lease of the farm were all parts of his preperation for the insurrection, which he supposed would be successful in exterminating slavery in Maryland, and Western Virginia. Brown's chief aid was John E. Cook, a comparatively young man, who had resided in and near the Ferry for some years. He was first employed in tending a lock on the canal; afterward he taught school on the Maryland side of the river, and after a brief residence in Kansas, where it is supposed he became acquainted with Brown, returned to the Ferry and married there.
He was regarded as a man of some intelligence, known to be anti-slavery, but not so violent in the expression of his opinions as to excite any suspicions. These two men, with Brown's two sons, were the only white men connected with the insurrection that had been previously about the Ferry. All the rest were brought by Brown from a distance, and nearly all had been with him in Kansas.
The first active movement in the insurrection was made about half past ten on Sunday night. W. M. Williamson, the watchman on the Harper's Ferry bridge, whilst walking across to the Maryland shore, was seized by a number of men, who said tha the was their prisoner, and that he must come with them. He recognized Brown and Cook among the men, and knowing them, he treated the matter as a joke, but his captors enforced silence, and conducted him to the Armory, which he found already in their possession. He was retained till after daylight, and then discharged. The watchman who was to relieve Williamson at midnight, found the bridge lights all out, and was immediately seized, but supposing it an attempt at robbery, he broke away and in the darkness escaped.
The next appearance of the insurrectionists was at the house of Col. Lewis Washington, a large farmer and slave owner, living about four miles up the Shenandoah from the Ferry. A party headed by Cook proceeded there, roused Col. Washington, and told him that he was their prisoner. They seized all the slaves near the house, and took away a carriage and horses, and a large wagon with two horses. When Col. Washington saw Cook, he immediately recognized him as a man who had called upon him some months previous, to whom he had exhibited some valuable arms in his possession, including an antique sword, presented by Frederick the Great to George Washington, and a pair of pistols presented by La Fayette to Washington; both being heirlooms in the family. Before leaving, Cook wanted Col. Washington to make a trial of skill at shooting, and exhibited considerable certainty as a marksman.
When he made his visit on Sunday night, Cook alluded to his previous visit, and the courtesy with which he had been treated, and expressed regret at the necessity which made it his duty to arrest Col. Washington. He, however, took advantage of the knowledge he had obtained by his former visit to carry off all the valuable collection of arms, which Col. Washington did not obtain till after the final defeat of the insurgents.
