Summary

Chapter 17 is titled "Rolling into History." Brown's army was bigger now, and they traveled East through a blizzard. Henry and John Brown got sick with fever. Brown decided they should free some slaves in Missouri. Henry again noticed some of the ways Brown had changed over the years. He was more stern and firm in his resolve. He had spent one of those years alone in the woods studying theologians, and his language had become more arcane. He looked more like a Biblical prophet than ever.

They traveled through Missouri for days in the snow, failing to find any slaves to free. Finally Brown declared that slavery there had been defeated, and they would go on to Iowa, traveling overland instead of taking the ferry downriver. They were being pursued by the federal army. Finally, the feds sent a messenger to...