TESTIMONY
John C. Unseld sworn and examined.
By the Chairman:
Question. Will you please to state your age, and where you reside?
Answer. I was fifty-four years old last fall. I reside about a mile from Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in Washington county, Maryland.
Question. Were you acquinted with the late John Brown, who was executed, by sentence of the law, in Jefferson county, Virginia, in December last?
Answer. I had been acquainted with him since the 4th day of July, on which day I became acquainted with him, but by the name of Smith. He informed me that his name was Smith.
Question. State the circumstances under which you made his acquaintance; and when, and where?
Answer. It was about two thirds of a mile from Harper's Ferry, Virginia, on the edge of the mountain, in Maryland, on the 4th day of July last, between eight and nine o'clock. I was going to Harper's Ferry, and met him there and saluted him, saying, "Good morning, gentlemen; how do you do?" There were four of them together; his two sons, Watson and Oliver—he told me their names—and a Mr. Anderson.
Question. State whether he told you his name, and what name he gave?
Answer. I said, "Well, gentlemen," after saluting them in that form, "I suppose you are out hunting mineral, gold, and silver?" His answer was, "No, we are not, we are out looking for land; we want to buy land; we have a little money, but we want to make it go as far as we can." He asked me the price of land. I told him that it ranged from fifteen dollars to thirty dollars in the neighborhood. He remarked, "That is high; I thought I could buy land here for about a dollar or two dollars per acre." I remarked to him, "No, sir; if you expect to get land for that price, you will have to go further west, to Kansas, or some of those Territories where there is government land"—"Congress land" perhaps I said.
