The Strange Story of Harper's Ferry, with Legends of the Surrounding CountryBarry, Joseph
History
The Strange Story of Harper's Ferry, with Legends of the Surrounding Country
Barry, Joseph
Harpers Ferry (W. Va.) -- History; Harpers Ferry (W. Va.) -- History -- John Brown's Raid, 1859
Some time during Mr. Perkins' administration, a singular character came
to reside at Harper's Ferry. His name was Brown and he was supposed to
be a native of Scotland. He had served as a surgeon in the American
army, during the Revolution. He was a bachelor and as, in addition to
the profits of his profession, he drew a pension from the government, he
was in good circumstances and able to indulge in many costly
eccentricities. He lived alone on what is now called High street, and
his cabin was situated on the lot opposite to the present residence of
Mrs. Ellen O'Bryne. A cave, partly natural and partly artificial, near
his cabin, was used as his store-house and dispensary. His
eccentricities were numerous, but the principal one was an inordinate
love for the canine and feline races. No less than fifty dogs followed
him in his daily rambles and made the night hideous in the town with
their howlings. His cats were as numerous as his dogs and they mingled
their melodies with those of their canine companions to the delectation
of his neighbors. A favorite amusement with the young men of the place,
was to watch for the doctor, when he walked abroad, and shoot some of
his dogs--an offense that was sure to earn his bitter hatred. He had
many good qualities and he made it a point never to charge an armorer
for medical advice. He died about the year 1824, and on his death-bed,
he ordered that his coffin should be made with a window in the lid and
that it should be placed in an erect position, in a brick vault which he
had erected in the cemetery, and that it should be left so for nine days
after his burial, when, he said, he would return to life. A person was
employed to visit the vault every day, until the promised resurrection
which did not take place, however, and probably will not, until the
Archangel's trump wakes him up like other people. In time the vault
crumbled to pieces, and, for years, a skull, supposed to be that of the
doctor, lay exposed on the hillside near the site of the vault and
children used it for a play-thing. Alas! poor Yorick!
With Mr. Perkins came, from eastern Virginia, the ancestors of the
Stipes and Mallory families, as well as others who were regarded as
being among the best citizens at the place. In Mr. Perkins' time a
shocking accident occurred in the armory. Michael McCabe, an employe was
caught in the machinery of one of the shops and, as he was drawn through
a space not exceeding eight inches in breadth, of course, he was crushed
to a jelly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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