On December 6th, a joint meeting of Free-State and pro-slavery men was held at Sugar Mound, in Linn County, to adopt a peace agreement to replace the Denver Treaty, which the Free-State men claimed had been violated by the court proceedings against Montgomery; the attack upon his life on the night of October 30th, etc. The resolutions were drafted by Brown, and Montgomery presented them to the meeting. They were adopted, after some modification.[327] The preamble recites that "the citizens of Linn County, assembled in mass meeting at Mound City, being greatly desirous of securing a permanent peace to the people of the Territory generally, and to those along the border of Missouri in particular, have this day entered into the following agreement and understanding, for our future guidance and actions." The articles provide that all criminal processes, pending against Free-State men, growing out of difficulties with pro-slavery parties, shall be forever discontinued and quashed; that all Free-State men held in confinement, on account of similar difficulties, shall be immediately released. Article 4 covered a very wide range. It provided that "No troops, marshal or other officers of the General Government, shall be either sent or called in, to enforce or serve criminal processes against any Free-State man or men on account of troubles heretofore existing for any act prior to this date." A "recommendation" that was unanimously agreed to was, "that we earnestly recommend that all those who have recently taken money, or other property, from _peaceable_ citizens within this county, immediately restore the same to their proper owners."
Brown was not sincere in his participation in this meeting as an advocate for peace. His plans were already formed for a grand _coup_, to raise money. He intended to do something spectacular--something that would be worthy of his name and of his reputation. The homes that he intended to plunder had been selected long before, and the premises in each case thoroughly reconnoitered. All the essential details had been provided for. He was simply waiting, at this time, in a state of expectancy, for the psychological moment to arrive: then he intended to strike. September 10th, he wrote to Mr. Sanborn:
