m/' 
 
 *4^l \^ 
 
mmfPF 
 
 HjJjj^^^'/l 
 
 George JVashington Flowers 
 Memorial Collection 
 
 DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 ESTABLISHED BY THE 
 FAMILY OF 
 
 COLONEL FLOWERS 
 
 HHMtiiUIIEROOII 
 
 
THE TWO 1M-RKLLI0X8; 
 
 OK. 
 
 TKEA^'^^: ^" ^ 
 
 RICH mo: 
 
 I w ^ C'l-i 
 
[HE TWO REBELLIONS; 
 
 OR, 
 
 TREASON UNMASKED. 
 
 BY A VIRGINIAN. 
 
 RICHMOND: 
 
 SMITH, BAILEY k CO., SENTINEL OFFICE. 
 
 1865. 
 
[ Copj-ri^ht secured according to law. ] 
 

 PREFACE. 
 
 The author of the annexed crude production has no better 
 apology to offer for his extreme assurance in presenting it to 
 the public than a statement of the facts which explain its con- 
 ception. 
 
 A short time before the actual breaking out of the present 
 war, the Virginia Historical Society honored him with a re- 
 quest that he would prepare, for the sake of historic reference, 
 a brief chronicle of what was termed the " Harper's Ferry 
 Rebellion." 
 
 This was at once acceded toj but absence from this country, 
 to which he returned but a few months prior to the commence- 
 ment of hostilities, prevented more than a partial completion 
 of his engagement when a higher duty called him to the field. 
 Since that time, until recently, he has had no opportunity 
 of prosecuting the work which he had undei'takeu, and the 
 difficulties of which were greatly increased by the destruction 
 of his original manuscript and material by Patterson's soldiers. 
 Lately, taking advantage of " a furlough which a slight wound 
 obtained, the- writer recommenced the task which he had en- 
 gaged to perforntr 
 
 Becoming interested in a subject, an investigation of which 
 disclosed so much which related to the causes and objects of 
 the present war, he has somewhat enlarged upon his first plan 
 and indulged in a slight glance at some of th% interesting fea- 
 tures of the second as well as the first rebellion against the 
 majesty of an established -compact. 
 
 Hoping, in the language of all authors, that the Confederacy 
 and mankind may derive no little blessing from this effort of 
 his gcuiusj^hc beseeches the compassion of a generous public. 
 
 Zj ry / *? / G 
 
THE TWO KEBELLIONS 5 
 
 TREASON UNMASKED. 
 
 • CHAPTER I. 
 
 TDE MYSTERY OP REVOLUTIONS. 
 
 The boyhood of f^reat men is the most universally interesting 
 periofi of their lives." The mystery of greatness does not then 
 hide nature. -Then their charactei-s may be seen written out, 
 Aff it were, in boyish folly or precocious virtuous action, and, in 
 the transparent experience of that age, something discovered 
 of fhe impulses, and springs of natures that soared above the 
 masses of mankind. 
 
 The "pomp and circumstance" which usually encircles tri- 
 umphant manhood is apt to conceal from oommon view those 
 master motives and secret thoughts which reveal the sources 
 of greatness. }Jut in early youth this impenetrable halo is not 
 yet formed, and the veins and fterves of undeveloped heroism 
 lie patent to the vulgar gaze. Hence it is that all men love to 
 Htudy the boyhood of the great. 
 
 The same is true of great revolutions. Within the narrow 
 and intelligible outlines of their small beginnings, it is often 
 possible to contemplate the principal agencies of a commotion 
 that is destined to change the direction of human progress. 
 However petty they seem in their smallness, they are yet im- 
 pirtant from the representative causes which participate in 
 them, and hence interesting. 
 
 ^Tt is pleasant, too, to discover the connection between the 
 great and small events of history ; to find (he keys, as it were, 
 to great mysteries. For there is always much mystery about 
 great revolutions. The ignorant and the learned alike find 
 them hard to comjpc^heud, and though the latter may eotertftii) 
 
 y r?/ "? /Q 
 
U THE TWO ntnELLIONS ; 
 
 their vanity with ompilin;:: rocords of iiioxplicaVilo coiubina- 
 tions, cuiricidL'ticcs, aiul seijuciices. they will ueithcr ciilij;htea 
 nor amuse the less patient masses. Indeed, the philo'Jojdiers 
 thcmsselves are apt to lose their way amid the world of morui 
 j)hcnomena that envelopes them at every step. 
 
 The nu;ul)erle.ss mural forces which concur in producinjr the 
 bewildering^ chaos of such hi.storic periods, obscure the main 
 cau.ses of the jrencral chaiyj:c, and when out of the. coni'usioa 
 there finally arises new ideas and institutions which, by meth- 
 ods known onl}' to (iod,,are worked out as its legitimate fruils, 
 •philosophic ingenuity is exercised rather to find out the direct 
 cau>*es of these than the master causes of the revolution. Tl\o 
 A'ery multitude of the events that crowd in such periods, with- 
 out considering their causal relations, is sufficient to defy hu- 
 man analysis. And then the^ll-ahsorbing torrent of exciting 
 incidents, the trifling, perhaps, overshadowing the more im- 
 portant, lighting up with the splendor of glorious action the 
 incomprehensible vast theatre upon which endless lines of bat- 
 tle stretch, iorm u complex picture of history which dazzles 
 and confounds the deepest philosophers. Ueasoii is lost amid 
 , the thousand labyrinths it is called upon to wind, and the inft- 
 ugination ea[itivated with the grand efforts of military genius 
 or the sublimity of individual heroism. Ilence it is difficult 
 to comprehend the meaning and character of a great rev^vlution 
 by surveying it when arrayed in all the ])ride and strength of 
 maturity. It is far better to regard it in its first openings, 
 when the buddings of its vital principles are visible and the in- 
 numerable auxiliaries have not yet come forth to •^ilunge all in, 
 confusion. Or, to u.so another tigure," it is more jirofitable to 
 Kail up the ai)parently shoreless stream of human events, which 
 represent the course of a great revolution, until V.'c can behold 
 its'banks ami determine its general direction. 
 
 The stranger who rides in a solitary bark upon the placid 
 waters of a majestic river, wherc^ with viewless banks, it 
 debouches into the .sea, strains his eyes in vain to obtain some 
 conception of the nature and origin of the stream upon which 
 lie floats. ' Chance may direct his course until, in his a.scent, 
 he beholds, on either side, lining the horizon, tlje distant 
 shores; stud still the wide e.xpan.se which stretches out before 
 him baffles his vision and confounds his judgment. 
 
 He must still asc'cnd to where the neighboring banks, with 
 outstretched arnis meeting in the distance, bound in the rush- 
 iujj tide, ere he cau form aiiy idea of the character of the 
 
on, TRBASOy TJNMA8KBD. 7 
 
 stream. Here, if he pauses on this inland lake, contcniplatinj; 
 the well-doliiied scene of a beautiful river, kissing with its sil- 
 ver waves tlie rock-bound shores, notwithstanding the little bays 
 and ereeks which occasionally interfere with a correct appre- 
 hension of the landscape, he wjU soon form a clear idea of the 
 origin, nature, and' direction of the stream upon which ho 
 looks. 
 
 If he proceeds still further, and passing in his upward eourse . 
 the broad valley's, fertile meadows, and winding vales, through 
 which its gradually dimini,shed volume ascends, he will, in 
 time, find himself threading dark hollows and romantic gorgCs, 
 through which the river, now become a brook, with mimic roar 
 or trembling music, winds its fitful and capricious course. 
 
 Once more he is involved in confusion as to the general 
 direction of the stream. The unsatisfactory vastness of a shore- 
 less sea he has exchaiiged for the sunless and perplexing gloom 
 of mountain forests, and, bewildered with the mazes he has 
 trodden, he regards the brawling rivulet at his feet, and can 
 neither tell whence it comes nor whither it goes. 
 
 Thus is it with one who explores the stream of events that 
 make up a great revolution. If he strolls along the e igcs of 
 rivulets which, successively uniting, form its head-waters, he 
 can Ifearn no more concerning its geographical course and gen- 
 eral characteristics than where, witli apparently boundless vol- 
 ume, it stretches on to mingle its crystal waves with the blue 
 bill')ws of the ocean. Those small beginnings which, far back 
 in the hills of time, barely suggest the mighty tide which they 
 will one day hdp to swell, can scarcely be said to foreshadow 
 the character of events which, from their magnitude and nov- 
 elty, are destined to astonish nations. And, likewise, when the 
 full-blown grandeur of its fierce maturity is reached, w^n the 
 authority of custom is rejected and the accumulated wfsdom of 
 generations despised, and millions of armed men fill a continent 
 with the pomp, din, and horror of war, the same mystery sur- 
 rounds the secret of its birth and progress. 
 
 So that to obtain a few clear ideas concerning the ca'uses and 
 general characteristics of a great reyolutiou, it is necessary to 
 C(int<;ui|dat<; it at some point of its development wl^ere neither 
 the oliscurity of its dawn nor the impervious grandeur of its me- 
 ridian briglitness is encountered. One must select that period 
 when I he laws of its nature are just clearly unl'olded, and the 
 80 ill- u,Mtn wliich thoy are exhibited admits of a determinatioa 
 of their tcudeucy. 
 
8 T7IK TWO P.EBBLLIONjJJ 
 
 Xiiw, it seems to nio that thai part of the present revolution 
 wliith corresponds to this i.s that cnihraced in the hiieth and 
 breadtli of the Harper's Ferry insurrection. It constitutes the 
 iirst rehcllion'a;;ainst the eouipaet of ]>eace and mutual inter- 
 est, which at first was ^'radually formed by independent States 
 within themselves, and afterwards was increased by the 'ad- 
 dition of a eontederate superstruciure. 
 
 It has an individuality distinct fnmi the second rebellion of 
 '01, thouirh it may be re<rar<led as a precocious and premature 
 manifestation of their common causes. It preceded and pre- 
 figured the second rebellion, and is of interest, not only as 
 formintrau es.<»ential part of the development of the latter, but 
 a.s furnishing in its j)Otly outlines a photographic iijiago of its 
 jirominent features. Upon its narrow stage was acted a small 
 drama, typical of the great tragedy which now fills a continent, 
 and in its single actors one sees personified tho.'je human passions 
 which have animated the respective portions of the rebel masses 
 at the N<irth, in their insane attempt to dethrone thu majesty 
 of established laws and institutions. 
 
 Regarding the outbreak upon the Virginia border, in 1859, 
 in such a character, we propose to embrace, in an i-svestigation 
 of its various causes and in a brief narrative of their practical 
 development, an Analysis also of tho.se moral principles which, 
 budding, blooming, and fructifying at the North, have at length 
 resulted in producing the present terrible war. 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 PURITANISM. 
 
 The insurroctionary outbreak, known as the John Brown 
 raid, belongs to that peculiar class of events which are de- 
 nominated by an astonished public as extraordinary and un- 
 accountable, but which subse<|uent develojiments prove to 
 have been tlie first indication of a new state tif things, or the 
 beginning of a period of change and revolution. 
 
 .John Rrown was the first practical exponent of a radical 
 system of ideas, that, for .some time before his cmcuh', had al- 
 most entirely subjugated the iKtrthern intellect. What had 
 beeu preached by othera and received by the majority, ho put 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 9 
 
 Jn practice. Revolutions of ideas always precede those of 
 action, but are never acknowledged to have occurred until dis- 
 covered in the new forms of commonplace events. 
 
 That change of opinion which, in logical order, preceded 
 this insurrectionary outbreak, is older than the American 
 Republic. It may be discovered in almost any period of our 
 colonial history. Indeed, it began with the first Puritan sect 
 who confounded the idea of a free and equal salvation with 
 wild notions of political equality. 
 
 The peculiar sins of the founders of the Puritan religion, 
 and which have been faithfully transmitted to their descend- 
 ants, were self-righteousness, covctousness, love of power, and 
 envy of their superiors., AYhilc these, no doubt, are to be 
 found -among the back-sliders of all xlenominations, yet no- 
 where do they grow with such rank luxuriance, as in the soil 
 of a bad Puritan's heart. There they flourish in the wildest 
 wantonness, and are conspicuous among the host of smaller sins 
 which ever attend them. 
 
 Now, with these evil propensities belonging to natures ob- 
 etinate and energetic, as all Puritans are, it may be con- 
 jectured that a designing, wicked intelligence, could perform 
 much mischief in thg world. 
 
 Their overweening pride, their Cnvy of the powers that be, 
 and their*utter contempt for that spirit of consideration for 
 others which produces social peace and harmony, was a great 
 temptation to the Devil to u.se them for the purpose of setting 
 Christendom by the ears. And this seems to have been ef- 
 fected by him upon more than one occasion since the origin of 
 the sect. 
 
 The moral consequences, in their case, seem to have been 
 according to the law that made* Satan himself pre-eminent 
 among the fallen. As he was the brightest of all who minis- 
 tered around the heavenly throne, .so when overcomp by pride 
 and envy he fell, he became the most active, energetic and ef- 
 ficient, of all the fallen spirits to jdot and to do evil. 
 
 Now,»perhaps it may be said with propriety, that the Puri- 
 tans aimed at a higher .statidanl of excellence than any of 
 the reformers. Certainly the standard which they professed 
 to have attained, was far above that which others reached. 
 Hence, it seems, that as their virtues were of primal excel- 
 lence their sins were the most diabolical, and likewise, as the 
 qualities of faith, veneration, and obedience* seem to have 
 made the Jews the favorite people of the Almighty, so those of 
 
iU TIIL XWci UEUELLIONS; 
 
 prid<». love of power, and envy. 8ceni to have made the Puritans 
 the pet darlinjrs <»f' Satan. Their palm of iiilaniy is uiuli.-jiutetl; 
 tlio juilLMuont of liivtory has pronounced upon their niorlts, and 
 " hy their fruits ye r^hall know them," is the equitable statute 
 that convicts this people, before au impartial world, of a pre- 
 eminence in evil. 
 
 Much of the history of the world has nevc» been written, 
 and that which has had the most skillful delineators, is but 
 little understood. The fathomless depths of human motive, 
 escape the penetration of the historian, and the mysterious 
 influence of trifling: events is ill comprehended. But, if the 
 history of the Devil's administration among the armies of evil ■ 
 could be written in a book, it woul4 aid greatly in dispelling I 
 the obscurity that surrounds the past. And the history of 
 the Puritans since the origin of their religion, if I'aithfully 
 depicted, would, in all probability, constitute au important 
 chapter of the bouk. 
 
 The Puritans liave always maintained two apparently con- 1 
 tradictory cardinal doctrines. First, that as Jesus Christ died jj 
 for all men, and salvation is offere'd free to all, so men are Cfpial 
 in all things. Second, that to the saints belong the govern- 
 ment of the world, and, they being the saints, are the divinely 
 . commissiotied lords of creation. 
 
 The 6rst assumed an importance itf their practical life that 
 did not attach to itfrom its natural signi6cauce, in their sys- 
 tem of moral truths, so nnich as from the social condition of 
 its advocates from the beginning. 
 
 They were all men of vulgar origin, and of that pestilent, 
 envious class of low people, who readily receive any theory of 
 religion or polities, whiah brings down the great, the intel- 
 lectual, and the good, to their own level. They found society 
 recognizing the fact that they had social superiors, and so 
 they the jnore readily believed and inoilcatcd the doctrines of 
 efjuality. "J'hey found themselves without that taste and re- 
 ilMeniont of the heart, and incapable of that chivalry' of dis- 
 position, which belonged to their superiors, and so they pro- 
 scribed these witli the other sins which they professed to 
 abhor. And thus it happens, to the surprise and di.«gnst of 
 enlightened mankind, that fnmi the very foundation of their 
 ortfir, it has been a part of tJieir transmitted system to des- 
 ]>ise and denounce those 8«»ft and refining rjualities of the 
 iieart which, iii all agcs, have been reci'gniKed as the essential 
 qualifications of gentlemen. 
 
Oa, TREASON UNMASKED. 11 
 
 The second cardinal doctrine mentioned, ignores and dis- 
 avows that equality which the first proclaims. It does not, 
 however, interfere with the advantages of the first, by intrud- 
 ing itself in a painful proximity to it. Like two faithful 
 sentinels, these doctrines relieve, each other, never both re- 
 maitiing on duty at the same time. The first is always preached 
 when the saints are of the governed, the second they have 
 'the wisdom to keep silent about, except when they get the 
 reins of government in their own hands. , 
 
 There are three periods in their history when they pro- 
 cTaimcd the second; and during the time of its ascendency, 
 the first was forgotten. When Cromwell, like an exhalation in 
 the evening, excited the astonishment and wonder of mankind; 
 whcu New England rejoiced in a religious persecution of all 
 disbelievers in Puritan perfection j. and now when, upon the 
 backs of black republican masses, they have .exhalted their 
 opinions' and their priests into federal power. Yet, in the 
 several intervals between these periods, they have exhausted 
 the powers of their rhetoric and the vehemence of their vin- 
 dictive passions, in denouncing what they term the unequal 
 asperities of the social and political surface. 
 
 It is their fate to be always busy. Like the wretched wan- 
 dering Jew of romance^r their lease of life rests upon a cease- 
 less activity. Progress, whether towards evil or good, seems 
 to be a necessity .of their rcstless^energetic natures, and, with 
 their propeuiMties", some conjecture" may be formed, from the 
 very nature of the case, what an amount of evil these Puri- 
 tans have accomplished. They are of that class whom the 
 sacred writer thus describes: "The wicked are like the trou- 
 bled sea which canLot rest, whose waters cast up mire and 
 dirt." 
 
 While other denominations have frequently merited the 
 charge of bigotry, it has been their peculiar privilege to il- 
 lustrate fanaticism. They 'have always been fanatical and 
 extremists in all things. The error that was committed in 
 making their standard unnatural and overdrawn, distorted their 
 vicw.s and petrified and deformed what little of nature they 
 had in the beginniBg. In the light of their system, genuine 
 charity is an ever retreating phantom of the brain that they 
 neither practice nor understand, and tho.se who are. supposed 
 to possess rt difier from their fellows only in being either less 
 covetou.s or more politic. For charity of heart, a forgiving 
 disposition, and tenderness for the wretched, are virtues that 
 
12 THE TWO RKBELLIONS; 
 
 never cto\7 spontanconsiy in Puritan soil, and oven when 
 transjilanteil, liave but the jH-rishalile beauty of the exotic, and 
 sottu disappear. Kitr these Christiai) (|ualities. whose importance 
 is so Irecjueritl}' dwelt upim in holy writ, they, impusin-j: upon 
 their inia<:ination8, substitute an artificial sentimental sympa- 
 thy ftir the remotely distant oppressed of the Iruman race, 
 artfully dcluilin;; their consciences by pretending to feel for 
 the oppressed, when the emotion is really hatred of the pros- 
 perous oj)pre8sor. In this way 
 
 "They rompoand for aim they are inclined to. 
 By dAmnitig tbodo they bare uu wind tu." 
 
 And so profitable do they find this kind of moral exercise, 
 that, by their devotion t^ it, they invariably succeed in mis- 
 taking; the beams in their own eyes for spota upon their ueigh- 
 bur's character. 
 
 With .such {general propensities as these, it is not surprising 
 that they have played the chief part in the destruction of the 
 American edifice ol* civil and reliuious freedom. In mercy to 
 the interest and the hopes of the American nation, Providence 
 Hcenis to have cast them upon the cold and bleak hills of New 
 Kn;:land. IJut their rebellious natures were not to be starved 
 or chilled into a decent submission to the Divine will. And 
 the Devil, who never forsakes his friends, cooyerted tlie very 
 hardness of their lot int»» the means of their destruction. 
 From the barren rocks of New Enjrland, they regarded with 
 wishful eyes the fertile fields and comfortable homes of their 
 southern brethren. In their abundance, and happy lots, they 
 discovered Ji, partiality on the part of l)eit.y, whicli made thera, 
 like Cain, rebellious against (lod and anxious to slay their 
 bfethren. And, meditating upon their comparative penury 
 and the luxurious Vealth of their brethren, they surrendered 
 themselves up to an envy and hatred, which promjited them to 
 attempt the ruin of the South. That such was their object, 
 they did not of cour.se admit to themselv«s; but, for the grati- 
 fication of their own consciences, as well as to conceal their 
 purposes, they called their antagonism to the South the 
 antipathy ol' free to slave labor It may be true, and perhaps 
 is, tliat they disapprove of southern institutions. But it was 
 the corroding cankers of unchristian envy and personal hatred, 
 that i^iade them at first the unconscious, and afterwards the 
 •vowed, enemies of the southern people. 
 
0«, TREASON UNMASKED. I." 
 
 Tlieir hostility wns first manifested in their orations and 
 their writings. But when they found their arguments disre- 
 garded, and their ufficious counsel indignantly s}iurned, they 
 abandoned the use of moral force against a stift'-neckcd people; 
 and, in the depths of their fraternal solicitude and aflection, 
 proclaimed a c^sade against their political hrethreu and ad- 
 vocated the mmtar}' modes of rescuing people from the con- 
 sequences of their own mad follies. 
 
 CHAPTER III, 
 
 ABOLITIONISM, ITS ORTGIX, AND THE DESIGN OF ITS ACTIIORS. . 
 
 If it were possible to state in one- word the origin of tho 
 Brown movement, and the subsequent sectional conflict ot which 
 it was an integral pait, that one word would be Puritanism. 
 Not that it was the 011I3' cause ; but the })rin<-i))al one. Nor even 
 that it caus<-d it by directly making war upon the Union, and 
 arraying itself as a se<',t in irrepressible conflict against it. 
 
 Il was rather because it pervertel other itioral forces which were 
 the spontaneous productions ot' northern soil, and directed theui in 
 hostility against the Union. From those evil propensities which 
 ever characterize the I'uritan nature, which germinated and 
 flourished and fructified with great prolificacy, under ll»e fructi- 
 fying beams of the northern sun of liberty, came the baleful in- 
 fluence that withered the conservative principles of virtue in 
 northern society and converted llie radicalism which it helped 
 to crea'e into a sort of politico-ioligious antagonism to southern 
 institutions. 
 
 Puritan ideas have long since subjugated the northern mind. 
 They cannot claim any dominion except what their intellectual 
 conquests have given them. But by means of this they have 
 acquired tome power over tlie northern heart. 
 
 The people of the South possess the qualities of the old cava- 
 liers, not so much that (liey ate all descendants ot cavaliers as 
 because the cavaliers have always been, from the beginning, tho 
 influential class. From llic earliest colonial settlement they havH 
 always held the social power, and hence have given laws to all 
 who aimed at honor or distinction. 
 
•* TUB IWO KEIJELLIONS; 
 
 In tiio North, the same is truA of the Puritans ; uitli this <}»(*- 
 f.-renci' : tlie influence exercist-d hy tlie cavalier in the 8i>ulh has 
 been printijially twijj, anJ, tl<roug!i that as a njeaiis, j)olitic8 
 and reli^'ion have, in some measure, heen effected. Tlie influ- 
 e\Kf. exerte«l ]iy the ruritans in the North, lias been, on the 
 other hand, i)nneiiml!y religiuus, and through that, political and 
 bocial. ^ 
 
 Now, the historj of mankind indisputably shows that religion, 
 wlien it strays from its proper sphere, ami interferes with the 
 jHvlitical or social relations lias a tendency to corrupt and de- 
 grade what it designs to improve ; while soi-ial influence over 
 j>o:itic£ and religion has always beeH, on the average, beneficial. 
 
 Ain\ thus it is that the influence of tlie cavalier in the South 
 has had <» tendency to protluce those virtues of charity and self- 
 re.-pect and honor, which soften the acerbities of the political, 
 and adorn even the religious lif»f ; while the influence of the 
 I'uritans in the Nortli has had quite the opposite effect. For 
 the political and social influence of seiti* is generally exercised 
 by the worst of their ni embers ; while the political and religious 
 iritluen<'e exerted by a social class is generally derived from the 
 best of its members. 
 
 Hence it is the Puritanio sinneffl of the North, and the most 
 courtly gentlemen of the South, who have had to do with the 
 c ivilizalions of their respective sections. The result might have 
 been ea«ily anticipated. 
 
 Lust (<f power, malice, envy and covetousness, the staple sins 
 of the I'uritans, have produced in the North their legitimate 
 fruits. \W the help and direction of Satan, these J'uritanic sins, 
 aniinatin'f and inipelling a respectable body of well-washed, 
 white-cravatted oratoi-s and statemen have, after a desperate 
 htruggle «)f eight generations, finally succeeded in vitiating the 
 wholesome public sentiment of the North, and converting a na- 
 tion of intelligent |)er8on8 into a half-crazed mass of malignant 
 fiends. 
 
 It canTiot be denied that tliere were, in the North, many mon- 
 strous ixms, wliicli aimed ai the downfall of order and the rights 
 ..f property, with the origin of whiih I'uritanism had nothing 
 to do. Many were imported fi(»m Euroj)e, while many more 
 were of that same radical brood, wliiih the license of free society 
 pro<lu(e8 ii» all ages and countries. These aimed at anarchy un- 
 der the name of eijuality. Ami for these the I'uritans are not 
 responsible. Indeed, it cannot bo naid of them that they are 
 enomios to order. 
 
OR, TREASOX UNMASKED. 15 
 
 Th<»y dn not writlie under the restraint of mere government,'' 
 aulhoiitv; because lliey are always confident of converting the 
 laws that impose such "into the means ^f establishing their own 
 power. Thev do not so much desire freedom from control, as 
 they desire to control. 
 
 Hence, tliey cannot be charged with the radicalism of thj 
 North though many of their sect are of that calling. But the 
 crime they have to ;inswer for is, that they, witJi an art super-Sa- 
 tanic, poured in the crucible of their envious hearts, all the radi- 
 calisms of the North. an<l, mingling with these their own evil 
 propensities, produced the arnalr/am abolitionism. Peihaps it 
 would be a more appropriate figure of speech to speak oS abo- 
 litionism as a.hybred or miscegen, being the unnatural offspring 
 of Puritanisra and radicalism. The monster reali-^ed in its 
 promise every unholy expectation, every wicked desire, that 
 reigned at its inception. There was nothing at which either 
 parent aimed, but what the common progeny gave promise of 
 being the appropriate means of accomplishment. Puritanism 
 saw in it the means of unlimited power as well as an instrument 
 of gratifying its pride and malice, and hence cherished it with 
 more than jiaternal fondness. 
 
 Radicalism dreamed dreams of plunder and spoliation, robbery 
 and revenge, and Puritanism with a metaphysical subtlety, sharp- 
 ened by a long and successful practice upon its own conscience, 
 soon convinced its all}- of the ability of the progeny to gratify 
 all of its bloody desires. " No slavery." was the cry of the new 
 jwrty. and the fiercest passions of which men are capable, agita- 
 ted the masses who took up that watchword. 
 
 It was in vain people of common sense and contented dispo- 
 sitions pointed to the bible, fnd from its sacred pages read the 
 corhlenmation of the new-born monsU^r. The Devil was always 
 on hand, in the person of some distinguished, wise, and reverend 
 Puritan, to pervert and darken the meaning of holy writ, and to 
 grow eloquent and shed tears of enthusiasm over, some mean- - 
 ingless proposition about the right,s of man. 
 
 Once again was heard in the world, and this. time on the 
 western hemisphere, those stimulating p;eiins of freedom, 
 tho!»e profane apostrophes to liberty, those disgusting invo- 
 cations of the vengean<-e of Deity upon all aristocrats, and 
 those maxStne of agrarianism, that ever madden when they 
 inspire the assa.s5^ins of tiieir beloved idol. -It was the mourn- 
 ful music that always heralds tlie downfall of order and civil 
 liberty. It was the same that had reverberated among iho 
 
1C» THE TWO aEBELLIOKS; 
 
 graceful inominionU of Atiienian «rt, just Wfoiethe popular lust 
 of power aiul poM l);»iiis)n.'<l ftocdom fonnpr froni tlif rity. It 
 w:is tlie Hain« llmt reMUjiKl!.'! tlirtmsfli (lio liniiian forum al the 
 f xui'Iation of llie viupire, or was [leanl in nasal cailence around 
 Wliiteliall a>i the prauij preliuiinary < horus to CrotTiweH's aoceS- 
 Moii to altRohito j)ow«r. Tlio reil was ex<-liaFiired for the black 
 haiinor of repuMitjinistn, sind the oM story of rfpuhlics was re- 
 ]i(*at('(l-^lhe iiiasbcs bliiid«'d l»v h -trod, envy and l«>ve of plunder, 
 digtjing. un«ler the very altars of freedom, Tts everlastinfj tjrave. 
 
 It was no' only in the pulpit and the Ic^i.slative c.hainhers that 
 the unholy allianro of radicalism and l^uritanism ma<le war up- 
 on the southern ]»eople. Every jiossihle channel of tuinmuni- 
 oation with the popular mind was seizetl with military piecisioB, 
 and made an avenue of aliat-k. Su< h was the admirahle dispo- 
 hitioii and skillful massing of the moral, or rather immoral forces, 
 to capture and irritate the northern tnind, that any one wlio re- 
 views the'r su<'<essful exj)editions against truth and virtue, is 
 obliged to conclude that the Devil himself, with a compl-te 
 corps of military advisers mapped out the ])lans and .conducted 
 the campaign in person. Newspapers and jiampldeus school- 
 books and iiistories, poems and romances, psalms and ballads, 
 works on law and theology, juiisMrudence anil religion, moral 
 and. natural s<-ience, astronoudcal and gastronomital subjecU*, 
 plirenohgv and animal magnetism, almana<-s, travelling com- 
 panions, city directories, and advertisements of i|Uack medicines, 
 were all imp'<?ssed to servo tlie purposes of Satan in propagating 
 and spreading abolitionism. ^ 
 
 Th,? oi>era'ionp of the enemy were not confined to America, 
 though, pel haps, the field headquarters may be said to have been 
 e»tablislied in Boston for a long time. In Europe, however, his 
 heaviest columns were found, tliough these were not so actively 
 engaged as those in America. Then, ra<iicalihni wj^s tlie 
 eldest, though peihapsnol the most native to the soil; while 
 Puritanism, uiuler one name or another of the ditferent ascetic 
 offsi ootsof Calholicism had existed in Euiope for (Vnturiea. 
 
 Abolitiotdsm was a (Joil-send to the radi< alists particularly, 
 but, in some degree, to the p<»litirians of all classes in I iirope. 
 
 Itadicalism nwded asubj.tt, the ventilation of which furnished 
 n fine Hel<l for the display of ilieir social dogmas; s«unelhiiig to 
 serve as an insidious means of attack, without compelling an 
 open opposition to the existing in>litulious 
 
 Fiom the " micivili/ed homes" of slavery the monarchical 
 I'olitjciaus were delighted to diaw parallels that reflected credit 
 
on, TllEASON* rN'MASKED. 
 
 IT 
 
 upon the bcnigh (1ep])oti'sms of tlicir own country. Connecting' 
 the institutiotrand its wdl known cliaiaclor as a necessary ron- 
 coinitant of re|tu1»!iiajiisni in Anieiiia, upon that they founded 
 an figunient that eoinnieiided ft;\idal despotism to all lovers of 
 order and mankind. 
 
 The liberals and eonservatlvcn were no lesa ])leased with the 
 new-fangled idea. They were de!ii>lUed to find n subject upon 
 whitdi, in sweet fraternal harmony, they eould ji<in with the radi- 
 cali!*ip in their passionate denunciations of oj)pression. • 
 
 While abolitionism was thus aeceptable to the violent nnd 
 the de«ignino; ot all political narties, it was no less so to the vain 
 babblei^jind fanatics of religion. Tliey welcomed a theme, in 
 the discussion of which their vanity and their selfishness was 
 gratified by a conteniplaliou of the wickedness of their fellow- 
 creatures, while tiiey were pleased with the opportunity which it 
 aftorded of gratifying tiieir pet sins of pride and tnalice. In this* 
 way anti-sIaver^ sentiiucnis became first popular, and then fash- 
 ' ionable. It made its way everywhere It entered the hut and the 
 p'dace alike. It was toasted with enthusiasm- over the bumpers 
 of I ome-biewed, and proc.lamed by the most distinguished attho 
 festive boards of the great. All classes of society adopttd it 
 with a zeal that was akin to fanaticism ; and such was its prev- 
 alence tliat it finally took possession of the very thrones. Its 
 profession became the evidence of philanthropy, the touchstone 
 of humanity, anil the test of European civilization. To be with- 
 out it was to be barbarous, and to be a slaveholder was, in the 
 opinion of Europe, to be guilty of an unpardonable crime 
 against universal j)rogress. 
 
 Never, since the days of Peter the Hermit, had Europe found 
 Itself so agitated by a single emotion, so united in a single ani- 
 mosity. The forum, the pulpit, the court and the press, met* 
 upon the platform of anti-slavery, and recognised their naternily 
 in their common hatied of the slaveholder. 
 
 America and Euiope acted and reacted upon each other, either, 
 each time, gaining strength in its antipathy to slavery. And thus 
 it was, thai the last generation of the Christian world, with the ex- 
 C'ption of ihat of the Confederate States, were bred and educa- 
 te<l in an abhorrence of slavery and slaveholders. Public opinion 
 had everywhere yeilded to the energetic invasion of abolition, 
 eo far as their speculative coni-luaions were so!icite<i. Nay, the; 
 South itself, at one time, tottered Uf>on the brink of gradual 
 emancipation: Tlie cnnning sophi'^tries of nasal philosopher.^ 
 and seniatiujjHrhuuianiUiiaus, Lad at oue time made serious in- 
 
IS Tnc Twp nEp_ELij,o;ss ; 
 
 roails .iron tlie soulh«»m belief in tlio morality of iluir institu- 
 tions; aii«l tln'ir in.'^i.iious attncks. ll)rou[;]i ])anij<lilets, ningazineu, 
 and p<-hoo!-b«K)ks, Jiad \v.>ll-nirrb canied the citadel of their 
 htrentjih l»efoie itsunsnspcctintr sentinels were alanned. 
 
 Tlie work of exposinjx the finely spun webs of abolition falla 
 • ie.o, was by no nieanis «litii<iilt, however, for the Sontli, when the 
 necessity ap]>eared, and the une<^nivocal adniii^sion of the moral- 
 ity of slavery by the first ("hristian ajiostlcs. gave weight to thd 
 arguments in its favor among a jieojtle who had not yet, like . 
 liiose of the North, felt the need of an anti-slaverv bible. 
 
 Yet while it was easy to exjiose their fallacies and refute their 
 reasoning, it was a much jnore serious undertaking to eradicate 
 the i>reju<lice9 which had been implanted in the soil of the youth- 
 ful hearts, by their <lesjiicable school-books and histories, and had 
 futwined themselves almost indissolubly with youth's noblest 
 dreams of usefulness. 
 
 And, hence, though the efforts of abolition served but to 
 illuminate and unite the southern mind, in regard to slavery, 
 yet they did not fail to make sonie few converts to their doc- 
 trines out of those southern intellectual inibeeiles, who con- 
 founded tlio obscure puggcfctions of early prejudices with the 
 conclusions of their reason. 
 
 "When abolitionism thus failtvl in its intellectual attempts upon 
 the rights of the South, mad with disappointed malice, it aban- 
 doned itself to tliosft bloody-minded I'uritans who from the fii^st 
 liad preached extermination vf the slaveholder. In tJieir eyes, 
 gangrened with rancorous hate, envy, and nidioly ambition, tho 
 destruction of tlie slaveholder l>ecame the sacred duty of every 
 righteous lover of freedom. Under the iiiHuence of the madness 
 that possess them, murder and robbery and arson were traJisferred 
 ^roiii the list of crimes an<i"registered among the abolition virtues. 
 Falsehood, wlii(d) had always been held by the Puritans a species 
 of virtue when told for the benelifof the faith, was now legiti- 
 mize! and esteemed a most excellent accomplishment ; and every 
 (lescription of little, low, and mean action, became respectable, 
 when performed against the siavchohler. There was no obliga- 
 tion of religion or humanity that did not yield to the divinely 
 imposed necessity of exterminating the slaveholder. 
 
 Even the cardinal viitues of the Puritans, frugality, sobriety, 
 and religious worship, all of whi<di claimed their niain in|hience 
 npon the habitf; of the laymen, frotn the ten<lency of their practice 
 to gratify their }>ride and eovetousness, even these were neglected 
 in their mad fdolatrv of tho new God. 
 
OB, TREASDN L'^MASKEP. 19 
 
 And, now, that thev had surrendered tbeinsolvos np to Iho 
 i^elisrhtful euiotior.s of fanatical bate and envy, from one single 
 stanJ-poinL of moral vision tlioy viewed everything, and even 
 went so far as to repudiate and denounce the oblijrHtion of obe- 
 dience to both human and Divine law. Siu b is the history of 
 the intellectual revolution which radicalism and Puritanism ef- 
 fected in conjunction, and such was the iniquitous conception ia 
 which their wicked desires culiniuated. 
 
 C HATTER IV 
 
 JOnK BROWK, THE TYilE AND GOD OF ABOLITION' — UI3 KAULY LIFE 
 AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 
 
 John Brown was a full-blooded Puritan. According to the 
 Btatements of his worshippers, he was a lineal descendant of a 
 saint of the same name who came across the Atlantic in the 
 ever-memorable vessel of history, known as the ]May Flower. 
 Upon the barren rock of Plymouth, this paternal ancestor and 
 founder of an illustrious line, landed with the rest of his 
 noble compatriots. ^Vhat his especial calling was in the new 
 colony, is buried in oblivion; but it may safely be conjectured, 
 that, like the rest of his brethren, he devoted iiiost of his time 
 to tilling his farm, making butter and cheese, preaching, burn- 
 ing witches and hanging other less obnoxious heretics. This, 
 indeed, may be said of most of John's ancestors, who flourished 
 in tliose good old times. 
 
 The biographers of John seem to take great pleasure in as- 
 serting, with much emphasis, that all of his paternal ancestors 
 were remarkable for their piety and firmness. This is the lan- 
 euage of all the school books in speaking of the character of the 
 New England Puritans; and it should be properly understood. 
 There were, beyond a doubt, certain virtues which the cold 
 climate and sterile soil imposed as absolute necessities upon 
 all New England people; and these, perhaps, flourished in the 
 Brown family in much luxuriance. They were, in all proba- 
 bility, industrious and sober and frugal. Most I*uritans are. 
 But, whether these habits of life were entitled to the name of 
 virtues, is to be dctermiued by tho motives which prompted 
 
?0 THE TTfG* REBEttlONS; 
 
 their practice. This is the test before a tribunal a little more 
 roliabic than tho historiographers of abolitiouism. People are 
 not pcrtuittcd to make virtues of their necessities anJ then 
 {.'et par estiniutcs fur thcni on the heavenly record. Tliere the 
 j^old is sepcratcd from the alloy before it is weiglied, and tho 
 counterfeit'^ are rejected altojrelhcr. One of John Brown's 
 ancestors was a revolutionary soldier, and, "from him," guy 
 liis hiofrrapher.s, "he inherited that iudoiuituble courage for 
 which he was ever di.'-tinguished." 
 
 The Puritans, as a class, are not cowards. Being extremi.-^ta, 
 on acco\int of their overdrawn standard, they fight with the 
 certain assurance that they are the favorites of God or tho 
 Devil. Those who doubt whether the angel of the Lord en- 
 camps about them, are perfectly sure that Satan has spared 
 some of his household guards for that purpose. Still their 
 courage never deserves the descriptive indomitable, but should 
 more projterly be called du(j(jcd. For, if th^y have an}' in 
 addition to that fanatic zeal which, in some form or other, 
 generally possesses them, it is of that character which the 
 bull dog has, who, once having fixed his fangs in his enemy's 
 vitals, is so intoxicated with the charm of inflicting misery, 
 that lie forgets his own dangers. 
 
 John JJrowu was born in Essc.v county, New York, (so it is 
 said.) From his earliest infancy he displayed those (jualitiea 
 of the heart and mind, which gave promise of his singular 
 Juturc. He was a .^Jerious, solemn child. Those sports and in- 
 nocent pastimes, which children usually take so much delight 
 in, had no charms for him. He was continually meditating 
 upon plans of action which he never told, and which eani»nly 
 be inferred from his Bubsc(|ucnt careor. His ruminations took 
 ti contemplative turn. His irleas were always entirely r»riginal 
 and singular. And, even when a child, he was ahead of his 
 age in his apprehension of the dignify of his species. His 
 thoughts took a metaphysical turn, rather than philosophical, 
 as those of most children do; and while yet a mere boy, ho 
 reflected upon tliose mysterious things called rights. For, 
 while other boys arc always quick to recognise the existence 
 of such things, they generally busy themselves with applying 
 the i)opular notions in regard to their own case, without in- 
 vestigating tho truth or lulsify of the same. But John, ag 
 occasionally lioys will do, (juestioned the truth of those dogmas 
 of mankind, whenever he discovered that their proper apjili- 
 catiou iutcrfcrred with his interest or couveuicnce. AVith a 
 
OR, TREASOxN UNMASKED. 21 
 
 childish precocity in logic, that invariably produces a foolish 
 man, he disputed every rule of lite that the wisdom of man- 
 kind had sanctioned, which did not agree with his abstract 
 notions of right. Egotistical, vain and obstinate, and withal 
 dreamy, his early speculations were, in all prubability, exceed- 
 ingly interesting and radical. M'ith little veneration for the 
 wisdom of miinkind, among whom, no doubt, his venerable ' 
 parents 'were included, he yet paid great respect to what he 
 in)agined were the opinions of the Almighty. And those 
 which he discovered coniucided pretty much with his own he 
 silently cherished, in despite of the thrashings which they 
 doubtless frequently got for him. Given thus up to personal 
 musing and contemplation, he very soon began to think that 
 there were few persons in the world beside himself who ought 
 to be proud" of their existence; and, the fact that he concealed 
 this truth in a great measure from other people, was satis- 
 factory evidence to him that he was a perfect pattern of 
 humility. 
 
 His first desire seems to have been to acquire wealth. This 
 master propensity never failed to assert its supremacy in youth 
 or old age. And, even upon the occasions when he professed to 
 be most deeply imbued with those humanitarian notions, which 
 never left him, he never failed to take advantage of an oppor- 
 tunity to make a little money. 
 
 Durin^the war of 1812, in the days of blue lightsand Hart- 
 ford conf^ntions. when the sturdy and industrious and vir- 
 tuous Puritan fathers preferred peace with disgrace, to honor- 
 able war with pecuniary loss, John Brown was yet a boy. His " 
 fatlier, no doubt, sharing in that feeling of disapprobation of 
 the war which prevailed in New England, instead of indulg- 
 ing in the infamous blue-light method of aiding his country's 
 enemies, preferred the profitable treason of selling cattl(^to 
 the British and pocketing their gold. 
 
 John, it soems, according to his admiring biographer, 
 (Redpath,) being a lad of great energ}', materially assisted his 
 father in this treasonable business. It was here that he first dis- 
 phiycd those qualities of self-reliance and boldness, which after- 
 wards he exhibited in such a remarkable degree. It was here, 
 too, he first displaycl a more than usual ability in taking ad- 
 vantage of the topograj)hy of a country, to avoid or escape from 
 A dangerous fjp. llis biographer does not say what other re- 
 markable natural qualities he here, for the first time, displayed. 
 But it is reasonable to buppuse, from the character of his busi- 
 
22 THE TWO rebellions; 
 
 Bess, tliat he here displayed, though it may he not for the 
 first time, an unusual taloiit lor succes.sfully approjtriatiiig^^'® 
 property of others, for which he was, upon more thau one oc- 
 casion afterwards, quite remarkahle. 
 
 " It was here," says Redpath, " that he contracted that 
 horror of war which never afterwards left hiui." It is certainly 
 not singular that a uieniher of the human family with rational 
 faculties, should have a natural horror of war without waiting 
 to cojitract it; much less that one should do so who witnesses 
 it. But, it does seem that, if there is any occasion when one 
 is called on to praise war and esteem it a blc-sing, it is when 
 he is not expected to fight, but is permitted to eng;ige in aa 
 unlawful trade thart the existence of war renders exceedingly 
 ])rofitable. There were, no doubt, moments during this period 
 of Treasonable traflfic with the enemy, when the youthful John 
 conceived a "horror for war." Sometimes, perhaps, when 
 higgling over the price of a Connecticut bull with a British 
 commissary, and finding his Yankee pertinacity outdone by 
 British obstinacy; perhaps when shot at by American pickets, 
 or relieved of his unlawful earnings by remorseless guerrillas; 
 hut cprtBinly not when just having etfeeted a successlul run, 
 did the sentimental John conceive his ineradicable ''horror 
 of war." It was, perhaps, with the profifs accummulated in 
 this business, that the father of John purchased the paternal 
 estate upon which he afterwards lived, and the ^emory of 
 whose broad acres ever stimulated the enterprising youth to 
 become a landholder. 
 
 ,'] Ilis education seems to have been limited, though from 
 specimens of his composition, he appears to have picked up, 
 at some time during his life, a vigorous, though executive, style 
 of writing. His books were lew, his time being pretty much 
 o«!«cupied between the labors of the farm and the intellectual 
 recreations which the long-winded Puritan preachers afforded. 
 lie is said to have been a young man of piety, and very at- 
 tentive at Sal)l>ath service. Tlie latter no doubt was true, but 
 the former must be received with a few grains of allowance. 
 No duubt he was a punctual attendant at divine worship, and 
 occupied a good deal of his time in meditating upon the ser- 
 mons that he heard. But, he was of that peculiar class of 
 minds, that receive nothing as truth hut what contributes, in 
 some measure, to the gratification of an iniB-dinate vanity. 
 This seems to have been tlie case at quite an early age. He 
 WU3 one of those children, who always kuow better than any- 
 
oil, THEASON UNMASKED. 23 
 
 t>ody else, and what they do not know is not worth knowing-. 
 I'l'hoy have their plans iu life, and they intend to carry them 
 lout. It' what is preached to them does not interfere with 
 [their grand ])rog-ramme, it is approA^ed and laid hy for more 
 jiliature consideration. If it does, the preacher is a fool,%nd 
 'his notions are beneath the notice of men of sense. * 
 
 Now, John seems to have alwayir felt the binding force of 
 those virtues, industry, sobriety, and frugality. Perhaps when 
 yet a child, with his mind still a tabula rasa, and with an ori- 
 ginal propensity to hold on with tenacity to first impressions, 
 ttie propriety of possessing these virtues was indelibly impressed 
 upon his memory. They are certainly the first that are taught 
 to the child' in all Puritan families, and frequently the only 
 ones. The latter seems to have happened with regard to John. 
 But it is difficult to say whether they occupied his youthful 
 heart, to the exclusion of every other, from the want of suffi- 
 cient instruction, or, because, being the first comers, they so 
 chimed in with his personal propensities that he formed with 
 these a charming programme of life which he could not bear 
 to have broken. Perhaps each had something to do with his 
 apparent ignorance of all the other virtues, besides these three 
 cardinal ones of the Puritan faith. Certainly it is not to be 
 presumed that he learned much about cliarity, and the multi- 
 tude of minor virtues that follow in its train, from a father 
 who made most of his money by supplying beef to the enemies 
 of his country. 
 
 To an inordinate desire of wealth, John added a more than 
 ordinary love' of power and notoriety. That he was ambitious, 
 the whole history of his life demonstrates ; but his ambition 
 seems first to have spent itself in an effort to acquire property. 
 It was this passion which, as in the case of most all Puritan 
 youths, possessed him entirely at first. This is proved more 
 by his reputation for stinginess than by any unusual success. 
 For it does not appear that he was skillful, but only anx- 
 ious to make money. He lacked judgment and capacity rather 
 than energy; and this is discoverable in his whole life. He 
 was one of those unfortunate beings who arc agitated with 
 desires and aspirations disproportionate to their capacities. 
 All his life he found himself overreached and disappointed. 
 Hence it was natural for him, when finally frustrated in all his 
 ;p'ans of aggrandizement, to resort to any desperate chance that 
 ; otJcjred itself. Natures like his, with a similar experience, are 
 ocrU*!^ to terminate a career of misfortune in crime, if not re- 
 
24 THE TWO REBELLION'S ) 
 
 Rtraincd hy a strength of moral principle proportionate to tti* 
 Btrength of their i)r()pcn.silics; and this John did not have. 
 lie Was, it is said, a poiupuluus adlieretit to his theory of duty. 
 But»l)c got his theory from a heart prompted by sinful passion. 
 That I'uritan illusion of confounding eovctousness with inno- 
 cent thrift, miserly aljStemjousnes.« with temperance, and hyp- 
 ocritical cant with the language of real devotion, made an early 
 victim of the anibitiou.s John. He was none the less, how- 
 over, an exemplary member of the I'uritan church. Indeed, 
 he is spoken of by his admirers as having always been a pat# 
 tern of I'uritan purity. 
 
 While still a youth, no doubt, he began to hear, those moral 
 lectures about human rights and huiuan capabilities, which 
 haTc generally constituted the sermons of Puritan ministers. 
 From these he first learned to apply his radical ideas to the 
 apprehension of the oppressed conditiondf thd Africans of the 
 iSouth. It does not appear, however, that John Brown, at an 
 early period of his life, was troubled with more than a mere 
 feeling of disap|)robation of slavery, and this, no doubt, existed 
 alongside of similar opinions with regard to existing institu- 
 tions at the North. It was not until circumstances of advcr 
 sity hud filled hi« Heart with the bitternes.s of disajipointment 
 that he turned for consolation to his speculative opinions, and, 
 under the influence of the ofators of abolitionism and his own 
 bad passions, found a dernier resort in becoming a practical 
 abolitionist. 
 
 Tiiifi was not the usual mode. by which abolitionism entered 
 the I'uritan mind. Abolitionism, generally, enters the Puritan 
 mind from the propensity of the Puritan nature, or character, 
 to substitute sentiment for practical religion, and from the 
 eheri.shing of a constant desire to extenuate its own frailties by 
 magnifying those of others. The natural consequence of tin' 
 indulgence of these propensities is to supplant any posslbK: 
 feelings of love, which is goodness, by feelings of hatred and 
 all uncdiaritableness, which is wii-kedness. And when tliis is 
 accomplished, the .singular illusion is found to exist of people 
 g(»ing through all the forms and using all the language of ear- 
 nest devotion, and imagining while they do it that the sinful 
 fijclings which animate their hearts are those of charity and love. 
 Thus, it will be seen, that to satisfy a Puritan's eon.science, 
 who, like" the rest of our fallen race, is always trying to patch 
 up some kind of compromise with the troublesome monito 
 within, all that is necessary is to give him something that as" 
 
 oJi 
 
OR, TRKASON UNMASKED. 2D 
 
 for Ills love aud hate at the sauic time — hatred for (he 8inner 
 and love for his victim. It is all lie wauts to work ont his own 
 salvation, icilhonl " fear and tre^nbling." For, he will nurse his 
 wrath with a miser's care, imagining that from it may be de- 
 rived that charity of heart and love of mankind w^hich every 
 man needs. So, thnt it may be truly said, there is an 
 aching void in the Puritanic heart for something to hate. 
 They like to practice the divine habit of being angry with the 
 wicked every day. They feel that they are better and stronger 
 when they have in their minds' eye some apparently awful sin- 
 ner, upon whom tht'y can pour out all the vials of their sacred 
 wrath ; just a? the devotion of the Pharisee, in the parable, was 
 heightened by the presence of the Publican; and, when this 
 needful sinner does not turn jip of his own accord, like his pet 
 sin, they are sure to find him out; and they will not let him 
 alone when once they have found him. For though, like 
 Ephraim, he may be joined to his idols, they will not let Ijim 
 alone. They will expostulate and reason ; they will threaten 
 and bully, and never seem to get tired of trying to ruake him 
 think as they do, while, all the time, they do not desire what 
 they are, apparently, so anxious to bring about. 
 
 Fiist it was the anli-i-hrist and woman of Babylon, that fur- 
 nislie I the fruitful tln^me for exhortation and self-gratulation ; 
 then came the Ania!«'kitish people of Old England.* They tiever 
 tired of dwelling upon the horrible crimes of those, and of re* 
 freshing their minds with the pleasant scenes of torment and 
 niispry, that they knew were piepared for such vile sinners. 
 Then <-ame the wi'ches and quikers and other miserable lieietics 
 of New England. The quakers and other heretics, who fi^II into 
 their hanf^s, were mercifully allowed the privilege of beintr hung ; 
 but, for tho«se incorrigible old women, a more horrible fate was 
 resa*ved. With a sense of propriety, that would only sn^rgest 
 il.«elf to fieniiish natures tln-y destroyed them in the elenient 
 with which they wore suppo.sed to be most familiar, and gave 
 them, while yet in huuKin form, a foretaste of that ]iunislirnent 
 whiidi they were believed to be helping S itan to piepare for 
 others' After the witches and the quakers, came first one thing 
 and then another; but nothing permanent or lasting. All tlm 
 sources of consf.lation and of edification of the church seemed 
 to have dried up; and it is probable that during (iiis interreg- 
 num, as it were, of Pafan, divisions and lukewarnmess sprung up 
 in the church. Soon, however, Afiican slaveJ-y was introduced. 
 But, for some time, tlw» subject was not ventilated, ou account of 
 3 
 
-*') I HE iWu KEBtLLIO.V^;; 
 
 many of tlie most prosperous elders being slaveholders and slave* 
 dealers tlieinselves. Tkey sjieedily got rid of thiir j)roperty 
 which had alwayt* proved unprufuable, and which now ihrealened 
 to he more ro. 
 
 Tliose pillaiB of the chtinh having disposed of (heir "human 
 chattels," to the highest bidder, and, perhaps, having put a little 
 of the })roceeds of the sale in the c oilers of the saints, the storm 
 of wrath began its inutteriugs against the dainable crime of 
 slavery. 
 
 .Never were the dews of heaven more grateful to a parched 
 and thirsty soil, than was the inexlmustible subject of the sins of 
 slavery to the self-righteous Puritan mind. From its discussion 
 were wrought nurades of reform. It served as the golden cord 
 nf brotherhood and the magic wand that melted the very 
 heart of the people, and restored thC lost feelings of fraternity and 
 love. In the congenial ardor of a common di.saj)]>robatioii, a 
 common hate, and a common envy, a fellowship was formed 
 which the I'uritans mistook for Christian fraternity. 
 
 Never had a subject elicitetl so much interest before; and, in 
 :i short time it became the most popular and the most profitable 
 aversion that the priests of the faifli had yet (discovered. The 
 more it was e.xamined into, the m*nr«i perfectly bewitching and 
 agreeable it was found to be And while it ha.i becanje a pro- 
 verb that, '' t^e blood of the martyrs is the seed sy'i the church 
 of God," in the case of the Puritans it was the imagined shed- 
 ding of African blood that gave unity and strength to their sect. 
 Slavery being, essentially, an institution so opposite in itspracti- 
 «'al character to every Puritan iilea of the dignity of their species, 
 ihey were not slow to credit, as belonging to it, every horrible 
 • luality conceivable; while their hatretl and envy of the slave- 
 holder, made them dw«ll upon and exaggerate all the extrava- 
 gant things they heard. 
 
 It was the thing of all things which they needed toleavenihe 
 •whole I'uritfin camp. At last their desire had been gratified, 
 .•ind a field of initjuity had been found fiom which a prurient 
 fancy could gather a dish of horror whenever the dyspejitic soul 
 of tiie aHlicted needed it. It is true that the showing nppf the 
 "hideous thing" was as full of falsehood as rhetoric; but that 
 was no dillerence, their end was gaineil. With a sensation of 
 delight, they sludied the theme as one would jxilish a llatttring 
 inirrov to contemplate the e.\cellent beauties of their own coun- 
 ttMiance. llomance and history wcTo ransacked for illustrative 
 ]>arrallels of tho iniquitous deeds of slavery. The jnachinea of 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. .27 
 
 torture of the Spanish inquisition, the ingenious living tombs of 
 the Roman emperors, tlie ihumb-screws of Queen Maiy, and the 
 awful contrivaiiees of the blood-thirsty despots of Turkey, China, 
 Japan, and the Sandwich Islands, were mere harndess toys com- 
 pared to those inconceivable engines of cruelly which every 
 southern planter kept in his back parlor. But, it was not the 
 inhuman cruelties or the irreclaimable viciousness of the slave- 
 holder that provoked the holy Puritan so much as his unp>ardou- 
 able arrogance in holding men as property. 
 
 This was the most heinous of his sins. Had he limited him- 
 self to his blood hounds, his cat-o-nine-tails, his thumb-screws, 
 and other like instruments of torture, the sinner had not been 
 past prajing for. But when he dared to degrade the dignity of 
 the human species, by buying and selling men like cattle, this 
 was an insult to the human family, and the saints, feeling them- 
 selves to be the most distinguished members of the same, could 
 not but regard sudi conduct as pcrsonalbj oftensive. That wa.s 
 the capital crime of slavery, in the judgement of the Puritan. 
 For, to hold men as property, because their skins were black, was 
 to imply that, if they; by any chance, should be cauglit and 
 blackened, they, the saints, might be knocked down to thehighest 
 bidder; and this was an idea-inconceivably horrible. 
 
 But, while they hated, with an undisguised bitterness, the slave- 
 holding class as traffickers in human flesh, the envy of their 
 worldly prosperity, their contented spirits, and their social priv- 
 ileges, soon converted this feeling of antipathy to a class into 
 one of personal hostility to every individual member of it. 
 Moreover, tliose qualities, too, of courag(^, chivalrous foi-getfulness 
 of self and a high sense of honor, which the Puritan nn'ghttake 
 advantage of, but could never possess, made the slaveholder of 
 the South still more hateful. Like Shylock, who hated Antonio 
 because his generous consideration for the unfortunate brouirht 
 down " the rate of usance in Venice," the Puritan hated the 
 fioutliemer because Ids chivalrous traits of character, by con- 
 trast, made his miserly maxims of conduct less respectable in the 
 eyes of the nation and, hence, his success less ])rofitable. 
 
 Such is the process of the formation of abolitionism in the minds 
 of Puritans generally, l^ut John Tirown's abolitionism was of not 
 so malignant a character in its origin. It had a less sinful origin 
 and, hence, when developed, was more dangerous. It was due 
 more to the forcp of his metaphysical conclusions about human 
 rights, than fo any uncontrollable propensity 4o hate something. 
 Taking for his premi.ses <ho6o '.' glittering gAnoralitios" about tbo 
 
28 THE TWO REBELLION^; 
 
 inalienable liglits of nutn, wlii. h, for forty vears, havo oxoited 
 more interest and Hllenti«>n in the Nmtli iltan lli« laws of Moses 
 or the precejits of our Saviour, he very soon satisfied himself of 
 tlie wrong of slavorv. Me was, no doubt, assisted and iielped 
 along liis way l.y tlio much jircaching which it was liis Ijabii. to 
 hear. No doubt, most of the sermons that he heard related nuu-h 
 ■more to the glory of liberty and etjuality and tlie dignity of the 
 human species than to the propiiety of humility and lowliness in 
 this world. It is reasonal'le to suppose that be listened, with plea- 
 fure and a grateful sense of belief, to the flattering dissertations 
 about the great things of which hi? unfetleied and unres. rained 
 :)ature was capable. Egotistical and ambitiou-<ashe was. he. drank 
 in the pleasing tributes with eageine>s, and never tire<l of hearing 
 those cncoiniuuis upon the capabilities of human naturethat north- 
 ern jireac.hers so libeVally indulge in. For, strange to say, while 
 jieople in. the South go to church to liear the awful reckoning of 
 the extent of their wic,kednes.s, they, in the North, go to the same 
 place in order to increase their knowledge i>f their own excdlenee. 
 So that, itis(]uite evident that church-gojng is much more pleasant 
 )u one Section than it is in the other; and it shoul.l not be a mat- 
 ter of surprise that it is more popular al the North. 
 
 c; II A r T !•: r v . • 
 
 1113 TOVTH AND KAHLY KADICAI.ISM. 
 
 As John Brown grew apace, ^nd his mind expay.ded and liv 
 opinions became moie fixed, it is |)robable that he was an origi 
 nal tliitiker upon more subjects than one. His attention, how 
 ever, must liave been especially given to the nature and o,\teU 
 of human rights. 
 
 If it were possible to enter into liis most secret ihoughls, w< 
 would find hin'i, in all probability, applying those principl<is hi 
 had learned to tlie .«olulion of the diincultie.s which first iutrude< 
 themsflveR upon his attention. • 
 
 lie must certajnly have been eng.iged in the puzzling task of 
 reconciling, with his theory, the le^iliuuuy of tJje despotic au- 
 
OR, TREASON UKMASKED. 29 
 
 . (lioiity <?X(^r> i.-^^^-^ by liis fa her in the home circle. What riglit 
 his father had, *o appiopriate'the profits of his labor, to control 
 his tnoreinents, infrins^e upon his persojial liberty, and oven touch 
 him up occasionally with a birch,'or a. strap, or a wagon \>hip, 
 Avhiv-hevcr was the handiest, must have been a hard ques^tion 
 foi- John to iinswer in the light of his theory of human equulity. 
 Or why, his mother, no doubt, a rational, grown up woman of 
 souse and expiM-ience, should be confined, in her sphere of dufies, 
 to lliH mysteries of Ifuusewifery, deprived of a voice in the county 
 elections, and b« made to obey her husband, a cross-grained old 
 uian, in all things, was another metaphysical lion in his path. 
 
 Perhaps, too, in the meanderings of his discursive faculty, be 
 dist'overed an umeasonable oppression in the law that forbid him 
 _at twenty, an"intellig<^nt yoiuuij man, of superior endownient and 
 with natural capacity Tar aho-id of all the j>eople of his own'age, 
 from cvertising the light of (boosing his own political representa- 
 tives. Certainly, ihe validity of his obj#tiori to the law was cot 
 diminished in his eyes, wh«n he saw the privilege which he was 
 denied granted to his father's stupid ploughman and the ignorant 
 Dutidi tailor that lived in the vicinity. 
 
 Such were the kind and (haraeter of the difTiculties that must 
 have beset the youthful John in his metaphysical pilgrimage in 
 search of truth. And, if we are to infer anything from thu 
 prompt manner, in whicdi he ado]>ts logical conclusions, without 
 regard to the practical diffirulties in the way, discoverable in tho 
 writings and speeches of his after life, w^may reasonably con- 
 clude tlial he was i-onvinced, while yet a youth', of the need of 
 great changes in the social and political institutions of the Amer- 
 ican .world. 
 
 ' In the first period of manhood, wlien tlie love of truth is 
 Btrong and reason esial dishes her coui lusions in our speculaiivo 
 world with the undisputed authority of a soveieign, the youth- 
 ful miml is not iipt to permit tiie prompting of interest or passion 
 to affect its abstract conclusions. The hopeful heart refuses to 
 C0'istru'*t its <lream of usefulness according to the laws of the 
 world aroimd it, hut rather acco'ding to the apparently 
 more equitable laws of a world of its own (-reation. It 
 is than, if ever, if our system of -belief has been adopted, 
 that its logical results are stared full in the face, and truth, 
 stripped of all extraneous covering, is seen in its native 'beauty. 
 
 Now, John Urown wa"», all his life, troubled with amoral fear- 
 |p<s<nf><»« about a-'cepiinrr iritional or rather irrational coiiclusinn». 
 lie did not, as most of iho ciuining professors of his faitji do, 
 
3G TIIK TWO REUELLIuNs; 
 
 lioM on to the preniisos of his system aiul only adopt those 
 h-tgit-al consequences of the same which were afjreeable to his 
 interest and convenience. So that, it may well be supposed, 
 in early manhood, when tlie will and faculties alike are not yet 
 made captive hy th» de«ires and apetites, he was a believer in 
 all of the absured and ridiculous conclusions that follow neces- 
 psrily from the radical premises he had ailopted. That was the 
 ditfcrence between him, at that period, au'l his philosophical and 
 relijrious bietliren. And, when afterwards, his attention was drawn 
 to slavery and circumstances acting upon his bad passions influ- 
 enced a poor judixement and a mind given up by habit to the 
 conton)plation of unattainable objects, he became, more than any 
 of them, a practical abolitionist. 
 
 Tlie truth is that, until that periSrl arrived, he was exercised 
 so much with the business of this life that, during his more 
 practical period of manhood, his attention was more directed to 
 the qualities of stock aud the state of the markets tiian to tho 
 condition of the oppressed of any country. 
 
 It was not till afterwards, when misfortune and disappointment 
 liad overtaken him and its repeated blows had rendered him 
 desperate, that, like the murderer in Macbeth, 
 
 " Whom the vile blows and bnfTets of the worM 
 Had 80 iooeDscil, that he was rcckloss what ho did 
 To spite the norld," 
 
 he became prepared for any scheme that promised wealth or 
 power, and moi-y espeeially if there were not wanting argiiments 
 whi^h, in the light of his sp6<',nlative opinions, either drowned or 
 misinterpreted the whisperings of conscience. 
 
 It was not till then that he became the dupe of the more 
 wicked abolitionists and began a career of crime and murder 
 which terminated on the ir:ill"\vs at Charlostown. 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 81 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 mS MANHOOD ADVERSITY AND ITS INFLUENOK UPON HIS OriN- 
 
 lONS. 
 
 Soon after reaching; years of maturity, John Brown took 
 unto himself a wife and settled down into the interesting rou- 
 tine of a New England farmer's life. In this capacity, he em- 
 ployed those energies of mind and body which fate had not 
 yet revealed to him were intended for nobler uses. Occupied 
 with the cares of a family, he devoted himself to the various 
 modes of accummulating worldly gain that are known only to 
 a Puritan Yankee. • 
 
 That necessity, which has befen so frequently called the 
 mother of invention, filled his mind, no doubt, with a continual 
 round of notions about turning pennies. His active brain, 
 stimulated by a desire for wealth, and an egotism which might 
 be called impracticable, wrought out originail plans of farming 
 without number. Thus, deviating too for from the beaten track 
 of his forefathers, he ploughed and he sowed a great deal more 
 than he reaped and mowed. There was an enterprising dash 
 about all his agricultural arrangements, which was not in 
 keeping with the rules of Xew England thrift. No amount 
 of economy, frugality, or industry, could wring from the 
 cold-hearted Ceres of the North that prosperity which his 
 soul panted for. It was equally impos.sible to propitiate the 
 divinities that watch -over the wolfiire of flocks and herds. 
 For, in addition to the failure of his crops, his stock died or 
 were stolen ; or, what was still more unfortunate as well as disrep- 
 utable, were swapped out of him. His eflbrts at financeriug were 
 not more successful than attempts at plain farming, and he 
 found himself, after years of indefatigable activity, more and 
 more involved in a lab3'rinth of mortgages, bonds and promises 
 to pay. It was in vain that he endeavored to reform his sys. 
 tern and retrieve his fortune. His egotism and his self-con- 
 fidence made him despi.se that caution in business which every 
 man must have who would not starve in New England ; while 
 his love of achieving new things and his uncontrollable desire 
 to seem a man of original powers made him adopt unusual 
 methods of farming that were uniformly unsuccessful. As he 
 lost money he lost credit, and he was finally reduced to the ex- 
 tremity of struggling for a bare subsistence. 
 
32 THE TWO rebellions; 
 
 Tiled, at l<fnpth, with an ungrateful soil that denied him a I 
 liviniij, and a corainunity that in exchanp:o lor his property * 
 had left hiui nothini; but its contenipt, he determined to seek 
 liis fiirtuiie elsewhere. So, gathering up the reiunants of his 
 property that had survived the wreck, and obtainini: some as- 
 sistance from his relations, he eniij:rated with Ins family, about 
 the year 1»;{0, to the State of Ohio. 
 
 There, finding a more generous climate and soil, and a peo- 
 ple les.s grasping and oIu.-ju in their husine.xs transactions, the 
 idioyyncracies of his character did ^lot for some time interfere 
 with hi.s worldly prosperit}'. He soon, h}' dint of energy and 
 ft little wisdom derived from his furmer experience, increased 
 his possessions. Fortune seemed at last to have been concili- 
 ated, and he began to cherish his old dreams of great wealth. 
 Wiien once he had given up himself to the fatal passion ngain, 
 he murmured at the homely but abundant courfbrts that iHir- 
 rouuded him, and, 
 
 " Lllte a miser, wh> ."till pp.nts for more, 
 Piued amid bid eartUly sturc." 
 
 Dissatisfied with a fate that confined him to the humlilo 
 spheres of human action, and with the slow road to wealthand 
 power that he had chosen., he again became the victim nf his 
 vanity and. his overleaping ambition. This time the blow was 
 more fell and sweeping. C<mfident in a judgment which, his 
 own experience bad tanght, could be rarely relied on, he ta.^tcd 
 of the infatuating waters ol' western speculation. The small 
 success that rewarded his first efl'orts, thrilled him with in- 
 expressible emotioTis of pleasure, as he tliought he saw near at 
 haml the enchanted elysium of his distemiiered imagination, 
 and the golden _goal of his hopes. So. with inereased confi- 
 dence that was the more I'atal as it was blind, he risked Ivis all 
 in a speculatiou and was reduced to penury. 
 
 The blow was the more severe as it was unexpected This 
 time, he had not lost his ptoperty piece by piece and descended 
 Iroin competence to poverty by slow and gentle stages. The 
 fall was sudden and comjilete. From the heights of prosperity, 
 by liis own mad iolly, he h:id been precipitated, as it were, to 
 the lowest depths of adversity. From the abyss of his despair, 
 lie could not bu^ turn and gaze with wistful eyes upon the 
 pleasant fields which lie had left to climb the dizzy heights 
 beyond, and sigh, lor one time in b;s lil'e, fir a restoration of 
 lho.se comfuits of lif« which he had in his lolly despised. 
 
I OR, -TREASON UNMA8KBD. o3 
 
 Tlie occaMi'on was one that demaniied all the philosophy of 
 coiumon s«nse and tlie uiibentlini; resolution of a heart armed 
 with honesty. The trial was terrU)le for a nature Ifte his, and 
 its severity was not diminished by the consciousness that it was 
 self-inllictcd. Uniler such circumstances, a man, however erring 
 in judgment, if imbued with correct principles and a proper 
 self-respect, would hav«j emerged from the ordeal \vi>ier and more 
 determined. Uniiauuted by]^ecuniary misfortune in enterprising 
 America, he would have 'recalled the ))ast, only to profit by it, 
 and entered the battle of life, if not with new hope, with new 
 resolution. Such would liave been the heroism of common 
 sense joined to ordinary honesty; a heroism that the world never 
 notices, but is always ready to apologize for the want of. 
 
 Bui John Brown was not of that cla-s of unfortunates who, 
 on account of their modesty and their number, are unobserved. 
 lie ratli«r belonged to a class of the opposite quality who, not 
 50 much on account of their puicity as on account of their per- 
 formances, at'Vact the notice of others, Ihe overweening self- 
 confidence which, failure after failure could not shake, the morbid 
 love of wealth and power, which no reverses could diminish, 
 began to work their legitimate results in his self-perverted, 
 nature. The lessons of experience which he had learned in the 
 bitter school of adversity, viewed in the light of an oft'ended 
 vanity and a disap})ointed ambition, were disregarded or mis- 
 construed. The chastisements he had received were considered 
 as ill deserved, and he began to (pjestion an arrangement of 
 things that denied success to talents like his, while the eftbrts of 
 his inferiois were crowned with triumph. Such honesty, such 
 sagacity, and such judgment as his, why could they all not force 
 success? Did he not know tliat in regard to smartness, he was 
 behind none,* while in activity a>id energy, h's superiority was 
 admitted? Where, then, was the success whi<di lie deserved ? 
 lie could not approve of, or lather he was determined not to 
 appiove of, any system of society, that, by its legitimate work- 
 ings, condemned him to poverty. He could not see why others 
 should succeeil and lie always fail. It never once occurred to 
 him that his ill regulated pa.ssions were tlio cause; he preferred 
 to attribute i^. to some defect in the arrangement of things. 
 
 There was but 5ne explanation of the mystery satisfactory to 
 hi.« mind, now fiiltd with the suggestion of an offended vanity 
 and a disappointed ambition; and that was, that he and the 
 other poor were lionest men, while all the rich were accom- 
 plished scoundrels. And, was he to tamely fiuuender all lii.s 
 
84 THE TWO rebellions; 
 
 Lopes of weahli and all bis dreams of infUicnce, because a set] 
 of villains liad gotten possession of the purse-string's of society 
 and apprciiJiiated'the wealth of the country to their own aggran- 
 dizement? Was it to be expeited of a man, >ho felt himself 
 capable of great achievements, if his active spirit of enterprise 
 >vere repressed, to lie down like a dog and queitly resign himself 
 to whatever fate the unjirincipled sharks of society allotted? 
 Did not a man ovje it to the dignity of his sj)ecies, and to the 
 claims of a nature superior to that of base shaipers, to. resist 
 this social conspiracy to deprive liim of his natural rights and 
 reduce him to a state of social bondage ? 
 
 These questions, though they might have appeared difficult to 
 other people in a similar condition, were soon answered by John 
 Brown. In the light of his revived radicalistic philosophy, 
 M hich the expediency of a busy life had for a long time ignored, 
 but which had, with intervals of quiescence, continually re- 
 appeared and become strengthened, he began to understand 
 everything. The rich were oppressors and the poor were op- 
 pressed. The successful were villains and the unsuccessful were 
 ill-treated and condemned innocents. The dominions of the 
 . wicked extended wherever there were dominions, and the richer 
 the soil and the moie abundant its yiehl, the greater was the 
 iniquity of the owners. The world was possessed by the vota- 
 ries of sin, and the righteous and the virtuous and the humble 
 and the honest John Browns were robbed and pillaged and per- 
 secuted without mercy or remorse. Possessed with these 
 opinions, it was not with much hope or expectation, that the 
 unhappy and disconsolate John Brown surveyed the future. It 
 could no longer have much interest for hint, now that lie was 
 convin(;ed that all his efforts would be unavailing as well as un- 
 profitable. So, from this time, for a considerable period, he 
 seems to have been wandering about, decided upon nothing. and 
 engaged in no settled vocation. His opinions were assuming 
 more and more a practical tendency, and he began to approach 
 a new and important period in his career, llis continued j)enury 
 and want, his increasing distate fur all civil employment, and his 
 constant habit of attending and participating in the abolition 
 meetings which were then being held everv\\here in the North, 
 began to produce their legitimate fruits upon a mi ntal and moral 
 soil in which they had crowded out all plants of usefulness. Uis 
 radicalism assumed an abolition hue, an<i his political theories took 
 a gloomy fanatical turn. To his surpri^e, ])erhaps, lie commenced, 
 ac<iuiring new notions, in his idle meditations upon the mysteries 
 
Uli, 'I'KBAauN U-NMASKJti). 85 
 
 of his destiny; and, when all l)ope of a human employer had 
 vanished, the startling idea Ilaslied across liis meiital horizon 
 that he was intended for the service of the Almighty. Thus 
 did his unextingiiishable vanity dissipate any lingering traces of 
 remorse for his folly that had ruined him, and, from the very 
 desolateness of his condition, he obtained the means of reviving 
 his self-reliance and his latal ambition. Now, when penniless, 
 bad men lose the confidence of the public, and no longer have 
 either the inclination or the o})portunity to earn their daily 
 bread by the sweat of their brows, they generally take to sup- 
 plying their wants out of the stores of their fellow men. The 
 modes of doing this difter according to the capacity, the taste, 
 the idiosyncracies of the thief and the nature of "tlie society 
 and government to which they for the time being belong. 
 
 In n)ost countries they take at first to pilfering or robbing on 
 the highway. These strike the ine.xperienced rogue as the best, 
 because they are the quickest and the simplest ways of gratify- 
 ing his desires. But, as this kind of robbery is condemned by 
 the laws of most all countries and disa])pioved of in nearly all 
 social circles, the unfortunate ones who resort to it are apt to get 
 a good share of infamy as well as rope. So, that it does not 
 coiiunend itself to a rogue in intent who desires not only to 
 avoid the int^ietion of legal punishment and the condemnation of 
 society in the practice of his fliievery, but even to do it so skillfully 
 as to excite the admiration and the sympathy of the world 
 around him. 
 
 Perhap?, the unso])histicated reader would wonder what in the 
 trld he would follow to bring about these two apparently op- 
 ]>osite results. A slight acquaintance with the organization of 
 northern society, however, would soon silence his"s})eculations 
 upon that point. For, in the complex and ever varied 8tru(;ture 
 ot nortliern free society, the enterprising mind is not restricted 
 to the generally received lespeclable aveimes to fame and riches. 
 It may abandon the usual roads of industry, and exercise its 
 energies in one of the numerous novel ways to wealtii and re- 
 nown tiiat are found only in the late United Stiites. These ways 
 all differ, but still are species of the same genus, and furnish every 
 possible theatre of activity Ibr the discontented and abandoned 
 diaracters that swarm upon the turbid surface of northern society. 
 I he ordinary crimes, such as buiglary, larceny and murder, aie 
 generally confined to the ignorant\ind vicious foreigners and ne- 
 groes that infest the nortliern cities. The;/ prin(aj.ally fill thechain- 
 gangs, jails, and penitentiaries t>f the North. The native-bora 
 
36 THE TWO rebellions; 
 
 villains, however, more especially those fiom Xew England. 
 \vlio are far iDore des^ervinjif oi such piinishinent, are generally 
 well fed and dressed, and fre(jiientiy the lions of society. Thev 
 are gentlemen of leisure and njeans, voluble and insimiating 
 knaves, and as full of fine sentiment as they are void of princi- 
 ple. They know a little about everything and everybodv, and 
 can entertain a crowd upon the jnysteries of electricity, the im- 
 mortality of the soul, or the last new reaping-machine. 'Jhcy 
 are agents and secretaries of j)hilanthropic societies, lecturers on 
 spiritualism, mesmerists, «lectro-bi(ilogists, popular illustiators 
 of natural science, quack doctors, veiideis of wooden mitwicgs 
 and toothace medicine. They all belong to a class which, by 
 general consent, is calb'd liundiugs. Not that they have a mo- 
 nopoly of the art, since it is well known that it is the main element 
 of success in any business in the North, but because it is their 
 vocation. Now, when John l.irown concluded that he was in- 
 capable of winning wealth or I'enown in the ordinary spheres of 
 activity, he cast about to find a new calling which would be 
 congenial to his taste and at the same time gratify his ambition 
 and his love of money. His radical ojnnions and I'uritan jjreju- 
 dices soon determined him to be a freedom-shrieker ; more 
 especially as this class were now beginning to put money in their 
 pockets. And he took a pleasuie in justifNing himself in his 
 opinions by listening to every lunatic or knave that grew elo- 
 quent over the imaginary crimes of slaveliokling. Each day, 
 that Jrevealed to him the lucrativeness as well as popularity of 
 his new profession, saw liiiu more and more convinced that ho 
 had found his calling at last. And soon lie added, to a settled 
 determination, an enthusiasm that exciled the admiration and 
 confidence oi the faithful. This unexpected promising siate -of 
 atl'aiis encouraged him to increase his own enthusiasm, and 
 lience his profits and popularity. To do this, it was necessary 
 to fitirie conscience entirely; and he hesitated at nothing in his 
 proposed plans of making way with the slaveholder. This ayms 
 easily done by coiii-eiving himself to be a special instrument of 
 I'rovidence, who was lo ' slay smd spare not." 
 
 His vanity and his despair, not to speak of h's .ambition, as- 
 sisted by an abolitionism that olHained legitimacy from his 
 radicalisir> and a holiness of character from the inherent malig- 
 nancy of Puritanism, soon revealed the nature of his mission ; 
 and, it he had any lingering doubt'« about the propriety of such 
 a belief, tliey all vanished, when (lerrit Smith proposed to him 
 to lake charge of his negro coloiiy at North Elba. 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. ' 87 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 GKRKllT SMITH — THE NORTU EL1!A SCHEME. 
 
 Oerritt Smith belonged to the least disreputable class of 
 abolitionists. There were but two olasses. the lunatics and the 
 knaves. The lunatics lived upon the emotions of philanthropy 
 which .the sentimental achievements of the knaves excited; while 
 the latter lived upon their per centage of the money which the 
 former contributed in behalf of the sutferino- African. It was a 
 mutual admiiation society, and imbued with sinsrular vitality. 
 Now, Gerritt Smith was'bne of tie wealthiest, and hence one of 
 the most prominent membeis of the class. Endowed by nature 
 with a warm heart but a weak mind, he became an early vic- 
 tim to the abolition mania that was abroad in the North. The 
 possessor of great wealth, he was too rich a prize to let slip when 
 once he had been secured; so that it was difficult to disentagle. 
 liim from "the toils of the abolition knaves that surrounded bin). 
 Iluman vampires as they were, they heated his imagination with 
 their well-dVawn pictures of the luisery of slaves and pocketed 
 the gold which his benevolence contributed. Perpetually per- 
 secuted by them, and from "morn till dewy eve" exercised with 
 their elo({uence and their conversation, he became a blind votary 
 of tiie god, and surrendered himself wp-to evei y mad scheme that 
 could be suggested. Among these, there was none which ex- 
 cited more interest among the faithful, than the North Elba, 
 Scheme, This was a Uto])ian dream, tested in the crucible of 
 human expeiience. It proposed to exhibit to the world the 
 rapacity of the African, when excluded from the malign intluence 
 of the white race, to be happy industrious, virtuous and yirosperous. 
 In the bosom of the Adirondacs. "Which, with their bald and inhos- 
 pitable peaks, snnonnded a fertile basin of land, the colony was 
 settled. Here, walled in from the visits of the strolling curious, 
 or the adventurous vender of Yankee notions, the despised race 
 wefe to enjoy that Arcadian repose so necessary for their intel- 
 lectual and moral development. Nothing was wanting but some 
 worthy and unselfish a-postle of philanthi opy to watch over their 
 spiritual and carnal interest and point out the road to virtue and 
 happiness. 
 
 For this sublime duty John Brown was selected. His activity 
 and devotion to the cause had already attracted the attention of 
 the insane humanitarian, and he determined to employ him hs 
 4 
 
38 THE Tvro rebellions; 
 
 the tlieocratic govenor of Lis Utopian republic. Nothing more 
 Hgreeable coulJ have been j)roposed to the penniless eliaiiipion 
 of humanity. It furnished a field tor the exercise of his jdiilan- 
 tliropy, his love of ^X)\ver, notoriety, and money, llere, sliut out 
 from the hateful woikl of white men that had conspired to rob 
 him of rejuitation and pro]>erty, he could conduct a government 
 and organize a society according to his own ideas of perfection. 
 Perhaps, too, it would be the nucleus of a great settlement that, in 
 the course of time, would congregate tliere and astonish America 
 with its prof*perity, its strength, and its virtue. And, of this 
 new nation, he (glorious thought!) would be regarded aa the 
 founder and idolized, by the citizens of the same, as the father' 
 of their country. Even if these dreams were not realized, 
 which candor compel us to say had very little to do with John's 
 readiness of acceptance, still, there was the land and the labor, 
 over which he had supreme control, and the road to wealth and 
 power was as "])lain as a jjike-stai!"." With such hopes and ex- 
 pectations, he entered upon the undertaking. Now, at last, his 
 judgment was unlrammeled and his means ap])arently without 
 limit; and while he appeared to be conducting an experiment of 
 philanthropy, he was really engaged, most of (he time, in trying 
 many pet ones of ins own. So that the result, wliich any one of 
 sense might have anticipated, was not long deferred, lieing his 
 own executive ollicer, secretary of the interior, and treasurer, and 
 uniting in himself the legislative, judical, and military functions 
 of his kingdom, his administration was soon attended with more 
 than its usual disastrous consequences. His proteges, in spite of 
 bis moral lectures and his paternal e.xposlulations, could neither 
 appreciate the superiority of liis judgment, or the necessity of labor. 
 They were lazy, tilthy and thievish. They would neither work, 
 learn, or pray ; but seemed to have an incurable propensity for 
 eating, sleeping, and lying. Their habits of tilth and idleness 
 and their vicious indulgences, soon engendered diseases which, 
 combining with less fatal causes of depletion, gradually dimin- 
 ished the population of the Utopia, until John Brown began to 
 
 "Feel like one who troada alono a banquet hall deserted." 
 
 It 18 as difficult, as it is unimportant, to decide whether the 
 failure of the North Elba scheme was owing to the unfitness of 
 the negro for a state of freedom or of John Brown for the oHice 
 of their civil and religious governor. Both, however, had their 
 full share in hastening the result, though the fact that John was 
 the only survivor of the national wreck, and the only gainer by 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 39 
 
 the whole business, subjects him to the suspicion that in this 
 case something more than incompetence might be charged. 
 Whatever conchisions might have been drawn by other men 
 from an experience similar to John Brown's, it only served to 
 fortify his confidence in a belief, the cherishing of which had the 
 rare charm of furnishing him the means of a livelihood. He 
 soon became eager for new fields of activity ; and so, living on 
 the farm which his abolition sentiments had procured liim, he 
 became more and more extravagant in his advocacy of the new 
 faith. As his enthusiasm increased and his will and faculties 
 were given up more and more to the possession of a terrible 
 animosity to tlie slaveholder, he became more fearlessly destruc- 
 tive in his abolition plans of reform. But he contemplated 
 something more than mere intellectual warfare. While other 
 champions found it a sufhciently remunerative business to culti- 
 vate the fertile fields of the popular credulity and reap crops of 
 golden opinions with their keen-edged scythes of rhetoric, he 
 knew that he was as incapable of successfully fajming these 
 as the barren fields of New England. . So that, while these sleek 
 and glossy priests were content with working on the productive 
 )noral* vineyards of northern opinion, John Brown advocated a 
 crusade against the South. Others liad filled their pockets with 
 money by simply filling buildings with eloquent exordiums and 
 feeling perorations, or pamphlets and iieMspapers with their writ- 
 ings; but John had only profited by ])utting his own hand to the 
 plough, and he wanted jyactical woik to do. 
 
 A war of moral forces might do for others ; but it did not 
 suit him. He had neither taste, talent, nor time for it. A large 
 family, as imprudent and thriftless as himself, was on his hands, 
 and he wanted work to do that was profitable. And, so far aa 
 ambition had anything to do with his motives, these others 
 might be the Aarous of the liberated race j for his part, he 
 wanted to be the Moses or the Joshua. At this time, however, 
 there was not yet a season for the full display of his plans. In 
 the meantime, he was occupied in the most profitable and 
 agreeable jobs of real work that the brotherhood had to let 
 out at that lime. No doubt, he exercised his philanthropy, for 
 a time, by running as one of the metaphorical conductors on 
 the uudergrounfl railroad* *l'his, however, is not well ascer- 
 tained ; though, from the familiar business transactions which 
 he was continually having with the principal aboiition chiefs, 
 he certainly was in their employ in some capacity. He cer- 
 tainly displayed, during the Kansas wars, a .skill in stealing 
 
40 THE TWO REBKLLI0N8; 
 
 negroes, that argued a wonderful natural ability ^for the busi- 
 ness or else a long and prtjtitable previous experience. But, it 
 was nottiil the breaking out of that war that his career can 
 be definitely traced, though there can be no doubt, from his 
 conduct during that struggle, that he had prepar/sd himself, in 
 more ways than one, for the career of lawlessness that he there 
 entered upon. 
 
 CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 THE KANSAS WAR — ITS CHARACTER AND THE DESIGNS OF ITS 
 Al'TIIOKS. 
 
 The history of the Kansas war is a part of the history of the 
 country. It was the nielanchcily forerunner of the terrible sec- 
 tional conflict that lor the last three years has been desolating 
 America. The fires of civil strife between the two sections, 
 which had been so long smouldering, I'ound first in the rich 
 valleys and fruitful plains ol' Kansas a partial outlet for their 
 volcanic fury. Upon her champaign fields and blooming prai- 
 ries was the burning lava first discharged ; and, from the deso- 
 late hearthstones and blackened ruins which then were seen, 
 some conception might have been formed of the horrors reserved, 
 when the whole laud was to feel the effect of its wrath. 
 
 The struggle for power between tiie opposing political parties 
 of the country had well nigh culminated, when a territorial 
 goveruuieut was established for Kansas, and each party was 
 thfn,,in its unscrupulous struggle t'-r the spoils, beginning to 
 reinforce their strength by pandering to the prejudices of the 
 sections in which they respectively predominated, 'i'lie admin- 
 istration did not hesitate to take advantage of the sectional 
 animosity which the agitation of slavery had excited at the 
 South, while the opposition, composed now almost entirely of 
 the Republican party, numbered i#Uieir ranks^iost of the anti- 
 slavery elements in the North. 'Jhe numerical power of the 
 North at th^ polls, and the now almost general feeling of hos- 
 tility to slavery among the masses, encouraged the ambitious 
 office-seekers of the opposition to organize a sectional party. 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 41 
 
 t 
 
 This they unhesitatingly proceeded to do, using all the caution 
 and judgment which sy,ccess required. At first their platforms 
 were equivocal, and they had the audacity to expect political 
 assistance from the' 8outh. When there was no longer any 
 reason for concealment, their hostility to slavery was avowed, 
 and they declared their intention of inaugurating an irrepressi- 
 ble conflict. Before, however, this Ijist step, which resulted in 
 the famous Chicago platform, of ISHll, could be taken, prepar- 
 nt(iry measures had to be adopted. It was necessary that blood 
 sliDuld be shed and the two sections inflamed with mutual re- 
 sentment, before that degree of white heat could be attained 
 which was to weld the different elements of opposition at tho 
 North iti one solid mass. The struggle in Kansas between the 
 northern and southernpolitical ideas furnished a fine opportu- 
 nity for doing this. The odium of the act, should a possible 
 reaction take place; in the public mind, prevented them, per- 
 haps from assuming the responsibility; but they found able 
 coadjutors and willing tools* in the professional ministers of ab- 
 olitionism. They, who had for years been plotting the down- 
 fall of every autliority and institution that recognized slavery, 
 made very little ado about kindling. civil war in Kansas. If 
 the cauldron did not boil, their infernal iuc!iutatious would lose 
 their charm. It was not "eye of newt and toe of frog" 
 that satisfied the mysterious demands of their devilish art. 
 Human blood, shed in the; rage of fratricidal war, was the pro- 
 pitiatory sacrifice. And so, aidedl3y the generous contributions 
 of the Republican leader^ and sustained by their political coun- 
 tenance and support," the powers of abolition lent all their en- 
 ergy to the bloody work. While efforts were made everywhere 
 in the North, as also in the .South, by individuals, and some- 
 times by comamnities, to stimulate emigration to the new ter- 
 ritory, in order to secure it as an ally of either section, the ab- 
 olitionists deliberately set to work to organize troops and ship 
 them to the territory. This went on increasing, .being boldly 
 proclaimed and endorsed by a respectable portion of 'the press, 
 unfil it culminated in a Kansas Relief Association, whose duty 
 was to furnish the men and luimey for the conduct of the con- 
 test in Kansas. This association armed and equipped, with all 
 the materiel of war, an army, foroiidable at that time, and tram- 
 ported it: to Kansas. 
 
 This army had a regular organization, with quartermasters 
 and commissaries, and a oomminding officer, subject to the in- 
 Htructious of -a honje council of priests, and politiciaos. Their 
 
42 THE TWO rebellions; 
 
 invasion of Kansas, and their unlawful and unwarranted inter- 
 ference with the civil authorities of the territory, provoked a 
 corresponding moveuieut on the part of the Missourians ou the 
 western frontier of their State, and thus began the sectional 
 conflict. 
 
 The attention of the Federal Government being called to the 
 condition of Kansas, an effort was made, by the exertion of its 
 military power, to ijuict f\\e civil disturbances. This was par- 
 tially successful — ail organized bantls of any strength being dis- 
 persed or driven ofl". ]iut the contest proved to be irrepressi- 
 ble, indeed, and, notwithstanding the presence of the Federal 
 forces, a guerrilla contest was carried on between the two con- 
 tending parties, which every day increased in barbarity and 
 cruelty. In vain, were the efforts of the Federal (lovernnient 
 to restore order in_ Kansas, when the a\ithors and instigators 
 of the conflict shared in the councils of the nation. Kvery 
 skirmish was a political event, every defeat a political misfor- 
 tune, for one party or the other. "-The abolitionists, and the 
 more designing and unscrupulous of the Republicans, were the 
 only clear gainers. Agitation and mutual resentment was what 
 they desired, and they pushed ou the conflict with all the en- 
 ergy of their diabo4ical natures. The fires of dissolution were 
 kindled, and they knew it; and it was with fiendish delight 
 they hailed the beginning of a general conflagration. As the 
 contest for political supremacy in Kansas proceeded, and vic- 
 tory trembled -in the balance, the pride of either section was 
 excited and the feelings of the most moderate became enlisted. 
 Each section was disposed to apologise for and palliate the vio- 
 lence of their respective champions, while there was too much 
 eagerness to magnify the atrocities of their adversaries. Thus 
 was increased that general feeling of sectional bitterness and 
 liostility which the abolitionists took good care never to let die 
 out. For fh(i/ were thfi most untiring and the most active. As 
 to the political result, they were perfectly indifferent, so that 
 the general object of their wishes was approached. They 
 wanted not so much territorial supremacy for the free-state 
 opinions as they wanted agitation. The llcpublicans wanted 
 both; and so they besieged the northern mind with the most 
 extravagant and exaggerated stories of southern barbarities. 
 Thus was popular credulity abused and the northern heart in- 
 flamed, and the public mind prepared for the reception of the 
 Republican doctrines of the 1S()U platform. Indeed, so 
 desperate were the means they sometimes rcsojtcd to, that 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 43 
 
 # 
 
 while, in one breath, they announced the inferiority of the south- 
 ern race of white men, in the next, they iullamed the worst pas- 
 sions of the masses by artful allusions to northern cowardice 
 and southern chivalry. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 JOHN BROWN IN KANSA'S. 
 
 Among all the men whom they employed to harass and hunt 
 down the pro-slavery settlers in Kansas, John Brown was the most 
 merciless and cold-blooded. This is the verdict of his enemies 
 and of most of his friends and admirers. Many of the Kansas free- 
 state emigrants came to the territory for the purpose of settling 
 or staying there long enough to assist by their votes in 
 making it a free istate. But many others came there, as mere 
 hired mercenaries, to plunder and kill the pro-slavery men at 
 will. Of the latter, John Brown was, from the first, the most 
 conspicuous for the delight he took in planning and executing 
 his expeditions of murdert* 
 
 Most nien came to Kansas with arms in their hanlls; but John 
 Brown, at his coming, exhited a style of warlike display that 
 could not but attract general notice, while it was received as a 
 sort of declaration of his intentions. 
 
 llis wagon was partially filled with ordnance of various 
 descriptions, while tlie rifle-musket with the gleaming sword- 
 bayonet and the naked sabre, stood defiantly erected upon the 
 sides of his vehicle. 
 
 Never did a bacchanalian devotee rush into the mad revels 
 of the wine-god with more enthusiasm than John Brown did to 
 the scenes of assassination and murder which Kansas then pre- 
 sented. Wild with delight at the prospect of a fit theatre of 
 1 action for his bad and ambitious nature, before he had tasted of 
 [the oblivious sweets of slaughter, he astonished the most hard- 
 ened villains of the precious brotherhood with his cruel plans 
 |of extermination. He was soon initiated into the mysteries of 
 his order. An opportunity was not long wanting to one who 
 .watched it,s coining so eagerly. And ii was but a short time, 
 jafter having taken the plunge, before he surpassed all competitors 
 
41 THE TWO REBELLIOXS : 
 
 in Jlie savageness of his aiiiinosity and the fiendishness of hi 
 deeds. His untiiin^; eiiei'tr> a"d staunch devotion to the cause un 
 abolition soon made him a leader for others who were e<^ualljf 
 unsciupiidous, hut less active and ardent. Adveilturoiis if not 
 lirave, and without any of tliose ])assinfj qualms of conscience, 
 that sometimes haunt the most blood-stained souls, he hesitated 
 at the |>er|»etratiori of no outraire, and shrank from no enterpiise, 
 because success waslo be obtained by the use of the most atro- 
 cious means. Like a devourini; wild beast he was to the families 
 of all who did not put faith in his creed; and was as little turned 
 from the accomplishment of his purposes by the pra_\*ers of the 
 mother as by the srieks of the children. l<usy, ever busy, with 
 trackiuif and pursuin<r the pro-slavery man, ho hunted him duwo 
 with the periiuHc;ity of a hound, and destioyetl him, when found, 
 with the ferocity of a ti^er. 
 
 8uch zeal and slavish devotion of time and energy to the 
 cause of abolition could not fail to attract the adiiiiration and 
 confidence of its most intUiential priests throughout the North. 
 Their phikutliropic natures, though yet unfamiliar with scenes 
 of blood, were no less gratified by "the heroic, exploits of the 
 stern old man." They could not but admire the courage wh'ch 
 did not hesitate to do whak the heart conceived ; and though 
 tliey could not re«Qnc.ile his deeds of more than savage cruelty 
 with their refined ideas of human ol^gation. they did not hesi- 
 tate to ajtprovo of them, in consideration of the character and 
 merits of the class u])on which they were indicted, llencc, 
 John Brown rose rapidly in their estimation. His influence iu 
 their councils increased, and he finally came to be their most; 
 trustworthy and contiilenfial partisan chief in the Kansas war.! 
 Jlis po];ul;irity was by no means confined to them. The professional J 
 pirates of the free-state party thought a great deal of him. 
 His Mulitary popularity among them^however, was due more t.) 
 their estiiuate of his abilities as a brigand chief than as an abo- 
 lition fanilic. 
 
 In the army of the free state men that the Kansas Relief Asso- 
 ciation had transported to the territory, there were few who 
 mingled, with their motives ol hostility to the slaveholder, much 
 of that abstract devotion to the idea of freedom that the lead- 
 ing fanatics iu the States professed. They were, for the most 
 >>art, desperate bad men, whom necessity liad driven to become 
 the miserable tools -of the timid, but luore guilty abolition advo- 
 cates of the east. Induced by the promise of pay and the hope 
 of plunder, they had couseiUed to engage in their bloody busi- 
 
 I 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 45 
 
 less, move for tlie piirjiose of rotreiving tlieir forttinos tlian with 
 lie (iesiii"!! of clisseininaliiig jiliolitioii doctiiiie. Tliis was con- 
 Ined to tliose redoubtable [tailor kniglits who, upon imaginary 
 ieids of action, fiequently slay whole hei-atonibs of victims, but 
 I'ho, at the same time, ai^ univeisally known to be constitutional 
 owards. It was the same then as now, wi'.h their inflammatory 
 larrangues and tempting inducements held out, they lilletl tlieir 
 irmy wi'h the poor dupes, of their mercenary rhetoric. Tlie 
 nly difference between that period and the one which coni- 
 nenced with Lincoln's accession to power, is, that then their in- 
 luence wa^ confined to a despicable and com]>aratively small 
 lass, while, now, it extends over communities, cities and States. 
 
 Now, thete Kansas free-state soldiers, '* the cankers of a long 
 ►eace and a calm world," discharged journeymen, and broken 
 [own tradesmen, unprincipled .adventurers, ])rofessional roughs, 
 ud outcasts from society generally, found in their sainted John, 
 captain after their own heart, and a perfect prince of cut-throats. 
 !'here was an apparent earnestness and consciousness of doing 
 ight about his acts of violence that gave stealing and murdering 
 n air of legitimacv. To a love of blood and plunder, he joined 
 
 devilish cunning and an iron nerve, that made him as a 
 larauder unusually successful. And, then, his hypocritical cant 
 'erved, so well, to extinguish remorse ami all disagreable reflections 
 ipon theij^ crimes. His metaphysics were as efficient as his 
 word in promoting success. For every appeal of injured right 
 le had a settling argument, and every ])raver for mercv he 
 [rownedin a blasphemous denunciation of the unpardonable 
 ;rime of slavery. So, .John Brown became a great man in Kan- 
 as, even among the free-state men. and may be said to have ex- 
 srted more influt^nce in making a free State of fiiat territory than 
 )erhaps any other of the partisan leaders. When tiie contest 
 'or supremacy was decided, and many of the free-state soldiers 
 weve i'ewar«ie<l with the farms of the slain or banished pro-slavery 
 nen, most of the conquerois laid dovvn*the sword and resigned 
 hemselves to- tlie enjoyment of those homes which thev had 
 tnrchased with the blood of their former owners. John Brown, 
 lowever. Iiad irit-d farmitiLr more than once too often. . He had 
 bunil a business which he lik^d better and be detd-mlned to 
 •onfinue his efforts in that vinevard of his masters from which 
 he could obtain both fame and money. He was not long unem- 
 )loyed For, thou«rli the contest for snj)re?nacy" in Kansas had 
 )ccn (iccid<'d and victory i)crclicd upon ilie banneis of tlie North, 
 he iusaliabie juggernaut of abolition needed more vicliius. And 
 
48 Tni TWO rebellions; 
 
 po, enronrftijed and employed by tlie same apenU who conduct! 
 lli« Kansas war, John Hrown, with his band of mt-throats sonu 
 what diminished, (•oininence<l a similar career of crime on th< 
 frontiers of Missouri that he had consurumated with so inucl 
 glorv in Kansas. 
 
 Here, they continued their warfare upon slaveholders, carryinj 
 off horses, mules and .slaves, until the established State authorw 
 ties of Kansa.s and Missouri set their joint faces acrainst the vil^ 
 lain. 'J he (Jovernor of Missouri ]>ro(,laimed liim an outlaw, anc' 
 offered a thousand dollai-s for his head. iMany of his accom- 
 plices were also embraced in the proclamation of outlawry. 
 'J he return of somethini; like |>eace, followed bv this proscription 
 of old Ihown and some of his associates, made liis formei con- 
 fe<lerates amonir the free-state men, rather cool in their treat- 
 ment of him. Many, now that ihe stimulalini^ period of con- 
 flict was over, sickened at the recollection of the villain's atroci- 
 ties which once had created their applause and " began to heave 
 the gorpe," and deny his claims to either svnipafhv or aihuira- 
 tion. Even some of his old bosom comrades, who, having ob- 
 tained comfortable farms, were now desirous of becoming useful 
 and respectable members of society, gave him the cold should»r. 
 Not so much because thev did not relish the society of a wretch 
 wiio was steejied in every crime, as because they had no idea of 
 being annoyed with a disreputable, penniless old o(4jlaw. For 
 though his career of robbery and murder had been more bold 
 and public and, perhaps, more outrageous than their own, the 
 guilt was about equally balanced. Some conception, however, 
 may be formed of the nature of the eccentric barbarities of the 
 abolition champion, when men whose hands were yet red with 
 the blood of the innocent, sliuddered, it is said, at the sight of 
 him, and studiously avoided his society. 
 
 Of all the atrocities ovliich popular belief assigned to him, the 
 murder of I>ovle was the most horrible. The story of that deed 
 of cruelty, like an evil sj)irit, haunted Hrown wherever he went; 
 and the images of horror which its relation called uj), froze thd j 
 blood of the most hardened villains. 
 
 According to the statements of the cotemporury newspapers, 
 which were .subse(jucntly corroborated by testimony under oath, 
 before an investigating coinmittoe of the then Federal Con- 
 gress appointed to cn»iuire into the facts of the committal of 
 acts of violence in Kansas, the substantial account of that 
 outrage is as Ibllows: 
 
 John Browu, intlauiod with resentment for some trifling ill- 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKKD. 47 
 
 treatment that one of bis confederates had received at the 
 hands of the pro-slavery men, determined to wreak his ven- 
 geance upon some one. Unable to reach the perpetrators of the 
 injury or any of their friends or sympathizers, without run- 
 ning too much personal risk, he determined to gratii'y his now 
 uncontrollable thirst for blood upon a man, whom every one 
 knew was a neutral and perfectly inoffensive. John, i^oyle, 
 who lived in a sort of neutral district, and who had never 
 been known to participate in any way in the intestine struggle, 
 was subject, however, to the damning suspicion of disbelieving 
 in John Brown's divine right to exterminate the slaveholders. 
 This was his crime, and now that the blood-thirsty monster 
 was raging with disappointed malice and suffering for the 
 want of a victim, this was enough. So, proceeding with the 
 atealthiness of a panther upon the unsuspecting object of his 
 wrath, and under cover of a darkness which a moonless mid- 
 night afforded, with a small party he surrounded Doyle's house 
 and then entered it with violence. Doyle, disturbed from 
 slumber by the noise of the entrance, demanded the meaning 
 of the nocturnal visitation. The only reply was a demand for 
 himself and family to surrender, followed by a rush of the 
 villains who secured them all. It was in vain that Doyle 
 cried out that he had never done anything, or said.anything or 
 thought anything of an unfriendly character towards Brown. 
 In vain did his wife, on bended knees, with entreaties to which 
 the anguish of despair and floods of tears lent eloquence, beg 
 the .poor boon of her husbands life. In vain did his little 
 children and lisping infant, join their prayers with their 
 mother and scream with grief at the feet of the iron-hearted 
 pirate. A gloating look of triumph upon his grim counte- 
 nance was the only answer to their petition, and the father 
 was dragged from the embraces of his family to undergo the 
 doom of death which Brown had already intended to inflict. 
 Tearing him from his wife and children, who clung with the 
 tenacity of despair, he dragged his shrieking victim out into 
 the woods, and, within tht hearing of his Ijcart-brokeu wife, 
 riddled him with bullets. Then, as if impelled by a spirit of 
 slaughter which was as insatiable as it was pitiless, lie again 
 entered the house and seizing the two eldest boys, beibre their 
 mother's eyes, carried them off and slew llicni as he had done 
 thcrr father. Left, at last, with a small remnant of her beloved 
 family to mourn in drear helplessness the desolation of her 
 heart and home, Maria Doyle searched for and found the reek- 
 
48 THE TWO REBELLIONS ; 
 
 ino; corpses of her husband and children. Thereby their side, 
 oil the red frrouud and bcweath the-Btarlit heaven, she ptiurcd 
 forth a prayer for lueroy and vengeance, that only the unutter- 
 able anjiuish of a brnkcn heart can inspire. Two years after- 
 wards, when John Hnnvn was closely immured in a felon's cell 
 at (Miarlestown, N'irL'inia, awaitinj^ the execution «if the doom 
 wUich iiis crimes had nioro than once des(frved, Maria Uuylo 
 wrote him a letter, of which the following is a copy: 
 
 " Chattanoooa, November 20, 1869. 
 " John Bnows : 
 
 " Sill: Altbiu^h vengeanro is hot raioe, I confesi! th it I do fuel gritiflpd 
 to hour that jou were sioppnl in ^''>ur fu-iiiiiiili chumo at llir|"er's Fcrrv.with 
 the loss ol' y'lur two snns. Ymi i-an now n ipreci.ite my di.'trcsa in Kainas, 
 wlieii you then and there entered my house at luiiliiight, nrro-tcd my hun 
 )>uii<t aud tw.o boyi< un I look tiieui out in ihu yard, uod i'< I'oM lilood, ^ll<•l thciu 
 dead iu my ticarin;<. You cauuoi say y u dooo it to Irce mir slave.-, we lia I 
 none and never e.xpccied toowaouc; hut it has only made mo a diaeuiisolatt' 
 widow Willi helple.-s children. Whilo 1 feel for \ our fol y, I do hope and 
 trust Nou tvill meet y ur ju.-<i rewar<I. Oh, how it pained mjr hear, to hear 
 the dyinjj groans of my poor husband and buys. 
 
 " Maii;a DoYt.K." 
 
 Such is the story of the demoniac deed of cruelty, the nara- 
 tion of which tliniuo;h Kaii.sas, made even the profeissional cut- 
 throats of •abolitiTjii shudder at the sight of Brown. Hi.- 
 slaughter of ati inoffensive luan and his two boys, gave him a 
 pre-eminence in crime that appalled the imaginations of the 
 most blood-stained. 
 
 Yet this is the man who has since become a god and is al- 
 most adored by a party who hold in their hands the destiny of 
 the northern States. 'J"hc tongue of the orator and the pen of 
 the poet preserve and magnify his hcroic^ achicvuients in the 
 cause of iVeedtim. He is held up as a model for tjie religioui 
 as well as the patriotic, and the countless hosts of the North 
 march into battle invoking in song the guardianship of his 
 sanctified spirit. 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 4'J 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE VOLCANIC PLAN — IT3 FK0GRE8B. 
 
 "While, liowevor, many of the more fastidious villains diJ not' 
 conceal their aversion to Urown, and refused to assoriate with 
 him, there wt-re plenty It-fr, whunr the hoi)e of plunder touM 
 easily Mind to his liorriMe traits. They wanted profitable work 
 to do, and, as they liad long since sold themselves to Satan, they- 
 were nut sjoinir to let a mere reti-hing of the fancy deprive them 
 of a successful leader.* And there was never wanting, at any 
 time, stauiudi su'pporters and enthusiastic admirers of the "hero 
 of Oss rwatioinie," among the household and familiar priests of 
 the Jibolition god. These coi.fidential and domestic, counsellors 
 of the popular divinity, who conducted the mys-erious rites of 
 the inteiior altar, and whose secret councils were held behind 
 the veil which limited the reach of public penetration, they, 
 of course, never thought of abandoning such a profitable fanatic 
 as old Hi'own. They knew the " service he had done the state," 
 and, if they were not grateful, they were at least anxious to re- 
 tain such a valuable servant What had excited horror in others 
 not so deeply dyed in villainy as themselves, only excited in them 
 sentiments of esteem and afteition. So, these venerated apostles 
 of tlie faith. inste;id of snubbing the invaluable old muiderer, 
 gently stroked the silver hairs of the fierce old fellow, and, patting 
 him on the btck, called him by endearing names. They sup- 
 plied his wants, gave him meney, and revived his drooping spirits. 
 
 The prospect of more lucrative and agreeable employment, 
 and the increasing certainty of an immunity fr«in put lie scorn or 
 inte'ruplion from the o(li<ersof the law,4iow that public opinion 
 was eveiy day yielding to the systeinatic attacks of abolition, 
 caused Hrown to^ntertain more extensive and more daring enter- 
 prises. Now. that he was outlawed in Missouii, abho'ed in Kansas, 
 ami persecuted liy his creditors everywhere, it was more than ever 
 necessary *.o do something. So, driven l»y despair and deluded 
 by the whisperings of an ambition wliicii, by this time, a vindic- 
 tive malice inflamed, he listened to the flattering language of his 
 artful employers, and, with their a.^sistance, conceived the mad 
 ])lan of invadmg the southern States and exciting a geneial 
 servile war Mis own experience in Missouii,, wheie he foun<i 
 the slave* ever ready to become the dupes of any bold, pasitive 
 pers<:,n, made him iinagine that they would fight for the omanci- 
 
( 
 
 '••» • JIIE rW.. KtBl.LLIU.NS; 
 
 jiation of their rflce, as quickly aR they would nin aw.tv fioin their 
 iriristeis, to iTijoy wli.if tJ!*-'}- were le<l to It^lievc, whs an fl\>iinn 
 of biissin the North wliere the irlorioiis t»iin of freedom fiiiin>lied 
 its vntriiics food aU'l raiment without money aiiii witliout p'ice. 
 l)oulill«KS, too, the infernal book of Helper, which did so much 
 to poison and mislead the northern mind, excited no little influ- 
 cnco, in determiniiii; his judgment, with regard to the practica- 
 bility of arrayiny^ the non siaveholdinu (•la!»s a/jainst the slave- 
 lioldin^'. A hold ppirit, a mind original and <-alm, with a ?mall 
 hand of hrare and well drilled nieu, was all that was wanting, 
 lie proudly imagined, to ignite the comhustihie elements of 
 soutliern society and envelope the whole cursed section from the 
 I'otomac to tiie Iiio Grande in one general conflagration. The 
 Jirst two of ihesfi indispensalde requisites, lie feh sure <liat ho 
 ])0sses5ed ; and his wily employers promiseil him the tliiril, as 
 well as those sinews of war wliich he mouM need, to put on a 
 Wiir footing his army of black and wliite recruits. These astute 
 jucntora wore perfeittly aware ol the madness of the scheme, and 
 iduK-kled in their sleeves at Brown's gullability. They knew 
 that there was not <he slightest probability of success for Brown ; 
 but, nevertheless, their object would be gained. Agitation, "agi- 
 tation, was the source of their vitality, and this schemei if at- 
 tempted, no matter with what result attended, was certain to 
 jiroduce it. There is no doubt in the world that the grand plan 
 was origitihlly their own, and that Brown's expedition against 
 Virginia was only a part of it. There was a vastness about it 
 dis])i(iportioiiate to his ability as well as his command of resources. 
 Indeed, their underground " railroa<l system," which had been 
 jtiofrressing for years, formed an appropriate and natural culmina- 
 tion in the conception of the grauil i>lan For a long time pre- 
 vious, abolition emissaries aiul agents, under every couceivablo 
 disguise, had abuse<l the hospitality and imposed upon the con- 
 fidence of the southern people, ^nd so John lirown was ad- 
 mitted among this army of secret spies, and for a time, clotlied 
 with some authority, o\er them. The graml plan was a widely 
 organized mheme to excnte a servile insurrection in many of the 
 densely slave-populateii districts of the South, lliese were 
 Relec'.ed according to their relative gcograjihical contiguity and 
 tlie character of* their ]>oj>ulation. 'J'he United States lensus re- 
 turns had been studied with a devilish discrimination, for the 
 T)urpose of gaining the desired information. The number of 
 whiles and blacks, males and females, and adults_^ of each 
 race atjd sex, were ascertained apd set down. As an evidence 
 
OR, TUEASON UNMASKED. 51 
 
 that these insurrections uere not expeyt^d to he immediately 
 cnislied, a connected line of tliese devoted districts was selected, 
 extending from the South Carolina coast to the western frontier 
 of Arkansas. Commencinir at (icori;etown ?nd Heanfort, South 
 Carolina, they stretched alon<x the Savannah and ihrouoh the 
 interior of Georgia to tlie Chattahoochee river, in the western 
 part of Georgia. From thence, the prospective iiurricane of 
 desolation was to sweep tlirough contiguous and appropriate dis- 
 tricts, in the neighborhood of the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers, 
 to the eastern border of Mississippi. Thence westward, across 
 tlie river, to and along the Red liver plantations to the western 
 frontier of Arkansas, where, in all probability, a motley column 
 of Indians, mulattos, negroes^nd white men, were to be precipi- 
 tated from the redeemed jilains of Kansao. This was the origi- 
 nal plan which was jtrepared without much assistance from Brown. 
 His particular business was tvi make a military diversion, about 
 the same time, somewhere in Virginia, and thus generalize the 
 sectional bitterness by involving the border as well as the cotton 
 Stateg, 
 
 In all probability, it was only some of the most delude^ fanat- 
 ics of the North who believed in even the temjx>rary success of 
 either eftbrt; while the smart and more dangerous ones, who used 
 their dupes, as all unprincipled men use their despised instru- 
 ments of villainy, knew that most of the overt actors in the 
 affair were likely to siifier death if caught ; and so they took 
 gri at pains to cover up well their footprints. In all their corres- 
 pondence with Brown, they used fictitious names always; and held 
 secret audiences with liim. ' 
 
 Now, while Brown was thus entrusted with\he particular duty 
 
 of invading Virginia, his boldness and untiring activity so gained 
 
 upon the confidence of his employers, that he finally came to 
 
 exercise a general superintendence over the whole affair. This 
 
 was rather permitted thf n authorized ; for he was always ready 
 
 to assume laborious responsibilities, if tiiey increased the scope 
 
 of his authority. But while his peculiar function was to sound 
 
 the non-slaveholding, riff-rafT population of the mountains of 
 
 Maryland and Virginia, and prepare the negroes near Harper's 
 
 I Ferry for his coming, that of the rest of the brotherhood was 
 
 1 to fix the mine that was to upheave the cotton States, 'I'he plan 
 
 I was in character witli the series of other plans of destruction, 
 
 whi(di they liave tiied, without success in this war, beginning 
 
 with the '' annconda'''' and en ling with tha ^' attrition.'''' Thii, 
 
 perhaps, inight be called, in the graphic and sejeet nomenclature 
 
•>- THE TWO UEBELLlONe; 
 
 of the i in agin a Live wrilcrs of the North, the vulcanic or the in- 
 ternal conculsion planT 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PREI'AIIATIONS FOR SPRINGING THE MINE. 
 
 John Brown hct about makintr the prepanitions for his part 
 of the work with his u.sual dilij^ei^jp. The field of htbur was cun- 
 geuial and gratil'yins;. His vanity was tickled at the •irandeur 
 of the job, and his ambition and avarice were excited by the 
 prospect of reward Visions of fame, as the bberator of a 
 despised race, iHin<.'led with his dreams of plunder, power, and 
 ven<:;eance. The very inception of the vast undertakinu liad 
 intoxicated him with the emotions of the sublime, lie felt 
 his soul expand as he dwelt upon ihe plory of the attempt, 
 and alteady,on the wings of iniai:iuation, heard tlio thundering 
 plaudits ol". the emancipated niillinns, the dying i-lirieks of the 
 hated slaveholder, and the congratulations of liis i'ault finding 
 friends and creditors, liut. should these especfations pr<»ve 
 groundless; should the ilcg. nerate non-slaveholders and igno- 
 rant slaves let slip the golden opportunity to gain independ- 
 ence, he would still have the benefit of disbursing the money 
 invested by the brotherhood in this enterprise, and Would, 
 moreover, have the pleasure of killing a few slaveholders; and 
 then, by means of prisoners a,s hostages, could secure his jiersonal 
 safety and bide liis time. Such, no doubt, as his subse(|Uonfc 
 conduct showed, wore the reflections oi" Brown. His activity 
 and restless energy in making the necessary preparations, seem 
 to have won the coiifi lence of his employers, and he was, ap- 
 parently, invested with more and more authiu'ity. His active 
 and busy mind, seemed to have interfere<l in all the arrange- 
 ments, whetlierof the military or combustible kind. Now, he is 
 in Iowa, superintending the drilling of his army of invasion; 
 eometinics on(|uiring into their military progress and en- 
 lightening th'Mu in one moment upon the art of war, by relating 
 pomc of his own experience in Kan.«as, in the next, pronounc- 
 ing a sermon on the crime of slavery; sometimes higgling 
 with their lanludy about the amount of their board bill. Now, 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 53 
 
 he is iu Chicago or Boston, in close confab with tlic moneyed 
 elders of the taith, and explaining the necessity of larger con- 
 tributions. He seems to be ubiquitous, embracing the whole 
 of the old United States within the limits of his care and 
 supervision. Sometimes, like an ancient apostle, he travelled 
 from point to point, leaving a crumb of comfort wherever he 
 stopped, blessing the radicals and .stirring up the dough-faces, 
 with his brn.wny logic; sometimes visiting arsenals and armo- 
 ries, and adding to his already large stock of information 
 precious bits of facts abuut the laws of projectiles or the 
 range of different calibres; sometimes strolling through the 
 South, picking up^craps of gossip and scandal, and prying 
 into the domestic affairs of the people wUose hospitality he 
 enjoyed. 
 
 Ilis curiosity, like that of all Yankees, was as universal as 
 it was impertineut; while his vanity was beyond all description 
 ridiculous, more especially when he came to differ with south- 
 ern men. There w;is no subjcct^ith which he Was not entirely 
 familiar, and perhaps more thoroughly versed in thart even 
 other peoplS, but especially slaveholders, could hope to be. If 
 one adduced propositions which he had not heard of, of course 
 they were false, for if they had been true, he would have 
 known them. This assumed infallibility was pot confined to 
 those ordinary. subjects (tt conversation among the unlearned, 
 but to the most abstruse and mysterious. He differed from 
 most-Yankees in one respect. While they usually ask a great 
 matiy questions in regard to people's affairs, they do so appa- 
 rently from the expectation that the knowlfed're acquired will 
 some day or other be of some benefit to them. But John 
 Brown asked questions more for the purpose of slUlwing his 
 own knowledge than for any other. Still there was a kind of 
 method in his madness and some consistency in his meander- 
 ings and s^trange enquires. 
 
 The irrepressible African was the central object with which 
 everything . of interest to him had .some cor.nection. He 
 adopfe<l every variety of disguise to conceal a design which no 
 -man would have ri.sked his reputation for common sense by 
 cuspccting him of. Now he was a travelling agent, now a 
 vender of clocks, and now a searcher after ore veins. Siyue- 
 timcs he seems to have disgui.'sed himself, from a mere force of 
 the habit of masquerading through the cotintry, and at other 
 times fnim the niL-re love of nnvolty. It must have been with 
 this motive, that he, a six-footer, donned "the habillimeuta of 
 
• •^ Tin: TW.", RrDF.i.i.ioxs; 
 
 the other sex. and promenaded the country over in hose and 
 petticoat. There are a great many persons who asserted most 
 positively that he did so. For, is soon as they saw him in 
 prison, they, without concert, agreed in pronouncing him the 
 I'xact counterpart ol" a strange-looking woman that had been 
 in their neighborhood, upon whose extraordinary height and 
 stout appearance, all had re-marked, as well as the odd things 
 she did and lier eccentric manner of locomotion. While he 
 was tlius engaged with exercising a general superintendence 
 over the developnient of the grand plan, it was upon Harper's 
 Terrj- and its environs that he directed his particular atten- 
 tion. 
 
 Nearly two yc^rs pfbvious to the date of the eruption at 
 that place, he sent his fchief assistant. Cook, to reconnoitre and 
 obtain the information necessary to the perfection of the plan. 
 Cook was an ordinary f^pecimen of quite a numerous class in 
 the northern cities, at that time. Jle was a half-educated, 
 amiable coxcomb, whom idleness and dissipation had ruined, 
 and who, having exhausted his money and his credit, had 
 chosen the calling of a freedom-shrieker, rather than that of 
 faro-dealing. His vanity was nearly as great as IJrowu's; but 
 lie was without any »if that bull-dogged force of character that 
 }iis leader po.sse.'.scd . He had participat<;d with lirown in 
 much of liis performances in Kan.sas, and like him, having 
 been outlawed by the Governor of ^lissouri and having a re- 
 ward set on his head, was desperate and prepared fiu* any 
 mad scheme. He was a sentimental, dreamy youth, of a san- 
 guine disj)osition, and full of vagaries. His principal accom- 
 ])lishments, at least those which he most prided himself upon, 
 were ski|^n shooting a pistol or dashing off a verse of poetry. 
 AVithout principle or courage, conceited and visionary, rather 
 than ambitious, he was u fit character to become a tool of old 
 Hrown. And such, in a great measure, he was. He eaiue to 
 the Ferry, according to the instructions of IJrown, and em- 
 ployed himself in sounding the population, white and black, 
 and gathering information of every variety. While there, ho 
 visited the farmers of- tlie neighborhood and county, finding 
 out the number of their slayes and the other valuable property 
 which they possessed. Brown himself, from time to time, ap- 
 jicaVed at the Ferry; di.sguising the object of his visits by pre- 
 tending to be looking for ore veins. 
 
 \u order to operate with still greater security, IJrown rented 
 the Kennedy farm, n small mountaiu place in the wountuius of 
 
 M 
 
OR, TREAH05; UNMASKED. 5J» 
 
 Maryland, aud situated about four miles from the Ferry. From 
 this farm to the I'eunsylvania line, was a seldom-trodden val- 
 ley or hollow which was the thoroughfare Brown adopted for 
 his channel of travel and communication, and through which 
 he expected to bring his army of invasion. With the Ken- 
 nedy farm for his field headquarters, then, and the necessary re- 
 connoissances having been made, he proceeded to mature his 
 warlike preparations. Having, with great diflficulty, obtained 
 from his employers a sufficiency of funds, he proceeded to ex- 
 pend it in that kind of material of war, which he thought he 
 would most need. Besides an indefinite quantity of picks and 
 shovels, ropes, and other similar stores, he purchased two hun- 
 dred Sharp's rifles, two hundred Maynard revolvers, and about 
 one thous.'ind spears. *Tlie rifles and pistols, he designed (as 
 he told Governor Wise,) to put in the hands of his expected 
 white recruits, while the spears were intended for the negroes. 
 He had been promised aid, he said, from Maryland, Virginia, 
 Kentucky, North and South Carolina, and Canada. With an 
 army, then, consisting of blacks and whites, he expected to 
 make the Blue Ridge his base, and, advancing along its top, 
 southward, extending as he went his conquests and his power, 
 he expected to penetrate into Northern Georgia and form a 
 junction there with a column, which was to proceed in the 
 same triumphal] manner from l^eaufort, South Carolina, along 
 the route which has been already defined. 
 
 In this way, the southern States were to be interpenetrated, . 
 bisected, and trisected, aud heaved asunder generally, by the 
 magnificient workings of the volcanic plan. The absurdity of 
 the scheme is apparent to every one ; but the madness of the 
 plan does not seem so great, when it is recollected how the 
 whole northern people, as well as their military leaders, have 
 more than ouce since, indulged in similar visionary plots for 
 our destruction. 
 
00 -inr TWO redellions; 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE CONVENTION AT CHATHAM — TUK "PLAN OF ACTION*' 
 ADOPTED. 
 
 While we have thus given our special attention to that por- 
 tion of the first rebel conspiracy which wa.s more directly con- 
 nected with the outbreak in Virginia, we have been lead to 
 pass over a very important event which, from the date of its 
 occurrence, and from the flood nf light it throws upon the char- 
 acter of the jcbellion, was entitled to an earlier notice. This 
 was the grand radical convention held by the conspirators ut 
 Chatham, West Canada, May {^, JS58. 
 
 The whole proceeding.s of that august body of reformers, as 
 recorded by Mr. Kagi, the secretary, is before us; and, for the 
 benefit of the present besotted generation, and the innocent 
 millions yet unborn, we propose to allude to some of the strik- 
 ing features of that momentous perfornjance. 
 
 The convention was composed of thirty-five illustrious mem- 
 bers of the human species. Ten of these were white men, 
 while the remaining twenty-five presented in their array of 
 physiognomies an interesting mosaic, in which several of the 
 elementary tints of the rainbo<V might have been discovered. 
 The genuine African, with his curly locks and ebony counte- 
 nance, intermingled, at intervaLs, in the bright galaxy, served 
 to set off to advantage the red, yellow, and dusky-brown heroes 
 who made up the main body ot the assenihly. 
 
 After the meeting had been called to order, and the usual 
 preliminaries oi' organization comjileted, Mr. Brown, it seems, 
 took upon himself the onerous duty ol" stating the object of the 
 convention. Thus statement was followed up by the aforesaid 
 lirown's presenting, for the consideration of his fellow-senators, 
 what he modestly termed a " plan of action." This " jdan of 
 action", was enibodiinl in a brief preamble and forty-eight arti- 
 cles, with a schedule, to all of which the reader's attention is 
 especially invited.* In the organic law of the proposed gov- 
 ernment, which it was gravely contemplated to substitute for 
 all other governments then in existcHce in the United States, 
 there were many novel leatures. But those profound legisla- 
 
 *Soe Appendix. 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 57 
 
 tors, who bad more than once defied the minions of civil au- 
 thority, wore neither appalled at the novielty of the proposed 
 changes or the stupeudousncss of the undertaking. It is im- 
 possible to learn from the minutes of the meeting what flights 
 of elo(|uence or stunning appeals marked the progress *of the 
 discussion of the merits of the "plan of action." We only 
 know Uiat, after a full and "satisfactory" discussion, the con- 
 vention unanimously adopted Mr. Brown's "plan of action." 
 
 This "constitution of the provisional government" is of in- 
 terest, not only as revealing the designs of the plotters of the 
 first rebellion a*gainst the internal peace of the Great Republic, 
 but also because it exhibits, iu a systematic whole, (even as 
 early as .^lay, 1858,) the "plan of action" iu a great measure 
 followed by the leading insurgents in the second rebellion. 
 What was then and there agreed upon by these radical out- 
 laws is the almost identical compact which the course of the 
 present wai* has revealed, as being the implied league of blood 
 between the grand rebels who, for nearly four years, have held 
 armed possession of the former natiuual capital. 
 
 The main point of the preamble is to announce the fact that 
 the now government especially contemplates the accession of 
 " the proscribed, oppressed, and enslaved" people of the United 
 States. And this, and the qualification for membership in a 
 following article, intimates that neither sex, color, age, politi- 
 cal or social condition, will be at all considered against anyone. 
 So that all, negroes, jail-birds, convicts, and disappointed peo- 
 ple of both sexes, broken-down tradesmen or disgraced gentle- 
 men, penniless youths and strong-minded women, are particu- 
 larly invited to fall in. 
 
 When it is borne in mind what a number of people was em- 
 braced in these classes, in the North, and that Brown and most 
 of his confederates belonged to^he " proscribed and oppressed 
 races," the importance of this point will be appreciated. 
 
 Articles second, third, fourth, and fifth are devt)ted to a de- 
 scription of the different branches of which the new goveru- 
 ment is to consist and the various powers belonging to each. 
 In these respects* the rebels condescend to copy after the old 
 Federal Government, making a liberal provision, however, for 
 whatever important additions military necessity might require. 
 The changes, as there proposed, have been, in a great measure, 
 adopted by their astute successors in treason, though, it must 
 be confessed that, in one or two instances, the latt6r have been 
 a little anticipated. For article six says : 
 
58 TiiR TWO rebellions; 
 
 "All ennctmcnfj of the lofrinlgtive branch .«h.»n, to hocome valid, during 
 the flr^t ihret; yenTf. h»v« the H(ipr<ibattou of ibc Prefidciit aud iho ' cunt- 
 tnnndrr-in-chic/t of thr iiriny.' " 
 
 Thus, the commander-in-chief is clothed with a cii-et|U;il veto 
 power with tlie I'resident. This individual, it will appear in 
 reading the "constitutinn," is expected to be a vcrj important 
 personage. In addition to other prerogatives just mentioned, 
 he is "to have the direction and control of the afmy and advise 
 with the allies." He, also, substantially po.^.ses.'^es the power 
 of appointing the Secretary of ^^'ar, aud caif remove him at 
 pleasure. 
 
 Now, in respect to this functionary, it must be ct'vnfessed 
 that no kind ol" enactment by the rebel congress yet gives him 
 all the power in the Iwncoln government that he had under 
 Mr. lirown's. Hut, every one must confess that, every day, 
 the Yankee commander-in-chief is growing in importance at 
 the North, and, from all appearances, he will soon be, if he 
 is not virtually already, as powerful with the second as he was 
 with the first rebels. 
 
 We now come to the powers of the central congress as laid 
 down in the C!hatham constitution. Thc^e articles which de- 
 scribe these may be safely regarded as a pretty correct inventory 
 of the powers which the pnsent rebel congress at Washington 
 have hi'lprd themstlrrs to already. 
 
 lu the organic laws which either rebellion professes to be 
 governed by, the existence of the States is aeknowledged ; but, 
 practically, neither government contem])lates anything more 
 than mere nominal »uth(jrity as belonging to the States. The 
 present rebel congress pays no regard to the obsolete idea of 
 State sovereignty. Indeed, it seems to ignore their existence, 
 except as mere passive agents to execute its deelared.will. 
 
 Articles sixteen and seventeen describe some of the special 
 duties of the President and Secretary of State. These are rare 
 and interesting, as furnishing such a full account of a few of 
 the Hpeeial duties which Mes.srs. liiucoln and Seward have 
 felt called upon to perform lor several years past. 
 
 No doubt, when their proj)osed schemes of confiscation and 
 subjugation are completed, they will have a much jollier time 
 performing all the special duties imposed in the aforesaid arti- 
 cles. What a 6eld for the exercise of their administrative tal- 
 ents will the appointment of preachers, school-marms, inn- 
 keepers, and intelligence agents, aftord I 
 
 " The places of deposit and sale," alluded to in article sev- 
 
OU, TREASON UNMASKEn. 59 
 
 enteen, which the President and Secretary of State are to se- 
 lect, doubtless are lor the purpose of facilitating the disposition 
 of stolen valuables ot various kinds. It is not, positively, stated 
 that they are to superintend the sale of the aforesaid val- 
 uables. But, it is not to be supposed that ^Ir. Lincoln will 
 stand on technical trifles, when such a fine opportunity for 
 playing the popular clown will be offered to him, aa acting in 
 the character of a national auctioneer. In the far di.stant i'u- 
 ture, we think we see him now, dwelling with vulgar vivBcity 
 over the qualities of the stolen ware, and cracking innocent 
 jokes at -the expense of the quandam owners, while the dear 
 mob around split their greasy sides with laughter. 
 
 The remaining articles of the " constitution" are mainly de- 
 voted to an exposition of the ground idea of the whole " plan." 
 This ground idea-is, evidently to build up, on the ruins of ex- 
 isting laws and .institutions, a sort of Utopian despotism, in 
 which the "enemies of the government" are to be deprived of 
 their capacity to do further evil by the loss of their liberty 
 and worldly gear, while the loyal citizens are to form a sort o^ 
 aristocratic I'raternity, whose patriotic duty ifwill be<o punish 
 disloyalt}- at all hours and upon all occasions " promptly and 
 eifectually," and "without the formality of a complaint." The 
 confiscation of the property of all slaveholders and "other dis- 
 loyal persons," and the various modes of breaking their spirits 
 and reducing them to the condition of serfs, are dwelt upon at 
 great length, as important means for the establishment of the 
 granfJ L^topian empire. 
 
 Occasionally, a brief article steps in between these terrible 
 enactments, to enjoin upon the loyal the practice of a few of 
 those virtues which the Puritans have generally practised from 
 motives of meanness. Sach, for instance, as sobriety, indus- 
 try, and economy. 
 
 The duty of labor is gravely rec<.)mmended to all, not, as it 
 appears, I'roni the formidable preparations made for swindling 
 and robbing, that any such necessity is expected to arise, but 
 because there is a supposed p'vritanic virtue in labor which el- 
 evates and dignifies the Yankee species. 
 
 Here also, we find elaborated, for the benefit of the abolition 
 proconsuls, who are expected to rule over the conquered 
 districts, many of those charming instruments of rtioral torture, 
 such as oaths of neutrality and allegiance, registering, etc., 
 which IJutler, Milroy, and others, have used with so much suc- 
 cess. Doubtless, these worthies will be quick to deny that they 
 
60 THE TWO nEBELLIONS; 
 
 borrowed any of their bright ideas for inflicting cruelty, from 
 the Chatliain " plan of action." Tlie security of tht-ir own 
 fame, among their illustrious fellovr-citizens, requires that they 
 should assert the claims of their own originality. 
 
 While we are willing to admit thi.i^, we are compelled, for the 
 sake of truth, to insist that the same spirit of evil must have in- 
 spired each great original, in order to explain the wonderful sinii- 
 larity of their devilish crcatiims In <ither words, that spirit 
 of malignant antifiathy to the southerner, united with the 
 love of greed, which exi'^ts in all Yankees, was bound to pro- 
 duce that class of thieves and beasts, the existence of wliich 
 was recognized in the Chatham constitution, and of which 
 Butler and Milroy are distinguished members. The plotters 
 of the first rebellion were bolder, because more desperate; but 
 they had not the serpent wisdom of the plott'ers of the second 
 rebellion. They committed the folly of adiuitting to each 
 other, and even putting in black and white, .some of the terri- 
 ble thing.s, they foresaw must be done in order to consummate 
 their "plan of action." 
 
 The leadeTs of tlie second rebellion were certainly as bloody- 
 minded as their predecessors in crime, and I'orsaw with mure 
 distinctness, the terrible means they would have to adopt to 
 insure success. But they were, however, too cunning to alarm 
 the fastidious sensitiveness of their malicious but timid sup- 
 porters, by anticipating the horrors of the future. It was 
 nece.s,sary to entangle their poor dupes, step by step, ig the 
 meshes of debt and crime, before any of the truth couui be 
 revealed. 
 
 From the innovations and changes which have marked the 
 inception and progress of the second rubellion, the assumption 
 fji' executive power, the blotting out of State lines, the intro- 
 duction of a gigantic system of confiscation and robbery, the 
 organization of an extensive and ubiquitous army of spies and 
 agents, one is forced to conclude that, the moral or immoral 
 causes which njoved the first rebellion, moved also, and still 
 sustain, the second. The striking similarity between the jiro- 
 poscd plan of the (Chatham conspirators, and the one that has 
 already been adopted by their successors in treason, is truly 
 wonderful. And one is almost ready to believe that Seward 
 and Lincoln 'have been using the Chatham constitution as a 
 pattern after which to model the despotism which they now 
 enjoy at Washington. 
 
 There is one feature in the Chatham "plan" which, more 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 61 
 
 than any other, vividly calls up the majestic forms of Messrs. 
 ]jincolD and Seward. Near the winding up of their provisional 
 document, occasion is taken to inform the world, with all the 
 gravity. of mighty legislators who feel the weight of their re- 
 sponsibility, that the whole object of their scheme is to amend 
 the constitution, and not to overthrow it. 
 
 How naturally, upon reading this "article," the mind recurs 
 to the language of Mr. Lincoln, when he has just promulgated 
 someone of his numerous despotic edicts. Every act of dissolu- 
 tion, he declares, is for the sake of the Union. With the knife 
 yet reeking in his hand, he proclaims that the Union has been 
 stabbed for the good of the Union. Oh, Union ! what crimei^ 
 have been committed in thy name. Indeed, it seems as if the 
 curse which overshadows the land, is a divine punishment for 
 an idolatry of that same Union. Since, in its name, and under 
 the cloak of its worship, has been introduced every evil which, 
 for the last half of a century, has afflicted this country. 
 
 Five years ago, when people read this " Chatham constitu- 
 tion," they could not but smile at the many queer provisions 
 in it, for the administering of oaths, the registering of names, 
 and the various punishments for disloyalty. They, invariably, 
 rose from its perusal with the conviction, that the conspirators 
 at Chatham were as mad as March hares. But how different 
 do those same persons think now. At least, if they still insist 
 that the conspirators of 1858-9, were mad, they must also ad- 
 mit that the same madness had already, in a measure, seized 
 upon a large majority of the sovereigns of the North. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 COLONEL FORBES — 18 A RTVA^, AND BETRAYER OF BROWN. 
 
 While Brown was thus engaged in laying the foundations of 
 a new government which was to supercede the old and rotten 
 one of '70, and was gradually maturing his plans of military in- 
 vasion, there was another " Richmond in the field," endeavor- 
 ing to contest the palm of success 'With the " Kansas hero." 
 
 Oilonel Forbes, an English abolitionist of the Exeter hall 
 school, "wa*, for some time, a co-laborer and afterwards a for- 
 
02 THE TWO rebellions; 
 
 midablc humanitarian rival of Brown. He \ras connected with 
 Garrabaldi m his revuliifionary attempt cif 1H4^*. in some capa- 
 city, and afterward.^ turned up iu this CdUiitry, during the Ran- 
 has war, as (inc nl' the aholition mercenaries. 
 
 After the rest»»ration of quiet in Kansa.«i, he was empKiyed 
 by the ahcjhtion leaders, to as.sist IJrown in making the neces- 
 Hary preparations for the conhiimmation of the volcanic plan. 
 Brown, perhaps, desirous of not being interfered with in his 
 arranL'ements, and unwilling to share the profits of disbursing 
 the money of the brotherh<tod, assigned Forbes to the duty of 
 drilling his raw levies in Iowa. Forbes acted in this capacity 
 for several mouths, moving his rorps-d'-mmrr of sixteen men 
 from village to village to avoid suspicion, and drilling them 
 daily in all the severe exercises of a soldier. Finally, however, 
 the pay and provender which he received from the chief not 
 coming up to his expectations, Forbes made complaint to the 
 higher authorities. Getting no satisfaction, he abandoned his 
 post and went in person to the pillars ot the order to state his 
 ease and demand the balance of pay that was due him. 'J fi''J/ 
 referred him to the abolition eommis.sariat general. Ibis dis- 
 tinguished official could do nothing lor him, and Forbes dis- 
 covered that he had I'allen among thieves. . 
 
 (Ireely, the most thoroughbred villain among them all, when 
 Forbes made application to him, retreated behind the strict 
 letter of the law, and pleaded that he was not bound by Brown's 
 Contract. iSanborn, the >;eeretary of the Emigrant Aid Society 
 of Boston, and Howe, an infamous abolitionist of the same 
 city, made similar excuses'. Thus di.sappoiuted all around, 
 and unable to procure the means of support for his family, 
 Forbes commenced denouncing all the New England 
 abolitionists. Still, his pecuniary embarra.ssmcnt8 ad- 
 monished him not to alienate his only employers by untimely 
 imprudence. And, so, again and again he besieged them with 
 petitions and entreaties. These having failed, he tried the 
 efficacy of making a suggestion as to the folly of Brown's 
 uiiilertaking. Necessity gave an impetus to his genius, and 
 he i'ormed a new plan lor prosecuting the noble work which had 
 met with such success in° Kansas, and this, he submitted, wan 
 i'ar better than Brown's Tliis was, simj)ly, an organized sys- 
 tem of stampeding slaves along the border States and thus 
 driving the institution furtilier South. 
 
 Ili'wever acceptable any plan of this sort might have been 
 to Greely <5ii Co., it did not approach Brown's iu siguifit'ance or 
 
 _l 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 03 
 
 value. It was too slow a process. This they had learned by 
 expt'ileiice. Besides, their object was not to free the slaves so 
 much as it was to agitate the question and, upon the excite- 
 ment which this agitation would cause, to make fame and name 
 and money. And, then, there was their vindictive malice to 
 be gratified ; and Brown's plan was likely to cause some blood 
 to fluw. So the abolitionists would not listen to Forbes. 
 
 l>riven to despair by the avarice and the folly of his aboli- 
 tion masters, he cherished, now, nothing but resentment to- 
 wards Brown and the rest of them. So, inflamed with indig- 
 nation, he denounced the Harper's Ferry plan to man, of the 
 leading repulicans. To his astonishment, they manifested as 
 little surprise or concern as Grcely & Co. He found that the 
 leading republicans not only knew all about it, but were perfectly 
 indifferent as to what might come of it. Forbes had been too 
 long a plain, blunt scoundrel to understand the complications of 
 northern politics. He could not under?;tand how abolitionists 
 and republicans alike cared little whether Brown failed or suc- 
 ceeded ; so he made the attempt. 
 
 There was another mj-stery also, which Foabes stumbled upon 
 in his underground experience with old Brown. He found 
 that the philanthropic abolitionists and the office-seeking re- 
 publicans were not alone interested in the hnj»penip(j of the in- 
 surrectionary attempt. The cotton speculators of New York 
 and Boston felt an interest in it Brown told him that a mem- 
 ber of the firm of Lawrence, Stone, & Co., had promised him 
 ?S,000 if he .succeeded in his attempt. Of course, they knew it 
 would not succeed, and, 5'et, they too wanted it to hajippn. 
 
 Mi/xteri/ on fop of mi/sffri/ ! Nobody but Brown thought it 
 was going to succeed, and, yet, every one he had talked*to 
 about it, showed the same indifference and unconcern. It 
 did not occur to Forbes that, upon the breaking out of anything 
 like a formidable servile insurrection in the South, the public 
 entimate of the capacity of the slave-labor Bystem to produce 
 cotton would diminish, and. hence, in consequence of an ex- 
 pected diminution in the production of the raw material, all 
 cotton and cotton fabrics on hand would advance in price. This 
 was a ci'mmcrcial way of viewing political and social revolution 
 that be neither appreciated nor landed. He could only regard it 
 from a military point of view, and, looking at i^ in this way, he 
 maintained that the whole plan was absurd, and so kept on 
 denouncing it to the leading republicaa.?. 
 
64 TUE TWO rebellions; 
 
 CHAPTER XTV. 
 
 HALE, RrMNER AND 8EWAHD WHAT IHEY ARE AN'D WUOM TUJCT 
 
 REPRESENT. 
 
 Amnn£r thoRO to whom lie denounced it, were Mes^^rs. Suinner 
 and Hale and WilliHiii II. Sewnrd, the most slii nine; lijrhts of tlie 
 repuhlicJins. <.)f these three. Hale washy far the most rospecta- 
 hle. He had respect enoiitrh for virtue ami patriotism to victira- 
 ize himself hefoie he attempted to deceive othei-s in regard to 
 his professions of jdiilanthropv. Of course, like all men who 
 prostitute the good impulses of their nature to gratify the crav- 
 ings of an inordinate ambition, ho must have had occasional 
 lu<id intervals, lint, these did not last long, and, driven hy a 
 stern necessity which his own ambition had conjured uj), ho soon 
 returned to his wallowing in the mire. Hut Sumner and Seward 
 did not have to mask their motives under a feeling of benevo- 
 lence in order to get the approbation of their judgments. They 
 merely considered what others thought, and were governed ac- 
 cordingly. They knew perfectly well that they were villains, 
 but endeavoured to keep that fact carffullv concealed from their 
 constituents. An)ong the many political reprobates wl^o con- 
 spired to mislead the already much abused public mind of tho 
 North, and, upon the waves of error, ride triumphantly into 
 power, there was such a variety of viciousness and de]iravity of 
 character that it is hard to pick out any that might be termed 
 represser tati ve villa ins. 
 
 Whenever the mind singles any one of them out and contem- 
 plates his character for a moment, so vast and incompreheiiMblo 
 is the magnitude of the initpiity discovered, that the 
 imagination, exhausted in its ellort.s lo take in the idea, 
 produces the invaiiable conclusion, in every instance, that the 
 grandest villain of them all has at last been found. !Not that 
 the magnitude of the initpiity discoverable in eacdi case, isecnial, 
 but that each exceeds Hie capacity of our comprehension. Nor 
 even that they arc similar, for, as Christians are all said to have 
 si>ecial gifts lo do good, according to their talent-s, so, these mer- 
 cenaries of Satan seetn to have .•special gifts to do evil, according 
 to their natural and actpiired powers of wickedness. Each, in 
 his particular sphere, excites our wonder and hoiror as we con- 
 template him. Cheever, with his patiently cullivatexl powers of 
 blasphemy; Greely, with his elaborate schemes of rapine and 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 65 
 
 murder; Sumner, with liis stuclied imprecations, smelling of the 
 lam]t, and winged with tlie envenomed malice of his vindictive, 
 cowardly heart, and cralty, Satan-like, Seward, with his cold- 
 blooded calculations of reckless ruin for the South, 'ihis diffi- 
 culty of decidinjif, then, with regard to the relative claims of the 
 different leaders to the pRhn of pre-eminence, compels one to be 
 governed by the opinions of those who, from long experience, 
 are well skilled in making the proper discriminat'on. The north- 
 ern people must decide, and, so far as influence and political suc- 
 cess is an evidence of popularity, Sumner and Seward may bo 
 regarded as the represe<ilalive-men of the abolitionists and re- 
 pul)licans. 
 
 Sinnner of Massachusetts, belongs to that class of little souls 
 that have more than ordinary intellects. Their large mental 
 faculties lack the propelling power of moral energy tojnake 
 them attempt great tilings. Sumn«T, ail his life, has experienced 
 the need of stiong natuial ])rop*-n?ities to give direction io that 
 intellectual force which he telt capable of exerting. With an 
 inordinate vanity, however, but with little ambition, lie soon 
 lent his intellectual capital to the flattering and ambitious com- 
 mon-place abolition leaders. Pleased with a constituency which 
 praised his talents and a subject th;it was well suited to the 
 heartless, but able efforts of his genius, he became an enthusiastic 
 abolitionist. A devoted student, he drew from the inexhaustible 
 fountains of classic thought that taste and knowledge whi(>h, 
 while they elevate the sentiment and refine the imagination, 
 often obs<;ure the light of Chiisiian philosophy and substi'ute 
 for the simple impulses of the heart the suggestions of an en- 
 lighteue<l understHndiug. That mental power and polish, which 
 such ac(|uirements give, he used to form a sentimental structure 
 of flViolition belief, which, se<lucing the popular heart by an ex- 
 altation of its idol, would advance his ))oliticaI interests. In his 
 skillful hands, radical abolitionism was depiived of the odium of 
 vulgarity and its homely a.«.sociations. What, at first, pppeared 
 to cultivate<l minds as the offspring of common and depraved 
 natures, when prt-spnted in the graceful forms, and illustrated in 
 the chaste and captrvating imagery of his artistic rhetoric, became 
 exalted and dignified into a philosophy worthy of adoption by 
 the most refined and fastidious. 
 
 There were men, among the fanatics and politicians of abo- 
 litionism, who kept alieaj of Sinnner, in the readiness with 
 which thev discarded every common sense of right and decency, 
 in their bitter anti-slavery zeal ; but Sumner stood alone, in the 
 
GO TFIE TWO KEBELLIONS; 
 
 entliu*iasm wiili wliidi he pul'orneil tlic han.hiiai<lK of t-lasvsio 
 taste ainl lofineiiuMil, to dijfuifv, with their utt^daiiie, ihe dis- 
 jl^iistii'g monster, abohtioiiisiii. 
 
 If Mnythiinr was waiiliiiLj to stimulate a mirnl, wliirh strove 
 rathor for the honey of ajipliiuse than tlie st-eptre of power, the 
 taunliiip^ sneers of the incensed snntlierners. euhninHting, at Last, 
 in a severe flagellation, furnished the necessary incentive. The 
 unexpected manner of administering rebuke for liis rlxetorical 
 insolence, selected by Mr. iJrooks of South Carobna, "quite 
 vani|uished him." Vet, ihougli his spirit (piailed and his coward 
 heart surrendej-ed under the blows ^f the insulted senator, liis 
 venomous nature received new inspiration from the corporeal 
 drubbin};. Every blow was like the touch of Minerva's magic 
 w;md, which lilled him with ihe heavenly llres of eloquence. 
 His menial soul, wliich, like a whipped spaniel, cowered beneath 
 the infliction of the most ilegrading treatment, shiuiik from an 
 encounter whi«h otl'euded honor suggested, auii found a soothing 
 balm in the sonorous beauties of well-roun<ieil anathemas, lie 
 would not fight; oh. no I I5ut, after sutieiing the mt>st dis- 
 graceful treatment at the hands of a t'ellow senator, "he would 
 unpack his heart with words and fall to cursing." not "like a 
 drab," but like an elegant, relined northern gentleman, liis 
 civilized sense of propriety, abhorred the usage of swoids and 
 pistols, but, did not disdain to liml envenomed shafts, dipped 
 in the gall of his coward heart. Every arrow sent, was a signal 
 for applause, and every pathetic explanation of his punishment 
 and his poltroonery excited new sympathy in a congenial pub- 
 lic. What a commentary uj)Oii the character of a people, when 
 confessed cowardice becomes one of tiie tests of heroisuj ? For, 
 though Sumner had risen into notice, he was never distinguished 
 and inriuetilial, at the North, imtil he showed himself a pollruon 
 anij ifloried in it. Hofore that, his udmirera aiui friends were 
 confined to the abolitionists; but, that act of exultant tiirpituile, 
 touched the heart of a nation, who svmpathize<i with his cow- 
 ardice and admired him because his defence of the same _;«A7//iVrf 
 t/ieni.sclves u)i(o tluinxelvc/i. His cause was llidr cause, and, 
 though they did not approve of his political sentitnents, they 
 could not but admire such a skillful defender of their own code 
 of projiriety. 
 
 The story of Sumner's rise to greatness is without a ]>arrallel 
 in the history of the world. In reviewing the atinals of the 
 pJist, the virtuous mind is, sometimes, ^llucked at the discovery 
 of H ])eoj>le so depraved as to reserve its honors and titles for the 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. G7 
 
 vicious and the wickeii; but, one looks in vain for that daiyth of 
 degrcJation. which discards the gallant and the daring, and 
 crowns with laurels the- poltroon and the coward. The most 
 savage and tlie most brutal races of mankiml, never, in the 
 darkest period of their barbarism, seem to have been without 
 some esteem for that virtue called personal bravery; while the 
 most enervated and degenerate nations. of the luxurious • ast, 
 have never lost, so entirely, the proper idea of heroism, as to 
 admire a coward on account of his cowaidice. It was reserved 
 for the abolition, miscegenating North, to exalt a man for an 
 act, which, among all the.; other nations of the world, past or 
 present, would liave exciteij unqualified contempt. Such is 
 •Sumner, one of the ilUistrious representative types of a nation 
 which darkens the earth with its fleets and armies; a man with- 
 out one manly virtue to 'redeem the maglinant viciousness of a 
 heart given up to unholy desires. In the corridors of history, 
 where the great and notorious have their appropriate niches, 
 underneath the bust which preserves his memory, this superscrip- 
 tion should be written : " While the infamous and the famou.s 
 have excited the wonder of their fellows by their \'irtues or 
 their vices, Sumner was unknown to fame until he had proved 
 himself a coward. Let him sleep in peace, he deserves not the 
 execrations, but the contenipt of mankind." 
 
 Wrn. H Seward, of New York, is, ]ierhaps, the best represent- 
 ative type of the Yankee nation. In his versatile and vast 
 composition, every curious and original variety of Yankee vil- 
 lainy, fimls some a<lequate representation. There is not a politi- 
 cal fault, sin or crime, that was conceived by the malignant New 
 Englamler, the mammon-worshipping New Yorker, or the pro- 
 fane, mercenar}', north westerner, which has not been included in 
 his personal experienrre. He seems the source and home of the 
 well known as well as the novel wickedness of the Yankee 
 nation. The very moral chaos of iniquity, which fills the North, 
 resounding with the horried buz of immeasurable, strange, and 
 novel dialxdisms, seems classified, systematized, and harmoniously 
 united, in his sid:)limely devilish nature, distinguished indi- 
 vidual villains there are, who, perhaps, surpass him in their par- 
 ticular gifts to <lo evil ; but, in the scope, variety, and intensity 
 of his evil propensities, he is the most infernal Yankee of them 
 all. NV hile. ]ierhaps. Grecly is the most devoted falsifier of 
 truth, Checver. the wretch, most blast. Ii'Mimus, and Sumner the 
 most lnHzen pinii> to a depraved )>ub!i.' taste, it is reserved for 
 Seward to uuiie them all in one, and, like a horrid uiasterpi«ca 
 
OS THE TWO KEBKLLIONs; 
 
 of deni«nipm, to blend in one Mnsjle nature, the opposite of everv 
 virtue, and iIk^ vi«o of every soul. John Urown was a violator 
 of the hiw, !i thif.'f, robber, and ai^sassin. lint, inasmuch as, upon 
 occasions, he had some of the impulses of a Christain. and al- 
 ways some liabits whicli pa=s for virtues, he was an aritjel of light 
 compared to \Vm. II. Seward. 
 
 If, ever Satan conde.scoiKled to revisit the earth in person, 
 and live and move as a human l»einj;, devotinj; his whole time 
 and encrjries to the development of one man's nature for the 
 perpetration of evil, he has done it in the case of Wui. H. S«w- 
 ard. Gredy atid his colaborers mav be said to be pos.sessed of 
 devils; but, it is questionable whether Seward is not the very 
 /><•«'// Id m self. 'I lie imairjnation is appa1le<l and shrinks ba<k 
 powerless in its etiort to ijrasp the complete wickedness of that 
 man's heart. The Knylish laniruafje pos^es^es adjectives without 
 nundjer for descifldn'; the rare and the common phases of human 
 depravity, while its capacily for refined and nice distinction, for 
 viirorous and terse sentences, for the contrast of antithesis and 
 the climax of comparison, is uneqnaled by that of anv otlwer 
 tonjifue. Yet, we finidv believe that its ])owers must be further 
 developed before an American can do justice, in his own * ;r- 
 naculiir, to the chaiacter of Wui. H Seward. The depth.'', the 
 bott-omless depths, of his auibitious, bad heart, are inconceivable 
 as infinitv itself, aiul bevond all deseription jiainful to attempt to 
 cotiteinplaie. I ut, while it is ditfirult to measure the <lepth of 
 his Mialii^naiicv anil the extent of his ambition, (inasmuch as 
 thev baffle all human powers of computation,) it is not dillicult to 
 form a coriect estiwiate t>f the streufjlh and torce of his mental 
 faculties. In all his wntiiigs and speei-hes, there are very few 
 indications of intellectual force. Thouirh, .sometimes gracefully, 
 and alwavs adroillv arraun^ed, one rarely discovers Htiy evidence 
 of dfplh of thought, or even logical skill, in his cabalistic sen- 
 tences. He seems to value both words and ideas, according to 
 their crt])abilitv of producing uncertain impressions; and his aim 
 seems, not so much to produce a well-detined wrorio iuipression, 
 as to 'cloak his meatiing in an impenetrable veil of mystery. The 
 art of concealment, in writing and speaking, depends not so 
 ujuch upon intwllec'ual skill as it does upon a total <lisregard of 
 truth. Obscurity is nnudi oftetier the evidence of ignoi-anco and 
 dullness, than it is of talent. And, yet, what in others is at- 
 tributed to the former, in Seward, is attributed to the latter. It 
 is true, there is a certain kind of obscurity of language which is 
 laure couiplete than others; but, still, it is always easily found 
 
ORf TREASON UNMASKED. 69 
 
 bv the most onlinar}- iniiuls, if tliey seok for it. If Seward bad 
 evo.r displayed, in iiny of bis remarkable State papers, even a 
 little variety in bis uniforndy equivocal or ambiguous state- 
 ments, be mifrbt, witb some color of propriety, be denominated 
 artful, and tluis f;ir intellectual. But there is, always, the same 
 simple want of plain meaninjr which necessitates no wrong in- 
 ference, but pist allows any that <me may please to make. 
 
 Seward's power of deception, then, does not reside in or result 
 from intellectual oiffs, but orioinates in a devilish spirit of cun- 
 ning that halts at no falsehood and hesitates at no meanness to 
 accomplish its purpose This should be borne in mind, in order 
 that the shallow-minded, but jMofoundly cunning, incarnate 
 demon may be jiroperly understood. Seward illustrates the 
 power of mere immoral force in this fallen world. The im- 
 measurable intensity of his'|)assions and proj>ensities have more 
 to do with his indivi<lual moinentum tlian any extraordinary 
 mental gifts which have been erroneously attributed to him. 
 For, individual momenta, like those of physical forces, are com- 
 pounds. As physical momenta are equivalent to the combined 
 results of the velocity and the weight oi the body, so individual 
 momentum is equivalent to the combined results of the intensity 
 of the moral activity and the intellectual capacity or weight. 
 60 that, with a given amount of intensity for the moral propell- 
 ing power, very little mind is needed to make an individual ca- 
 pable of exercising an extraordinary intluence among men. In 
 this manner, must the want of mind in Seward- iie reconciled 
 with the undoubted fact of the almost despotic influence which 
 be has, for years, exerted over the northern people. He is a rare 
 instance of an intellectual f»igmy ruling, with sovereign's sway, 
 a nation run mad with evil passions, bv simply feeling and mani- 
 festing in a deliberate wav, a greater intensity of the same pas- 
 sions and deriving a sort of inspiration from the exceeding great 
 depths of the badness of his nature. Tliere is nothing in his 
 acts or his language or his sentiments to excite the atimiration 
 or interest of an indift'erent sjwctator. It is only to human mo- 
 tives that his words or conduct ever appeal. You may be amused 
 will) the hujnor of Greely, and the wit of Cheever, you may not 
 refuse to admire the vehement diatribes of Hale, or the fine, 
 fancy and elo<^uent perorations of Sumner; but, Seward is, ever 
 and always, the jdain, mnltcr-of-fact, pure, unadulterated demon. 
 >» Idle his infatnous coadjutors are not impervious, at times, to 
 the emotions of the beautiful and the grand, Seward seems in- 
 capable of any but those of gratified pride and succe&sful villainy. 
 
70 THE TWO REBELLIONS J 
 
 111 oilier words, wliile the former Ronietiines permit tli»'ir ii.nfural 
 1 elinju^ to su|>]ilaiit the tlevils whit h iisuallv possfs." tliciii, Seward 
 always sei-ius filled with the baine slei-pless, bloodle.vi, ht-arlless 
 tpirit of evil. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE DESIGNS OF IHK KKITULICAXS — PRKPARATIONS FOK TUB 
 EECUKU KEUEI.LION. ^ 
 
 The evidence of Colonel Forhes,' wliich convicts the leadinpj 
 republicans uf the North of lendiiijr their countenance, if not 
 their sujiport, to an enterprise which aimed at the total destruc- 
 tion of southt^rn institutions, is fortified by other fat-ts of hist<)ry 
 )iotorions at tliai Inne. 'J'hese were that the re)iubli( an party 
 then needed and desired, for j>olitical reasons, that 8ectit>nal bit- 
 ternesfi should increase ; in order that they mij;ht recruit their 
 ranks from the fickle and volatile masses of the North. Hence, 
 ihev were anxious for the occurrence of such an event >us an hos- 
 tile inva-sion of a southern State. Subseijuent events, too, when 
 the republicans jjot possession of the government and shameless- 
 ly avowetl their irrepressible hostility to the South, strenirhthens 
 the presum|)tion that, as far back as the ailvent of tjje Harper's 
 Ferry invasi(jn, they entertained ideas of destruction towards the 
 Boutliein peo|tle. 
 
 In 1859, those of the republican leaders who jurrirled behind 
 the scenes, and who could see wilh some distinctness into the 
 immediate jiolitical future, well knew that, in order to give vital- 
 itv and <oherency to their new formed jiarty, something more 
 was necessary than the mere array of abstratt dogmas of politi- 
 <;;d faith, howcvei acceptable these might be to the ]>opular mind. 
 Something was needed tf) agitate the northern lieaitand animate 
 it with one common sectional feeling like lliat which the Kansas 
 war had, for a biief sjiace, excited. Nothing was so well calcu- 
 lated to do this as a manifestation of unreasonable and ung<-ne- 
 rouB bitterness on the part of the South. And this wouUI be 
 ppeedilv brought about by anuhrng like a formidable aboli ion 
 aitempt to exeite a servile ir^surrection. 
 
 These astute political seers, in whose scales of calculation their 
 
Ott, TREASON UNMASKED. 71 
 
 country's interest weijjhed not a feather, were not unmindful 
 tliat the Kiinsas war bad proved of invaluable service to them. 
 Tliey liad heen oonvinoed then that tlie god, at whose shrine 
 they \vorshi|)ped, was not to be conciliated by the blood of lambs 
 or of bullocks. The desolation, whiidi pestilence, famine, and 
 death brinies, was the ottViini;^ most sjiateful at his !?lirine, Tiie 
 wails of lamentation and woe that rise up from a distressed and 
 brereave 1 people, the smoke anil din of the deadly internecine 
 strife, the sickening fumes which ascend from the carcass-strewn 
 and crimson-dyed battle-field, was the incense most acceptable 
 at his altar. They had seen how the Kansas war had done what 
 the most eloquent harrans^ues and able intellectual efforts had 
 failed to approach. They had seen how it had stirred up the 
 inoierates of either section to make the easy transition from 
 the abuse of a party confined to a particular local region to the 
 bitter denunciation of the whole population of the same. This 
 was the process, by which life and strength had been infused 
 into their heterogeneous mass of malcontents. 
 
 The Kansas war had solved the mystery, for it revea!e<lthe art of 
 making a sectional party. It was true that the profitable experi- 
 ment, which had enlightened them, had cost soine expenditure 
 of men and money. But what was that con pared to the value 
 of the benefit acquired — the knowledge of the sure mode of over- 
 throwing the democratic party and domineering over the south- 
 ern people. The money, which had been contributed to the 
 prosec.u:ion of the Kansas war, had been well invested, and they 
 were anxious to repeat the speculation. But reasons of a selfish 
 or political nature, were - not the sole causes of the desire 
 of the republican leailers to kindle a servile war in the South. 
 There were causes which were imbedded in the strata of nor; hern 
 society, and which, though unproclaimed, both strengthened the 
 purpose and influenced the policy of the wily heads of the re- 
 publican party. While these moial motors, in an invisible man- 
 ner, exerted no little influence upon the mass of the northern 
 people, their effect is more traceable in the language and con- 
 duct of the leading minds and controlling intelligences of the 
 republican party. The apologists of tlicse desperate, bad faction- 
 ist-s, should not be permitted to attribute theiu criminal c.ondu<-t 
 to an epedemic, craving for political power. For, sad as their 
 case would be, should it be admitted that they had committetl 
 the erpT of consenting to destroy their country for the purpose 
 of overthrowing their political enemies, the whole truth, when 
 revealed, makes it sadder still. Something more, and something 
 
<^ THI TWO rebellions; 
 
 far wrtr^ tlijin nn unscrupulous opposition to the democratic 
 }>arty, actuated tliem. 
 
 CnAPTpR XVI. 
 
 1IIE INFLUENCE OF SECTIONAL IN8TITITION8. 
 
 Tlie progress of civilifation, under the two different forms 
 of development whieli the respective social orjrnnisms North 
 and South afforded, called into being two different classes of 
 educated minds. 
 
 These, in their views of life, their taste, religious and polit- 
 ical opinions, their ideas of truth and honor and their ideals 
 of happiness, were the very antijiodeg of each other. I'pon 
 whatever arena they met, whether of politics, literature, or re- 
 ligion, they discovered the same radical points of difference. 
 In those notions of decorum and propriety, which constitute 
 the laws of the social circle, the difference was the more con- 
 spicuous, becau.'»e more frequently made manifest. It gave to 
 partisan animosity a keener edge, and tended to widen party 
 breaches. In the halls of Congress, the high-toned, free-spokr n 
 poutherner, might affiliate, for party purposes, with his political 
 brother of the North ; but he eoijd liiid little pleasure in the 
 society of one so totally different from him in feeling and 
 liabits. Palled from the cares of a magnificent estate, or the 
 practice of a lucrative profession, the southern C<mgres.sraan 
 exhibited, in his intercourse with others, some of that lordli- 
 ness of manner which, as the absolute sovereign of a popnlou.s 
 jilantation, or, as the reigning orator i>f his district, he had 
 gradually ac(|uired. Into the halls of Congress he carried the 
 frankness of manner, the confidence in his fellow-man, and the 
 love of truth and honor, that he had learned from his parents. • 
 Usually, with an abundance of means at his dispcisal, ho was 
 ns liberal as he >^s kind-hearted, and paid little attention to 
 the lobby operations of the venal and unprincipled. 
 
 On the other hand, the northern (N)ngressman was, generally, 
 some self-CfluQated, shrewd, calculating, " finder-out of occa- 
 sions," who, while yet a b<iy, had (pialfcil a love of political 
 fame from the annual stream of fourth of .July orations which 
 
oil, TREASON UNMASKED. 73 
 
 periodically ^oded his section. Occasionally, he was a sod of 
 some distinguished divine or lawyer, and had made politics his 
 profession. But, more frequently, he was some hypocritical, 
 bawling radicalist, whom the love of plunder and power had 
 seduced from his- shop to the uncertain arena of politics. If 
 he was from New PiUgland, he was, probably, a sort of Puritan 
 Republican, with a humanitarian tinge; a fellow who had prob- 
 ably tried preaching before he took to stump-speaking, and 
 whose chief occupation was to expound the meaning of the 
 declaration of independence and sell his vote to the highest 
 bidder. If he was.from the middle States, he was occasionally 
 a man of talent and wealth, but, more generally, the represent- 
 ative i)f some commercial or manufacturing interest, and, not 
 un frequently, a radicalist of the New England type. 
 
 From the northwestern States came the most interesting 
 candidates for political greatness. There, the avenues to fame 
 were the bar-rooms, the tailor-shops, and country stores. There 
 was more talent and. less hypocrisy among the politicians of the 
 northwest than among those of the middle and eastern States. 
 But, it is questionable whether vice, without the habiliments 
 of virtue, as it appeared in the north westerner, was not more dis- 
 gusting than when discovered beneath the Puritan cloak of 
 hypocrisy. Their obscene ribaldry, their vulgar jokes, and 
 their open repudiation of the obligations of decency and hon- . 
 esty, was a sort of moral outlawry that denied the very dignity 
 and existence of virtue. The Puritans, by their hypocrisy, 
 acknowledged the supremacy of virtue ; but tho besotted and 
 brazen rowdies of the northwest, by their open contempt for 
 propriety and good character, aimed at the very legitimacy 
 of the sovereignty of virtue in human esteem. 
 
 Now, it could not be expected that the chivalrous, well-bred, 
 southerner, coming in contact with these rowdies, fanatics, and 
 mercenaries of the North, could find anything in them to ad- 
 mire or to love. Ilk notions of the usages among gentlemen 
 were, constantly, shocked by tho evidences of their in-brcd 
 vulgarity or open violations of the most common rules of courtesy. 
 To his utter astonishment, he would hear men discourse most 
 feelingly about the obligations of conscience and, not long after, 
 boast of some successful piece of villainy. His sense of honor 
 was constantly pained and his self-respect insulted by most 
 friendly and familiar intimations of fine chances to steal. 
 Their ill-breeding annoyed and bored him, their vulgar obscen- 
 ity di.sgn^tcd him, and their utter wa;it of honor and honesty 
 
: i 
 
 lilL X\TO KtiitLLluXS; 
 
 excited his most profound contempt. Ilcuec, as time ripened 
 the fruits of the two opposite oipmisms, the aversion of the 
 southerner for the Yankee became more and uiorc intense, and 
 was more and more exhibited in the national halls of leirisla- 
 liun. The contempt of the southerner was re.scnted wiUt well- 
 studied phrases of bitterness, and had the Yankee admitted 
 the Iciritimacy ol" the coilc duollo, and answered for his slan- 
 ders (jn tlio lioUl, a sort of partizan war miyht have commenced 
 about Washingtun sometime before the masses became generally 
 engaged. But the Yankees refused the arbitrament of the 
 sword, wliich, if allowed, would, perhaps, "Jiave secured some 
 observance of the rules of senatorial courtesy, if it had not 
 postponed the general conflict. Having thus, by their pol- 
 troonery, limited all modes of redress for the most studied in- 
 sults to the wouudings which the tongue and the pen could in- 
 flict, a perfect war of words was inaugurated in Congress. 
 Elaborate sarcasms, withering invectives, metaphors of deuun- 
 ciati«)n, and most sonorous billing.^gate, filled the legislative 
 chambers of the Great Republic. The northerner hated the 
 Bouthcrner because he was liaughty and supercilious, and be- 
 cause he assumed a .social superiority that no amount of Yankee 
 insolence could disturb. The .southerner despised the north- 
 erner because he was stingy, low-bred, fal.-^o-tougcd, and cow- 
 ardly. 
 
 CIIAI'TEK XVII. 
 
 THE SOCIAL CONQIEST OF THE NOKTII. 
 
 It was in tho.«io arenas, where female chaHipions enter the 
 list.<», that the social contest between the two sections was con- 
 ducted with the most unrelentintr bitterness. Party afliiiations 
 and |iartv reasons, had their influence in removin^r the barriers 
 which time had erecteil between the male repres»'ntativ«!s of iho 
 opposite civilizations. Hut the women neither appreciated nor 
 « ared for these. 7Viei/ obeyed the instin<-ts and aspirations of 
 tlieir natures, with little regard to political consetpiences. In 
 the crowded rece|)ti"n rooms of the presidt-niial niJinsion, met 
 two Social currents, that had as litilo allinity for each other as 
 oil HU(\ water. There, was the (ieiica!ely-l)rc(i soul hem woman, 
 with u biilliuncy of hue «iid compL^iou, aud a gratefuluess of 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. <0 
 
 person that reminded one of those glorious flowers of beauty 
 whirli blossom and wave in the rich sunlight of her native land. 
 With a cliarniing naivete of manner that silenced even malice, 
 a perpetual sprigHtliness that purchased everyone's good will, 
 and an inaccessible gentlen(=ss which subdued audacity and ex- 
 cited the noblest sentiments in the masculine nature, she shed a 
 soft and golden radian e over the presidential circle, where she 
 reigned with regal sway. It was in vain that the studied action, 
 thoughtful face, and artful tongue of the liosfon "belle, dis- 
 puted her sovereignty. In vain did New York enter the lists, 
 bedizzened and enveloped in silk and diamonds, or the energetic, 
 rosy, dasliing western girl, contend with almost pugilistic skill. 
 The fair daughter of the South had but to smile and coinmand, 
 and away went the obsequious votaries of the northern child of 
 art. The splendor of wealth, the shafts of art pointed with the 
 bitterness of an envious heart, ihe lustre of official position, and 
 those disparaging arguments, which none but a metaphysical 
 female mind can invent, might be all arrayed on the side of the 
 North ; but, woman's divinest weapons, modesty and gentleness 
 adorning the eloquence of a rich fancy and a tender heart, main- 
 tained the supremacy of the southern ladies against all op- 
 position. • For yeais was the contest carried on; and, at the end 
 of each campaign, the result was he same, at last, it was no 
 longer a question of dispute, but was treated as a matter settled 
 for history; and the coiemporant-ous writers of the age recorded 
 that southern women reigned supreme in the national capital. 
 The capital having lie^^n once "occupied and possessed," it was 
 quite easy to make other conquests. So, armed with the prestige 
 of this victory, the principal northern cities and watering places, 
 became the next ohjects of attflck; and it was not long before 
 they suffered a similar fate. The spacious mansions of Phila- 
 delphia and gorgeous palaces of New York, as well as the fretted 
 halls of S.iratoga and Cajie May, soon rang witlj the praises of 
 southern breeding and southern beauty; and the admiring mul- 
 titude, whi. h had for so long been acciistomed to kneel in flat- 
 tering homage at the feet of some charming angel of Chesnut 
 street or superli darling of Fifth Avenue, now, "doated on an 
 obsequious bondage," to a lovely daughter of the South. Thus 
 was city after city and Btronghold after stronghold taken, until 
 Boston herself, the self-styled Athens of America, a conden)ned 
 fjiot that nature hail n^ver loved and had long before abandoned, 
 was indebted, (or her independence, solely to the contempt of the 
 
76 THE TWO rebellion/; 
 
 This social conquest of llie nation, tliou^Ii di rected and conducted 
 by the women of the South, was due, in some meiisure, to the 
 character and manners of soutlieru gentlemen. Their noble car- 
 riage and knightly mieii, wereadQined with alHhe graces of chivaU 
 ly. Tanglit from infancy to regard women as naturally entitled to 
 their highest esteem and tenderest consideration, their gallantry 
 liaci something of the deva!e<l and unselfish character of »lisin- 
 terested devotion. The recipient of their atti^aitions wjis not the 
 mere object of a selfish passion, but the resting place of the 
 purest and noblest emotions of wliich the heart is c.a|table. Hence, 
 it is not strange that tiiese manly traits, which the most uncivil- 
 ized female appreciates, should lend southern gentlemen a fasci- 
 nation in the eyes of northern women, that threw far in the 
 shade the artificial mannerism and affected hauteur of northern 
 men. That])oliHli of address and nianner, which a well cultivated 
 mind can bestow", w;is not wanting among northern men. They 
 excelled in graceful conversational periods, and ornamented their 
 collo(juial sentences witli striking antitheses and elaborately pre- 
 pared impromptu flashes of wit. Th^ir bon mots were as stuijied 
 as their speeches, and their still, formal manners, only dirterod 
 according to the theory of the particular tutelary Puritan who 
 bad mouldeil their tastes and opinions. They were prepared for 
 the ])arIor and the drawing room preci.'^elv as they were prepared 
 fur tiieir callings, at the standard boarding schools and colleges. 
 The whole of education with them, was confined to the develop- 
 ment and discipline of the mental faculti(is and muscles. They 
 were prepared for the orjleal of society, by a sy.stem of lessons ai^ 
 rehearsals, just as the athlete learns in the gymnasium the feats 
 of strength and skill, which are to electrify the gazing multitude 
 of the circus. Those qualities of the soul which nothing but an 
 education of the heart can give, they neither posse.ssed nor un- 
 derstood. Indeed, the northern peopk, as a nation," have, for the 
 last forty years, ignored the existence of human impulses and the 
 necessity of educating the human heart. Through the imjirove- 
 meiit of the mind and the strengthening and development of 
 the faculties was all good to be attained. Many of their theo- 
 logical and most of their philosophical writers idolized reason 
 as the governing agent in the world, and, in their opinion, the 
 ])roniised milennium is nothing more than another name for a 
 jieriod when human rea.son, gathering strength by acting in con- 
 <-(>rd, shall, with its collective power, subdue all the earth to do 
 right. 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. t i 
 
 CHAPTEPt XVIII. 
 
 AFFINTTIKS AND ANTIPATHIKS. 
 
 Thus, it is tliat the elite of the northern masses, thoiiirli not 
 want-ing in th;it rt*finenient of tlie mind which study imparts, 
 are yet wofnlly deficient in those winning, graceful traits of 
 character whirh nature, when not too much cramped, will put 
 forth among auv peo])le. Among the bast of them, their social 
 excellences only illustrate the truth, that art may adorn and 
 develop, but can never create. The finest female specimens of 
 their system, like aitificial flowers, are be«ntiful to behold at a 
 distance; but a closer acquaintance discovers that they havo 
 neither the delicious fragrance, nor the delicate tints of uature. 
 Thus, from one cause and another, it came to happen that the 
 northern women preferred southern men to their own indigenous 
 beaux, while the northern hien exhibited, on all occasions, a 
 hopeless but sincere {)reference for southern women over tli6 
 highly accomplished females of their own section. And, when, 
 in addition to this strange state of affairs, it is borne in mind 
 that the southern men and womeu bate and despise, respective!}", 
 (he males and femares,of the North, there w"ilf no longer exist 
 a profound wonder why the northern people are making incredi- 
 Vile exertions to pereuade, by fire and sword, the southern people 
 to live once more in peace and harmony with them. • 
 
 Thus It IS that tiiey hate us and they love us too, while the 
 history of the ^n-esent war too well sliows that something more 
 fhan just resentment to aggression inflames the soldiers of the 
 South. Ours is a h.ite in which contempt is the master feeling; 
 an aversion unconquerable, a feeling of loathing like that which 
 the human family feejsfor reptiles. Nothing better illustrates this 
 strange states of thirigs, where esteem and respect mingle with 
 feelings of malignant hatred, on one side, and the most loath- 
 ing contempt aggravates a just resentment on the other, than 
 the manner in which the women of either section treat -the in- 
 vading foe. When a southern town is entered by a northern 
 army, it is like mandiing into a city of the dead. Tlie doors 
 are closed, the blinds down, and the streets vacant. Perhaps, 
 liere and there, a solitary traitor, decked out in lioliday attire, 
 mingles with the occasional* groups of curious Africans, who 
 show their ivories at the imexpected familiar salutations of tlie 
 uiiscegenating Yankees. From behind the incompletely closed 
 
"^ IIIK TWO RtiJELLIONS ; 
 
 \\iinlo\vsliu(trrs, the southern women sentinel their liousps and 
 watrh the sfoallhy foe. If entrance is furcetl by any of the 
 soMiers, or the serni-oronteel ofthers, and bread and meat de- 
 manded, tliroiirrli fear, or perhaps a habit of rharitv, it is not re- 
 fused. Tlie Ki'iks of scorn and contempt, whidi {jenerally ac- 
 company tlie {rift, do not, however, b^anish the V.inkee apetite. A 
 long career of swindlinij at home or phmdvr in tiie Soiith. has 
 matle their biutal natures quite invulnerable to such delicate 
 inodes of warfare. Tlie f«!ar of bodilv harm or pecuniary loss, 
 alone deters them from the most intamous performances. ' After 
 gratityinp the cravinofs of hun^jer, they j;enoral!v begin to cast 
 their eyes around to see what valuables they can steal. If they 
 cannot find any silver, they will condescend to purloin any little 
 jjortable article which (-an be secretly approj)riated. For, strange 
 to say, although they can do as they please, yet, su>-h is the force 
 of habit, they .seldom lay violent hands on things, in presence of 
 any of the females; but, by all those various wavs known only 
 to Yankee.s, manage to sleal them, when the backs of the owners 
 are turned. Sometime.s, they resort to threats^ but these are 
 disregarded. Their promises are alike unavailing to olitain 
 either confidence or conciliatory treatment from the women of 
 tlie South. Whether they appear in their natural character of 
 professronal pirafces, or as men of ordinary humanity and honesty, 
 they hear the same language of deffance and contempt. 
 Neither the apprehension of injury to property or of violence of 
 any sort, can compel the ])roud spirits of the women of the South 
 to use the forms of ordinary civilly to the despised invader, 
 Tiiey seem to have a consciousness of a prote<'ting power to 
 their person in their infinite moral superiority, while they will- 
 not, for the sake of tlieir propeitv, t.each their tongues to utter 
 words of kindness to those who, in tiieir eves, are the embodi- 
 ment of all that is unmanly, mean, and des]>icablo. 
 
 When a southern army enters a northern town, the reception 
 is as different as it is characteristic. The Yankee population, 
 with the usual curiosity and low taste of "the vulgar, swarm in 
 the streets, arraye*! in their Sunday finery. Their is no friendli- 
 ness in their greeting, but there h a servility in their manner, 
 when conversing with the southerner, that only con(iuered spirits 
 m.nnifest. All seem subjugated, from llie fear of pecuniary loss. 
 Even the women, who are encouraged to s|)eak their minds by 
 the polite and knightly southern soldier, are cringing and prayer- 
 ful, whenever they can muster up auflicienl courage to speak. 
 iutiuKile the sligLlest wish, aud they run in Lusto to gratify it^ 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 79 
 
 Tlieir desire to please seems only limited by the extent of the pe- 
 cuniary sacritire required. Ask them their political sentiments, 
 and, while some will evade the question, maTiy will prcjfess a,sort 
 of Cliiistian neutrality, and gently insinuate that, if they were 
 to make a ])reference, they would (-hoose the side of the 
 "secesh." It is hard to tell "whether such a signal want of spirit 
 is due to craven fear alone, or whether they are not really 
 charmed by the gallantry and courtesj^ the southerners. 
 
 CUAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE SEIZURE OF HARPEu's FERRY DY THE REBELS. 
 
 I have thus endeavored to show the part that social causes 
 have played in engendering sectional bitterness between the 
 North and the South ; and how, as early as 1859, the leaders of 
 the reiHil>lican party, animated with deadly hostility to the South, 
 contemplated, with criminal indifference, the ruin of their coun- 
 try, as a means of gratifying their ambition and hate. We must 
 now return to Forbes, who, as we have seen, had in vain endeavored 
 to get some one of the leading republicans to denounce Brown 
 and expose the gigantic treason of the abolitionists, lie had, 
 likewise, failed to persuade his old^'eniployers to substitute for 
 Brown'.s mad plan his oiiore practicable scheme of emancipation. 
 
 From this time, Forbes disappears from the scene, unless it 
 was he who wrote the anonymous letter to Secretary Floyd, a 
 short time before the memorable 16th October, informing him 
 of Brown's designs. This timely warning was disregarded by 
 Mr. Flo\ d, who was tlien Secretary of War. Its only importance 
 consists in the fact that it shows how binding inusthave been the 
 oaths of the conspirators and how intense the hate of the confi- 
 dential politicians, when only one man was found, among them 
 all, to forewarn the government even anonymously. 
 
 Brown, in the meantime, had not yet matured his plans, 
 Ilearini; of their probable exposnre, through the treachery of 
 Forbes, ho hurried up the grand consumation. (fathering his 
 conlVd-M-atos at the Kennedy fiirm, in Maryland, he prepared his 
 army for ai-tion. » 
 
 At balf.past ten o'clock, Sunday night, l<th October, 1859, 
 
80 THE TWO nEBELLIONS; 
 
 the Potomac was crossed, and the advance cfnard of tlie abolition 
 army invaded the sovereicfnty of Virginia. Proceedintf with mili- 
 tary method, they seized, first, the watchman guarding the bridge, 
 and, posting pickets at certain pointv^, occui»ied the ars^enal and 
 armory building. Then, no doubt, in accordance with a previ- 
 ously concerted plan, Cook went out in command of a party for 
 the purpose of getting black recruits from the adjoining estates 
 of slaveholders. He iil^pioceeded to Mr. Lewis Washington's, 
 He had been hospitably entertained b}"^ this gentlemsn and 
 honored with a look at some of liis very cherished valuable 
 family relics. Cook, after securing the slaves and horse.s, did not, 
 in the agitation of the occasion, forget the sacre<l familv relics ; 
 but, appropriating them, witii the ratch. of his former genial 
 hosf, took Mr. Washington and his movables, and carried them 
 otf in the wagons which he had ])ressed for the service of Ma 
 government. Proceeding with his train, he acted in a similar 
 manner at several other houses. Having accumulated, in this 
 ■way, valuable hostages in the persons of the prominent citizens 
 whom he captured, and quite a company of blacks, he returned 
 in triumph, under the cover of night, to the Ferry. Upon reach- 
 ing that place. Cook sent most of his prisoners and recruits to 
 Brown, while he went, with his plunder, to Kennedy's house. 
 
 From this place. Cook did not return in time to reach Brown 
 before the fighting commenced, and there is every re.ason to be- 
 lieve, from subsequent developments, that he never intended to 
 return. 
 
 In the meantime. Brown Whd inaugurated his reign, as military 
 dictator aud supreme disposer of all things in America, in the 
 armory buildings. His pickets, fruiii time to time, arrested and 
 brought into his august presence all who, from motives of curj» 
 osity or otherwise, had veutui-ed within his military lines. 
 These he greeted with the imperial condescension which a spider 
 might bo supposed to extend to an unfortunate fly that had 
 strayed within Ids lines. Informing them that they were in 
 no danger, he turned- them ovci to some of his black janizaries. 
 Humors of these things, and much more, went flving through the 
 air. Each one desired to see for himself. And thus, indignant 
 }yid astonished oflicials and distiiiguislied men of the town were 
 spirited away, seriatim, as they stumbled in the darkness upon 
 Brown's pickets. In a short time, quite a number of these re- 
 spectable men, involuntarily, assembled in. one of thfl armory 
 buildings, and founJ their sole consolation in their jnutual.mise- 
 vy. Halted in their high place of aqthority, rudely pasted otf 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 81 
 
 into tlie presence of a lioary-headed, i^rave looking, severe old 
 man, and dismissed by the same terrible fellow to the comfort- 
 less precincts of a dark dungeon, was ^fate for which their good 
 easy souls were unprepared, and they trembled for the future. 
 Putting them all in one of the rooms of the armory building, 
 Brown placed a negro sentinel over them, with instructions, to 
 "guard ihem well." This fellow, like others when "clothed in 
 a little biief authority," commenced his "fantastic tricks" by 
 blandishing the deadly looking spear which Brown had placed 
 in his hands, and threatened the horror-stricken officials with 
 condign punishment, if they Uared to poke their heads out of 
 the windows, or in any other way act contrary to orders. 
 
 This entiance of negio actors on the stage was the change of 
 scene that was the most unexpected and horrible. It was strange 
 and terrible enough to be kidnapped, robbed, and insulted, but 
 to have the custody of your person put into the hands of one of 
 a despised and brutal race was an indignity which passed all con- 
 cejition. 
 
 Brown, however, was, by no means, intimidated or discom- 
 posed by tlie horror and indignation which his conduct excited. 
 The notion that he was dealing with men caught in the act of 
 capital crime seemed to "intluence him entirely, and he paid no 
 more attention to their protests and exclamations of surprise than 
 an executioner does to the shrieks of the condemned culprit. 
 
 Notwithstanding the pressing need of the exercise of all his 
 faculties to remove the military difficulties of his situation,"^*^ 
 yet found time to bestow upon his ignorant and benighted cap- 
 tives some of the light of his civilization. Laying aside, for a 
 brief space, the iron sternness of tlie military leader, he donned 
 his apostolic character; and, by the dim starlight that peeped 
 through the windows, read the slaveholders a moral lecture upon 
 the sinfulness of their criminal existence. However indisposed 
 lliey were to receive the truth, with their nn'wds thronged with 
 painful apprehensions, they listened, with silent respect, evidently- 
 willing to admit the truth of any proposition that did not threaten 
 their personal safety. 
 
 While endeavoring to reconcile his white prisoners to the fate 
 whicli their unpardonable crimes deserved, he did notTorget to 
 dispense a liberal allowance of the truth to his astonished black 
 recruits. These he told that the priceless boon of liberty was 
 theirs for the asking — they had but to reach forth their hands 
 to take it. lie told them how they, descended, in all probabili- 
 ty, from high toned jtrinces of African blood, had for successive 
 
82 ■ THE TWO REBELLIONS J 
 
 generations bft' n cnislied boneath flie iron lieel of a merciless 
 despotism ; and liad.at last, found a liborator in liini. He dwelt* 
 most eloquently, npon tli* rich rewards that awaited a bold stroke; 
 and, roiniding his discourse with one of the usual perorations 
 about the horrors of slavery and the felicities of freedom, he put 
 into their trembling hands the terrible looking weapon which, 
 with much liellish ingenuity, 1*6 had contrived. They received 
 the instnimenis of iiisuriection with open mouths and eyes wild 
 with fright. Confounded and terror-stricken by the authorita- 
 tive fierceness of Brown, they held them in their hands until hia 
 back was turned, and then dropped them ; ajtparently, tearful lest 
 the things might go olf. Their conduct upon this occasion was 
 but in accordance with that of all the tiegro allies whom the Fede- 
 rals have enlisted in their service during this war. Thev acted the 
 part of mere passive agents, submitting to whoever, for the time 
 being, had authority, but showing an abiding sense of the supe- 
 riority of the white race, and an inability to comjirehend how 
 their being in a state of slavery was either improper or degrad- 
 ing. They exhibited then, as they have done since, upon similar 
 occasions, an eageiness for a life of indolence and sloth, and a 
 susceptibility of being wrought upon by artful misrepresentation 
 to such a degree that they cherished, after some sclioolinjTfainong 
 the Yankees, not unfrequently, a deadly animosity towards tlieir 
 masters. But they showed no desire for fieedom, for the sake of 
 the franchises of a freeman. They were incapable of appreciat- 
 Tng those sentiments of liberty which aiiimate the (Jauchsan 
 race. They only desired the jtrivileges of unrestrained license ; 
 and, to gain these, they were willing to run no peisonal risks. 
 
 While Brown was engaged in improving the moral con ition 
 of his prisoners and proclabning his plans for exalting tlie black 
 race, fate, with singular caprice, but with great propriety, was 
 telling aTU)ther story to an audience that some of his fo lowers 
 bad discovered. 
 
 Having captured one of the wat<hmen on the bridge, when 
 the one who w;is to relieve him made his ap]iearance, tliey 
 challenged hin). lie, ap])rehen^ive of harn), at once retre;ted 
 without obeying their command fo stand. Finding words of no 
 avail, the outlaws liied upon the fugitive, and brought hin) to the 
 ground. Upon examining their victim, they discovered tlmt lie 
 was a mulatto and mortally woiyideii, 'Ijuis, the first victim 
 who fell m the abolition war was a member of th.it race, wliose 
 emancipation, in ti^e eyes of Europe, will be the only pioiit that 
 
Oil, THEASCV UNMASKED. 83 
 
 mankind will reap fiom the bloody fields of intestine slaughter 
 in America. 
 
 About three o'clock i»i the morniuir, the Baltimore train ar- 
 rived. This WHS halted tor two or three iiours, and, finally, after 
 much expostulation, allowed to pass on. Wliat Brown'> design 
 ■was in stopping this, tiie sequel did not sliow ; though he ever 
 afterwards considfred that permitting it to pass on was the cardi- 
 nal error of his Harper's Ferry campaign. , He took oicasioh, 
 however, during the arrest of the train, to utter a tew motfU 
 truths to the passengers and to assure them that, if they only 
 knew his past history, tliey would not be astonished at what they 
 saw. The p.issengers, of course, were eager to spiead the story 
 of their incredible" expeiience ; and, as they went along the road, 
 the country was electrified with the most contradictory Hnd won- 
 derful accounts of an inexplii able event. According to the de- 
 gree of their flight, the proportions of the atiair were conceived, 
 and, from out ot -the few villainous-looking .scoundrels that had 
 .been seen hovering around the train, their heated iuiaginations 
 foriiied a formidable revolutionary ann\ . As the rumors passed 
 froui tongue to tongue, the usual liberties were taken, and, by 
 the tim« they reaihed the most distant and secluded spot of the 
 count y, the novelty and reported ningnitude of the event created 
 the most intense excitement. 
 
 Daylight was approaching, and still the citizens of the Ferry, 
 who, from behind closed shutters, or peering from distant win- 
 dows, were whispering their comruon apprehensions, had uot 
 yet formed a correct idea of the nature of the outbreak. Those 
 who had been near enough to sec and to hear, without falling 
 into the clutches of the enemy, gave the most marvelous ac- 
 counts of his ferocity and his strength. Some eaid that they 
 had seen moving masses of blacks and whites, and that their 
 number was momentarily increasing. Some said that they were 
 all mufJled and dressed in singular-looking uniforms that hung 
 loose on their immense bodies, and that they moved about as 
 noiseless as spirits. Various were the conjectures of the citi- 
 zens to reach a solution of the mystery. The idea that it was 
 an attempt at robbery was discountenanced by their confining 
 themselves to the armory and arsenal. The mystery passed 
 explanation. One fact, however, was patent and imperative. 
 That was, that the outlaws, whoever they were, had taken poa- 
 se.'«sinji of the jmblic bui!din<;s and many of the citizens, and 
 did m.i hesitate tn fire at every (uio who di^'nheycd them. Pub- 
 lic duty demauded ihut some eH'urt sliuuld be made to dislodge 
 
y 
 8i fHE TWO REBELLIONS} 
 
 them. So, the citizens, besides those who on their own hook kepi 
 up a guerrilla fire upon the insurireiits, assembled together on 
 the outskirts of the town, and formed themselves into a mili- 
 tary organization for the purpose of expelling the'invaders. 
 The arms and ammunition were, for the most plart, in the hands 
 of the enemy; but sporting pieces were collected and cartridges 
 made. By this time, reinforcements commenced coming in 
 from the country. . 
 
 - Excited couriers had, at the earliest streak of daWn, galloped 
 over the country and given the alarm. But such was the in- 
 credulousness of the country people, that the extraordinary 
 statements of the fugitives were, at first, disregarded. As the 
 evidence, however, accumulated and became overpowering, the 
 farmers mounted their riding horses, and, armed with what- 
 ever was most convenient, Went towards the Ferry. 
 
 The man who brought the news to Uharlestown, a village 
 •about eight miles from the Ferry, excited nothing but the mirth 
 and laughter of those who heard him. And, when he, with a 
 grave and fearfully serious countenance, insisted upon the truth 
 of what he stated, people shook their heads and said to each 
 other that the man was crazy. Some suggested that he should 
 be arrested, as it was improper to let such an alarmist run 
 loose. And, to those who objected, there were not wanting 
 .aged opponents who asserted, most positively, that in.sanity had 
 always run in the man's family. All through the adjoining 
 counties, the news was received with similar incredulity, and 
 it was only after the evidence had become indisputable that 
 the people, forming themselves into squads,.or, sometimes, unit- 
 ing with one of the volunteer comj^anies, approached the Ferry. 
 In a short time, the roads which led to the Ferry were filled 
 with volunteers of every description hurrying to the extraordi- 
 nary scene of conflict. There might have been seen, burly 
 farmers with the trusty rifle on their shoulders and uiubrella 
 and overcoat tied behind^ the old-fashioned saddle; country 
 gentlemen with their pistol holsters; youths with their sporting 
 pieces, and occasional gangs of the State militia, strolling along 
 to the rendezvous, with few arms and little ammunition. Oc- 
 casionally, the lively beat of the kettle-drum, mingled with 
 the animating strains of the fife, announced the approach of a 
 volunteer company; and their gay uniforms and nodding plumes, 
 moving to their measured tread, gave a bettor promise of mili- 
 tary aid to the invaded town. 
 
 In a short time, the efibrts of the citizens, assisted by the 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 85 
 
 country volunteers, began to tlu'catcn the invaders with total 
 discomfiture. All the modes of egress from the town were 
 seized, and from every direction the citizen soldiers closed in 
 around the enemy. Many of tlieir advance jickets were killed 
 or captured, and the remnant forced to seek refuge with IJrown 
 in a single building in the armory yard. At the Hall rifle 
 works, a building situated on the Shenandoah, about a half 
 mile distant from tire headquarters of the commander-in-chief, 
 ]irown had posted .Kagi, his secretary of war, \fith one of his 
 grand divisions, consisting for the most part of negroes, and num- 
 bering about six men. These, like the main body, had quite 
 an easy time at first, shooting at every curious person that man- 
 ifested any interest in their perfornjances. Their notes of joy 
 and triumph were soon changed to those of lamentation. As 
 soon as it was discovered that they were the public enemies, 
 from the neighboring hills, which overlooked and commanded 
 the building, came shrill messengers that struck panic to the 
 hearts of the corpa iV Afriquc 
 
 Having already been rendered somewhat nervous by the 
 reports of their own pieces, which they had discharged with 
 devilish glee at harmless and unoffending people, they were 
 filled with the greatest consternation at the hissing and crash- 
 ing sound of the rifle bullets, as they whistled and flew in 
 their vicinity. Visions of liberty and power and landed 
 estate, vanished, ignominlously, before the frightful apprehen- 
 sions which mastered them, and, after a brief effort to regain 
 the heroic calmness of liberty's martyrs, they took to their 
 heels and fled in every direction. Bewildered and panic 
 stricken, most of them were shot while endeavoring to cross 
 the Shenandoah or to return to Brown in the armory yard. - 
 Kagi, it is supposed, concealed himself in one of the out-t 
 buildings and made his escape two or three days afterwards. 
 In this way, IJrown having lost more than a third of his force, 
 and being reduced with hi,s command to the contracted area of 
 a small brick building of two rot)ms, he began to have some 
 misgivings about the establishment of his military empire. 
 The death of one son and the dying groans of another, admon- 
 ished hiiti, that it was time to retreat or make arrangements 
 for his own exit from this y^orld of sin. 80, selecting a gen- 
 tleman of aldermanic proportions and respectable appearance, 
 he sent him out upon parole, for the purpose of negotiating 
 terms of capitulation. He offered t » surrender the fortress 
 and prisoners, provided he was allowed a safe retreat for him- 
 H 
 
86 THE TWO REBELLIONS] 
 
 self and followers; and, on the other hand, if that was refused 
 and further belligerent demonstrations were made towards hiui, 
 he threatened to kill his prisoners and make a sally, to which 
 despair would, in all probability, lend at least a partial success. 
 This proposition, Which indicat'cd very great cunning on the 
 part of Brown, showed that, if he was mad, there was a 
 "method in his madness." He had, indirectly, foreseen the 
 alternative, to which he might be reduced,^ind, for the purpose 
 of securing his retreat, bad captured prisoners as hostages. 
 Indeed, there is great reason to believe that, as the moment for 
 action approached, his confidence of success had diminished ; 
 and that his prime object, in striking the blow, a/ the time Out t 
 it was struck, was to carry out orders from those wlit>m he dared 
 not disobe}'. Certainly, he had hit upon the only plan which 
 promised the chance of escape, in case of military failure. His 
 expectation of intimidating the citizens, l|y threats of violence 
 towards his prisoners, was based upon the reasoning of a mind 
 that had become shrewd in the perpetration of evil. But his 
 devilish sagacity was, as usual, not sufficient. He had not 
 calculated upon the swift and terrible storm of indignation 
 which his incredible villainy had excited among the citizens 
 of tho State. It is true, that the fear of the massacre of the 
 prisoners, in some measure, retarded the efforts for his capture. 
 The eloquent entreaties of the sobbing wives, whose hu.4)and3 
 were in Jirown's possession, and the arguments of their friends 
 and relations, divided the councils and cooled the ardor of the 
 commanding officers of the citizen soldiery. 
 
 While, however, they hesitated to drive the ferocious out- 
 law to the extremity of despair, by refusing to encourage the 
 slightest hope of quarter, they did not, for a moment, enter- 
 tain the idea of permitting him to escape. So, without coming 
 to any understanding, they kept up their attack upon the 
 building in which Brown and his comrades with their prison- 
 ers, were collected. Their anxiety concerning the captives 
 was, in some measure, relieved by a'successful dash made by a 
 small party from Martinsburg upon the engine house. (Jetting 
 momentary possession of the room, in which the majority of 
 the prisoners were kept, they opened the doors of th&ir prison, 
 and gave them an opportunity of escape, of which they readily 
 availed themselves. In the other*' room of the same building, 
 which did not communicate with this. Brown with his com- 
 rades had still the most important prisoners. And, being now 
 confined in their military operations to this one room, they 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 87 
 
 punched boles through the brick walls and made a fort quite 
 impregnable to small arms. 
 
 Tlie skirmishing grew momentarily hotter, and the outlaws, 
 from within their prison, made a desperate resistance. During 
 the day, occurred an incident that faithfully forshadowed the 
 horrors of the great conflict of which this was but the begin- 
 ning. In the morning, when the insurgents were being gene- 
 rally driven back by the citizen-soldiers, who encompassed 
 them, a prisoner by the name of Thompson .was captured. 
 From him, for the first time, some proper idea was gathered of 
 the strength of the enemy, and, after that time, the advances 
 became bolder. Several citizens had been already killed, and 
 yet many exposed themselves to the fire from the engine house. 
 Among these was the grey-haired unarmed mayor of the town, 
 by the name of Beckham. In vain he was told that they fired 
 upon all. He insisted upon making a target of his body, 
 foolishly supposing that his gray hairs and unarmed appearance 
 would protect him from harm. A remorseless bullet from the 
 gun of one of the insurgents convinced him of his folly. The 
 sight of his dead body, and the manner of his death, added 
 fresh fuel to the already burning resentment which inflamed the 
 citizens. This wanton murder of an unarmed old man, fairly 
 maddened with fury some of his relatives and friends who wit- 
 nessed his death. And, impelled by a blind and savage animosi- 
 ty towards all the outlaws, some of the relatives and intimate 
 friends of Beckham seized the prisoner Thompson, and, des- 
 pite the expostulations and protests of the bystanders, dragged 
 him out upon the bridge, killed him, and threw his body into 
 the river. 
 
 C II APT EH XX. 
 
 THE niSCOMFITURE OF THE OUTLAWS AND THEIR CAPTURE. 
 
 While the events related above were happening, through 
 the whole length and breadth of the old Union, the population 
 was thrilled with the most novel sensations of astonishment 
 an<l indignation. The morbid love of novelty which afl^icted 
 the dyspeptic minds of the northern masses was highly grali- 
 
88 TOB TWO REBELLIONS; 
 
 fied, at first, by the extraordinary accounts that reached them. 
 For once, the busy fancy of the newspaper correspondents 
 was nonphissed. It required no ingenuity to misrepresent the 
 magnitude and to paint it, for the pleasure of the lovers of 
 the marvcllnu?, on a scale of incredible size; but, to come at 
 the real nature of the affair, or even to exceed its strangeness 
 by an invention of the imagination, was an achievement 
 transcending their mercenary powers. At length, however, 
 their was an end to the " startling discoveries" and "astound- 
 ing developments," daily chronicled in the northern papers; 
 and, for a brief space, they condescended to discuss the meaning 
 of the event. 
 
 In the meantime, something more than mere idle speculation 
 was taking place at the South. Like a clap of thunder in a 
 clear sky, the event astonished them, and, when the nature of 
 it was understood, an active sense of resentment possessed 
 them. The news, however, was too late reaching Kichmond, 
 to enable the Governor of the State, H. A. Wise, to roach the 
 ground with State i'orces, before the emrvte was "suppressed, 
 and ]jrown and the remnant of his band captured. As soon 
 as the President of the United States, James Buchanan, was 
 informed of the outbreak, a body of marines; under Col. Ivobert 
 E. Lee, was forwarded to tlie scene of action. The city of 
 Baltimore at once forwarded troops, and these, joined with the 
 L'nited States forces, arrived at the Ferry about 10 o'cldck 
 Monday night. More Virginia troops, from the adjoining 
 counties, reached there Tuesday night, and, by the following 
 morning, quite a formidable military force encompassed the 
 doomed criminals. 
 
 L^p to that time, the Virginians, who liad driven Brown into 
 the engine house, killing and W(ninding nearly half of his 
 men, had not yet made up their minds to storm the engine 
 house and run the hazard of having the prisoners massacred, 
 as Brown threatened. The arrival of Colonel Lee, with regular 
 troops, 8to])ped the deliberations of the militia commanders. 
 The fact that the outlaws were on the territory and in a build- 
 ing over which the Tnited States had temporary authority, 
 made it exceedingly proper that the federal officer connnand- 
 ing should decide upon their fate. Besides, it was reasonable 
 so suppose that the outlaws would not expect the same impor- 
 tance to be attached to their threats of massacring the })ri.s(»n- 
 ers by a federal oflicer in command of regular trooj)?, as by 
 citizen officers commanding soldiers, many of whom were re- 
 
OR, TREASON^ UNJfASKED. 89 
 
 latcd to the tlifeatcued victims. Accordingly, it was clctcrm- 
 i^ied that, at the dawn of day, the engine-house should be 
 stormed by the niarinesi, unless, before that time, the enemy 
 surrendered. During the night, volunteer parties of the hot- 
 blooded Virginians, jealous of the honor of their State, be- 
 sought Colonel Lee to let them have the privilege of storming 
 the engin'e house. All such propositions were, however, re- 
 fused, by one whose lofty and heroic devotion to the interesis of 
 Virginia allows none to question .the propriety of his decision. 
 As daylight dawned, troops were stationed around tho enginc- 
 hou-<e to cut off all hope of escape, and ihe United States 
 marines divided into two squads for storming purposes. A 
 deathlike stillness and absence of life, seemed to settle upon 
 the insurgent fortress,- and the outlaws no longer fired upon 
 the troops now within short range; but, froiii the gloomy port- 
 lioles, they silently vratched the terrible preparations that were 
 going on. What had come over them, none could tell, tliat 
 they permitted men to form right in front of their stronghold, 
 for the purpose of carrying it b}"^ storm. Perhaps, Brown was 
 still hopeful tliat his propositions of capitulation would be ac- 
 ceeded to; perhaps, he l)ad resigned himself to the forlorn 
 hope of mollifying by this forbearance, the manifest animosity 
 of his unrelenting pursuers. 
 
 Shortly after 7 o'clock, Lieutenant J. E. B. Stuart, then an 
 aid-de-camp of Colonel Lee, afterwards the world renowned 
 cavalry chief of Lee's army, advanced to parley with the be- 
 sieged — an old citizen bearing a flag of truce. . They were re- 
 eeived at the door by Brown, who heard their proposition and 
 responded. Lieutenant Stuart demanded an unconditional and 
 immediate surrender, promising only protection from violence 
 and a trial according to law. Brown refused all terms but 
 tlvise which he had more than once alreftdy asked for, namely: 
 " That he should be permitted to pass out unmolested with hii 
 men and arms and prisoners, that they should proceed unpur-. 
 sued to the second toll gate, when they would free their prison- 
 ers and take the chances of escape. These, of course, were 
 refused, and Stuart, reminding Brown of his desperate posi- 
 tion, urged upon him the sense and humanity of a surrender. 
 Brown, however, was deaf to all persuasion, returning a sullen 
 and dogged refusal to every demand, though Stuart earnestly 
 expostulated. 
 
 Having exhausted the power of words, Stuart slowly re- 
 turned from the door of tho engine house, and the signal of 
 
00 THE TWO BEBELLIONS; 
 
 attack was given. The marines advanced in two lines on each 
 side of the door. Two powerful fellows sprunp; between the 
 lines and attempted, witji sledge-hammers, to batter it down. 
 The door swuMg_and swayed, but appeared to be secured with a 
 rope, the spring of which deadened the effect of the heavy 
 blows. Failing thus to force an entrance, the marines were 
 ordered to fall baik. Exchanging the hammers for a lad- 
 der, which was on hand, and, converting it into a sort of bat- 
 tering ram, they advanced at a run and thrust it against the 
 door. At the second blow, the latter gave way, one leaf falling 
 inward in a slanting direction. Tlie marines immediately 
 dropped the ladder and rushed towards the breach formed, hieut. 
 Stuart among the first. One man, in the front, foil mortally 
 wounded, aiid .sharp and rapid was the firing from within, from 
 the insurgents now driven to desperation. The ne.\t moment 
 tlie gap is widened and the marines pour in. As Lieutenant 
 Stuart enters the door, a voice cried out, '* I surrender I" 
 Brown said, "One man surrenders, give him quarter!" and at 
 the same time fired his piece. The next moment Stuart's 
 sword had entered his skull, and the desperate outlaw was 
 stretched bleedinir. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE DISCLOSURE OK THE OBJECT OF THE REnEI.S. 
 
 Such was the termination of tlve first campaign of abolition 
 against the liberty and independence of the South. It Was a 
 remarkable caprice of fate, that permitted the lion of Arling- 
 ton to fight his first fight against abolitionism in the uniform 
 of a iederal oflicer ; and to let him who, in the unfolded records 
 of the future, was reserved to bring to naught all the diabolical 
 plane of an abolition government against the integrity oi" the 
 South, commence his magnifieient career by capturing the 
 eometime apostle, and, after his execution, the god of aboli- 
 tion. 
 
 When the insurgents were brought out of the engine hou.se, 
 some dead, others wounded, curious indeed was the group that 
 surrounded them. The wounded and the dead were stretclied 
 side by side upon the sod; and old Brown, a gory spectacle, 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 91 
 
 his fucc ami hair clotted with blood, a bayonet wound in his 
 side, with his dead and dying sons around him, excited the 
 pity, indignation and liorror, of all who beheld him. Several 
 persons in the crowd at once recognized, iu the outlaw, the in- 
 famous Ossawattomie Brown, of Kansas notoriety. The dis- 
 covery seemed to please him, and he acknowledged the busy 
 part he took iu the Kansas war, with apparent pleasure. Upon 
 being questioned by the bystanders as to his purpose in seizing 
 upou the Ferry, he gave different and confused answers. To 
 some he said that he had lost a son in Kansas, to others, that ho 
 considered it his duty to make war on the slaveholder. To (Gov- 
 ernor Wise, he admitted the following: "I rented tlie Ken- 
 nedy farm from Dr. Kennedy, and named it after him. Here 
 I ordered to be sent from the East, all things required for my 
 undertaking. The boxes were double, so that no one could 
 suspect the contents of them, not even the carters engaged iu 
 hauling them up from the wharves. All boxes and packages 
 were directed to J. Smith Si^ Son. I never had more than 
 twenty-two men about the place at one time. ' But, had it so 
 arranged, that I could arm, at any time, fifteen hundred men 
 with the following arms : two thousand Sharp's rifles, two 
 hundred IMaynard's revolvers, one thousand spears. I would 
 have armed the whites with the rifles and revolvers, and the 
 blacks with the spears; they not being sufficiently familiar 
 with Other arms. I had plenty of ammunition and provisions, 
 and had a good right to e.xpect the aid of from two to five 
 thousand men, at any time I wanted them. Help was promised 
 me from Maryland, Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Vir- 
 ginia and Canada. The blow was struck a little too soon. The 
 passing of the train on Sunday night did the work for usj 
 that killed us. / onl// regret that 1 haoc fdilcd in mi/ designs; 
 but I have no apology to make or concession, to ask now. llad 
 we succeeded, when our arms and funds were exhausted hi/ an 
 increasing arnii/, contributions would have been levied on the 
 slaveholders, and their jrrojyerty appropriated to defray expenses 
 and carry on the loar of freedom. Had I knowi government 
 money was in the safe here, I would have appropriated it." 
 
 Having thus unburdened his mind and defijintly avowed his 
 nefarious purposes, before a gaping and curjous crowd, to the 
 Governer of the State, whose soil he had polluted. Brown siVnk 
 back quite exhausted, and with the calmness, that unconquer- 
 able hate lends even to the dying, surveyed the bystanders. 
 His countenance plainly indicated that his bosom was still 
 
02 TJiT! TWO ri:bet.ltons ; 
 
 ajritatcil witli those nialignmt passions which had ruined him, 
 and the apjiarcnt jiniximity of death and its awt'il se(|uel, 
 seemed entin'l}- fMrirnttcn iu the conecntrated hate that spuko 
 in every lineament of his face. Governor Wise told hini that 
 he had better be preparinnj for death. He replied, with u 
 sneer, that he, (the GdVcmor.) tho'gh he niip;ht live fifteen 
 years, would have a pmd deal to nn^iwer for, and that he had 
 better be preparin<r for death himself. The defiant collduc^ of 
 lirown was imitated, in a <::reMt measure, liy nxist of his part- 
 ners in ;ruilt. The terrors of death .<!cemed for^^uttcn amidst 
 the excitement of their capture, and it was not till the jn"im 
 kinj» of terrors was felt to be slowly approachinsr, fhrou<;h the 
 solemn and deliberate forms of the law, that their jruilty souls 
 heard a<;ain the voice of con.scieuce and were oppressed with 
 gloomy i'orebodings. 
 
 As an cvi'ience of the mad and diabolical Spirit which filled 
 them »11, the followintr may be read by the curious ; having 
 Ix'on written by Watson J?^own, (as is said,) in tlie engine 
 house, while lying there mortally wounded: " Fit;ht on, fight 
 on, yoo hell houns of the loWer regions. Your day has come. 
 Lower your black flag, shoot your dogs yoo devils. Hell and 
 furies, go in for death." Such is, as it were, the dying mani- 
 festo of one of lirown's " martyr" children. His body, ai'ter 
 his death, was transported to the dissecting room of the 
 Medical College, at ^Vinchcster, and, when the first Yankee 
 army entered that town the college building was burned by the 
 Yankee soldiers, in revenge for the indignity perpetrated there 
 upon Watson IJrown's body. 
 
 The curiosity of the people to find out the motives of the 
 outlaws, in doing as they did, restrained, for u time, their out- 
 bursts of wrath, which the more increased when they heard 
 the criminals glory in their crimes. The projjosition to hang 
 theni on the spot where th'ey had committed their crimes, was 
 received with loud and threatening applause, and nothing but 
 the strong arm of the military, whicli was interposed for their 
 protection, prevented their .immediate execution. Notwith- 
 standing there was a doubt concerning the right of jurisdiction 
 in the matter, the outlaws having been captured on territory 
 subject to the teniporarj' control of the federal government, it 
 was determitied to hand them over to the authorities of the 
 State whose sovereignty they had insulted.' Accordingly, they 
 were taken charge ot' by (lie civil autlioritios oi' Jefl'erson coun- 
 ty, uud securely coniined iu the Charlcstowu jail. 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 93 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 WHAT WAS THOUGHT OF THE REBEI.S BY THE NORTHERN AND 
 SOUTHEItUM MAiSShiS WAIil.lKE HKEHAKATIONS IN THE SOUTH. 
 
 In tlie nieantimo, from tlie confessions of tlie^oviininals and 
 tlie papers and maps found upon the person of old Brown and > 
 at tlie Kennedy farm, a coriett idea of the nature of the inva- 
 sion betjan to be formed in (he popular mind. The developments 
 too, whii-h daily occurred, showing the extent and meaning of 
 the conspiracy, threw still more light upon the subject. But it 
 was not until some time after, when large assemblies met 
 in the North to express their sympathy for old I rown, " the 
 martyr of freedom," and tlignified public bodies adopted resolu- 
 .tions complimentary to liis character, that the order-loving citi- 
 zens of the Union comprehended the significance of the outbreak.i^ 
 Then, for the first time, it was discovered that there was a des- 
 perate and dangerous political element at the North which aimed 
 at the destruction of the South even at (lie expense of the 
 Union. Some of the leading papers at the North expressed a pious 
 horror at tlie atrocities of the oudaws. 
 
 The northern masses, confounded at the prospect of general 
 connnotion, recoiled from thn ])ra( lical <'onsequence of an anti- 
 slavery and sectional feeling, wliich (hey then, in a measure, en- 
 tertained, and not long afterwards proclaimed from the housftops. 
 
 The more sagacious of the democratic northern journals took - 
 advantage of the event to read a moral lesson to the followers 
 of the black republican leaders. They showed (he meaning of 
 the "outbreak," charged the republi<'ans with its responsibility, 
 and pointed out (he piobability of the occurence of more serious 
 similar events should the republican party obtain predominance. • 
 They spoke with the forecast of inspiration ; but it is probable 
 that party sj»iri(, njore than love of country, stimulated their 
 sagacity. Such, indeed, was the general opinion. For, party- 
 spirit had reached that degree of bitterness in (he United States 
 when, though arguments might be prompted by (he most en- 
 ligli((Mied patiiodsm, they were generally regarde<l as tlie inte- 
 r<-stc<l clToitsof hiipd advoca(es. It was in vain (hat the New 
 Vork Herald and other iiifiuenlial orirans at (he North |)roclaimed ' 
 that the "irrepressible confiict" of Mr Snvard had commenced, 
 and that, if it was not repudiated by the \«>iih and the attempted 
 coiillagration quenched in the spark, the lires of intestine strife * 
 
!it TUE TWO rebellions; 
 
 ■would soon rage with desolating fury through the whole land. 
 The republican pres^ses differed in their opinions oi the JJaiper's 
 Ferry transaction. Tiiey agreed in some things however. They 
 all concurred in the opinion that the republican party could 
 alone save the country. What kind of salvation was meant, 
 however, was in most cases concealed. Comprising within their 
 ranks the innumerable malcontents of every imaginable radical 
 and fanatic hue, they were united only by their common opposi- 
 tion to the administration and their antipathy to the southern )>eo- 
 jile. They outdid the democrats in their prayers for peace, and, 
 while they, in many cases, denied their complicity in the Ilar- 
 ]ier's terry transaction, they nevertheless, exhausted their rheto- 
 rical poweis in extenuating the crimes of the outlaws and framing 
 apologies for their fanaticism. Many of them, indeed, did not 
 hesitate to justify lirown, and eulogise his "heroic conduct." 
 
 The abolitionists, however, proclaimed their sympathy and ad- 
 miration for the criminals, with unblushing effrontery; and, wlien 
 it was discovered that the Federal authoiity was not going to 
 trouble them, they indulged in the most jubilant ineetings, ill 
 commemoration of the glory of the "liberator of tlie ninteenth 
 century." They extolled his bravery and held up, for the emula- 
 tion of the American youth, his sainted example. Every act of 
 atrocity and every piece of adroit villainy of which he had been 
 guilty, was paraded for the ediflcation of admiring thousands. 
 The insolent defiance of the vain and desperate outlaw, these 
 elofpient geese took for an exhibition of the martyr's spirit, while 
 the atleinpt at servile insurrection whs exalted above any other 
 effort forfreedom that the world had ever witnessed. 
 
 'J'he pages of profane history were searched, in vain, for an 
 anti-type lo the illustrious John. Timoleon and Biutus were 
 noble" hearted heathens— Hampden and Washington Christian 
 lieroos ; but thev all lacked that singleness of zeal which stamjied 
 •lohn l^.rown as the divinely commissioned hero of mo.lern times. 
 Sacred history alone furnished any characters worthy of being 
 (•ompared to'hin). Some called him a Moses, some a Joshua, 
 and some a (rideon, but Wendell Phillips bore off the p-.lm for 
 disgusting profanity, when he declared that John Brown was a 
 second Saviour of "mankind, and would make the "gallows more 
 glorious than the cross" 
 
 While the abolitionists thus boldly avowed their approbation 
 of the outbreak and their admiration for the discomfitted pirates 
 who had en"-aged in it, it was whispered on ever)- side, that the 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 95 
 
 most influential chiefs of the republicans were privy to the aflfair, 
 and had lent it their countenance and support. 
 
 Papei"s were found on Brown's person and at the Kennedy 
 farm-house which indirectly implicated men high in position in 
 the' government. No positive evidence, however, was forthcom- 
 ing which, before a judicial tribunal, would convict the distin- 
 guished accused; and the indignant public, who were indignant, 
 (a few democrats.) satislied itself with quietly consigning the 
 conspirators against the public peace, to the infamy they so well 
 deserved. Among those wiio were thus pilloried in democratic , 
 esteem, VVm. II. Seward was conspicuous. While, however, he 
 and his coadjutors thus lost cast with a certain respectable por- 
 tion of the public, the mass of their admirers still adhered to 
 them ; not .so much on account of the weakness of the evidence 
 against them as because they liked them the better for their trea- 
 son. Where they lost one friend they gained two For the 
 abolitioni.sts and extreme republicans, a large constituency, now 
 presented a solid phalanx in their favour. 
 
 Seward understood all this, and neither publicly denied nor 
 admitted the charges brought against him. He felt himself to 
 be the representative of the sectional enemies of the South, tlie 
 founder and the priest of the republicans. The anointed shep- 
 herd of the new flock, hitli^rto, he had only fed them upon milk ; 
 but the day was not far distant when he hoped to minister at a 
 fea.st of meat and blood. 
 
 WlHle public sentiment at the North, concerning the outbreak, 
 was thus divided, unsettled, and, among the majority, insensibly 
 a.ssimilating to that which prevailed among the extreme republi- 
 can.s, at the South the current of opinion ran in the opposite 
 direction. Universal indignation at the audacity and atrocious- ^ 
 ness of the abolition attempt, which at first prevailed, was suc- 
 ceeded by a general feeling of a])prehension and alarm, when 
 the real state of public sentiment at the North began to be re- 
 vealed. 
 
 Reflecting men discovered, in tlie various manifestations of 
 northern sentinient, a wide-spread under-current of profound 
 hostility to the institutions and people of the South. Amid the 
 increasing roar of the noisy radicalism, which difiered only in 
 the degrees of sectional bitterness, they heard the mutterings of 
 the coming storm. This impression which, at first, prevailed only 
 with the more experienced and sagacious, soon spread among 
 the massess ; and, as the signs in tlie political sky became more 
 and more threatening, the whole southern people began to fully 
 
96 THE TWO rebellions; 
 
 approlienrl the sitrnifi.nncp of daily events. Several of tlie south- 
 ern Suites, anlieipHtiiig tlie fiituic, begin to prepare fortlic coin- 
 ing struggle 
 
 Henry A. Wise, the Governor of Viririnia, wax one of those 
 who foresaw, with almost prophetic eve, the iuipemling conflict. 
 With the ostensilile design, of providing again>t a rescue of the 
 criminals from the ('harlestown jail, he encouraged the organiza- 
 tion of military companies throiifjhout the Sta<e, and used every 
 legitimate means to excite a war spirit among the people, ('om- 
 panie.s were received at Chariestown and, after a short stay there, 
 were sent away to make room for others, in order that the war 
 spirit might he disseunnated thronghont the State. The atten- 
 tion of the legislature was called to the state of the (^onunon- 
 wealth, and initiatory steps were taken to put the Old l>ominion 
 upon a war footing. All over the State, military organizations 
 sprang u]>, ami a homogeneous feeling of hostility was thus en- 
 gendered against any and all the enemies of their cherished 
 soveieign. 
 
 There is no douht that these events had much to do in unitiz- 
 ing and sireiigtheniiig those feelings of State pride whitdi sus- 
 tained Virginia in that teriil)le hour of trial, when called u])on 
 to bare her defenseless bosom to the northern avalanche and offer 
 her body as a barrier against the waves of northern fanaticism. 
 
 The God of battles, who understood the loftiness of the motives 
 which prompted the sacrificial otl'cring. has permitted her, terri- 
 tory to be desolated ancl the blood of her children to be shed ; 
 but, umler the su|>ervision of his providence, the spirit of her 
 people is still uinlaunted, and her proud motto "sic semper ty- 
 rannis" still speaks an annual defiance upon the uttermost limits 
 of her norlheastern bonier. 
 
 C II A r T K R XXIII. 
 
 MlLITAIiY SflRIT IN VIUGIMA RIIAPOWS OK COMINO KVKNT6 
 
 CANDIUATES FOR KU1TKK KAMK ASIIMV A.VU JACKSON. 
 
 In accordance with the prudent pt)licy adopted by the Gov- 
 ernor of \'irginia, Chariestown, wIiil-^c jail contained the out- 
 law.s, was transforined fmni a <|uiet country village into a mili- 
 tary camp of instructiou for the raw levies which rcspoudcd 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 97 
 
 to the call of tlicir countr)'. Private houses as well as pubHo 
 buildings were converted into temporary barracks; a line of 
 pickets girdled thc'town; sentinels walked their beats on its 
 sidowalks, and the busy hum of a military camp resounded 
 through the lurnierly noiseless streets of the village. The 
 threatened rescue of the imprisoned felons created the liveliest ^ 
 feelings of indignation throughout the South, and the Governor 
 was honored with dfTcrs of tnxtps from almost every Confeder- 
 ate State. Even Pennsylvania felt called upon to become an 
 ally of Virginia. All help, liowever, outside of the State, 
 was respectfully declined ; tor, the Chief ^lagistrate had enough 
 to do to employ the irrepre.^^siblc warriors of Virginia. Indeed, 
 many vfrore flatly relusvjd, while others were granted the privi- 
 lege of. waiting their time. By this rotation in military ser- . 
 vice, troops were cotistantly relieving other troops at Charles-'/ 
 town, who returned to their homes with the greatest regret. 
 The genial hospitality of the citizens of Charlestown and Jef- 
 ferson county, had made the hours of their military experience 
 joyful and fleeting, and they lel't the theatre of war With a very 
 €xalted opinion of the grim visaged monster. 
 
 Among the gay and animated groups which continually filled 
 the streets of the village-, representatives of all classes and I'rom 
 all parts of the State might have been seen. Each company 
 disported the uuii'orm of their fancy, and all the colors of the 
 rainbow shone out resplendent in the various costumeS which 
 met the eye. There might have been seen the modest grey 
 tinifovms of the Kichmond volunteers mingled with the cerulean 
 blues of .-Mexindria, the gi.iring buff and yellow of the Valley 
 Continentals and the indescribably gorgeous crimsun of the 
 south westerners. Among niany corps, each military gentleman 
 selected his own tmiform ; and, while all seemed affected with 
 a contempt for their cit'zen chtthcs, rarely*more than two agreed 
 in the selection of the color of their military dress. Sonic wore 
 slouch bats, some military caps, and some stove-pipe beavers of 
 the latest style. It was a niv-irry gathering, and every one was 
 as gay and as'happy as a lark. 1'hey talked of war as a pas- 
 time, and seemed to think that it was a glorious thing. Did 
 college arquaintanccs uiet, for the first time after a long sepa- 
 ration, and exchanged o]piuions upmi tlie state ol" the country. • • 
 The w» "f^jrn and tlip en«ferri the nnrthfp and the southern 
 Vir^iTiKin.''.'disp iv'eivd (iiat ti.-ir views wore similar, and that *^ 
 ♦hoy were all imbue 1 with i roinrrntio.'devotion to (he Honor 
 and dignity of thc-ir mottifi- iitate. While sumo discussed .pel- 
 
V> THE TWO KKbLLLWSti ; 
 
 itics aud war, otlicrs dcToted theniselrea to the ladies. The 
 plumcfl cavalier, with his jiii|rliii>,' ppurH aud rattliug sabre, 
 vied with (he gaily dcc(>ratcd inl'aiitryiuan iu the hotels aud 
 parlors oi" the villape. The slightest incideut while "out on 
 duty" served fur the basis of a thrilling narrative; and often 
 oue could see some ardent captain exciting the livelici>t sympa- 
 thy of a tender-hearted dam.4el with an eloquent accuuut of the 
 horrors of a sleepless night or a rainy day. 
 
 But, of all the candidates fur admiration who entered the 
 lists, the militia ufficors of high rank were the munt conspicu- 
 ous. Impatient fur the field, and provoked at the tardiness of 
 the (iovernor in calling out their commands, 'they determined 
 to give the commanding general at Charlestown the benefit of 
 their />rrso/u// prowess and counsel. 
 
 Every morning the bulletin-board announced thi addition 
 of a new officer to the staff of the commanding general, and 
 the public were gratified to learn that another martial Solomon 
 had arrircd. 'Mounted on blooded steeds, and arrayed iu mag- 
 nificent regimentals, these distinguished gentlemen, riding con- 
 stnntly and furiously up and down the crowded streets of. the 
 village, were a terror to pedestrians aud children, aud the ad- 
 miration of the ladies. 
 
 In addition to these lions of the hour, there were numerous 
 notorious people from all parts of the republic. Notable*, of 
 every -description, came aud put their heads together, orer a 
 bowl of punch, to determine the fate of the country. " Bor- 
 der ruffians," " Indian fighters," Texas Teterans, northern dem- 
 ocrats, celebruted philanthropists, newspaper correspondents, 
 and strong-minded women, all assembled at tlharlcstown ibr the 
 purpu.«o of gratifying their curiusity. Kach oue seemed pos- 
 sessed with a vague idea that something was about to turn up, 
 out of which something could be made. I'orhaps, the novel 
 pleasures of those days aud the horrors of those nights fascina- 
 ted them. For military parades — the short intervals bptween 
 filled np with violent discussions and the ceaseless touching of 
 glasses at the bar-room counter — made the day pass quite glibly; 
 while the parting good-night healths were oft renewed to for- 
 tify the mind against the terrible alarms which invariably dis- 
 turbed one's nocturnal slumbers. Humors of midnight attempts 
 at rescue, and of the. burning of the village under the cover of 
 darkness, made their regular evening rounds; and the sentinels, 
 who were ever ready to discharge their iiieces at indiscreet 
 ni"ht-waudcrers, were constantly verifying the appreheosiona 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 09 
 
 of the aaxious. When, to all this fanfaronade of noisy soldiers, 
 gorgeous officers, impudent, prying, notorieties and Yankee ccTr- 
 respondents, elbowing each other, everywhere, and vieing in 
 mutual displays of military fierceness and sectional contempt, 
 we add, the clatter of kettle-drums, the march of armed col- 
 umns, the flaunting of banners, the glistening of bayonets, and 
 the incessant outbursts of martial music, we have a faint pic- 
 ture of that mimic scene of war which was a significant part 
 in the first act of the great revolutionary drama. 
 
 This hollow bombast, which eyes inexperienced mistook for 
 the real " pomp and circumstance of war," was quite natural to 
 a people who, for so long a time, had enjoyed the luxury of 
 peace. The first opportunity, of gratifying the'martial ardor of 
 a people naturally found of war, was seized with avidity by the 
 susceptible youth of Virginia; and it was in accordance with the 
 character of events that the opening display should seem bom- 
 bastic and ridiculous. The Yankee correspondents, whose 
 machiavellian souls could not comprehend the uncalculaling re- 
 sentment of insulted honor nor discover, beneath the crust of 
 bravado, an uncompromising self respect and a contempt for 
 dang«-r, construed it all as a sort of Chinese display of absurd 
 sentimentality. They caricatured and magnified all the foibles 
 and follies of the southern cavalier. The most absurd or the 
 most commonplace event, according to its suitableness, was ac- 
 ceptied and expounded as illustrating southern character, while 
 the most contemptible of southern coxcombs were portrayed as 
 the patterns and paragons of Virginia chivalry. This artful mis- 
 representation of tilings, at a time when the public mind of the 
 North was already apologising for the villainy of the outlaws, 
 had much to d#in creating the conviction that the southern 
 people were a race of uneducated, half-mad, Quixotic fools. 
 
 When, with hearts gangrened with hatred and envy, the in- 
 tellicjevt northern freemen read in their favorite journals how the 
 judge presiding at Charlestown was brutal, the Virginia lawyers 
 profane and bullying, the jurymen ignorant ^nd cruel, and "the 
 whole population habitually drunk, their previous speculative 
 conjectures a^umed the form of a fixed belief that their southern 
 brethern, alas, were barbarous in spite of the civilizing influence 
 of the Union. 
 
 Thus was the poison of ignorance and prejudice accelerated in 
 its circulation in northern blood ; and, before the trial of the out- 
 laws reached its cikI, the impression began to be pretty general 
 in the North, that John Brown w?^ the victim of a savage and 
 
100 
 
 7nE TWO RKnF.LLIONB ; 
 
 forocious i»ei)|ilc who ilesu-ivel tii •■ f e wlii.Ii lu- .*ai<l JdIiii lin.J 
 desiiriieil tor ilieui. 
 
 Tliotitjli tlie iiorllnTiiers .|iv\v llie-<e |(re_Mi:nit i<«ii<-!u'iiins from 
 the lragii-<)< oiiii<- pe toriii;in es it ( liMilfs'ovvii. siili!>r<pr nt inents* 
 Ijave shown tlmt the oi-.;»«iori lri.| r.«I.e'i to ih tr.-nuiiu' a^ wi'll hs 
 foiintert'eit heroi'8. Aiiiuii^ thosi- nav • row.is which tonoiiliern 
 eves, seemed «OIII|»0-<'il ol" ii(t1:ltei| roxi-oitilis ,n,| swX'^sreriltcr 
 huMies, there wcie uiaiiv choiie s|»irits. wln»se iiaiiie<« '^ave siiu-o 
 l>t'uiine ihiii>rs of horror to the vaiiain Yankee. Some still re- 
 main. survivin;r years of peril, i<>- repeat their •!«'(•»!» of darwisj 
 upon new fiel<ls .jf siife; hut mmiy, jihi»^ 
 
 "Sleep jlhoir l(H»rlpp|t.' • 
 
 nnl will n()t lie p^rinitted to he«r - of praise wl)ich 
 
 I heir redeemel cotintty will ve'i soni vt-n for ildiviTHnee. 
 
 ll)\v tliey fell, while phin<rei| .le-p i imiis of thi- f<<v or 
 
 monntin;:^ the summits of hoslilc'i-iirn-,. inn nt*', a iria<eful imuh- 
 try cannot fort^et ; Rn«l |»opii!ar hallail nr lo<-al fraditTdn will per- 
 petuate tlieir fame anions; thys<' whom llu'v loved mo-t. 
 
 AmoiiLT these, ho\veveJ\ tinie were two wlmm the voii-e «>f 
 ni-.nkiiid his pro,-l.«ime I iminorfrd -.1 hl;«>n and A'ihhv. Thev 
 were the ('oiifederacy'"^ lirsr love, and she p>rserv.'s their memo- 
 ry with the tenrterness of a heaitdn'oken vonth. Wlnthor re- 
 joicinGf over victory or mournini; over dei'eat, hack to tli" past 
 the nation ever turns and litjofers with mournful ])K;asure overthe 
 rerolleetion of her most dearly heloved. In vain will the intise 
 '* the bv'Sr'''*"'^ ''*^'*^cn of invention ascend" to yiaint the pure 
 splenlor of their glory. I)o\vn in the fathomless depths of the 
 (>)!ifederate heart, where atfection keeps its dearest idols, their 
 inmLje is enshrined, and in the unwtiiteii huiLifuage of devotion 
 their praises are sunij. 
 
 Aiiioui;" the manv dashinijf < avalieis who, jrlowinpf with mrutial 
 ardor and a romantic attrichiii'nt to their natixe Stjite, responded 
 to the ciill to arms. Turner .Ashhv was fo emost lie came to 
 war as to a feast, and seemed elevated ;m I transftiriied, fiom ihrf 
 ;,hii;'^ish person he was in hiisiness. info :in a -tive. vi<ifilani and 
 eiieiiretic, heini;, under the inlhience of new hopes and ni'w 
 scenes. His kni^^htlv mirn and supeil> liorsemansh'p attracted 
 theiiotice:ind exi-ilcd the admiration of all, while hi'^ calm demean- 
 or and jjjonfle manners ipiite w<->n their heartis.. Thefjlitterinc: pa- 
 jTCHiitry of holiday parade, which stirred tlie majority with the 
 mere sentiment of jrh^-v, excited more seriou< ciiiotions in the 
 projihotic soul of Asliby. Like the war horse of .Fob, ho "snutVed 
 
on, TREASON UNMASKED. I'U 
 
 the bKltie tVoni iifarV ;in.l saw, in the harmless show arouml him, 
 the opening scciiri of Ji Moody |)erioil hikI tht? promise of a grand 
 llifatr« of action. . A i-avahv captain ilien, his observed soldierly 
 tjualilics was ihe constajit fliemc of popular praise; and the ap- 
 plause which (ollow«xl liiin foiesliadowed Ids future pucc.ess, whofi 
 lie was to become llie paragon of chivalry and the ideal of south- 
 ern lomauce Like :Iiai of the knights of onl, his career rather 
 jllusiraicd the powcf of pelsonal pt(>wes? and the inlluence of 
 daring examp'e than that of welUdireivted military talent. Iji- 
 spiriiig, by his own coMlii<-t. an nntrain.-d but resistless valor.in 
 jns mau, lie ai-liimed results rathe)- tlirnngh the power of lovo 
 and fiym|)Mthy than through that of ino<lern discipline. Had he 
 lived, he woidd, ))robablv. have a''ailed liimself of the advnntageR 
 of scientiiii- knowledge, antl, in time, have beconie a gr'eat and 
 suice^sful general. lUit he fell in (lie spiing time of his career, 
 and in the ir.oridng of his fame; andjhough vears have elapsed, 
 the intiuence of "Ids genius is still seen in t^ie unrivalled dash and 
 gallantry of Idh ojd - ofiimand. 
 
 •lH'ku)n. at (y! ai Lfslcwii, neilher attracted the notice of thw 
 crowd or excited the expectations of his friends. At a time when 
 the ))ioplieti<' popular voire was deidaiing the heirs to futuro 
 dist iiction. h s pale faie an<1 ungracefid lorm passe^l unmarked 
 amid tite tlhong of g<)ld->'overe1 (diieftains who adorned the 
 sc'iie. Kcg;i:ded a^^ a*d\ spcptic martinet aud an uninteresting 
 liliie I'resbNteiinn. Hone e\er dreamed <,>f tlie great mind and he.- 
 loic 8(iul whiili slund»ere4l within such a commonplace exterior. 
 
 War, in all its horrid naked i ess, seemed necessary to develop 
 the grand points of his character. Like, the goddess of an- 
 tiipiity. who.'ie brightne.-is only shone andd tlie blinding <larkne8s 
 and fiiry of the storm, it was only andd the tempest of conflict- 
 ing liosis iliat the splendor of his gieatness was vi.iible. It was 
 then that the inmost d»'pllis of Ids nature was stirred ; and, equal 
 to the occasion, his geidus. God-bke, soared sublime. Cajitivating 
 his soldiers with m kindni-ss and spnipalhy which was almost 
 heaveidy. and elevating them into a lofty contempt for danger 
 by a calmness that seeine«i lo denv its existence, he hurled them 
 jn jrrcsislible, masses upon the enemy. Under the im])nlse of his 
 iron will, imjiossybilities were made easy; and time and space an- 
 nihilated by the rapidity of his movements, litit, the beauty of 
 his life was niore admiiable than the magnificence of his genius. 
 Within the rough casket were proiions virtues whose radianct^ 
 weie retU-cied in his daily condu't. With an abi<ling tru.st in 
 God, he pej funned the appaiaully most trival (initios, with li»tJ 
 
102 TnE TW«-» REBEI.TTONS; 
 
 same fearfulncss tliat he enijanred in battle. • But, when once he 
 li.id doterminod, the thunder of hostile oannon or the threatening 
 advance of sorrie<l cohiinns were as powerless, to change his pur- 
 pos^o, M th<' frown of a child. With none of that loftv heroic 
 jiride which. fortune seems to love, the fickle };o<l(les9 was yet a 
 constant minion in his train. Llumiliiy exemplifieil in him over- 
 threw armio-s and evory victory seemed an oMation to (Jod. 'i he 
 glory of his life culiiiinate<.l at its close, and the lovintj gentle- 
 ne.*is that was exhibited in the agonies oC death, tilled np the 
 nmasiire of his greatness. 
 
 When Jackson die<l the Confederacy wept ; and the sincere 
 Jament^itions of distant nations prolonged the anthem which fol- 
 lowed liim to his grave. The copious showers of grief, which 
 relieved the aching heart of soutli«rn women, no less than the 
 .scalding tear, which burned the Confcnlerate soldier's manly 
 cheek, attested a nation's love ; while the unfeigned tributes, from 
 his country's enemies and from stingers in foreign lands, pro- 
 claimed that liis death had wrung with socrow the heart of 
 civilized mankind. 
 
 CHAPTKR XXIV. 
 
 TRIAI- OF THE REDELS — DROWN DKCI.ARES MARTYRDOM — KXECU- 
 TIOS* OF THE APOSTLE OF AUOLITIOK AND THE TKHMt'HAL PRO- 
 CESSION or HIS SACRED RELICS TIIROLCH THE NORTH. 
 
 While this potty prologue to real war was being pronounced 
 by the .sensitive spirits of Virginia, John lirown and his com- 
 rades were quietly reposing in the jail of Charlestown, await- 
 ing the detoriuinatiou of their fate. This, Virginia proceeded 
 to ascertain, according to the established forms of law, and 
 in spito of the manifest disposition of some of the more vio- 
 lent, to visit summary vengeance upon the exultant murderers. 
 The outcry against them was great, and was increased by the 
 apprehousion that chanoo, or a desperate effort on the part of 
 their many northern sympathisers, might let them loose once 
 more to orcy jipon society. Organiacd troojis became as neces- 
 sary to represa the violence of the xuub, as to anticipate every 
 
OR, TREASON rXMASKEl). 103 
 
 attempt at I'escue or escape. The madness of the latter was 
 plain, but was not thou'i;ht improbable, when the past was con- 
 sidered. It was certainly more rational to attempt a rescue of 
 the prisoners, than to assail the power of the Federal and State 
 governments; and this had been attempted. The same political 
 intriguers who had devised and moved the one, could easily 
 find fools enough to attempt the other. Besides, the practica- 
 bility of these things was not an element considered. Political 
 effect, in creating sectional bitterness, was the primary object; 
 and that, either partial success or complete defeat was certain 
 to produce. Perhaps, it would have been better for the South, 
 if the criminals had been rescued and a border war then com- 
 menced with the hordes of abolition. ]Jut it is unprofitable to 
 speculate upon the advantages of war. It may safely be sur- 
 mised that it always comes soon enough, and that he who 
 postpones it without sacrificing the honor of the State, is a 
 public benefactor. 
 
 John Brown and his comrades were indicted for treason, 
 murder, and an attempt to excite servile insurrection among 
 the slaves. Upon the first count of the indictment, questions 
 arose as to the definition of treason against a State. Hence, 
 came up the qixestion of State sovereignty; and, in this case, as 
 aftorward.s occurred when the citizens of the State met in con- 
 fliot the soldiers of the federal government, that doctrine was 
 adopted, by cither, which justified their conduct. Those 
 metaphysical subtleties, with which the profound federalists of 
 Virginia had demonstrated the propriety of federal assumption 
 of power, vani.shed before the troncBant logic of alarming 
 facts. Upon the other counts of the indictment, but a feeble 
 resistance was made, as both the testimony and the law was 
 overwhelming. The counsel of the prisoners were permitted to 
 resort to all those technical impediments to judgment which 
 the law of Virginia, bending towards the side of mercy, affords 
 to the accu.sed. Their ingenuity was, however, finally ex- 
 hausted, and the trial sonn ueared its end. The greatest dif- 
 ficulty was to obtain an impartial jury. The feeling of resent- 
 ment against the outlaws was so intense that, most of those 
 selected by the sheriff", when examined upon oath, admitted 
 that their opinions, already formed upon the merits of the 
 case, prevented them from giving the criminals a fair trial. 
 One man, upon being,asked, if he had any scruples about in- 
 fiicfini: capital puni.shmc'it. roplied that he formerly had, but, 
 since the arrival of Brown and his Confederates, he had 
 
h'l Tia; TWO l-.LUf LLlt..\S ; 
 
 chungeJ liis opiniuiis uuU bclicvcvi tijutil WU6 aLsuiutclj\liOC06- 
 sar) to bang iK;c;isioually, 
 
 Fiiuillv, all the to.'Ntiiuuny had lioisi licaid ; aud tlu: Icarucd 
 cuuiK^el, whuiii prdiuiiiciit ultu!iti(jij:.>-i.< bud pruciirud iroiu ihe 
 Nurtli, cuiicluded tlicir lust objectKHi and nmiuied tbuii lut>t 
 period. The jury were insLructed and, retiriui; t'roui ilie emit 
 ruoiu, they, in a short time, rclurnod t-o render their verdict. 
 Thit^ was rendered in the Uiid.st ol a breuthiq^'^s iua^j ui ti{K-e(i>tO!S 
 usseuiblcd i'nim all parts <it' the whole couulry. it Jeibied ihe 
 prisouero guilty of all the c lUiit.s in the indictmeut. The .ver- 
 dict wa8 i>ne which all cx]>eeted. and yet it^ annnuuceuunt 
 seemed to aff<.ird great nliel". The clerk a.>«ked Hmwn. if ho 
 could ashiiin any reason why sentence of de;itli ."-houlil not bo 
 passed upon hliu. Brown rw.se up to the heif;ht of his full 
 stature and, with a countenance now, lor the Hist time, uiani- 
 festing iear and apprehension, spoke ajs iWllows : 
 
 " I have, may it pleiise. the court, a iew words to .s;ty. Jn 
 the first plucQ, / </e//_y i ctri/tltimj but whtit 1 /tav< nil nlumj ad- 
 viiltiil, of a (Irsi'i/ii on vi// jjml tn jfif .^/'/i7.s. i intended, ceiv 
 tainly, to have made a clear thinij; of th;it nnitter, n.-^ L did i:\st 
 winter -when 1 went into Missuuri. iUid tlieie todk sl:ive.- with 
 out the snaiipin<; of a ;j;un on either side. 1 ini.ved tlu-ni 
 throu;,di the country, and finally leit tiiein in Uanadj. 1 de 
 sif.Mied to have done the same thing ii^u in on a laij:ei scalo. 
 That was all 1 intended. / nfvii- il'ul initial munUr ar triit»nn^ 
 or the ileatrurtion of pro^iety or to ixcite sluvinAo rdtllion ot- 
 to vinke insurrection." 
 
 " 1 have another oljjection, and that is, it. is unjust that I 
 should suffer such a penalty. Had 1 interferred in. the man- 
 ner, which 1 admit has been I'alrly proved. (f(»r I admire tho 
 trutlil'ulness and candor of the greater pi.rticn (d' the witnesses 
 who have testified in this case,)' — had t so interferred, in be- 
 half of the rich and jKiwerfub the intelligent, the so called 
 great, or in behalf nf any of their Iriends. citiien father (.r 
 loofher, bnithcr or sister, wile or children, <ir any of that clas.s, 
 and suffered and sacrificed what 1 have in this iniortcrcnce, it 
 Wcuild have been all right, and t.his ci'Urt wmild have deemed 
 it an act worthy of reward, rather than punishment. Thiu 
 court acknowledges, too, 1 suppose, the validity of the law of 
 (iod. I see a bitok kissed here, which, 1 suppose, to be a bible, 
 or, at least, the new testament. 1'hat teaches me that all 
 things, whatsoever, 1 wiuihi men should do unto mc, I should 
 do so eveu to them, • It teaches uie lurther. to rcuiember thei» 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 
 
 105 
 
 that are in bonds, as bniuled with them. I endeavored to act 
 up to these iustmotioiis. 1 say, 1 am jet too young i.o under- 
 stand that God is any respecter of persons. 1 believe, that to 
 have interferred, as 1 have done, in behalf of his despised 
 poor, was no \vron<i;, but ri<:ht. Now, if it is deemed necessary 
 that I should forfeit my Hie for the furtherance of the ends of 
 justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of n)y 
 children, and with the blood of the millions in this slave coun- 
 try, w.ho.se rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust 
 enactxuents, I submit. So let it be done. Let me say one 
 word further,'! feel entirely satisfied with the treatment I have 
 received on my trail. Considering all the circumstances, it has 
 been more generous than I expected, but I feel no conscious- 
 ness ot guilt. 1 have stated from the first, what were my in- 
 tentions and whalwere not. I in'iur hadmn/ dvsijn (hjdiiisf. the 
 lij'f I,; initf ixrsitii, uriDiy </iyji')sif.ion to ctjinmit treason or incite 
 thi .slfii-f's /o refill, oc mukf mn/ (jt-neral inanrrection. I never 
 encouraged any man to do so, but always discouraged any idea 
 of that kind. Let me say also, in regard to the statements 
 m-ide by some of those connected with me. I fear 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, a.s regretting their weakness. There is none of them but 
 what 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 conversation with till the day they came to me, and that 
 was for the piurpose I have stated. Now I have done." 
 
 While Brown was speaking, great quiet prevailed. When 
 he had finished, tlie court proceeded to pronounce sentence. 
 After some preliminary remarks, in which the judge (Parker,) 
 said, that no reasonable doubt could exist as to guilt of the 
 prisoner, the court sentenced him to be hung on the 2nd 
 December. 
 . 8u(.'h was the speech, word for word, made by Brown. It 
 was republished in most of the northern papers. If any one 
 will turn b.ick and eoniftare it with what he told Governi>r 
 ^^ ise, the morning ol his capttire, he will discover a flat denial 
 in the last of what w;i« truun|>hantly asserted in the first. To 
 Wise, he, substantially, says that he came South to revolution- 
 ize the government and overthrow her whole social fabric, by 
 means oi" the slaves and the disaffected non-slavehoMerg. For 
 this purpose, he liad brought jagged spears, for the untaught 
 African, and rifles fur the more iotelligeut whites. All his 
 
lOG THE TWO rebellions; 
 
 correspondence shnw.-- that such wore his intentions ; and alll 
 his abolition sympathizers boa^^f of atxl adrtiire him. beca.usc he< 
 liad the heart to conceive it and the nerve to attempt it. Hiii 
 provisional constitution is based upon the idea of a peneral up-i 
 hcavinfi: of the social and political institutions of the South; 
 and there is not a shadow of a doubt, from his own acts and dec- 
 larations, as well as thuse of.his professed friends and admirers, 
 that such was the object of the treasonable conspiracy, of which 
 he was the open conductor. 
 
 This was what k'<:itiuiized and sanctified, in the opinion of 
 abolitionistsf his arsons and murders, and invested hinj with 
 the character of a divinely cummissioned hero. 
 
 And yet, alas! fur pour iVail human nature, when the judge, 
 with the* fearful black cap sits before him, ready prepared to 
 pronounce his doom, the yreat apostle of abolitionism trembles 
 and denies his faith. IJeforc the earthly tribunal, almost, and, 
 indeed, prCtendinf; to be, certain of his fate; with the eyes of 
 his enemies upon him, while thousands of his worshippers, at 
 a distance, arc waiting to hear of the triumphant declaration of 
 his mission and his calm acceptance of martyrdom; yet, under 
 all these stimulating circumstances, with not the brazen hardi- 
 hood of an ordinary convict, he repudiates his destiny and 
 equivocates aud lies in his desire to move the mercy of the 
 judge. 
 
 In order to understand this apostacy of Brown, in the very 
 crisis of his fate, it is proper to recur to some other facts which 
 liave not been mentioned. Most of the northern press, yield- 
 ing to the violent clamor of the blatant abolitionists, had urged 
 npon Governor Wise the expediency of pardoning IJrown, or 
 commuting his sentence to one of solitar}' contineujcnt for life. 
 With specious sophistry, they argued that such an act of exec- 
 utive clemency would declare the magnanimity of Virginia, de- 
 prive the abolitionists of their thunder, aud conciliate the 
 moderates of the Xorth. 
 
 J'rivatc attacks, too, were made upon his firmness, and he 
 was encouraged to hope that such a betrayal of his trust would 
 not only act as oil to the troubled waters, but ht-cure him polit- 
 ical strength with the national demoaiacy. [Kor Governor 
 Wise was then a prominent candidate for the deuiocratic nom- 
 ination for the presidency.] In this way. the impression began 
 to prevail with some people that l^rowu ha<l yet some hope of 
 life. IJrowu caught at the hope as a drowning man is said to 
 catch at a straw; and, fearful of death, iu the preseuce of the 
 
OK, TREASON UNMASKED. * lu7 
 
 court, denied his ever having ent5ttained radical designs; and 
 thus, by his very cuuuiug effort to preserve his life, betrayed 
 plainly his real character and solicited for himself the igno- 
 minious punishment which he so Well deserved. 
 
 Afterwards, when Governor Wise informed him, in prison, 
 that there was no room for hope, he again returned to his first 
 declarations, and edified his disciples with long-winded epistles 
 about the glorious death which awaited him. Seated in his 
 cell, in Charlestown, he passed the lust fleeting moments of his 
 existence in inditing words of comfort to the faithful. The 
 voluminous and remarkable manuscripts which, through the 
 mail, bore houuige (u his greatness from -all parts of the North, 
 were rare specimens for the lovers of the curious. Marble- 
 hearted philosophers could not have perused, with dry eyes, 
 their pathetic language of devotion, while the most erudite 
 pantheist Would have been startled at the novel theories of a 
 hereafter^ explained in their contents. 
 
 /sm.s, which had never before been heard of in the South, 
 of every possible hue and variety, were there d"iscovered as al- 
 lies of abolitionism. Spiritualists, sentimentalists, and social- 
 ists, of every conceivable description, in sentences of compli- 
 ment and adoration, which profaned and blasphemed as they 
 went, furnished stimulants to the doubting heart of the blood- 
 stained villain. 
 
 * One person, a woman I think, wrote to ask him to take a 
 message to her beloved, whom she represented as enjoying the 
 fruits of his abolition efforts while on earth, in the land of lib- 
 erty beyond the skies; and, in order that he might recognize 
 the dead one for whom the message was intended, she enclosed 
 his phofof/raph. Of such was the ma.ss who idolized John 
 Brown, and such like are those'who now wage the most bar- 
 barous of all wars upon the soithern people. 
 
 No doubt, if the truth could be ascertained, upon investiga- 
 tion, it would be found that a large majority of the people of 
 the North entertain religious opinions, or rather irreligious 
 opinions, which more nearly resemble downright infidelity and 
 atheism than Christianity. Amid the engro.ssing pursuits which 
 the present war has engendered in the North, it has, perhaps, 
 not been profitable to gather statistics concerning the spread of 
 the respective infidel creeds. Some curious Yankee, however, 
 has amused himself with estimating the increase of the epirit- 
 ualiatic belief. • As the result of his investigation, he gives 
 
103 THE TWO RKBELMONS; 
 
 « 
 
 the alarmincf fact tliat there are now six huudred thousand 
 professing spiritualists ira that illuniinatcdjund. 
 
 If the oilier respec(;iMe as well as \ ijltrnr isms have iiicieased 
 nt a siiililar rate, the nuiitlier of ortlioilox (InistiMiis reinaiiiinfr 
 iftsiiiall in.ieed. Supported l>v the Hiroiiix jirlHii-ial, setitiineiital 
 stuff, with which he was liailv sii|iplied thiouirlLthe mail. I>r<i\\ti 
 < oiitemplated hin roniinq; inanvniom with iiwreased < ahniiess. 
 
 From the suMime iM'iiriits i)f ^am tilv, to which vanity and 
 flattery had raised him, he ltfo;in to rc^jard his itrnorant perse- 
 i'utors with feelintrs more rcseml>liii<j coiiieu>pt tlian hatr'-il. To 
 all slaveholders who, out of mere cut io>itv, wt-nt tf) see him. hi- 
 iii;iiiner was that of a man w-lio had lK'«*n dot* Iv wronijcil; wh" 
 knesv if, l>ut did not resent it. His <liaritv. liow«'ver. souiciimc^ 
 manifested itself in jndral lectures, which partook more of llic 
 \ cliemciit invective style than the exhortative. Hspe«-ially if any 
 Cliiislian minister, from motives of kindnnss, went to olf.*r him, 
 in his desolateness, the c(Uisolation» of reii>.;itin. Upon liiui ho 
 would let out all his gall of hitterness, tellincr him, in tlie liisl 
 place, that he (Brown) was better posted on the bihie than any 
 other man North or South, an<l that when he was in want of In- 
 formation he should not prohaMv ap|)lv for it ton heathen. 
 
 In this wav, scriblilint,' sermons to his disciples, expoundinjr the 
 mystery of human rights to all wlu> wouhl listen, and throwint; 
 out jilain- hints to the southern ministers of the torture re.<erved 
 for tli.-m, hti ])reparen himself for his final departure from earth 
 
 At the day appointed, necend)er 2tl, ISo'J. under a stronj; 
 guard of soldier.s, he was conducted to the gallows, and, there, 
 in sight of tlie beautiful country, a prtitlon of whitdi he had 
 hoped one day to po.sse.s.*, he suHV-red tlie extreme penalty of the 
 law. 
 
 N<;ar the spot where he was hung, a tree stood, .\ftei wards, 
 vhen the Yankee .soldier- took pi sse*;sion of the town, some 
 negro told them that Urown had Im en hung upon that tree. 
 'J'lioy forcwith cut it down and, hewing out li tie jiieces. scut 
 them home a? rare relics to their families. 
 
 The body was given up to his wife who. en<lo-ing it in a me 
 tallie coflin, carried it to North Rba. New York. The ariival 
 of the corpse in riiila<lelphia and New York was, in a great 
 measure, convealed from the po\)ulace, thiough the strenuou'^ 
 eflorts of the police; and, though ciowds weie on the qui-rin 
 to receive with honor the sacred relics, tie a<-livity anil vigilant, 
 of the police succeeded in keeping it a profouiid secret fioni.thc 
 many. As it juoceeded further Noi ili, how vvei, such was not 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 109 
 
 tlie cnsc In several towns the news of its arrival was the signal 
 for popular deiiionsyation. The heart-rending spectacle of the 
 "murdered hero," in several instances, moved the mob to tears; 
 and the universal interest, manifesto ! among the northern masses, 
 revealed the fact that the popular sympathy for the villain was, 
 beyond all expectation, wide-spread. 
 
 Upon the day appointed for his execution, a molion for ad- 
 journment out of respect to the sacredness of the day, was lost 
 in the Massaidiusetts 8tate Senate, by three votes ; while in many 
 of the towns in that pestilent State the bells of their temples 
 were tolled, and congregations of the faithful assembled to con- 
 secrate the day with their heathen ceremonies. 
 
 The body was carried to N<arth Elba and, after being kept in 
 state for a short time, was followed to the grave by troops of 
 canting abolitionists. There, with a simple monument to mark 
 the spot, it still rests, and the frei^uent pilgrimages to the seques- 
 tered spot has made North Ell>» a sort of modern Mecca for the 
 disciples of the abolition Apostle, 
 
 CHAPTER -XXV. 
 
 THE FATE OF THE OTHER REBELS. 
 
 The rest of the conspirators were disposed of in the same 
 manner as their chief, though the interest of the northern public 
 seemed to have been centred in Bi-own. 
 
 Cook, his second in command at the outbreak, deserves some 
 notice, from the fact of his betrayal of his chief and the great 
 effort made to save his life by influential connections. lie was 
 the brother-in-law of the Governor of Indiana, and bo pains were 
 spared to save the family from the disgra<-e of his execution upon 
 the gallows. 
 
 Cook, as we have already seen, deserted old Brown in his hour 
 of need at the Ferry; and endeavored to secure himself by an 
 early retreat. His long stay at the Ferry, previous to the insur- 
 rectionary attempt, had probably convinced him of the madness 
 of the s( heme ; and lie only participated far eflough to obtain 
 some treasure and valuables from the fmrn houses he visitc<l; 
 M-ben it ajipearf he made olf with his plunder to the niounliuns. 
 10 
 
110 ini TAvo rebellions; 
 
 Ik' was soon cau2:lit, however, and securely lodged in jail. When 
 once tiiert^, the appieli^nsions of just pijnisj^nicnt for his rrinies 
 quite banished the airy fabric of sentimental sopliistry, with 
 which he had soothed the few pan<rs of conscience he ex])ejienced 
 in the perpetration of his many villainies. Like Brown, ahan* 
 doninix his professed creed, he confessed some of liis crimes and 
 pleaded for mercy, lie even disreixarded those oblifxalions of 
 false honor which are the last to be abandoned by thieves, and, 
 with a hope of obtainini; par-ion as a reward for his trciuhery, 
 told all he knew against his confederates, lint his cowardii-e 
 availed him little. He only excited contempt insteail of pity, 
 and, in spite of the elotjuent efl'orts of his counsel, was condemned 
 to be hung. »" 
 
 Like lirown. too, when all hope was lost, lie sought to reinstate 
 liimself in the good opinion of his former admirer.s. He wrote 
 verses and pathetic prose, to ids northern friends, about the 
 "glorious cause" and pretended to look forward with pleasure, 
 tn the glorious time of his apotheosis. 
 
 Confined in the same room with Cook was a fellow-sufi'erer 
 by the name of Coppic. Concerning this worthy, all that is 
 known is obtained from a letter written by an old Quaker in tlie 
 northwest, who .seems to have raised him. lie bewails the sad 
 fate that has befallen his apprentice, and seems to take a 
 sort of mournful pleasure in fin<lii)g that the "vicious boy," who 
 woul<i heed no admonitions of wisdom, has, at last, reaclu**! that 
 'state of misfortune which he had always predicted was in reserve 
 for him. 
 
 In conjunction with this soldier of freedom, Cook conceived 
 the plan of making one bold efiort to esca])o from jtrison. He- 
 moving the bricks from under the sill of the window of their 
 cell and filing off, by meaws ot a hacked ]io(ket-knife, their fci- 
 ters, they, one dark and rainy night, descended and found them- 
 selves wUhin the jail yarti free and unfettered. A low wall of 
 brick, beyond which, at intervals of twenty paces, sentinels kept 
 watch, was all that lay between them and freedom. Leaning 
 asrainst the wall were the beams and planks of the scaffold upon 
 which they were expected to .spend their last moments. The 
 circumstances were sufficitnt to have nerved a child to make one 
 desperate effort for life. Mounting the wall, they were about to 
 make the leap, wlien one of the sentries hearing the noise, filed 
 his jtie<e at them. Paialy/.ed with fear, these two heroes of ab- 
 olitionism retreated back to the jail and gave themselves up. 
 Nobody was astonished at their attempt to esc»pe, but peo]ile 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. Ill 
 
 smiled when they discovered that these champions of an oppressed 
 race had not tiie resolution to hazard something to secure tlieir 
 own lives and liberties. Not long afterwards, Cook, Coppic and 
 tlie rest of the piratical crew were hung, and the list of abolition 
 martyrs was again increased. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 E\D OF THR FIRST REBELLION ITS CONNECTION "OtlTH THAT OF 
 
 1861 -THE CHARACTER AND OHJECT OF THE GREAT INSUR- 
 KECTION. 
 
 Thus ended the first rebellion. It was conceived in iniquity, 
 born in sin, and met with the violent end it merited. Though 
 its avowed object was unaccomplished, the blow struck con- 
 tributed much towards it, and the designs of its instigators 
 were certainly crowned tvith success. The blood that it cost, 
 stimulated disunion; and the mutual bitterness and heartburn- 
 ings, which it engendered throughout, the country, were the 
 dragon's teeth from which sprang crops of armed men. Like 
 the war which followed it, it wasablessing in disguise; though 
 its fruits have not entirely been made manifest. It is a part, 
 and was, in some measure, the occasion of the present struggle. 
 It familiarized the northern mind with the idea of intestine 
 conflict. It robbed the grim-vissaged monster of his revolting 
 novelty, and baptized him the god-child of abolition and the 
 champion of the oppressed. 
 
 Perverted as the whole aifair was in northern journals, it not 
 only served to excite the resentment of the North, but it con- 
 vinced them of the weakness of the South, and of their own 
 power. They felt no longer constrained to treat as an equal a 
 section wliich they had long hated and feared, but now began 
 to regard as an inferior in merit and strength. Spurning what 
 they considered as the exploded idea of southern power, they 
 gave full rein to the many evil passions which they had enter- 
 tained. They elaborated their wild notions of free soil and 
 Americ.in destiny, treating with contemptuous indifference the 
 possible objections of the South. 
 
 While its moral effect, io thus consummating that revolution 
 
112 THE TWO REBELLIONS; 
 
 of opinion which for years had been slowly patherinp: 8trcncth 
 in the North, was great, ito political consequence.*! were imme- 
 diate and 8i<;niticant. Sectional animosity, which was the 
 source of vitality to the republican organization, was inflamed 
 to that degree of fever heat, when the admonitions of reason 
 are not heard amid the raging tempest of passion Profiting by 
 the storm, the rejmblican leaders, whose political ambition was 
 stimulated by bitter personal hostility to southern gentleuieu, 
 then threw off still more of the mask and proclaimed the doc- 
 trine of irrepressible conflict. The "music of the Union" was 
 drowned amid the mere mutterings of the approaching revolu- 
 tion. The obligations of the federal compact needed only to be 
 mentioned t4) call forth derision, and all sense of reason, pro- 
 priety, and decency were lost in the in.sanity of the hour. 
 
 In anticipation of conflict, party organization assumed a 
 military character ; national wide-awake clubs weve formed and 
 the able-bodied members drilled in the exerci.<es of war. Illu- 
 minations and bonfires, processions and popular gatherings, cel- 
 ebrated the coming triumphs of the implacable enemies of the 
 South. The frenzy was almost universal, and tho.>:e who still 
 retained some glimmerings of rea.son, were hclfiless in the pres- 
 ence of the mighty flood which threatened to engulf all who 
 resisted. " Fuci/is (fcscciisiis Arrrni," and rapid indeed is the 
 progress in evil of a people who, for the gratification of evil 
 pa.ssions, shut their eyes to the obligations of duty. 
 
 Popular sympathy with abolition conspirators, whose despica- 
 ble crimes merited the detestation of all good citizens, was but 
 a sign of coming events which soon occurred. Sympathy with 
 one act of rebellion, manil'ested a disposition to approve a sim- 
 ilar undertaking; and the diabolical chiefs of the anti-southern 
 party, took advantage of the occasion. Thus is the connection 
 betwe(Tn the first and second rebellions shorfand simple. For 
 the outbreak at the Ferry was the first rcbclliitn, with John 
 lirown for its nominal leader. The second, though plotted for 
 a long time, was publicly organized by Seward, (irecly ^: Co., 
 at (yhicago, the following year. 
 
 The (yhicago Convention was the grand consoliilation of the 
 numerous rebellious movements which, for years had been 
 springing up and gathering strength in the North. The Chi- 
 cago platform was the common " jilan of action," tipon which 
 they all agreed, for the sake of overthrowing their common 
 enemy — the constitution. Over it, all the factious interests, 
 rampant radicalisms, and insurrectionary fanatics, joined hands 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 113 
 
 ■•f fellowship and subscribed pledges of mutual support. Each 
 .lad a differcut ulterior end, but the overthrow of the constitu- 
 tion and the destruction of tho South was the first step in their 
 "respective programmes ; and this the triumph of the Chicago 
 platform and its champions would certainly bring about. For 
 a long time these rebellious movements had been progressing. 
 They h;\d manifested theniselves in a thousand different ways. 
 Sometimes in acts of popular violence; sometimes in the treas- 
 onable resolutions of conventions and assemblies, and not. un- 
 frcf|ucntly in legislative statutes, and in the solemn acts of State 
 (Jovernors and other high officials. 
 
 A lively sense of the pecuniary advantages of peace and 
 I'nion, for a period, repressed a general outburst. The great 
 masses still, from fear of southtrn resentment, refrained from 
 pushing matters to extremes; though they applauded and en- 
 couraged the violence of irresponsible mobs. Tlley were guilty 
 of the perfidy of disguising tbeir real purposes, until they 
 thought the moment had arrived for compelling the acquies- 
 cence of the South. In 1860 they thought that time had 
 come, and they rallied, with a unanimity undreamed of in the 
 South, to the support of an open and avowed attempt at rebel- 
 li(m. The Chicago platform became their bible and their cou- 
 fltitution, and allegiance to it was held far superior to all other 
 political obligations. 
 
 The first rebelHon failed, the rather because its mode seemed 
 impracticable to the northern mind than because its avowed 
 objects were considered objectionable. For, even then, the 
 overthrow of the constitution and tbe destruction of the South, 
 at which it aimed, would have been agreeable to a very formi- 
 dalile portion of the northern people. The same bad men, who 
 were privy to and helped to plot the ^rst, more or less elabora- 
 ted the second. The main objects of each were the same, 
 namely: the dethronement of the legitimate majesty of the oon- 
 Btitution, and, thereafter, the annihilation of the sovereignties 
 of the States and the destruction of the South. 
 
 The leaders were impelled by motives of ambition and ma- 
 lignant hostility to the South. They did not hesitate to walk 
 over the wreck of civil liberty into "the high places of power, 
 where, armed with authority, they proposed to gratify their 
 feelings of vengeance. 
 
 Ihe people, their tools, maddened with a senseless fanaticism 
 and a blind rosenfnjciit towards the South, were appalled by 
 no consideration of loss iu the pursuit of their mad projects. 
 
114 THE TWO rebellions; 
 
 Like bound lunatics, as they were, they felt themselves ground 
 down hy the t\r.inny of a compact which, to a small extent, pro- 
 tected the minority against the imperious will of a majority. 
 They could nut and they would not endure its authority; aud, 
 if they could not overthrow it, they would not abide by it. 
 
 The plan of the most precipitate of the rebels, for sometime, 
 was to prol'css an aliciriance to a hijjher law, and respect the 
 articles of the compact, only where it did not interfere with 
 the statutes of the " hiirhcr law." This " hiirher law," the 
 most indefinite and uncertain thinir in the world, was capable 
 of being modified, expanded, or repealed, according to the 
 mandates of the rea.<;on of each individual, it was said ; but, more 
 properly, according to the kind and quantity ot malignant 
 passions that reigned in each individual breast. But, it was 
 soon found that this subterfuge was unnecessary. A president 
 aud a numerical majurity was all that was rc(juired ; and then, 
 acts of Congress could be passed or repealed to carry out ail 
 their designs. All they wanted, was this, and the constitution 
 or the compact, u-hafncr it was calkd, would have to stand 
 aside. In other words, it would be overthrown, banished, done 
 away with, and, in its place, a vulgar and i'anatical majority 
 would enthrone their capricious M'ill. When fanatical villains 
 declared in the federal Congress, that they acknowledged alle- 
 giance to another giivernmcnt than the one which protected 
 them, namely: to the provisional government or cabal of radical- 
 i.sts who promulgated and expounde<l the " higher law," nobody 
 thought of calling them rebels. The very audacity of their 
 treason prevented its being seen in its true light. And when 
 these traitors went on, from year to year, doing the same thing 
 aud constantly increasing in power and influence, still, few re- 
 garded them as traitors plotting against the spirit and Ibrm of 
 the constitution. The observed bitterness of their hostility to 
 the slaveholder, blinded people, especially southerners, to their 
 real designs. It was foolishly supposed that their whole an- 
 tipathy was against the institution of slavery; hence they were 
 merely called fanatical abolitionists and (|uietly despised. Hut 
 these men, espe(!ially the more crafty of them, were making 
 the proposed destruction uf slavery a means and an end, at the 
 same time. Their ruling passion was desire ol" power, and they 
 declaimed against slavery, more for the purpose of obtaining 
 that, than Irom any real phihinthropic aversion to the institu- 
 tion. True, they hated the slaveholder bccauBc he was a gen- 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 115 
 
 tleman whose courtesy and courage annoyed them ; but they 
 cared nothing for the slaves. 
 
 In this way was their treason to the jrovcrnment so well con- 
 cealed, it was not, until time and circumstances had put 
 into their hands the whole political power of the North, that 
 the southern masses penetrated their designs. It was then 
 seen that twty had banded to destroy the delegated majesty of 
 the established constitution, and to exalt in its stead, not a new 
 constitution modified, through the modes provided for in the 
 old, but the capricious will of a mere numerical majority of 
 legislators who would be guided in the use of their power by 
 nothing but party interest and sectional hate. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 TIIK IN8UBRKCTI0N OF THE NORTHERN MASSES PREVIOUS TO 1860. 
 
 The terra rebellion can never be properly applied to the 
 conduct of a State, acting (through a convention) in its sover- 
 eign capacity. It is, however, quite applicable to certain acts 
 of State legislatures, or even to those of the majority of peo- 
 ple of such States, when either countenancing, encouraging, 
 or participating in factions and violent resistance, to the exe- 
 cution of established laws. For, such conduct is nothing less 
 than rebellion against the sovereignty of the State in which it 
 occurs; and, in this wiy, also, is it rebellion against the dele- 
 gated majesty of federal power. Now, the Confederate States, 
 (except Kentucky and Missouri,) have never been even charged 
 witli this kind of factious commotion. And, even granting 
 that the perfidy and usurpations of the North had not released 
 the South from the so-called binding obligations of allegiance 
 to the old i'ederal compact; still, the action of the Confederate 
 States in seceding as they did, (through regular conventions,) 
 makes the term rebellion inapplicable to their conduct. The 
 same cannot be said of the northern States. They, both by 
 the conduct of their legislatures, (which no class of politicians 
 have ever regarded as representing the sovereignty of the 
 States,) in dcnnuncine: the constitution and in passing statutes 
 whiclr reward treason and punish an obedience to established. 
 
116 THE TWO rebellions; 
 
 laws, and by the mobocratic violence of their respective citizens, 
 in resistint: the execution oi" federal laws, were, for a lung 
 time before the conMuent-emeut of the present struggle, guilty 
 of insurrection and rcl)cliion. 
 
 "Rebellion," says .lolinson and Walker, "is an insurrection 
 against lawful authority." Hut what is an insurrection;' "it 
 is," says Johrson antl \\'alkor, "a factious risiiii^,Trrebellious 
 commotion." These definitions, of course, are expressed in 
 W(jrds such as will convey, as near as possible, a uniform mean- 
 ing to different people living under different forms of govern- 
 ment. In their most ordinary signification, they more particu- 
 larly apply to mojjs and popular riota. Under governments, iu 
 the administration pi' which the masses have no voice, these 
 are the usual, and sometimes the only modes of redress against 
 real or imaginary oppression. But, iu republics, where the vux 
 jwpuli is the wind which drives the vessel of state, no such 
 vulgar things as mobs are necessary to depose lawl'ul authority. 
 At least, when they do occur, they are not called mobs, but 
 "uprisings of the people," "indignation meetings," and such 
 like grand names. Sometimes, it is true, the "sovereigns" so 
 far forget their dignity as to intimidate the officersof the law 
 with thrcatniug demonstrations, (a« occurred in the rescue of 
 the fugitive slave liurns, at lioston, and upon numerous like 
 occasions,) but, then, they do the thing with so much dignify, 
 shedding so little blood and smashing so lew windows, that it 
 seems more like an exertion of extra-judicial authority, thau 
 a riotous outbreak. " 
 
 Treason, which animates all insurrections, generally suggests 
 the most feasible modes of rebellion. In the old L iiion, the 
 conspirators against lawful authority, adopted the available 
 means to suit the end in view. They persuaded the people, by 
 exciting their insensate passions with well-drawn pictures of 
 constitutional tyranny, to elect to office none but the professed 
 plotters of rebellion. And thoHO worthies, with trea.sou in their 
 liearLsand on their tongues, took^he oath of allegiance to a con- 
 stituti(»n which they were instructed to dethrone, in whatever 
 unlawtul maniier promi.sed success. Jiy the operation of their 
 political machinery, consjiirators soon filled most of the im- 
 portant public offices in the North. The length of the term 
 of offices in the federal senate and judiciary, afforded some 
 check to the progre.><s of the conspiracy. But. tlieir rapid in- 
 crease in j)ower :uid influcnct!. assurtid an c.irly pre|ion<lerance in 
 the senate, and they did not hesitate to declare that, if th^judi* 
 
on, TREASON UNMASKED. 117 
 
 ciary dared to refuse their countenance and support, after a 
 numerical majority had been secured in Congress, they would 
 treat their dictums and the obnoxious articles of the constitu- 
 tion loith cqnnl contempt. 
 
 In those of the northern States, where their supremacy was 
 undisputed, laws were passed openly defyiug the authority of 
 the constitution. Massachusetts, whose rebellious acts furnish 
 the most glaring instances of this treason of the State legis- 
 lahires, in 1855, passed an act declaring that, "no person, 
 while holding an}' office of honor, trust, or emolument, under 
 the laws of this commonwealth, shall, in. any capacity issue 
 any warrant or other proof, or j;rant any certificate under, or 
 by virtue of an act of Congress, approved the loth day of Feb- 
 ruary, in the year 1793, entitled, 'an act respecting fugitives 
 from justice, and persons escaping from the service of their 
 masters,' or under or by virtue of an act of Congress, approved 
 the ISth day of September, 1850, entitled 'an act to aniend, 
 and supplementary to an act respecting fugitives from justice, 
 and persons escaping fr<jm the service of their masters,' or 
 shall in any capacity serve any such warrantor other process." 
 
 It then proceeds to affix penalMes to all possible evasions or 
 violations of this act, by anv foolish people who entertain a 
 guilty attachment to the con.-titution of their fathers. If it be a 
 State officer who is guilty, " his office shall be deemed vacant, 
 and he shall forever thereafter be ineligible to hold an}' office of 
 trust, honor, (?) or emolument, under the laws of this common- 
 wealth." And all lawyers, who are base enough to a]>pear as coun- 
 sel for the slave-owner, are disposed of in the following summary 
 manner: " lie shall be deemed to have resigned any commission 
 from the commonwcath that he mav possess, and he shall be 
 thereafter incapacitated from ap])earing as co)insel or attorney in 
 the courts of this commonwealth." Sherifts, jailers, coroners, 
 constables and other State officers, who shall, in any manner, aid 
 in, connive, or wink at, 'the violation of this law, are to sutler 
 what, in Massachusetts, has generallv been considered capital 
 punishment, namely: lo be severely fined and imprisoned. " 
 
 Even judlres, who are sworn to support the federal constitu- 
 tion, if guilty of issuing warrants under the act* specified, in ac- 
 cordance with the ^atb which they have sworn, are to be subject 
 to removal and impeachment. 
 
 Such was the glaring act of defiant rebellion which Massa- 
 chusetts passed in 18o.5. The ar<r\inients which are generallv used 
 to justify the right of nuUificaiion, do nut ai>ply in this case. 
 
118 THE TWO RXBELLIONS; 
 
 Tbey only apply where a State, through a coftx'ention, declines 
 to obey an act o{ <^oiijjresR, on the crroun«l of its ttncoi ulitunon- 
 aliti/. Bill the reason, a-^signed by Massachusetts and the ollior 
 northern Stales, guihy of similar treason, was that tiie fugitive 
 slave laws of l7U3aii(l 1850, were odious and coiitlicted with 
 (ortain articles of their '' hir/her law,'^ which they had already 
 exalted above the constitution. And, yet, this miserable State 
 of Massachusetts, though iier whole history is one of perfidv 
 and treason, from the very origin of the federal comjta<t <lown 
 to the present time, talks more and writes more about the, 
 "damnable treason pf secession," and is ntore prolific of schemes 
 of cruelty for "southern traitoi-s," than any other State in the 
 North. She was the lirsl to propose, in the Hartford conven- 
 tion, to desert the common cause and go over to tl>e enemy, 
 during the war of 1812. Slie was the leader in every sub.'5e(pient 
 treasonable movement against tiie old government; and now, 
 when, by means of a war, of which ehe is the ]»rincipal author, 
 her lap is being filled with stolen treasure, she is even untiue to 
 the league of blood to which she owes so much. IJirn the 
 honor, that thieves ptd/ess, is denied her. For, her co-partners in 
 crime, complain most bitterly, that .she dodges the draft, while 
 she gets more than the lion's share of the spoils. 
 
 The course of Massachu.setts but illustrates the general rebel- 
 lious nioven)ent which occurred at the North. Not only the 
 State legislatures, but the bulk of the citizens, in one wav or 
 another, countenanced or participated in overt acts of rebellion. 
 Tor \ears before the breaking out of the ))resent war, it was im- 
 possible fur a southerner to obtain, at the North, the protection 
 of the federal law, in the enjoyment of the rights guaranteed to 
 him by the constitution. 
 
 If a citizen of Boston wished to move with his family and 
 household goods and chatties, (patent meilicines, wooden nut- 
 megs and all,) to any point in the Union, he could travel what- 
 ever route he ])leased, sure of obtaining, both in the South and 
 in his own section, that security of liberty and properly, which 
 the fetleral compact guaranteetl to the citizens of all the S'utes. 
 Similar privileges were, however, not allowetl to southerners. If 
 a citizen of Baltimore proposed to emigrate to the State ot Mis- 
 souri with his )ir(>|»ei tv, he was obliged to ^choose some other, 
 than the most direct loute to St. Louis. lie could neither travel 
 via New York and Chicago, nor via Pittsburg and Cinciniiatti. 
 lie was not eveil permitted to go ovri the l^;diimoie and Ohio* 
 liailroavl to Wheeling, aiid thence, through llie States of Ohio, 
 
on, TREASON UNMASKED. llJi 
 
 Indiana and Illinois. The condition of ^chronic, insurrection 
 asx^insi the federal autliority, iu all tlie free States, waine i hiftj 
 {Virainst the danger of such a course. If he attemptei it. he was 
 not only certain of having his servants forcibly torn from him, 
 but there was a strong likelihood of getting his head hroken 
 and being thrust into a felon's cell, upon the charge of kidnap- 
 ing. 
 
 The rebels, as it were, held military possession of the free 
 Stales. They picketed the hif/htvai/s and garrisoned the towns 
 and cities of the same. And so, the inexorable law of military 
 necessity cmnpelled our .would-be emigrant to Missouri, to select 
 some cirrMitous route thiough the southern States, in order to 
 reach in saifety the object of his destination. 
 
 Thus was the whole North country "occupied and posse,sscd,^^ 
 by a law-defying, rebellious populace, long before the memorable 
 year of 1860. Moreover, if any person committed a criminal 
 offence against the laws of a northern State, and escaped to a 
 southern State, no difficulty was ever encountered in obtaining, 
 from the civil authorities of the same, the surrender of the 
 fugitive when found, or whatever aid and countenance might 
 facilitate his capture. Both the people and the authoiilies in 
 the southern States, fulfilled the terms of the federal com])act in 
 spirit and in truth. On the other hand, let any enterprising 
 Yankee rogue, steal a slave and make off with him to a northern 
 State; hg, invariably, found an asylum anywhere in the North, 
 even though his offence might have been aggiavated bv l/ie com- 
 mission, of ot/icr crimes. The State Governors refused to deliver 
 him up, and the southern gentlemen who made the (hMuand, if 
 they tlid not travel incog., were apt to meet with rough treatment 
 at the hands of th6^sover<;ign people. Among the high northern 
 officials whose conduct furnishes exemplifications of this guber- 
 natorial trea8<in, W. II. Seward is conspicuous. 
 
 Nearly twenty years before the secession of the South, this 
 great pillar of legitimacy refused to deliver up, upon the de-* 
 maud of (jiovernor (lilmcr, of Virginia, an abolition thief who 
 had escaped to New York. Be it remembered, that Governor 
 Gilmer resigned his office, because the Virginia legislature, at 
 that time, would not resent the insult to the State. 
 
 Thus djd the South, for a wlKtle generation, respect the arti- 
 cles of a ciunpact which the masses at the North habitually 
 disregarded, and trampled underfoot. Hut she did more than 
 this. Fur the sake nt' domestic traii(|iiility, '■ho suijuiitfcd to 
 the passage of uacuustitutional acts which robbed her of that 
 
120 THE TWO rebellions; 
 
 equality in the territmries which the constitution guarantied. 
 The '* coiupniniisc acts' >ui tliey were cailol, pas-sed as they 
 were by an unautliurizeil budy, could not affect the substantial 
 terms ot the original compact. And such was the decision of 
 the judiciary time and agiiin. In I80O, as in 171>."i, in all of 
 its original grand jiroportiuns, the constitution stood intcict, 
 until alterefl according to the mode provided for IN IT. Con- 
 gressional legislati«in was powerless to change it. So that, 
 every violation of it which had been committed, might have 
 been properly treated as such, whenever a power arose to .vin- 
 dicate its authority. Indeed, it woiiJd have been perfectly 
 proper for all the loyal States of the riiion, long ago to have 
 repudiated all tho.se "compromise acts" which politicians had 
 patched up for their own j)urposes, and treated as rebels all 
 who persisted in carrying out such "statutes of Congress.", 
 
 IJut there was no power to vindicate the authority of the 
 violated constitution, because the motive for loyalty was not 
 sufficient. It was not until the very integrity of the political 
 and social institution of the Suuth was threatened with de- 
 struction by tliese same rel)els, that a re-establishment of legit- 
 imate authority was contemplated. Then the motives of safety 
 became superior to those of loyalty, and the South simply se- 
 ceded, instead of attempting to restore, by force of arms, the 
 authority of the constitution. 
 
 Thus did treason gradually insinuate itself into plaoes of in- 
 fluence and power; and by familiarizing the public with its 
 Ibrm and appearance, came finally, when it got, possession of the 
 symbols and sceptre of legitimacy, to be recognized by foreign 
 nations as the true representative of the old government. 
 
 If it isassuujcd that the old Federal Congress were, all along, 
 invested with the powers of a convention of the States, the by- 
 pothesis of the legitimacy of the Lincoln government might 
 po.ssess some degree of plausibility. Hut every school-boy 
 knows the absurdity of such an assumption. It was nothing 
 more than a contrivance for carrying out the will of the con- 
 iederate sovereigns, as expre.s.sed in the written articles of agree- 
 ment. They had no more authority to set aside their ^* letter 
 i>J iiist ructions" than any other ecpial number oi" American cit- 
 izens. A convention of railroitd agents, preachei-s, or consta- 
 bles, were eiiually authorized to issue unconstitutional edicts. 
 For what ('ongress had no ri</ht to do w.is as wrong in them as 
 it could be in others. And, when impelled V>y hate, lust of 
 power and plunder, the rebels went from one degree of lawless- 
 
Ok, TRBA80N UNMASKIl). 121 
 
 ness to another, until they substituted for the constitution the 
 dogmas of phitforms and the articles of "the higher law" they 
 were guilty of opeu rebellion and impartial history will so de- 
 cide. 
 
 » ♦ « 
 
 CHAPTER XXVITI. 
 
 TttK OB.IKCT OF THE SKCK8SI0K MOVKMKN'T AND THE U8K MADK 
 OF IT IIY THE REBF,LS— WHAT SL'BJCGATIOX MEANS AND THE 
 ONLY MODE OF PREVENTING IT. 
 
 "When the insurrection of the malignant malcontents of the 
 North had accomiilished the overtlirow of the authority of the 
 constitutional league, and seized upon the official insignia and 
 seals of the legitimate powers at Washington, it became necessa- 
 ry for the loyalists of the South, whose destruction was one of 
 the avowed objects of the rebels, to devise some mode of self- 
 preservation. The violent sei^^iire of the substantial majesty of 
 the government, and the illegal and mutinous appropriation of 
 all the emblems and" badges of federal authority, put at the 
 disposal of the rebels the civil and military power 6f the sover- 
 eign whose throne they had filled with a usurper. The emer- 
 gency admitted of no faint-hearte<lness, no hesitation on the 
 part of the southern loyalists. The inter«st of Iiumanit\,as well 
 as their own. demanded prompt and decided action. The sub- 
 stitution of the capricious will of some hundred and forty des- 
 perate bad men for the constitution, whose venerable form was 
 still dear to many, release<l the loyalitts from any obedience to 
 the infernal similitude of legitimacy which wielded the power* 
 and wore the image of the old gosernment. But two alterna- 
 tives remained short of cowardly submission to the revolutionary 
 supremacy of the rebels. One was to raise the " flag of the 
 Union," and call upon the loyalists of the whole country to come 
 to the rescue of the constitution and laws; the other was a for- 
 mal resumption of their delegated powers by the southern 
 States and the foimation of a new league among them, for the 
 purpose of self-defence. 
 
 The first method would, undoubtedly, have enlisted the sym- 
 pathy and material assistatve of a large number of the northern 
 d«»roo<rat*. Many would gladly have rushed to arros to restore 
 11 
 
122 THE TWO rebellions; 
 
 to its 8oat of power, the despised and banished constitution of 
 their fathers. IJut it would certainly have plunged the country 
 into a civil war, and installed a conrtict which, in ferocity and 
 savage brutality, would, in all probability, have exceeded that 
 which rages now. 
 
 The South shrunk from an alternative, the contemplation of 
 which peopled the future with such horrors. In tlie inn*)cenco 
 of a heart, which was bent on peace, though firm in its purpose 
 of freedom, it was fondly dreamed that the adoption of the 
 second alterative would prove a remedy for all the evils which 
 threatened her. It not ouly promised peace, but opened up the 
 delightful prospect of a permanent seperation frotu political 
 partners, who were mean, treacherous, and oalh-breaking; whose 
 covetousness was insatiable, and whose love of fault-finding and 
 hypocritical cant made their companionship, not only disagree- 
 able, but absolutely loathsome. If this desire of seperation, in 
 the judgment of the disinterested, argues a want of lofty forget- 
 fulness of self in the South, it should be rem^inbered how, for 
 the sake of domestic tranquility, she had submitted for thirty 
 years, to be swindled, abused and insulted, by their political 
 brethren, and, not until the safety of her life was threatened, did 
 she finally resolved to assert, and, by the h'felp of (Jod, maintain 
 "a seperate and equal station." 
 
 But, disregarding the weight of tlie reason which southern 
 inclination and . interest furnished as a sullicient justification of 
 secession, there was another which, alone should, in the eyes of 
 all the world, vindicate the conduct of the South. This was the 
 probability of preserving the public peace, by a formal separa- 
 tion. She proposed to leave her political brethren to themselves, 
 and let them enjoy, in undisturbed bliss, the self-imposed curse 
 of republicanism. If the North were willing to receive, as their 
 rulers, the daring traitors who had deposed the constitution, the 
 South thought that, for the sake of peace, she would not inter- 
 fere in the matter. She would leave the North to shape her 
 own destiny, and would, without drawing anything from the 
 common stock, go out into the world and set up for herself. 
 
 Had the rebels aimed at mere political reform, the withdrawal 
 of the South would have satisfied them. But the sequel shows 
 that behind their perjury and treason lay som^jing worse 
 than a mere factious and criminal zeal for ])olitical change. To 
 an inordinate desire for the power and the spoils of office, they 
 united a malignant hostility to the southerner, which envy and 
 covetousness inflamed to an incredible degree of intensity. 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 123 
 
 After the triumph of their treason in their own section, the des- 
 truction of the South became the paramount object of the in- 
 surrectionists. They converted the secession of the South into 
 a means of strengthing their own usurpation of power. Occu- 
 cupying the attention of the northern masses, with lugubrious 
 and heart-rending lamentations over the breaking up of the 
 dear old political family, and the horrible crime of secession, 
 they diverted the public observation from their own villainous 
 treason. Artfully mingling, with solicitations of patriotic effort, 
 insidious appeals to the worst passions of humanity, they com- 
 manded the enthusiastic support of the frenzied people of the 
 North, though promulgating their edicts from amid the ruins 
 of the strongholds of freedom. 
 
 Day after day, still repeating the same political strategy, 
 which ever chamcterizes the growth of despotisms, they have 
 gradually succeeded in destroying every bulwark of northern 
 liberty. Only the hollow forms and cherished images through 
 which the banished spirit once manifested itself, has survived the 
 general ruin ; and to these, the corrupt and degraded populace 
 yet cling, as if the spirit which once animated them had not long 
 since been expelled. By what precise indirection and crooked 
 paths the reliels have gradually succeeded in becoming absolute 
 masters of the whole military strength of the North, Heaven 
 only knows. Though it would be hardly considered indiscreet 
 or audacious to hazard the conjecture that the unrevealed his- 
 tory of their rise to power would exhibit, if possible, greater 
 evidences of human depravity than what has been brazenly ex- 
 posed to the public gaze. 
 
 Theologians say that the sense of shame is generally the rear- 
 guard of virtue in its final evacuation Df the human bosom. So 
 that, when its presence can no longer be discovered, it is safe to 
 conclude that sin holds undisturbed possession of the premises. 
 Now, the rebels at Washington, even in those public documents 
 wherein the most vicious and abandoned pretenders to th« dig- 
 nity of a legitimate government, profess to respect the human 
 instincts of decency and propriety, exhibit a total loss of the 
 sense of shame. This "Washington concern" actually seems 
 to take pleasure in defying and outraging those common instincts 
 of our species — which stand like sentinels on the outpost* of 
 virtue to guard u^ from the utter beastliness of insensate brutes. 
 If, then, they dare to display to the world, with iron faces, such 
 a moral condition, what seas of death an4 corruption, what in- 
 conceivable pictures of wickedness, would the hibtory of their 
 
124 THE TWO REBELLION*; 
 
 .>• 
 
 inner life reveal, Xo doubt, if we could penetrate the niv«tery 
 which envelopes the (inrk and cnioked wavs of the leHding con- 
 8{)iriitors, we would leaiii much thai would l>t' interestinir. thouirh 
 little thai would more dearly^ exphtin their desii^ns than that 
 which has already transpired. \Ve would fni<l that, like the 
 Chatham rebels, they ai:reed upon a "plan of adiun,"' and on 
 one equally as audacious and radical. No doubt, anticipating 
 the future, they apportioned the expected plunder and power, 
 and airreed upon a system of oppression as unnatural and odious 
 as lias since been put in practice. But, since lanjiuafje is con* 
 fcsse ily inadequate to descsibe the well-known hellish features 
 of their revealed system, it would be vain to attempt to portray 
 the in)aj;ined horrors of their theoretical plan. It is plain, how- 
 ever, that they have entertained from the beirinnintr, and do now 
 cherish, above every other purpose, the design of appropriatin{|j 
 the estates of the southern slaveholder, and exfiipHtiiii; the 
 ni'ist in!-ifri)ifi<anl scion of southern chivalrv. An inborn, cvdti- 
 vated. and imhilijfed hatred of the southern gentleman, cond>ined 
 with an intense desiie of his property, are the rulinjj passions. 
 In whatever respect they may be turned from the prosecution of 
 their other purposes by a cowardly and disgraceful submission, 
 from these two master designs, nothing short of southern 
 triumph will drivej^hem. 
 
 The South may accept infamy; she may surrender every prin- 
 ciple for the maintenance of the right of which she first drew 
 her loyal sworil ; she may cU)the herself in the habiliments of 
 liumilily and, loading her abject body with the fetters of a slave, 
 go and kneel at the feet of< her foe, suj>|»licating for mercv with 
 all the eloquence of wretched despair — it will avail her nothing. 
 She will then learn, to her sham less sorrow, what n)brble-hearted 
 demons avarice and liaie have ma<le of tlie Yankees. Spurned 
 and spit upon, and rudely hustled from the conqueror's presence, 
 she will be left a homeless, penniless wanderer, with no resort 
 but to forever abandon her native soil, or drag out a dreary life 
 of bon<lage to th« hated northerner. 
 
 j\nlhin(/ but heroic c[f'urt, in Jier own behalf, can sai'e her from 
 eternal infamy and destruction. Let her but once pause in that 
 high career wliiidi has wrung a<lmiration from a hostile wor'd ; 
 let her once consent to com|iouiul her fair name, or sully, by one 
 act of meanness, the brightness of a glory whiih the precious 
 blood of earth's aristocracy has purchased, then will the fountain 
 of her strength be poisoned, the sun of her system be darkened, 
 
OR, TREASON UNMASKED. 125 
 
 and, like a tuneless harp, bereft at once of its cliarm and its 
 power, she will be despised, ne<flectcd, and forgotten. 
 
 Uonor is the spirit which animates, sustains, and dignifies her 
 being. It is her national source of vitality, as her trust in God 
 is her battle armor. Stain it, and the spell is broken, the citadel 
 is lost; and, like the shorn Sampson of old, the mighty giant, 
 who once defied a world in arms, falls a deluded and helpless 
 victim into the hands of her malignant and perfidious enemies. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 PROVISIONAL 
 
 CONSTITUTION AND ORDINANCES 
 
 TOR THE 
 
 PEOPLE OV THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 PREAMBLE. 
 
 Whereas slavery, throughout its entire existence in the United 
 States, is none other than a most barbarous, unprovoked, 
 and unjustifiable war of one portion of its citizens upon an- 
 other portion, the only conditions of which are perpetual 
 imprisonment and hopeless servitude, or absolute extermina- 
 tion, in utter disregard and violation of the eternal and self- 
 evident truths set forth in our declaration of independence ; 
 Therefore — 
 
 We, citizens of the United States, and the oppressed people 
 who, by a recent decision of the supreme court, are declared to 
 have no rights which the white man is bound to respect, to- 
 gether with all other people degraded by the laws thereof, do, 
 for the time being, ordain and establish for ourselves, the fol- 
 lowing provisional constitution and ordinances the better to 
 protect ourselves, property, lives, and liberties, and to govern 
 our actions: 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 Qualification for Members. 
 
 All persons of mature age, whether proscribed, oppressed, 
 and enslaved citizens, or of the proscribed and oppressed races 
 of the Uaited States, who shall agree to suataiD and eDforce 
 
130 APPENDIX. 
 
 the provisional constitution and ordinances of this orpanisa> 
 tion, together with all minor children of such persons, shall be 
 held to be fully entitled to protection under the same. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 Branches of Government. 
 
 The provisional government of this organization shall con- 
 sist of three branches, viz : legislative, executive, and judicial. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 Legislative. 
 
 The legislative branch shall be a Congress, or House of Rep- 
 resentatives, composed of not less th:in five nor moie than ten 
 members, who shall be elected by all citizens of mature age 
 and sound mind, connected with this organization, and who 
 shall remain in office for three years, unless sooner removed for 
 misconduct, inability, or by death. A majority of such mem- 
 bers shall constitute a quorum. 
 
 ARTICLE- IV. 
 
 Executive. 
 
 The executive branch of this organization shall consist of a 
 President and Vice President, vi\\o shall be chosen by the 
 citizens or members of this organization, and each of whom 
 shall hold his office for three years, unless sooner removed by 
 death, or for inability or misconduct. 
 
 ARTICLE T. 
 
 Judlvial. 
 
 The judicial branch of this organization shall consist of 
 one chief justice of the supreme court, and of four associate 
 judges of said court; each constituting a circuit court. They 
 shall each be chosen in the same manner as the President, 
 and shall continue in office until their places have been filled 
 in the same manner by electioa of the citiiens. Said court 
 
APPENDIX. 131 
 
 shall have jurisdiction in all civil or criminal causes arising 
 under this constitution except breaches of the rules of war. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 Validity of Enactments. 
 
 All enactments of the legislative branch, shall, to become 
 valid during the first three years, have the approbation of the 
 President and of the commander-in-chief of the army. 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 
 Commander-in-Chief. 
 
 A commander-in-chief of the army shall be chosen by the 
 President, Vice-President, a majority of the Provisional Con- 
 gress and of the supreme court, and he shall receive his com- 
 mission from the President, signed by the Vice-President the 
 chief justice of the supreme court, and the Secretary of War; 
 and he shall hold his office for three years unless removed by 
 death, or on proof of incapacity or misbehavior. He shall, 
 unless under arrest, (and until his place is actually filled as 
 provided for by the constitution,) direct all movements of the 
 army, and advise with any allies. He shall, however, be 
 tried, removed or punished, on complaint to the President 
 by at least three general officers, or a majority of the House of 
 Pepresentatives, or of the supreme court. Which House of 
 Representatives, (the President presiding,) the Vice President, 
 and the members of the supreme court, shall constitute a 
 court martial, for his trial ; with power to remove or punish, 
 as the case «iay require, and to fill his place as above provided. 
 
 ARTICLE VIII. 
 
 Officers. 
 
 A Treasurer, Secretary of* State, Secretary of War and 
 Secretary of the Treasury, shall each be chosen for the first 
 three years, in the same way and manner as the commander-in- 
 chief; subject to trial or removal on complaint of the Presi- 
 dent, Vice-President, or commander-in-chief, to the chief 
 justice of the supreme court; or on complaint of a majority of 
 the members of such court, or the Provisional Congresa. Tho 
 
132 APPENDIX. i 
 
 supreme court shall have power to try or punish cither of these 
 officersi, aud tlicir j. laces .shall be dlled as before. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 Secretary of War. A. 
 
 The Secretary of War shall be under the immediate direc- 
 tion of the coniujandt'r-iu-chief ; who may temporarily fill hit 
 place in case of arrest or of any inability to serve. 
 
 ARTICLE X . 
 
 The House of Representatives shall make ordinances pro- 
 vidiuf^ for the appointment (by the l^resideut or otherwise) of 
 all civil officers excepting those already named; and shall have 
 power to make all laws and ordinances for the general good^ 
 not incousistant with this oonstitutioD and these ordiDanceHj 
 
 ARTICLE XI. 
 
 Appropriation of Money, etc. 
 
 The Provisional Congress shall have power to appropriate 
 money or other property actually i« the hands of the treasurer, 
 to any object calculated to promote the general good, so far as 
 may be consistent with the provisions of this constitution;' 
 aud may, in certain cases, appmpriute, for a moderate compen- 
 sation of agents, or persons not members of this organization 
 for important services, they are knowu to have rendered. 
 
 ARTICLE XII. 
 
 Special Duties. 
 
 It shall be the duty of Congress to provide for the instant 
 removal of any civil officer or policeman, who becomes habit- 
 ually iMtoxicated, or who is aildicted to other immoral con- 
 duct, or any neglect or unfaithfulness in the discharge of 
 his official duties. Congress shall also be a standing com- 
 mittee of safety, for the purpose of obtaining important in- 
 formation; and shall be in constant communication with the 
 commander-in-chief; the members of which shall each, as also 
 the President, Vice President, members of the supreme court, 
 
APPENDIX. ISo 
 
 and Secretary of State, have full power to issue warrants, re- 
 turnable as Congress shah ordain, (naming witnesses, etc.,) 
 upon their own infoiuiatiuu, without the formahty of a com- 
 phiint. Complaint shall be immediately made after arrest, and 
 Jbefore trial > the party arrested to be served with a copy at 
 once. 
 
 ARTICLE XIII. 
 
 Trial of President and other Officers. 
 
 The President and Vice President, may either of them be 
 tried, removed or punished, on complaint made to the chief 
 justice of the supreme court, by a majority of the House of 
 Representatives, which House, together with the associate 
 judges of the sup;enie court, (the whole to be presided over by 
 the chief justice in cases of the trial of the Vice President,) 
 shall have full power to try such officers, to remove or punigh, 
 as the case may require, and to fill any vacauc}' so occurring, 
 the same as in case of the commander-in-chief. 
 
 ARTICLE XIV. 
 Trial of Members of Congrsss. 
 
 The members of the House of Representatives may, any and 
 all of them, be tried, and, on conviction, removed or punished, 
 on complaint before the chief justice of the supreme court, 
 made liy an}'^ number of the members of said House exceed- 
 ing one third, which House, with the Vice-President and asso- 
 ciate judges of the supreme court, shall constitute the proper 
 tribunal, with power to fill such vacancies. 
 
 ARTICLE XV. 
 
 Impeachment of Jnd<jcs. 
 
 Any member of the supreme court moy also be impeached, 
 tried, convicted or punished, by renK>val or otherwise, (-n 
 complaint to the President who shall, in such case, preside; 
 the Vice President, Houcc of Representatives, and other mem- 
 bers of tlio supreme court, eonstitufing the proper tribunal, 
 (with power to fill vacancies,) oa complaint of a msinritv of 
 12 
 
io^ APPEXLIX. 
 
 said House of Representatives, or of the supreme court; a 
 majority of the wliolc having power to decide. 
 
 ARTICLE XVI. 
 
 Dutirx of Prrsiilvnt and Secretary of State. 
 
 The President, with the Secretary of State, shall, immedi- 
 ately upon entering nix>n the duties of their office, give special 
 attention to secure, from amongst their own people, men vf in- 
 tegrity, intelligence, and good business habits and capacity, 
 and, above all, of first rate moral and religious character and 
 influence, to act as civil officers of every description and grade, 
 as well as teachers, chaplains, physicians, surgeons, mechanics, 
 agents of every description, clerks and messengers. They shall 
 make special efforts to induce, at the earliest possible period, 
 persons and families of that description to locate themselves 
 within the limits secured by this organization, and shall, more- 
 over, from time to time, supply the names and residence of such 
 persons to Congress, for their special notice and information, as 
 among the most important of their duties; and the IVesidcnt is 
 hereby authorized and empowered to afford special aid to such, 
 from such moderate appropriations as the (Aingress shall be able, 
 and may deem it available, to make for that object. The Pres- 
 ident and Secretary of State, and, in case of dis;»greement, the 
 Vice President, shall appoint all civil officers, but shall not 
 have power to remove any ofllcer. All removals shall be the 
 result of a fair trial, whether civil or military. 
 
 A U T I C L H XV 1 1 . 
 
 Furthrr pntii.t. 
 
 It shall be the duty of the President and Secretary of State 
 to tiud out, as soon as possible, the real friends, as well as ene- 
 mies of this organization in every part of the country; to se- 
 cure among them inn-keepers, private postmasters, private mail 
 contract<:jr8, messengers and agents, through whom may be ob- 
 tained correct and regular information constantly, recruits for 
 the service, places of deposit and s:ile, together with all needed 
 supplies ; and it shall be matter of si)ecial regard to secure 
 Huoh facilities through the northern States. 
 
APPENDIX. 135 
 
 ARTICLE XVIII. 
 
 Duty of the President. 
 
 It shall be the duty of the President, as well as the HoTise 
 of Representatives, at all times, to inform the commander-in- 
 chief of any matter that may require his attention, or that may 
 afiect the public safety. 
 
 ARTICLB XIX, 
 
 Duty of President — Continued. 
 
 It shall be the duty of the J*resident to see that the provis- 
 ional ordinances of this organization, and those made by Con- 
 gress, are promptly and faithfully executed, and he may, in 
 cases of great urgency, call on the commander-in-chief of the 
 army, or other officers, for aid ; it being, however, intended 
 that a sufficient civil police shall always be in readiness to se- 
 cure implicit obedience to law. 
 
 ARTICLE XX. 
 
 >^ The Vice President. 
 
 The Vice President shall be the presiding officer of the Pro- 
 visional Congress; and, in cases of tie, shall give the castijig 
 vote. 
 
 ARTICLE XXI. 
 
 Vacancies. 
 
 In case of the death, removal, or inability of the President, 
 the Vice President, and next to him the chief justice of the 
 supreme court, shall be the I'resident during the remainder of 
 the term ; and the place of the chief justice, thus made vacant, 
 shall be filled by Congress from some of the members of said 
 court; and the places of the Vice President and associate jus- 
 tice, thus made vacant, filled by an election by the united ac- 
 tion of the Provisional Congress and members of the supreme 
 court. All other vacancies, not hereafter specially provided 
 for, shall, during the first three years, be filled by the united 
 action of the President, Vice President, Buprem* court, and 
 commander-in-chief of the armv. 
 
13G APPENDIX. 
 
 ARTICLE XXII. 
 
 Punishment of Crimet. 
 
 The punishment of crimes, not capital, except in case of in- 
 fiubordinute convicts or other prisoners, sh.ill be (so far as may 
 be) by hard lal>or on the public worLi, rouds, &c. 
 
 ARTICLE XXIII. 
 
 Army Appointments. 
 
 It sliall be the duty of all coniniissi'ined (tfficers of the army 
 to name candidates of merit for «mce or elevation to tlie c^nn- 
 uiander-in-chief, who. with the Secretary of War, and, in casa 
 of disaj^reement, the President, shall be the appoiuti^t; power 
 of the army; and all commissions of military ntheers shall bear 
 the signatures of the commander-in-chief and Secretary of War. 
 And it shall be the special duty of the Secretary of War to 
 keep, for constant refeience nf the cummnnder-iii-chief. a full 
 list of names <tf persons iKiminated f >r office or elevation, by the 
 officers of the army, with the name and rank of the officer nom- 
 inating, stating briefly, but distinctly, the grounds for each 
 notice or nomination. The commander-in-chief shall not have 
 power to remov«? or punish any officer or soldier; but he may 
 order their arrest and trial, at any time, by court martial. 
 
 ARTICLE XXIV. 
 
 Courts Martial. 
 
 Courts martial for companies, regiments, brigades, etc., shall 
 be called by the chief oHicer of each command, on complaint 
 to him by any officer, or any five privates in such command, 
 and shall consist of not less than five nor more than nine offi- 
 cers, non-commissioned officers and privates, one half of whom 
 shall not be lower in rank than the person on trial, to be chosen 
 by the three highest officers in the couunand, which officers 
 shall not be a part of such court. The chief officer of any com- 
 mand shall, of c*mrse, be tried by u court marti.d of the com- 
 mand above his own. All decisions aflecling the lives of per- 
 sons, or office of persons hoUling c^mmi-sions. mnst, before 
 taking full effect, have the signaiurw of the commuuder-in- 
 
APPENDIX. 13" 
 
 chief, who may, also, on th^' rccnmmendation of at least ono 
 third of the members of the c-urt martial finding any septenco, 
 grant a reprieve or commutation of the same. 
 
 ARTICLE XXV. 
 
 Salaries. 
 
 No person connected with this orpranization shall be entitled 
 to any salary, pay or emolument, other than a competent sup- 
 port of himself and fiimily, unless it be from an equal dividend, 
 made of public property, on the esiiablishment of peace, or of 
 special provision by treaty; which provision shall be made for 
 all persons who have been in an}^ active civil or military ser- 
 vice, at any time previous to any hostile action, fbr liberty and 
 equality. 
 
 ARTICLE XXVI. 
 
 7\'eaties of Peace. 
 
 Before any treaty of peace shall take full effect, it shall be 
 signed by the President ^nd Vice President, the commander- 
 in-chief, a majority of tne House of Ilepresentativea, a majority 
 of the supreme court, and a majority of all the general officers 
 of the army. 
 
 ARTICLE XXVII. 
 
 Dutt/ of the Military. 
 
 ■' I 
 It shall he the duty of the commander-in-chief, and all offi- 
 cers and soldiers of the arm}', to afford special proteQi,ion, when 
 needed, to Congress, or any member thereof; to the supreme 
 court, or any member thereof; to the I^esident, Vice Presi- 
 dent, Treasurer, Secretary of istate, Secretary of the Treasury, 
 and Secretary of War; and to affftrd general protection to all 
 civil officers, or other persons having right to the same. 
 
 ARTICLE XXVIII. 
 
 All captured or confiscated property, and all property, fho 
 product of the .labor of those belonging to this organization 
 and of their families, shall be held as the property of the whole, 
 equally, without distinction, and may he used for the common 
 benefit, or disposed of for the same object; and any person, 
 
^■'•'^ AI'I'EXblX. 
 
 I'iliccr, or otherwise, who shall ijmpropcrly retain, secrete, use, 
 or needlessly destroy such property, or property found, captured, 
 or co6^scated, belonging to the enemy, or shall.willfully neg- 
 lect to render a full and fair statement of such property by him 
 so taken or held, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, 
 on conviction, shall be punished accordingly. 
 
 ARTICLE XXIX. 
 
 Safety or IntdHijence Fund, 
 
 All money, plate, watches, or jewelry, captured by honorable 
 warfare, found, taken, or confiscated, belonging to the enemy, 
 shall beheld sacred, to constitute a liberal safety or iutelligenco 
 fund; and any person who shall improperly retain, dispose of, 
 hide, use, or destroy such money or other article above named, 
 contrary to the provisions and spirit of this article, shall be 
 deemed guilty of thet\, and, on conviction thereof, shall bo 
 punished accordingly. The treasurer shall furnish the com- 
 mander-in-chief, at all times, with a full statement of the cou- 
 ditiou oi* such fund and its nature. 
 
 ARTICLE XXX. 
 
 Tht Commander-in-Chief and the Treasury. 
 
 The commander-in-chief shall also have power to draw from 
 the treasury the money and other property of the fund provided 
 for in article twenty-ninth, but his orders shall be signed also 
 by the Secretary of War, who shall heep strict account of the 
 same, subject to examination by any member of Congress or 
 general officer. 
 
 ARTICLE XXXI. 
 
 Surplus of the Safety or Intelligence Fund. 
 
 It shall be the duty of the commander-in-ohiof to advise tho 
 President of any surplus of the safety and intellipenco fund; 
 who shall have power to draw such surplus (his order being 
 also signed by the Secretary of State) to enable him to carry 
 out the provisions of article seventeenth. 
 
 ARTICLE XXXII. 
 
 No person, after having surrendered himself or herself % 
 
APPENDIX. 130 
 
 prisoner, and wlio shall properly demean himself or herself as 
 such, toany officer or private connected with this organization, 
 shall afterwards be put to death or subjected to any corporeal 
 punishment, without first having had a fair and impartial trial; 
 nor shall any prisoner be treated with any kind of cruelty, dis- 
 respect, insult, or needless severity; but it shall be the duty of 
 all persons, male and female, connected herewith, at all times, 
 and under all circumstances, to treat such prisoners with every 
 degree of respect and kindness the nature of the circumstances 
 will admit of; and to insist on a like course of conduct from 
 all others, as in the fear of Almighty God, to whose care and 
 keeping we commit our cause. 
 
 ARTICLE XXXIII. 
 -» Voluntaries. 
 
 All persons who may come forward and shall voluntarily de- 
 liver up their slaves, and have their names registered on the 
 books of the organization, shall, so long as they continue at 
 peace, be entitled to the fullest protection of person and prop- 
 erty, though not connected with this organization, and shall 
 be treated as friends and not mearly as persons neutral. 
 
 ARTICLE XXXIV. 
 
 The persons and property of all non-slaveholders, who shall 
 remain absolutely neutral, shall be respected so far as the cir- 
 cumstances can allow of it; but they shall not be entitled to 
 any executive protection. 
 
 ARTICLE XXXV. 
 
 No Needless Wa$te. 
 
 The needless waste or destruction of any useful property or 
 article by fire, throwing open of fences, fields, buildings, or 
 needless killing of animals, or injury of either, shall not be 
 tolerated at any time or place, but shall be promptly aud prop- 
 erly punished. 
 
 ARTICLE XXXVI. 
 
 Prnjperty Conjiitcated . 
 
 The entire personal and real property of all pcraons known 
 to be acting, directly or indirectly, with or for the enemy, ox 
 
HO APPENDIX. 
 
 found in arms with them, or found wilfully holding slaves, shall 
 be confiscated and taken, whenever and wherever it may be 
 found, either in free or slave States. 
 
 ARTICLE XXXVII. 
 
 Desertion. 
 
 Persons convicted, on impartial trial, of derscrtion to the 
 enemy, after becoming members, acting as spies, or of treacher- 
 ous surrender of property, arms, ammunition, provisions or 
 supplies of any kind, roads, bridges, persons, or fortifications, 
 shall be put to death, and their entire property confiscated.- 
 
 ARTICLE XXXVIII. 
 Violation of Parole of Honor. 
 
 Persons proven to be guilty of taking up arms after having 
 been set at liberty ou parole of honor, or, ai"ter the same, to 
 have taken any active part with or for the enemy, direct or in- 
 direct, shall be put to death and their entire property confis- 
 cated. 
 
 ARTICLE XXXIX. 
 All Must Labor. 
 
 All persons connected in any way with this organization, 
 and who may be entitled to full protection under it, shall be 
 held, as under obligation, to labor in some way for the general 
 good; and persons neglecting or refusing so to do, shall, on 
 conviction, receive a suitable and appropriate punishment. 
 
 ARTICLE XL. 
 
 Irregularities. 
 
 Profane swearing, filthy conversation, indecent behavior, or 
 indecent exposure of the person, or intoxication, or quarreling, 
 fihall not be allowed or tolerated, neither unlawful intercourse 
 of the sexes. 
 
APPZNDIX. 141 
 
 ARTICLE XLI. 
 Vn'tnes. 
 
 Persons convicted of tlie forcible violation of any female 
 prisoner, shall be put to death. 
 
 ARTICLE XLII. 
 
 The Marriage Relation — Schools — The Sabbath. 
 
 The marriage relation sball, at all times, be respected, and 
 families kept together as far as possible, and broken families 
 encouraged tore-unite; and intelligence offices established, as 
 soon as may be, for the purpose of religious and other instruc- 
 tion ; and the first day of the week regarded as a day of rest 
 and appropriated to moral and religious instruction, and im- 
 provement, relief of the suffering, instruction of the young 
 and igunrant, and the encouragment of personal cleanliness; 
 nor shall any person be required, on that day, to perform ordi- 
 nary manual labor, unless in extremely urgent cases. 
 
 ARTICLE XLIII. 
 
 Carry Arms Openly. 
 
 All persons, known to be of good character, and of sound 
 mind, and suitable age, who are connected with this organiza- 
 tion, whether male or female, shall be encouraged to carry 
 arms openly. 
 
 ARTICLE XLIV. 
 No Person to carry Concealed Weapons. 
 
 No persons within the limits of the conquered territory* 
 I except regularly appointed policemen, express officers, officers 
 I of the army, mail carriers, or other fully accredited messengers 
 , of the Congress, President, Vice-President, members of the 
 supreme court, or commissioned officer of the army — and those 
 only under peculiar circumstances — shall be allowed, at any- 
 time, to carry concealed weapons, and any person not specially 
 authorized so to do, who shall be found so doing, shall be 
 deemed a suspicious person and may at once be arrested by 
 any officer^ soldier, or citizen, without the formality of a oom> 
 
14J APPENDlXj 
 
 plaint or warrant, and may at once be subjected to thorou^rh 
 search, and shall have his or her case thorouiihly investigated, 
 aud be dealt with as circumstances, or proof, may require. 
 
 ARTICLE XLV. 
 
 Persona to he Seized. 
 
 Persons within tha limits of the territory holden by this or- 
 ganization, not Connected with this orjranization, having arms 
 at all, concealed or otherwise, shall be seized at once, or be 
 taken in charge of some Tigilant oflSccr, and their case thorough- 
 ly investigated, and it shall be the duty of all citizens and 
 soldiers, as well as officers, to arrest such parties as are named 
 in this and the preceding section, or without the formality of 
 complaint or warrant ; and they shall be placed in charge '• 
 some proper officer for examination or for safe keeping. 
 
 ARTICLE XL VI. 
 These Articles not for the Overthrow of Government. 
 
 The foregoing articles shall not be construed so as in aay 
 
 way to encourage the overthrow of any State government, or of 
 the general government of the United States, and look to no 
 dissolution of the Union, but simply to aiucudment and repeal 
 And our flag shall bo the aame that our fathers fought uuder 
 in the revolution. 
 
 ARTICLE XLVII. 
 
 No two of the offices specially provided for, by this instru-s 
 ment, shall be filled by the same person, at the same time. ' 
 
 ARTICLE XLVIII. ! 
 
 Oath. 
 
 Every officer, civil or military, connected with this organiza- 
 tion, shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, make 
 oath or affirmation to abide by and support this provisional 
 constitution and these ordinances. Also, every citizen and 
 soldier, before being fully recognized as such, shall do the 
 name. \ 
 
AITINBIX. 
 
 SCHEDULE. 
 
 143 
 
 The President of this convention shall convene, immediately 
 on the adoption of this instrument, a convention of all such 
 persons as shall have given their adherence, by signature, to 
 the constitution ; who shall proceed to fill, by election, all 
 oflSces specially named in said constitution, the President of 
 this convention presiding, and issuing commissions to such 
 officers elect. All such officers being thereafter elected in the 
 mauner provided in the body of this instrument. 
 t 
 
 "i^ 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 15, line 9. For "poured," read "fused." 
 Page 15, line next to .bottom. For "homes," read "hoi 
 rors." 
 
 Page 22, line 30. For "executive," read "eccentric." 
 

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