Cook, one of the original party, had spent the year in the region of Harper's Ferry.

In July the Kennedy farm, five miles from Harper's Ferry, was leased.

The Northern immigrants posed as farmers, stock-raisers, and dealers in cattle, seeking a milder climate.

To assist in the disguise, Brown's daughter and daughter-in-law, mere girls, joined the community.

Even so it was difficult to allay troublesome curiosity on the part of neighbors at the gathering of so many men with no apparent occupation.