testament. That teaches me that all things 'what- soever I would that men should do unto me, I should do even so to them.' It teaches me further, to 'remember them that are in bonds as bound with them.' I endeavored to act up to that instruction. I say, I am yet too young to understand that God is any respecter of persons. I believe that to have interfered as I have done-as I have always freely admitted I have done-in behalf of his despised poor, was not wrong but right. Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country, whose rights are dis- regarded by wicked, cruel and unjust enactments, I submit; so let it be done.
"Let me say one word further.
"I feel entirely satisfied with the treatment [ have received on my trial. Considering all the circumstances, it has been more generous than I expected. But I feel no consciousness of guilt. I have stated from the first what was my intention and what was not. I never had any design against the life of any person, nor any disposition to commit treason, or excite slaves to rebel, or make any general insur- rection. I never encouraged any man to do so, but always discouraged any idea of that kind.
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"Let me say also a word in regard to the statements made by some of those connected with ine. I hear it has been stated by some of them that I have induced them to join me; but the contrary is true. I do not say this to injure them, but as regretting their weakness. There is not one of them but joined me of his own accord, and the greater part at their own expense. A number of them I never saw and never had a word of conversation with them till the day they came to me, and that was for the purpose I have stated.
"Now I have done."
In pronouncing his eulogium over the grave in the mountains, on the eighth day of December, 1859, his friend, Wendell Phillips, said :
"Who checked him at last? Not startled Virginia. Her he had conquered. In reality God said, 'That work is done; come up higher, and baptize by your martyrdom a million hearts into holier life.' As I stood looking at his grandfather's gravestone, brought here from Connecticut, telling as it does of his death in the Revolution, I thought I could hear our hero-saint saying, 'My fathers gave their sword to the oppressed; I gave my sword to the slave my fathers forgot.' Fuller success than his heart ever dreamed of God granted him. He sleeps in the blessings of the crushed and the poor, and men believe more firmly in virtue, now that such a man has lived."
For many years prior to the present century, an attractive, low wooden picket-fence, painted white, surrounded the entire burial plot at North Elba and added much to the beauty of the situation. De- signed merely for protection against cattle and other domestic animals, it was no deterrent against the rapacious hands of souvenir hunters when the shrine became readily accessible on the advent of the auto- mobile. Fragments were chipped from both the grave-marker and the adjacent boulder. Entire fence pickets were taken. To prevent further despoliation a high iron fence now surrounds the plot and the setting is made even more incongruous by enclosing the marker itself in an ill-designed show case. What was a thing of beauty has been made most utilitarian and quite ugly in appearance.
The brick block at Gray's Avenue and Cypress Street, where John Brown once made his home, was the first Springfield venture in an apartment block. A photograph made in 1926 and published in the Republican on June 20 of that year, exhibits an utter lack of the attractive front porches and all other ornamental woodwork shown in earlier pictures. In 1932 the dilapidation was so complete that the entire building was demolished. The operation disclosed what was at once hailed as a tunnel extending from the cellar to the river, which was confidently assumed to be a link in the underground railroad of fugitive slave days. The cellar of the house was almost entirely filled in at that time, with the exception of a space at the entrance to the supposed tunnel, which had been kept open so that there could be further investigation by the Building Department of the queer, vaulted
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