lO-- .^'% W -oV^' r :J^ < .0' .Ho. •n<. ^> ,.S' .'S' h ^o ^ :- -nz.o^ c' .0 ,^' .^" s^^ A A^ '^o ^^-n* / ■<■ CAPT. JOHN BROWN. The Truth at Last. History Corrected. REMINISCENCES OP OLD JOHN BROWN THI^II.T.TISrG INCIDENTS OF BORDER LIFE IN KANSAS: WITH AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING STATEMENTS, AND FULL DETAILS OF THE POTTA WOTOMIE MASSACRE, BY GOV. CRAWFORD, COL. BLOOD, JAS. TOWNSLEY, COL. WALKER, AND OTHERS, TO WHICH IS ADDED A REVIEW: BY HON. ELI THAYER, OP MASSACHUSETTS. BY G. ^^r. BKO WN, ]VC: B^..^;,^ Where thou findest a lie that is oppressing thee extinguish it. wa- exist only to be extinguished. Tlu-y wait and cry earnestly for extinction. Think well, meanwhile, in what spirit thou wilt do it: not with hatred; not with headlong, selfish violence; but in clearness ot heart, with holy zeal, gently, almost with pity.— (.^aulyle. Let Truth and Falsehood grapple. Who ever knew Truth put tecn that many names have come down as worthy exemplars for our imitation, who, were they living to-day, and practicing the vices and crimes they were hourly perpe- trating, we would lose no time in closing the bars of a penitentiary on them, else execute them on the gallows. Many of our modern histories are only fictions of an idle brain. The authors clothe their characters in habiliments of perfection, yea, of god^, and geaunS merit is left to languish and die in oo- scurity. The writer bows to no shrine but Truth. He has seen too many heroes manufac- tured from very poor material to have an excess of love for any of them. The best of characters had their frailties. Tliese must be known, to judge correctly of their worth. If professed historians and biographers overdo their characters, it is due the liv- ing that their falsehoods be corrected, and their concealments exposed to the full light of day. In writing of John Brown and Jas. H. Lane, for preservation by the Histori- cal Society of Kansas, as before stated, I shall endeavor to give the truth as I saw it. It these facts add additional lustre to their fame, it is well; if they detract therefrom it is the misfortune of the characters that they were human, not gods, as their biograpliers, eulogists and romancers would have us believe. Inviting impartial criticism to every- thing herein said, we submit the whole to the candid consideration of a truth- loving ])ubiic. miTM wmi OF mm vsi in um FIRST NOTICE OP JOHK BROWN IN KANSAS HISTORY. I think it was sometime m August, of 855, that the proceedings of an "Ultra Abolitionist" convention, held somewhere in Central New York, were first pub- lished in the Anti-Slavery Standard. The convention was presided over by the Hon. Gerritt Smith. During the first day the report, as published, stated in substance that "A gentleman standing six feet in his boots, thin face, dark com- plexion, with flowing beard, and gray hair, lithe and straight, about sixty years of age, arose and said : "That he had four sons in Kansas, and three others who wished to join them there, but they had not funds to pay their way ; besides, he was opposed to sending any person there without arms ; that he was a firm believer in the doctrine that "Without the shed- ding of blood there is no remission;" that if the actors in this convention were ultra abolitionists, as they claimed, and de- sired to do something practical for Kan- sas, they would arm and send his three re- maining sons to Kansas, and send arms to the boys already there ; that if they would do so he would accompany them, and would promise a good report of their doings." In the proceedings of the following day appeared the statement that "Ger- ritt Smith presented to Jolin Brown, in open session, seven voltaic repeaters, seven broad swords, seven muskets with bayonets, and a purse of gold ; and told him to go to Kansas, talce his remaining sons with him, arm them ; and, as he had promised, make a faithful report of his action there in behalf of human freedom, and in the cause of the oppressed." More than twenty-four years lie be- tween the reading of those proceedings and the present; but the main facts are indelibly enstamped on my memory, and why? My father had a brother by the name of John Brown. He removed to Western New York, sometime between 1810 and 1815. The last heard of him he was a Sheriff in some western county. In ar- resting a prisoner he received a pistol shot in his body, and his physician wrote the family he would probably die. When I read these proceedings I thought REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BKOWN. t possible the earnest John Brown waS the living uncle, and more particularly as his age, size, &c., generally coincided with that of my lost :e!a.ive, of whom I 1 ad often heard my father speak. ACQUAINTANCE OP TEE SONS. The Big Springs Convention, where the Free Stale party was organized, was c iiiveued on the 5th of September, 1855 I was a delegate, and I think one of the secretaries. In reading the list of dele- gates, reported by the committee on credentials, the names of John Brown,Jr. and Frederick Brown, occurred as in attendance from Pottawattomie Creek. I saw who answered to the name when called, and, at my first leisure, made my way to John, Jr., and inquired if he was one of the sons of John Brown, the ac- tor in the recent Abolition Convention of New York. He answered in the affirma- tive. I introduced myself, had but a few words of hasty conversation, and found that our families were in no way con- nected. He introduced me to his brother Frederick. During recess we had further conversation, and at the close of the con- vention they accompanied me to Law- rence, and remained at my home over night. Another Free State Convention was held at Topeka, on the 19th and 20th of October, 1855, where I again met the brothers John and Frederick. We stop- ped at the same boarding house and John and I occupied the same bed. I am thus definite that the reader may understand how and why I became so well acquaint- ed "with the character of whom I write. THfe WAKAUUSA WAR. "We pass to the 27th of November, 1855, when the tocsin of war was again Bounded in Lawrence. Chas W. Dow. a former employe in the Herald of Freedom office, was killed by F. M. Coleman, some ten to twelve miles south of Lawrence, on the 21st of Novem- ber, 1855, growing out of a disput« be- tween the parties, relative to a division line between their respective claims. He was siiot in the back, while leaving a blacksmith shop,where each of the parties had been for work. Dow was boarding with Jacob Branson, and his body was removed there. On the 26th of Novem. ber, a public meeting was held by citi- zens of the neighborhood, and resolu- tions were passed resolving to bring Coleman, with his accomplices, Hargus and Buckley, to justice. On the same day of the meeting, Harrison Buckley swore out a j^eace warrant against Bran- sou, and placed it in the hands of S. J. Jones, who wrote himself "Sheriff ot Douglas county," for execution. Branson's residence was broken into by a force estimated at twenty-five, on the night of the 26th, and he was taken by a circuitous route to the crossing of the Wakarusa, at Blanton's Bridge, near which he was rescued by his neighbors, under the command of S. N. Wood, of Lawrence, who had been in the neigh- borhood of the excitement during the day. Jones, who, though "Sherift' of Doug- las county," Kansas, was at the same time Postmaster at Westport, Mo., sent dispatches to Missouri, and afterwards to Gov. Shannon, whose headquarters were at the Shawnee Mission, two miles from Westport for assistance. A proclamation was immediate- ly Issued by that functionary, stat- ing that Lawrence was in rebellion ; de- manding the people to lay down their arms, and calling upon the forces of the Territory to rally to the aid of the Sher- iff, and aid in enforcing his process. Mis- souri, as was her habit on such occasions, responded, and an army some 2,000 strong was soon raised, and with shot guns REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. muskets stolen from tlie government ar- senal at Lil)erty, and whatever weapons they could get hands on, with a piece of artillery, moved on the fated town. At Lawrence we were constantly ad- vised, by volunteer messengers, of wha*- ■was transpiring. A meeting of the citi- zens was hastily called, and the facts were stated. We knew that Missouri only wanted a pretext for our entire extinc- tion. A Committee of Public Safety was immediately appointed, consisting of ten persons, ot which I had the honor of be- ing a member. I was also a member of the Territorial Executive Commiitee,as belore stated, appointed at Big Springs on the fifth of September, re-indorsed at the Topeka Convention on the 19th of September, and confirmed by the Con- stitutional Convention in October, and by a provision in the Constitution itself. The Lawrence meeting closed with the appointment of that Committee of Pub- lic Safety, which was clothed with ample power for the emergency. The Commit- tee held an immediate session, organized by the election of a Chairman and Sec- retary. On my motion Dr. Chas. Robin- son was made Commander-in-Chief, and was empowered to appoint subordinates, to organize the forces of the town, and do whatever was necessary for the com- mon defense ; he to report his action to the Committee for approval. Provision was made that a quorum of the Commit- tee, consisting of six members at least, should continue in session until the im- pending danger should pass. Their headquarters, as that of the Commander and his subordinates, were in the Free State Hotel, whilst the Territoritl Exec- utive Committee held its sessions at the otBce of John Hutchinson and A. D. Searl,~on the East side of the street Being a member of each Committee, my presence during the day was almost con- tmually required with one or the other. Moments of leisure were filled in writing a daily journal of the incidents of the campaign, which was published in the next number of the Herald of Freedom after the close of the war, while nights I did service on picket. The Commander dispatched messen- gers to various Free State settlements asking assistance. These requests were promptly responded to, as all were aware the common fate would be that of Law- rence, until some 800 persons had assem- bled, with such rude arms as they could command for defense. Defenses were thrown up, sentinels were posted, and everything put on a war-like appearance. JOHN BROWN IN LAWRENCE. It was near sunset, I should think about the 3rd of December, when, in the distance, towards the South, a strange looking object was seen approaching Law- r jnce. With many others I watched it. As it neared it proved to be the skeleton of 9 horse, covered with a poorly-stuffed skin, wearily dragging a rather large one-horse lumber wagon. I think there were seven men standing in the box, which was made of wide, undressed, and weather-stained boards. Each man supported himself by a pole, of probably six to eight feet in lengtli, surmounted with a bayonet. The poles were upright, and held in place at the sides of the box by leather loops nailed to the sides. Each man had a vol- taic re[jeater strapped to his person,a3 also a short navy sword; at the same time supporting a musket at the position of "order." A formidable arsenal, well manned — all but the horse. As the party dismounted I grasped the hands of John and Frederick Brown, who introduced me to their father and brothers. Leaving the horse unhitched at the door I took the whole family to the rooms of the Committee of Public Safety, and in- troduced them. On my suggestion a company of veterans was soon organized 8 REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. and the command given to Old John Brown, who he represented had served as a private at the batUe of Plattsburg, in the war of 1813. [If this is true, he was but fourteen years of age, as we see by his life he was born May 2, 1800. The battle of Plattsburg was fought in Sept. 1814.] My father, who held a Captain's commission in that war, and was an ac- tive participant in the battle there, was made 1st Lieutenant, and I think O. Wilmarth was 2d Lieutenant. The whole company, as thus organized, consisted of twenty-five members. Here, at my sug- gestion, John Brown was first clothed with the title of Captain, conferred on him in the Wakarusa war, by Gov. Rob- inson, and approved by the Committee of Public Safety. On the 9th of December an under- standing was reached between Gov. Shan- non, representing the beleagures, Gov. Robinson and Col. Lane, representing the citizens. On the 10th the people were mar shalled in front of the Free State Hotel, from the steps of which Gov. Shannon made a short speech, in which he stated that matters had been unfortunately pre- cipitated by their not understanding each other, and that he was glad to have a pacific termination of the affair. I think Gov. Robinson made a few remarks in the same direction. It was at this stage of procedure, when old John Brown mounted a piece of timber lying near the corner of the hotel, and began to harangue the crowd. He said the peo- ple of Missouri had come to Kansas to destroy Lawrence; that they had be- leagured the town for two weeks, threat- ening its dcistruction ; tliat they came for blood ;that he believed, ''Without the shed- ding of blood there is no remission;" and asked for volunteers to go under his command, and attack the pro-slavery camp stationed near Franklin, some four iii'es from Lawretice. Listening to his speech to this point I made my way to the room of the Com- mittee of Public Safety, where others came immediately, leaving the Captain trying to excite insubordination. Col. G. W. Smith was instructed by the Com- mittee to place him under arrest, and de- tain him in custody until the excitement should cease. Col. Smith made his way direct to the Captain, took him by the arm, and requested to speak with him. Leading the Captain away, the storm that he was i citing was soon at an end. Gov. Shannon issued orders sending his posse back to their homes. ^ That night, the 14th of December a "Norther" broke upon their camp, the coldest I ever recollect in Kansas, when the beseig- ers, under duplicate orders — Gov. Shan- non and a frigid north — made a hasty and bloodless retreat to Missouri. Capt. Brown, his sons with their military sup- plies, the over-burdened wagon, and the venerable horse also retired from their first field of glory. Redpath says, page 88 of his Life of Brown, that "He went out once with a dozen men to meet the Missouri invaders 'to draw a little blood,' as he styled it — but, at the earnest entreaties of Gen. Lane, he re- turned to town without doing it." "Lane sent for him to attend a council of war. The reply was characteristic of the brave old man, who despised all man- ner of assumptions, with no fact behind them to give them vitality, and^a title to respect." " 'Tell the General,' he said, 'that when he wants me to fight, to say so; but that is the only order I will ever obey.' " IfRedpath's assertions are true, that the Captain "despised all manner of as- sumption with no facts behind to give them vitality," he would have been ter- ribly disgusted with that statement, aa with nearly the entire mass of simila EE^llNISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. 9 cues made in that euloijy of John Brown, err.incously called a "Life." CAPT. CHARLIE LENHART. These rvecollections would be very in- complete without reference to Charley Lenhart, as he was a junior John Brown, minus the latter's principles and piety. Charley came to Kanaas from Iowa, where he left a widowed mother, in the spring of 1855. lie was then 18 to 19 years of age. He applied for a situation as typo in the Herald of Freedom office. I erave him a "case," and agreed to board him in my family, con- ditioned he could find lodging elsewhere. To this he assented, and commenced type-setting. He was a faithful worker, always at his post, but proved quite lim- ited in experience as a practical printer. As I paid by the thousand for his labor, this did not affect me, so he continued, always the first at the case in the morn- ing, and the last to leave at night. Late in the autumn of '55, during a cold driving ''Norther," accompanied with rain, he asked the privilege of lying on tlie floor in the office for the night. I thought the request a strange one, and inquired: "Why don't you remain where you have been through the summer?" He replied — "The roof is rather leaky," looking out at the driving storm. "You don't mean to say that you have been sleeping out of doors through the summer?" "Every night since I have been in your service, I have slept on the open prairie, and could do so to-night, but don't like to." "That will not be necessary," I re- plied. "Had you reported the fact to me I could have made provision for you long ago." From that time until he left my em- ploy, Charley had a bed indoors. The colloquy explained why he had al- ways disappeared late at night, with a blanket, and was so early at his post in the morning. Justice to Kansas climate requires me to say, that during all that season he was reposing on the lap oi mother earth, with the stars to look up- on, and^the green grass a pillow, protect- ed from the night dews by a single blanket only, he was a picture of perfect health. Charley did faithful service for Kansas during the Wakarusa war, in the fall of '55, but from that forth I could not count on him with certainty. It there was any wild adventure on foot he was the leader, and away ! After the destruction of the Herald oj Freedom office in '56, Lenhart seemed to have adopted a guerilla life, and I only heard of him through others thereafter. He appeared intimate with both Lano and Brown, and held himself ever ready to execute their wishes. His associatea were of the dare-devil stripe, of which John E. Cook was a representative. He was fearless and brave, and always in sympathy with the fighting Free State men. Like old John, he required large "contributions" from '.he enemy, and dis- appeared with his patron saint in the autumn of 1859, 3ince which I think there is no intelligence of him. It was reported he was shot under the walls of the prison at Charlestown, Va., wherein Brown was imprisoned, and where he was reconnoitering with a view of effect- ing the Captain's escape. About 1864, a gentlemin who knew Charley's mother well, in Iowa, called on me hoping td get some information ia regard to him, he stating that after he left the Herald of Freedom office, she nev- er heard again from him by letter. PEKSONAL TO THE WRITER. The following facts concerning the writer, explains somewhat incidents 10 REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. closely connected witii these Reminiscen- ces, and seem necessary to understand •what shall follow. He would be glad to keep in the back-ground, but cannot comprehend how he can give his recollec- tion of events,in which he was an actor in common with the persons of whom he "Writes, without occupying a front posi- tion with them. So many outrages had been perpetrat- ed on property in transit up the Mis- souri, and at Kansas City, destined to Kansas, as also upon persons making their way to the Territory, that a public meeting was held at Lawrence, on the second floor of the Emigrant Aid Com- pany's building, on Massachusetts street, on the evening of the 28th of March, 1856, Speeches were made, numerous instances of out- rages were narrated, among others the breaking open of a box at Kansas City, containing a piano, directed to Orville C. Brown, of Osawatomie, under the pretense of its containing Sharp's rifles. Resolutions denouncing the oc- currences were passed, and a committee ■was appointed, consisting of E. Nute, 6. W. Brown, and G. W. Hutchinson, with instructions to visit St. Louis, Alton, Chi- cago, Cincinnati and Pittsburg, and to make all needful arrangements for the establishment of a trusty line of steam- ers, to leave some safe point on the Mis- sissippi and land in Kansas. I left home in obedience to these in- structions, in advance of the other mem- bers of the committee on the 1st of April, descended the Missouri, and heard much e/i route of a contemplated raid on Lawrence " as soon as the grass shall grow." At Alton I called a public meeting, and elicited great enthusiasm among business men, in the enterprise. Going to Chica- go, I made arrangements in that city for ii puljlic meeting a few evenings after. iMy name liuving been |lullli^h^(l in the list of " arrivals," Jas. Redpath, being in the city, saw the notice, and called on me at the Tremont. He stated he was on his way to Kansas and wished to borrow a revolver. As the history of that revolver, which I loaned him, will form my next sub-division, I will hasten to close my own connection with these incidents by stating that soon after I visited Rockford, talked to a good audi- ence in Warner's Hall, on the night after the municipal election, while bonfires and rejoicings were going on outside over the election of Jas. L. Loop as Mayor. Thence I started for Chicago to fill my engagements there; was taken with a congestive chill in the cars, and was al- most death sick all day. Again stopped at the Tremont, was carried almost by force from my sick bed to Market Hall, [was it'?] where I was requested to ''show" myself, but at which, in addition, with a raging fever, I spoke over an hour on Kansas matters, and of the causes of a movement for a direct line of steamers to that Territory. What I said, or how I said it, I never had any recol- lection, for I was sufl'ering too much physically to hardly know anything. The next day I took passage for the Lake View Water Cure, where I remained five days. When sufficiently recovered to journey, I returned to Chicago, and was about starting for Cincinnati, when my eye fell upon a telegram in the Demo- cratie Press, bringing intelligence of the shooting at Lawrence of "S. J. Jones, Sherift* of Douglas county." I changed my direction, went to Alton; thence to St. Louis; chartered a st amer at my own risk; and returned with it to Alton, where I received a party of about, one hundred Michigan pioneers, on their way to Kansas, under the direction of Rev. A. St. Clair; tiience up the river; at Lexing- ton learned of the arrest, by a mob, of Gov. Robinson at that place the day pre- vious; on to Kansas City; liesir-ged a REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. 11 couple of days by a mob which surround- ed tlie hotel, lint did n"t enter; thence started at night with Gains Jenkins for Lawrence; both captured in goiu^- lialf a mile; taken to tlie Harris House, at Westport, Mo., prisoners; an ex parte trial tor our lives by the ruffians, who finally sent us to the Territory under Henry Clay Pate, I arriving at Lecompton on the -0th of May, the day before the destruction of Lawrence by the semi- legal mob. This much, hurriedly, lor myself, to make what shall follow better understood. HISTORY OP A REVOLVER. Mr. Redpath was instructed, on his ar- rival in Lawrence, to leave the revolver mentioned above, which was an Allen patent, known as a "pepper box," on the border, with Mi&s Annis W. Gleason, the clerk in the Herald of Freedom office. He did so. About this time a new attempt was set on foot to arrest S. N. Wood, for the res- cue of Branson, in the autumn previous. The " grass had begun to grow," and the threats I heard when descending the Mis- souri were about to be executed. " Sheriff Jones," with a posse of United States troops, entered Lawrence, and camped on the night of the 23d of April in canvas tents, a little North-east of the H^'ald of Freedom building, on some open lots. Early in the evening Charley Lenhart called on Miss Gleason, and asked for the loan of a revolver. The one returned by Redpath, mentioned above, was passed to him, with no idea, on her part, of the uses he desired to put it to. He exam- ined the weapon, saw it was fully loaded; went in the direction of Jones' camp; was gone but a few minutes, when Miss G. heard the discharge of a revolver, and soon Charley came running back to the office. He passed her the wicked instru- ment, one barrel of which was dis- charged. She put it away, and learned almost immediately thereafter of the shooting of •' Sheriff Jones," the first blood actually drawn by Free Soil men in Kansas, and which transaction was deeply regretted by every sincere friend of the Free State cause. A public meeting of the citizens was held the next morning de- nouncing the event, and a reward of $500 was offered by Gov. Robinson, for the arrest and conviction of the offender in the United States District Court- Charley was strongly suspected of know- ing something of the matter; but this is probably the first published account of it. He has long been beyond the reach of those who would punish him, and now I only give it publicity, that the praise or censure may fall where it rightfully belongs. Jones recovered from his injury, and on the 21st of the following month, made the people ol Lawrence realize, as I experienced to my own sorrow, with many others, the truth of the following quotation from Byron's Mazeppa: There never yet was human power, Which conld evade, if unfcrgiven, The patient search and vigil long Of him who treasures up a wrong ! Three other exciting incidents were connected with that revolver, either of which would form a valuable chapter in a "blood and thunder novel." The follow- ing, being historic, will conclude its story ; anticipating somewhat the order of events : — Dr. John Doy was captured m Mis- souri, charged with aiding in the escape of slaves. He was taken to St. Joseph, Mo., and imprisoned in the county jail, awaiting trial. During that period, the writer, was called upon for the loan of a revolver. It was passed to the party. A few days later news came of the break- ing of the jail at St. Jo., on the night of the 23d of July, 18-59; the rescue of Doc tor D. ; and, soon after, was inform2d of the transactions l)y one of the actors, of which 1 had no previous iutim ition, and 12 REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN HROWN. of the loss overboard, while crossing the river in the darkness of night, of the identical weapon fired by Lenhart, at "Sheriflf Jones." Had Jones died, and tlic ancient English law of deodand been still in force, that revolver could not now be taken for "pious uses." It re- poses beneath the turbid waves of the Missouri. SACKING OF LAWRENCE— ARREST OP FREE STATE PRISONERS. On the 21st of May, 1856, Lawrence was sacked, as before stated, by a pro- slavery mob, called together by United States Marshal Donaldson. His posse, as he called them, were then disbanded, and passed over to Sheriff Jones, who had mostly recovered from the effects of Charley Lenhart's bullet. The Free State Hotel was demolished. It was a fine stone structure, fully completed and furnished, and was opened on that very day,under the auspices of S. W. Eldridge, to the public. The residence, of Gov. Robinson was burned, with his furniture and fine library. The Herald of Freedom office was destroyed, its types were thrown into tlie river,its two hand presses, and a small cylinder fast running Taylor Power Press, were broken, and a large library and heavy stock of paper were cut to pieces or carried away. The Free State office and entire contents met a similar fate. The town was overrun and pillaged by the lawless invaders. They were not resisted, because the Marshal had come under the pretext of executing legal process from a United States Court. It was well known tliat this was a plan of the pro-slavery leaders, hoj)ing to bring on a coUission between the Free State people and the federal government. They had already, before a packed Grand Jury, made up of South Carolinians, JMissourians and southerners, all but a few days in the Territory, procured in- dictments for high treanon against A. II. Reeoer, Clias. Robinson. G. W. Brown, G. W. Smitii, G. W. Deitzler, and Sam- uel C. Pomeroy. The latter's name, was erased, and the name of Gains Jenkins wa3 interlined. This was done long after the Grand Jury adjourned. Gov. Robinson had been captured by a mob at Lexington, Mo., nine days before, while with his wife going down the Mis- souri ; G. W. Brown was captured on the 14th of May, by residents of Missouri, without legal process, in Kansas City, while making his way to Lawrence. He reached Lecompton on the 20th, Mr. Jen- kins being with him when arrested, but was discharged on the evening of the 19th, and re-arrested on the 21st, with Judge Smith and Col. Deitzler, all of whom were placed under guard in the same room with myself, at Lecompton. Gov. Robinson was started for the Terri- tory, and reached Franklin, within four miles of Lawrence. His captors, fearing a rescue, took him back to Kansas City thence to Leavenworth, where he ar- riv^edon the 24th of May. Mention is made of these facts that the reader may keep connectedly in mind the general condition of affairs at the period referred to; without any intention of entering into details. HORRIBLE MURDERS ON THE POTTAW^OT- OMIE. l)n Sunday, late in the afternoon of the 25th of May, '56, information was given to the treason prisoners, at Lecompton, of which the writer had the honor of be- ing one, that a terrible massacre of pro- slavery men had been perpetrated on Pottawotomie creek; that the news had reached the Kickapoo Rangers, Atchison Tigers, and such other pro-slayery organ- izations as were still about Locompton, nlur their successful raid of the 2lst on Liiwrcnce. The excitement was report- ed V, ry high among them. REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. 13 On the evening of tbo S'itli Marshal Donaldson entered the building in per- son, and said that a party were organiz- ing among the Rangers, Tigers, &c., to take the prisoners and hang them in retaliation for theee murders. He said he had learned that we were all Odd Fellows or Masons; that he had so re- ported; and besides enlisting all the Territorial officers, including the Govern- or, Judges, &c., and such members of the Orders as he could find in Lecompton, he had found some in the several compan- ies, and with these he hoped to be able to save us; that they should stand guard through the night, and if an attack was made he should place arms in our hands, that we might aid in our own defense. The guard was kept up for the night. The next day the Marshal's "posse" were again discharged, and left Lecomp- ton; but Donaldson himself remained with us in the room for the night, for our protection against contingencies, as he asserted. DETAILS OF THE MASSACRE. My pen is not capable of describing the horrors of that event. Death by the hand of violence is always terrible ; com- mitted at the hour of midnight, adds ad- ditional terrors to it; but when the bodies are fiendishly mutilated, with awful impre- cations on the authors of such transac- tions, we recall to memory the most san- guinary deeds of American savages. The murderer, stimulated to crime by passion, or led on by hopes of gain, may, under some circumstances, arrest our sympa- thy; but he who mutilates the dead body of his victim, whether a Col. Chiv- ington, or his command, revelling in the blood of his victim: a Modoc chieftan, taking vengeance on an enemy,or the In- quisition, with rack and torture, tearing limb from limb from the writhing and dying heretic, must only excite our ab- horrence. We charge no one with these outrages upon humanity. Our province is to slate the facts, and leave the reader, or tbo historian, to make his own deductions. That five persons were killed, in the neighborhood of the Pottowatomic, some time towards the last ot May, 1856, is not susceptible of a doubt. The sworn evidence of several witnesses fixes the time as the morning of the 25th of May, but other facts fix the time as late on the night of the 23d, and the morning of the 24th, and I am inclined to adopt the latter dates. No person has ever denied the murders, and the ex- act date is not necessary. These men were taken from their homes during the darkness of night, one from the bed of a sick wife, unable to help herself, and was found the next morning "about one hundred and fifty yards from the house, in some dead brush," * * with "a gash in his head and side, * * and his throat cut twice." Another was found in a creek near his residence. His "skull was split open in two places, and some of his brains were washed out by the water. A large hole was cut in his breast, and his left hand was cut off, ex- cept a little piece of skin on one side." A father and two sons, additional to the above, were massacred, and found " about one hundred and fifty yards from the house, in the grass, near a ravine." The "father was shot in the forehead and stabbed in the breast." One of the son's "head was cut open, and a hole was made in his jaw, as though it was made by a knife, and a hole also in his side." Another son was found with his "fingers cut off, and his arms were cut off; his head was cut open; there was a hole in his breast." The above passages, in quotation, are copied verbatim from affidavits made by witnesses who saw the terrible sight; who swore to the statements before legal 14 REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. authority; it was publislied soon niter; "was accos3il)le to everybody ; and yet, so far as we know, there has never been a denial of the killing, or of the mutilation by auy party who was trying to tell the truth. \Vm. A. Phillips, a sensational corres- pondent of the New York Tribune, who published in 1856, a volume of 414 pages, entitled "The Conquest of Kan- sas," page 316, writing of this tragedy, says: "It was one of those stern and remorseless acts in civil war which make the delicate and sensitive shrink " This work was published as a campaign docu- ment, in the presidential election of that year, in the interest of his party. "While he did not deny the murders he does say: "The frightful stories about mutilation were unfounded, as ap- plied to this affair. A Mr. Sherman, WHO WAS KILLED AT THAT TIME, was killed by the Camanches, he hav- ing gone out to the plains to hunt Buf- falo. The Indians not only killed him, but mutilated his body; and his friends when they found his body, brought it home to Pottowatomie. The pro-slavery men in the neighborhood took advantage of this circumstance to confound this af- fair with the other, and charge it upon the abolitionists ! and it afforded a fine theme for war extras along the Missouri frontier. Free State men, too, believing the worst pro-slavery version of it, held meetings and denounced it^ I cannot believe that Mr. Phillips ever wrote that part of the above which charges the oft'ense upon the Camauclies. It is an interpolation, and a libel upon these savages, put in by the publishei s, to avoid responsibility by Free State men for such a terrible affair. This is evi- denced by the awkwardness of the lan- guage, which is unlike Mr. Phillips' round, easy style; besides, the killing is described as occurring at the time these other men were slaughtered. And yet we must hold Mr. Phillips responsible for the statement, as he has ue er denied its paternity, and it is in a book claimed to be written by him. Such "savage bari^arity and demoniac cruelty," as a prominent politician sa d ot the event, practiced not only on Wm. Sherman, but on Allen Wilkenson, Jas. P. Doyle, Drury Doyle and Wm. Doyle, are certainly characteristic of North American savages; and I honor the author for his attempt, feeble »s it was, to throw the responsibility foi one of these cases of mutilation on one of the most violent tribes of the plains ; but I have quoted in confirmation of the mutilation of these men, from affidavits made i)efore a member of the Kansas Investigating Committee, appointed by resolution of Congress to inquire into all our Kansas troubles. These affidavits will be found, spread at length on pages 1,193, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98 and 99, of their official report made to Congress, 20,000 extra copies of which were printed and scattered over the country. The huge volume* of over 1,200 pages is open before me as I write, and from which I shall have occasion again to make extracts, in endeavoring to find who these munierers and muti- lating Camanches were I Would to heaven the truth of history would per- mit me to throw the veil of darkness over this awful tragedy, and allow the world to believe that not only Wm. Sherman, but his associates in death and mutilation on that fearful night died by the hands of Camanches! But we must seek elsewhere for the real murderers. INCIDENTS OF HISTORY. "' To learii the truth in regard to this tragedy, let us hurriedly state a few facts that followed the sacking of Lawrence, on the 21st of May, three or four days before the massacre. News had gone out from Lawrence, into all the Free REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. 15 Sr;;te settlements, of the assembling of lai'^-e bodies of pro- slavery men around that ill-fated town. The wliole South seemed pouring her swarms of idle aud dissolute population into Kansas. Col. Buford was there with his South Caro- linian followers; Col. Titus was there ■with his Florida cohorts; Col. Bell was there with his "fillibusters" indiscrimi- nately raised in the South; the two Stringfellows were there with their Mis- souri rabble; and all were working in harmony under the lead of that master demagogue, Dave Atchison, who fur- nished brains for the whole. The Free State men had witnessed the invasion of Kansas, on the 29th of No- vember, 1854, at the first election for a delegate to Congress, when they poured over from Missouri, took possession of the polls, and cast their votes for Gen. Whitfield, excluding the Free State set- tlers almost wholly from participation in the election. They saw this again on the 30th of March, 1855, at the election of members of the Legislative Assembly, when the invaders came by thousands, overran every election precinct but one in the Terri- tory, excluded the legally appointed judges of election, placed their servile tools in their places, driving away the legal voters, and elected some of their ov?n numbers to make laws for the resi- dents. The people saw these invaders again, in session at Pawnee; thence adjourned to the Shawnee Mission, a locality posi- tively " excepted out of, and made no part of the Territory of Kansas," by provision of the organic act, which ex- cluded Indian Territory and reservations from operation of the law; they saw them enacting a code in keeping with their character as invaders of a neighbor- ing territory over which they had no po- litical riffhts whatever. In the autumn of 1855 they beheld an army of 2,000, thoroughly organized, officered, armed and provisioned, march- ing on Lawrence, breathing words of slaughter and demolition. The people had then rallied from all quarters, and stood with the residents, determined to sell their lives as dearly as possible in defense of that town. And, now. they saw it again menaced by thousands, gathered from every South- ern State, hurling imprecations against the Free State settlers, threatening to "wipe out every Northern pioneer," and divide his possessions among themselves. For days they saw Lawrence completely surrounded by this invading army, while several of their compeers, C. Robinson, G. W. Brown, J, P. Root, and others, were prisoners in their hands, and their lives were threatened. John Brown, Jr., on the Pottawotomie, rallied his neighbors and acquaintances, and joined them with others from Osa- watomie, and marched to the rescue of their friends. He had a force variously stated, ranging in number from 60 to 120. On Thursday, the 22d of May, they reached Palmyra, within twelve miles of Lawrence. They there learned of the sacking of the town; the destruc- tion of the hotel, and printing ofiices, the burning of Dr. Robinson's residence; the general pillage; and the arrest of G. W. Smith, G. W. Deitzler, and Gaius Jen- kins ; of their removal to Lecompton, held under an indictment for TiigTi treason ! After reconnoitering in the vicinity for a tikie, they retraced their steps for a short distance, and camped for the night. On the 23d they resumed their homeward journey, and reached the vicinity of Pot- tawotomie, where they again encamped. With incidents narrated to me by an eye witness, still living, and a resident of Lawrence, Kansas, whose veracity was 16 REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. never called in question, and whose un- supported statements would outweigh, in any court of justicj acquainted with his character, the sworn statement of a hun- dred letter -writers, and a quotation from Redpath, I close this subdivision. My informant said : "During the evening Old John Brown, who had accompanied the expedition to Palmyra, and returned with it to the neighborliood of the Pottawotomie, asked the attention of the men, and said he had an expedition in view, which required the assistance of some brave, bold men ; that John, Jr., protested against any per- sons leaving the camj) that night; that notwithstanding this Old John Brown and seven others left camp, armed to the teeth, and marched towards the settle- ments on the Pottawotomie; that they returned early the nest morning; that when our informant left his tent in the morning he saw a navy sword, worn away by one of Old John Brown's recruits the night before, standing near the door of a tent, with dried blood and red hair upon it; that it was laughingly remarked that the party "must have killed a dog the night before;" that soon after the camp was rallied, when a messenger came in and reported the killing and mutulation of live men on the Pottowat- omie during the night previous; that John, Jr., was greatly excited, dislmnded his men and rode hurredly towards Ossa- watomie." In Redpath's Life of John Brown, page 117, I find this statement confirmed in these words : "On the 23d of May, John Brown left the camp of his son, at Osawatomie, with Beven or eight men, and from that mo- ment began his guerilla warfare in Southern Kansas." WHO WAB RESPONSIBLE POK THIS MASSA- CRE? Not until after Old John Brown's ar- rest for murder and inciting slaves to in- surrection, at Harper's Ferry, on the 20th of October, 1859, two years and five months after the massacre, did I hear but one expression in Kansas, as to tlie party responsible for that transaction. Pro-slavery men, as well as Free State men, accredited the -iflfair to him. And on the very day, if I remember correctly, of his execution, a body of his friends in public convention in Lawrence, while expressing sympathy for his fate, apolo- gized, by public resolution, for these murders. His most ardent admirers had not face to stand up before a Kansas au- dience, where the whole facts were so well known, and attempt a denial of his responsibility. It was left to his eastern apologists, first, to deny his connection with the affair; second, to justify the outrage on humanity, under pleas as false and specious as the crimes were ab- horrent. John Brown on several occa- sions, once while a prisoner at Charles- town, Va., said he did not do the killing, but that he approved of it. We do not assert that his own hand struck the blow, neither did John Calvin, with his own hands, set fire to the faggots which burned Michael Servetus for heresy, but the historian holds Calvin responsible. Brown's denial was always guarded in expression, and the reader, knowing the facts, saw there was something behind which was not fully told. In a speech made by him at Cleveland, Ohio, on the 22d of March, 1859, reported by Kagi, his Secretary of War, killed at Harper's Ferry, and published in Redpath's Life ot Brown, page 239, is probably found the key to this "mental reservation.' He said, according to the report: "He had never killed anybody; al- though on some occasions, he had shown the young men with him how some things might be done as well as others; and they had done the business.'''' What "business" had the young men done? Why, the killing, which he had instructed them how to do. On page 112 of Redpath's Life, after detailing the author's adventures ' "a few days after the sacking of REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. IT Lawrence," in his " first journey South," page 106, lie mentions that " a Southern squatter from Pottawotoraie had arrived at Lecompton with dispatches for the Governor, which announced that five pro- Blavery settlers had been murdered, at midnight, and their bodies shockingly disfigured and mutilated, by a party of Free State men. He brought a request for a body of troops to protect the pro- Blavery people there," &c. He then states that the troops passed through Lawrence en roiUe for Osawotomie, as it was under- stood, to arrest John Brown, Jr., and the force he commanded. He left Lawrence to inform the Browns of their danger; recites his adventures, and on page 112, as he neared the camp of those he sought, he was interruptexi by Frederick Brown, with the command, "Halt!" His recog- nition, and the young man's movements on the occasion, are thus narrated: '* He talkea wildly, as he walked be- fore me, turning round every minute, as he spoke of the recent affair at Pottawot- omie. His family, he said, had been ac- cused of it; he denied it indignantly, with the wild air of a maniac. His ex- citement was so great that he repeatedly recrossed the creek, until, getting anxious to reach the camp, I refused to listen to him until he took me to his father. He then quietly filled his pail with water, and, after many strange turnings, led me into camp." Redpath then relates the incidents on reaching camp, and, on page 113, con- tinues : "Old Brown himself stood near the fire. The old man received me with great cor- diality, and the little band gathered about me. But it was for a moment only, for the Captain ordered them to renew their work. He respectfully hut firmly forbade conversation on the Pottawotomie ajj'air; and said that if I desired any in- fonnation from the company in relation to their conduct or intentions, he, as their Captain,would answer for them, whatever was proper to communicate." Iliis was but two to three days after the massacre, while the letter-writers were gathering material for the Eastern press, Redpath being one of them, and fully in sympathy,as we shall see further on, with a movement to bring on a "revolution." , FURTHER, WHO WAS RESPONSnT^? The reader may weary with these de- tails of facts, cumulative in their char- acter, connecting Capt. Brown with this massacre on the Pottawotomie; but it will be remembered that twenty years ago he was, through the public press, charged with it. His friends, outside of Kansas, denied his guilt, and he equivo- cated when interrogated in regard to it, by saying, "/ nefoer slied the blood of afd- low man, except in self-defence, or in pro- motion of a righteous cause'"' See Red- path's Life, page 383. >u^ F. B. Sanborn, of Concord, N. EL, who is the author of the "Memoirs of John Brown," in a letter, written Nov. 26, 1878, and published in the Spring- field Republican, used this language in regard to that event: "That Brown was connected with this affair, and approved of it I have never doubted— that he was actually present, he always denied to me — and I shall be- liev him until some eye witness proves to the contrary. -One eye witness has told two contradictory stories about it: and nobody has yet m.ade public the whole truth,'' Though the writer was not an "eye-wit- ness," yet he believes he is in possession of the whole "truth," and it is with an earnest desire to reach that point that he continues these inquiries. The "eye-wit- nesses"were accomplices in the transaction, and it is safe to expect from them "con- tradictory stories." Before the evidence is finally closed, his friends will with- draw their attempt to prove an alibi, and rely upon justifying, else set up the j>\ea o( insanity, which Brown rejected with so much scorn at Harper's Ferry. We continue: 18 REMINISCENCES OP OLD JOHN BROWN. Mrs. Robinson, in her "Kansas, Its In- terior and Exterior," written in "Camp near Lecompton," where her husband and the other Free State prisoners were held for high treason, guarded by a regiment of United States troops, as she could not, even as a partisan of the times, vindicate the transaction, ^^ery properly passed it over, merely telling her readers of the inflammatory statements which were spread along the Missouri border in con- sequence: and then she describes some- what in the order of their occurrence the events following, and growing directly out of these murders. Phillips, in his "Conquest of Kansas," seems horrified on account of these mur- ders, and says: "A party of seven or eight guerillas, NOT YOUNG MEN, BUT STERN DETERMINED MEN, attacked them, and in the scuffle every pro-slavery man was killed." Redpath, page 99, aids us somewhat in finding out who these "guerillas, not young men, but stern determined men," were, in the following words: "John Brown, Jr., marched back to Osawatomie [from Palmyra,] but ere he reached it and disbanded his father^ with a company of seven men, left his camp, and began in right earnest the war of liberty." Mr. Phillips well knew that these men were not killed in a body; that they were taken from their homes during the darkness of night, and one by one were murdered and mutilated, and Red- path calls it the beginning of " The War of Liberty." A few lines further down the page Phillips says : " It was one of those cases at which enlightened human- ity will shudder." He denies the muti- lation, and then invents the tale of Sher- man being killed and mutilated by Ca- manchesl i Redpath, who always justified and en- couraged tne shedding of blood; who, n his " Roving Editor," says he "went to Kansas to incite a revolution," and whose every action, by pen and otherwise, was in that direction, falsely ascribes the provocation to a state of facts tlvat did not exist, then justified the killing, but denies the participation of old John Brown in it, though he informs us that the Captain " approved of it."' John Doyle, a son of the murdered man, and brother of Drury and William Doyle, who gave testimony to the Con- gressional Investigating Committee, pre- viously referred to, in an affidavit dated June 6th, 1856, only a few days alter the murder, says: "An old man commanded the party; he was dark complected, and his face was thin. We had lighted a candle, and about eight of them entered the house\ there were some more outside." James Harris, also an Investigating Committee witness, says he was living in Sherman's house, in bed with his own wife and child, when " We were aroused by a company of men who said they belonged to the Northern army, and who were each armed with a sabre and two revolvers; two of them I recognized, namely : a Mr. Brown, whose given name I do not remember, commonly known by the appellation of ' Old Man Brown,' and his son Owen. * * Old Mr. Brown and his son went into the house with me. * * Brown asked Mr, Sherman to go out with him, and Mr. Sherman then went out with old Mr. Brown, and another came into the house in Brown's place. I heard no - thing more for about 15 minutes. Two of the Northern Array, as they styled themselves, stayed in with us until we heard a cap burst, and then these two men left. Tliat morning about ten o'clock I found Wm. Sherman dead in the creek near my house." The above is followed with a descrip- tion by the witness of the mutilation, copied further back. Phillips says he was killed and mutilated by Camanchesl How much short does this evidence fall of the "eye-witness" desired by Sanborn, REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. 19 and what other proof is required to asso- ciate the "father of Oweu Brown" with tlie Camanches? Mrs. Wilkinson, in her affidavit to the Investigating Committee, made on the 13th of June, 1856, less than three weeks after the murder, said : — "I believe that one of Capt. Brown's sons was in the party who murdered my husband; I heard a voice like his. I do not know Capt. Brown hiniselt. * * The old man who seemed to be the com- mander wore soiled clothes, and a straw hat pulled down over his face. He spoke quick; is a tall, narrow-faced, elderly man." Morrow B. Lowry, ol Erie, Pa., a per- sonal friend of the writer, visited John Brown while in prison at Charlestown, and, referring to this aflair, "ventured the remark that his reputation demanded an explanation." Brown replied: "Time and the honest verdict of posterity will ap- prove of every act of mine to prevent slavery from being established in Kansas. I never shed the blood of a fellow-man, except in self-defense or in promotion of a righteous cause." Here is no denial of the killing; no claim by the man himself of an alibi; but a firm reliance on 'posterity" for jus- tification. NEWLY DISCCVCERED EVIDENCE. I might close the testimony at this point, and submit the case, as to the con- nection of Capt. Brown with this Potta- wotomie afi'air, to the impartial verdict of the reader; but I have before me the letter referred to above, written to the Springfield Republican touching this sub- ject. I will give it in Mr. Sanborn's own words, punctuation and parenthesis. It will be seen it corroborates to the let- ter and date, every assertion we have previously made on this subject,and, what is strange, ontlie liypothesis that Brown was not immediately connected with it, while he mentions that he is charged with guilt, he only retorts by criminating his friends at Osawotomie and Lawrence, designating their refusal to fight the United States troops as "cowardly" and "mean." I quote from Sanborn's letter; the italics are mine : "I have before me a letter of John Brown's, never yet printed. * '^ He says : "We were called to the relief of Lawrence, May 33, and every man, (eight in all) except Orson turned out; he stay- ing with the women and children, and to take care of the cattle. John (Jr.) was captain of a company to which Jackson belonged. The other six were a little company by ourselves. On our way to Lawrence we learned that it had been already destroyed, and we encamped with John's company over night. (This must have been the night of May 23,Thursday.) Next day our little company left, and during the day we stopped and searched three men. On the second day and eve- ning after we left John's men ; ("this was Saturday, May 24, and on that evening the Pottawotomie ruffians were shot,"j '■we encountered quite a number of pro slave- ry men and took quite a number prison- ers. Our prisoners we let go, but we kept some four or five horses. We were immediately after this accused of murder- ing Jive men at Pvttdwotomie^ and great efforts have since been made by the Missou- rian's and others, ruffian allies, to capture us. John's company soon afterwards dis- banded, and also the Osawotomie men. John tried to hide for several days, bat from the feelings of the ungrateful con- duct of those who had ought to have stood by him, excessive fatigue, anxiety and loss of sleep, became quite insane, and in that condition gave up, or, as we are told, was betrayed at Osawatomie in- to the hands ot the Bogus men. We do not know all th« truth aboutthis afi"air. The cowardly mean conduct of Osawo- tomie and vicinity did not save them, for the ruffians came on them, made numerous prisoners, fired their buildings and robbed them. It is said that both the Lawrence and Osawatomie men, when the ruffians came on them, either hid or gave up their arms, and that their leading men counseled, to take such a course? "This letter bears date, near Osawatomie," June 24, 1856." REMTNISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. So much for the letter and Sanliorn's interpolations in brackets. It wtis writ- ten Irom "near Osawatomie," which was about seven miles from the scene of this massacre, just one month to a day, after the murder. Under another head I shall have occasion to refer to this letter again THE CAMANCHES DISCOVERED. I find in the "First Biennial Report of the State Board of Agriculture for Kan- sas," Vol. 6, published in 1 878, under the head of Miami County, page 311, the fol- lowing very clear, but in some respects inaccurate, account of this transaction, from the pen of E. W. Robinson, Esq., long a resident of the county, located at Paola, but a few miles distant. His ve- racity no man will call in question. He says: " On the 24th of May, Winans, a Free State man, who kept a store on Mosquito Creek, brought the intelligence to the Free State camp, near Ottawa, commonly called 'Toywa Jones,' that the anti-sla- very settlers on the Pottawotomie had been ordered to leave. On the reception of this news a detachment, under com- mand of John Brown, Sr., at once set out, on the evening of the 24th, for the relief and protection of the settlers. "On arriving at the residence of Mr. Doyle, on Mosquito Creek, near the mouth of the Pottawotomie, the party stopped and called Doyle out, and when he ap- peared they fell on him with heavy cut- lasses and sabres, and hacked him to death. Doyle's two sons, coming to the rescue of their father, met with a similar fate. "From Doyle's the party proceeded to the house of Allen Wilkinson, wh was especially obnoxious, on account of his having been a member of the ' Bogup Legislature,' and, on making his appear- ance, the party murdered him. A Mr. Sherman, living on the Pottawotomie, was also murdered by the same party." This seems sufficiently definite. An active member of the Republican party, resident in the immediate vicinity of this massacre, and writing for home use, a historical sketch of his county, says John Brown, Sr., commanded the detachment. And he says they " hacked" the Doyle's to death, and '■'■murdered'''' Wilkinson, and " murdered'' Sherman ! And he tells us, in so many words, who 'Phillips' Camanches were! The writer has been careful to withhold a statement of even his opinion in the premises, content to collate such facts as are open to the world. TERRIBLE ARRAIGNMENT. The following, sent to John Brown, and read to him by the Sheriff, in prison, while the Captain was under sentence of death, is a terrible finale of that horrible massacre. Whether the "Liberator," as his friends called him, was guilty, or or otherwise, it tells in sad, sorrowful, and bitter words who the lonely wife and mother believed the murderer of her husband and sons : "Chattanooga, Tenn., Nov. 20, 1859. John Brown — Sir: — Althousch ven- geance is not mine, I confess that I do feel gratified to hear that you were stopped in your fiendish career at Harper's Ferry, with the loss of your two sons. You can now appreciate my distress in Kansas, when you then and there entered my house at midnight and arrested my husband and two boys, and took them out in the yard, and in cold blood shot them dead in my hearing. You can't say you did it to free our slaves; we had none, and never expected to own one ; but it only made me a poor disconsolate widow, with helpless child- rep. While I feel for your folly, I do hope and trust you will meet with your just reward. Oh, how it pained my heart to hear the dying groans of my husband and children. If this scrawl gives you any satisfaction, you are welcome to it. ;^ MAHAIiA DOYLK. "N. B.— My son, John Doyle, whose life I begged of you, is now grown up, and is very desirous to be at Charlestown, on the day of your execution ; would cer- tainly be there if his means would per- mit it, that he might adjust the rope around your neck, if Gov. Wise would permit." M. D. Three and a half years only had passed, KEMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. »1 at the time of writing that terribly vin- dicative letter, since that fatal night on the Pottawotomie, when Mrs. Doyle's husband, and sons were slain. She had left Kansas, with the remaining members of her family, the youngest only five years old, and had struggled as only a mother will, to keep them near her. No one can know the anguish of heart; t.'ie poverty; the wretchedness; the suffering •which had been hers in consequence. Though the reader. I hope, similarly circumstanced, would not have written such a letter, yet, in her bereaved condi- tion, she was human, and it tells more forcibly than words of mine to whom she ascribed the cause of her woe. MOTIVE FOB THE KILLING. The motive for the killing of these men, on the Pottawotomie, as given by various authors, are so varied and numerous it will be difficult, if not impossible, to ar- rive at the truth, other than by implica- tion. 1. R. J. Hinton, a very intimate friend of Capt. Brown, who designed to have been at Harper's Ferry, but could not get away, according to Cook, one of the ac- complices, in a letter of Dec. 3, '59, to the Boston Traveler^ said : " Doyle was engaged with others in a fiendish attempt to outrage the persons of Capt. Brown's daughter and daughter-in- law, the wife of one of Brown's sons." hence the murder. 2. J. R. Brown, a brother of old John, writing to the Cleveland PlaindealeVf of date Xov 22, '59, says: " My brother John and his two sons were living in the same neighborhood, and a committee of five from the Bor- der Ruffian camp called upon him, and said that they were instructed to warn him that if the Free State men were found there the next Thursday night, they would kill every one of them." 3. A statement went through the East- ern press excusing the killing, by saying that: "The old man was driven lo violence by the murder of his son, Fre lerick, and the arrest of Joiin, .Jr., who was chained and driven forty miles in a hot sun, etc." Both of these events followed, and was in consequence of these murders. John, Jr., when arres.ted, was suspicioned of being one of the banditti; and Frederick was killed on the morning of the 3()th of August, more than three months after the murders, hence we must seek elsewhere for the cause. 4. Still another statement was made- that — "A band of pro-slavery men went to the house of John, Jr., insulted his wife, burned his cabin, and drove off his cattle." The cabins of the sons of old John Brown were burned by pro-slavery men, on the 27th or 28th of May, three to four days after the massacre, and because of it. 5. ''John Brown's cabin was burned, his blooded stock were driven off, and the women of his family were grossly in- sulted." John Brown never had a cabin in Kan- sas, nor owned or exercised ownership over one foot of Kansas soil. His family, through all his western adventures, were residents of North Elba, Essex county, New York. In answer to Valandingham, while in Charlestown jail. Captain Brown said in so many words : "I did not go to Kansas to settle, but because of the dif- ficulties." 6. "That Wilkinson, Sherman and the Doyles were caught in the act of hanging a Free State man, and were shot by friends of the injured party." 7. Old John Brown told A. E. Coleman, Esq.,residing near Lawrence, Kan., that he, 'Brown, ran a survey line through each of the cabins of the murdered men, and, on account of being a stranger,heard from their own lips a plan to drive out the entire Free State settlers; that it wag merely a question whether to submit to being driven out, or to drive out those i who were threatening their neighbors." 22 REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. This statement was made loug after the event, when the transaction needed vindi- cation. 8. Redpath's Life of John Brown, p. 118 says: "On the niglit of the 25th of May, the Doyles, Wilkinson and Sherman were seized, tried and slain. This act was precipitated by a brutal assault commit- ted during the forenoon on a Free State man. at the store ot Sherman, in which the Doyles were the principal and most ruffiaul;- participators." '.). Captain Brown in answering a ques- tiSuch was, without exaggeration, the condition of the Territory at the pe- riod of my arrival." .*i In Lawrence, where the people had re- sorted from the country for security, the masses were subsisting on just what for- aging parties could pick up through the country, even bringing in unthreshed wheat and oats, treading out the grain, and grinding in coffee mills. Teams sent to Kansas City or Leavenworth for sup plies were sure to be confiscated by the Border Ruffians, and the teamsters were robbed and outraged in some form. I think there were full 800 Free State men in town on the Goyernor's arrival ; and yet, when with tears in their eyes I heard l^arties tell the Governor the necessitous condition in which they had left their families, and how anxious they were to go to their relief, the Governor would reply : "You had better remain in Lawrence a few days longer, but only for defence." I will not at this time detail all the facts I know in regard to this subject, as they will be more properly treated of in my "Reminiscences of Gen. Lane," which I am invited to write. / will say that history needs correction, badly, at this point. Suffice it for the present, the entire de- fences of Lawrence were removed, leav- ing not to exceed two hundred men in town, and (save the " Stubbs," who were armed with Sharp's rifles, and who I wish to say were always on hand and faithful to every trust,) scarcely any organized force whatever. ANOTHER INVASION. Beginning at about 2 o'clock, of Sun- day afternoon, the 14th of September, 1856, every little wliile a messenger would arrive in Lawrence, on a foaming steed, from the direction of Missouri, and in hurried words state that a large body ot armed men were rapidly marching on the town. The numbers of the enemy •were variously estimated at from 1,500 to 2,000. The earnestness in which the news was imparted, the appearance of the horses, and frequent repetition of reports were sufficient assurances of danger. Several expresses were quickly dis- patched, by different routes, to Gov. Geary, at Lecompton, one of which I forwarded with a note, and Gov. Robin- son did the same with another. Other parties were equally active. Four days l)efore, the treason prisoners had been discharged, leaving Col. Patrick St. George Cooke, who had them in cus- tody, with a battery and lull regiment of United States cavalry stationed within two miles of Lecompton. Our hopes of succor in this trying moment was in the interposition of these troops between us and the invading forces. The Herald of Freedom building was a high three-story structure, with stairs reaching the roof, which was flat. From this point I watched in the direction from which we expected the enemy, occasion- ally descending to mingle with the citi- zens to see what arrangements were be- ing made for defense. The ladies in my residence, wliich was divided from the office by a narrow alley only, were mak- ing cartridges, while others were bring- ing bullets and powder from neighboring places. I was a deeply interested party, for teams were then on the road for my new press, type and fixtures, and I was soon expecting their arrival. ^ About 5 o'clock a large party of horse- men, estimated at 400, were seen ap- proaching from towards Franklin. They were within, probably, two miles of the town. The fact was announced, when, ;54 R1;MINISCENCK8 of old JOHN KUOWN. desceuding from my i)()iDt ol" olfscrvu- tion, taking two or tlireu lojulod j^uus, accompanied by my sistor, Mrs. Mary A. Maudell, and my sister iu-law, Miss A. W. Gleason, tliey bearing cartridges, ■we made our way to entrenchments tlirown up in the autumn previous, I think, near Vermont and Henry streets. "We entered one ot these and watched all that transpired, ready to sell our lives as dearly as possible in defence of our homes and each other. I remember see- ing old John Brown pass near, going towards some other entrenchment; but I heard no speech, no directions, no coun- sels, no command of any character. He wore uo ensignia of rank, and carried neither sword or gun. Col. J. B. Abbott •was understood to be in command. Yet, as the forces were unorganized, and the feeling was universal that a vigorous and successful defence was the condition on ■which we should escape; we needed no commander in such an emergency. The threats that reached us were that we were "to be wiped out." We numbered not to exceed two hundred, while the advancing enemy was believed to equal four hun- dred, ^and back of these was a large army, how many we did not know. As the invaders neared the town the Stubbs, consisting of some sixty young men, armed with Sharp's rifles, advanced to meet them. A braver or truer body of men never set foot on Kansas soil. They were justly the pride of the town. There was not a man among them who would not have deemed it a pleasure to die in preference to turning his face from the foe. Many of these men afterwards fell under command of Col. Deitzler, at Wilson's creek, where Gen. Lyon was killed. Their names adorn the brightest pages of Kansas history. The Stubbs fired a few shots at the approaching enemy, and one of the in- vaders fell from his horse, which galloped away riderless. At this occurrence tliey retraced tlieir steps to Franklin and re- joined tlie main army. They proved to be an advanced mounted guard, wliich had gone out to "feel" of the Free State men, and see if they were disposed to of- fer any resistance to their entering the town. ^ The general invading force had been collected from various points in Missouri, and had rendezvoused at Westport, under Gen. Hciskell, responsive to a proclama- tion from Acting-Governor Woodson. They learned from spies, who were at Lawrence, on the arrival of Gov. Geary, and who remained until Col. Harvey, in obedience to an order from Gen. Lane, had crossed the river and gone to Hickory Point, in defiance of the Guvernor''s procla maiion^ taking with him the almost entire defenses of the town. Dispatches, it seems, were sent to Westport, and on the 12th, the enemy set out determined to reach Lawrence in this unprotected con- dition, and destroy it before Gov. Geary could interpose any obstruction. They had purposed to reach their point of destination on the afternoon of Sunday, and complete their bloody work. Instead, the forty miles of travel for a large body of badly organized soldiery,which proved to consist of 2,700 men, unaccustomed to long marches delayed them, and on reach- ing Franklin the infantry and lour pieces of cannon were halted, while the cavalry advanced ; seeing a fight was inevitable, returned and delayed their intended as- sault upon the town until the following morning. Reader, be patient. I am trying at this point to correct much false history, and have entered into greater detail than I would under other circumstances. FEDEU.^L INTERPOSITION. About 9 o'clook Sunday night the heavy rumbling of wagons, and the rapid clatter of horses' hoofs, descending th REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN RROWN. 35 elevated plat eau from the old California road to LawreDce, gave assurance that protection had reached us in the form of the United States cavalry, a battery of six cannon, and a thousand well-armed and thoroughly drilled soldiers, under the command of that brave old warrior, Col. Cooke, who, two years after, when tendered the command of the rebel troops of Virginia, by the Governor of his native State, in substance replied, that "Though I love m y mother, on whose bosom I was nursed, yet I owe allegiance to my father more, who reared me, gave me my military education, trusted me with a commission in his army, under whose flag I have spent the best years of my life, and, though sorry to raise an arm against her who gave me birth, am resolved, if need be, to die in that father's defence." I had made Col. CookeV acquaintance while a prisoner, indeed had commenced writing a series of personal sketches of him, for publication, which he himself kindly furnished me, but which were cut short, long before their completion, by our unexpected discharge. His oppor- tune arrival before Lawrence, relieved further anxiety, and, like hundreds of other weary ones, I retired for the night, after seeing the troops entering camp be- tween the invaders at Franklin and our own greatly loved pioneer city of Kansas. GOV. Geary's statement. To conclude th's narration. Gov. Geary told me, soon after the events I have re- corded transpired, that on his way up the Missouri he saw these invaders organiz- ing, and learned they were marshaling their forces at Westport, Mo ; that he hurried forward as rapidly as possible, prepared his proclamation to head them oft, and resolved that no injury should come to Lawrence in any contingency; that this was the reason he suggested to persons inquiring of him "th-it it would be bet- ter to remain in Lawrence a few days longer," and that the invaders hud stolen a march on him, and set themselves down before the town several days earlier than he expected. The Governor said, on receipt of the first note, which reached him, quite late in the afternoon of Sunday, he immedi- ately wrote and dispatched to camp, two miles distant, the following: Executive Office, Lecompton, Kan.T. Sept. 14, 1856. Col. p. St. George Cooke : — Remove your entire command, with all possible dispatch, to Lawrence, for the defence of that town. I will accompany you in person. John W. Geary, Governor. Early in the morning of the 15th, Gov. Geary issued the following order: Executive Office, Kansas T., ) In Camp near Lawrence, >• Sept. 15, 18.56. ) Col. p. St. George Cooke : Inter- pose your command before Lawrence,and allow no armed body to enter that town. Call the people of that city to your aid, if you need assistance. Disregard any or- der coming from me to the contrary, un- less given in person. John W. Geary, Governor Kan. T. Gov. Geary, with a small escort, ac- companied by Col. Cooke, rode to Frank- lin and had an interyiew with the com- manding otScers, and the head conspir- ator, Dave Atchison. They claimed to be there in accordance with a proclama- tion issued by Acting Gov. Woodson ; that they appeared in the capacity of Kansas militia, though they would not deny the fact that they came from Mis- souri; that they had an enrolled force ot 2,400, and about 300 stragglers who were not formally organized, but would do ef- fective work if an engagement took place. The Governor caused his proclamation to be read to the entire force; assured the invaders that he had a federal force sufficient to maintain the peace of the Territory, and that their services would not be required in that direction. REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. After the Governor retired tlic leaders held a loug cousultatiou, and, finallj', re- luctantly consented to retrace their steps to Missouri. A portion of them made the circuitous route by way of Lecomp- ton, and committed gross outrages en route, among others stealing several horses, and murdering a gentleman by the name of Buflfum. Gov. Geary at- tempted to bring the villains to justice, but was thwarted through the interposi- tion of a corrupt judiciary. THE PRO-SLAVERY ACCOUNT. I compile from an anonymous writer in tlie St. Louis Evening Neios of September 24th, the following version of this aflair from a "Border Ruffian" standpoint. I use the language of the writer, only slightly abridged : — "The Missourians, true to their word, inarched from Westport, on the 13th, to attack Lawrence. The army was com- posed of one regiment of foot and two of mounted men— in all t',400 men, attended by four pieces of artillery. Gen. Heiskell was in command. On the 13th and 14th, the army marched forty miles, reaching Franklin, four miles from Lawrence. The advance guard, when about three miles from Franklin, was fired on by the picket guard of the Lawrence army, and one man was killed. The main body was hurried up as rapidly as possible, for the purpo:^e of attacking Lawrence that even- ing. By the time it reached Franklin it was night, and the contemplated attack was postponed. The army encamped at Franklin, intending to make the assault next day, the 15th. "At midnight an express arrived with information that Col. Cooke had been sent by Gov. Geary, who was urgently solicited by the people of Lawrence to interpose for their protection. "On the 15rh Gov. Geary arrived at Franklin and had a consultation with the officers of the invading army. He told them he was prepaired to enforce the laws, to arrest offenders, crush out insur- rection, and suppress disorder with the aid of the troops under his command; that the interposition of the troops under Gen. Heiskell was no longer necessary. In view of these facts he urged the jNIissourians to disband, and aljandon their projected attack on Lawrence. "Gen. Atcliison, Gen. Rcid and Col. Titus urged compliance with the Gover- nor's proposal. The Governor withdrew from the conference. "A meeting was immediately organ- ized, with Gen. Atchison in the cliair. Resolutions were passed declaring that relying on the protection promised to peaceable settlers by the Governor, they, the invading flrmy, would disband and return to their homes." redpath's statement. In his "Life of Old John Brown,'' Redpatli devotes thirteen pages to the de- tails of ''Brown's Defence of Lawrence." To read it, with its gorgeous disp'ay of rhetoric, and brilliant scintillations of genius, not omitting, "not fiction but poetry,^'' as Mrs. Robinson happily styles it, the reader would suppose that there, in Lawrence, on the afternoon of the 14th of September, 185G, and duiing the long night which followed, was fought one of the most destructive battles recorded in American history; and that to old John Brown's genius, and great military ex- perience and gallantry, the people were in- debted for their salvation, and the city saved from complete destruction. I quote from page 163, to its conclusion, omitting all the fine descriptions not necessary to a complete comj^rehension of the facts: "The inquiry was next, 'Who shall be that leader ?' * * It was no sooner known that Capt. Brown was in town, than he was unanimously voted general- in-chief for the day. The principal por- tion of the people had assembled in Main street, opposite the post office; [There is no Main street in Lawrence,] and Capt. Brown, standing upon a dry goods l)ox in their midst, addressing them some- what as follows: [Here follows a speech. Probably all who heard it were killed in the terrible figlit(?) which followed.] * * Having thus taught them in the arts of war, he commenced his prepara- tions for defence. * * Capt. Brown was always active and on the alert, visit- ing every part of the town, and all the REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. 37 fortitirations, in person, giving direction:-, and exliorting every man to keep cool, and do his duty, and his reward would be an approving conscience. * * Aiiout live o'clock in the afternoon tlieir advance guard, consisting :.f 400 horse- men, crossed the Wakarusa, and pre- sented themselves in sight of town about two miles oft', where they halted, and ar- ranged themselves for battle, fearing perhaps to come within too close range of Sliarp's rifte balls. Brown's move- ments now were a little on the off"ensive order, for he ordered out all the Sharpe's riflemen from every part of the town — in all not more than forty or fifty — marched them a half mile into the prairie, and arranged them three paces apart, in a line parallel with that of the enemy, and then they lay down upon their faces in the grass." Let us leave them "lying on their faces," certainly a poor couch, skip over all the intermediate minute descriptions of incidents, the meeting of the beliger- ents "face to face," "half a mile apart and a cornfield between," the hurrying down of the sua in "anticipation of a fratricidal strife," the good deeds ot the angel in "spreading her mantle over the earth," and the refiections of the author in regard to "the distant Aidenn," and, in modern parlance "pitch in" the thick- est of the fight. Don Quixote's battle with th^ wind mills was nowhere. Lis- ten: "The distance now between the con- tending armies was such as to give Sharpe's rifle balls, that were fired with precision, a deadly effect; as was evinced by the fact that several horses were found riderless. In a few moments the firing became general, and in the darkness, and otherwise stillness of the night, the con- tinual flash, flash, flash of these engines of death along the line of living fire, pre- sented a scene the appearance of which was at once not only ter- rible but sublimely beautiful. From fear that the few men detailed to meet the enemy would be surrounded in the darkness, by the superior numbers of horsemen, and cut to pieces, a twelve pound brass piece, under guard of twelve men, was sent to their assistance; but be- lore it had arrived upon the ground, the foe had become panic-stricken and fied." No wonder, for the brass piece men- tioned did execution that day some twenty miles distant, in the vicinity of Hickory Point. I will not disturb the slumbers of T., nor the historian of this bloody battle, nor the " Generalin Chief," by entering the " breast work ;" nor listen to the " Lib- erator's" recital of his trials as given on pages 167-8,, but give audience at once to Richard Raelf, who, Redpath says, "died on his passage from England," where he had gone for funds to aid in the Harper's Ferry Raid, but which the newspapers said last year, had just sui- cided in San Francisco. " He who has tears to shed, prepare to shed them now L" THE DEFENCE OF LAWRENCE.^ All night, upon the guarded hill. Until the stars were low, Wrapped round as with Jehovah's will, We waited for the foe; All night the silent sentinels Moved by like gliding ghosts; AH night the fancied warning bells Held all men to their posts. We heard the sleeping prairies breathe, The forest's human moans, The hungry gnashing of the teeth Of wolves on bleaching bones; We marked the roar of rushing fires. The neigh of frightened steeds. And voices as of far-off lyres Among the river reeds. We were but thirty-nine who lay Beside our rifles then ; We were but thirty-nine, and they Were twenty hundred men. Our lean limbs shook and reeled about,' Our feet were gashed and bare, And all the breezes shredded out Our garments in the air. Sick, sick, at all the woes which spring Where falls the Southron's rod, Our very souls had learned to cling To Freedom as to God ; And so we never thought of fear. In all those stormy hour?, For every mother's son stoodnear The awful, unseen powers. REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. And twenty hundred men had met, And sworn an oaih of liell That, ere the morrow's sun might set, Our smoking homes should teil A tale of ruin and of wrath, And damning hate in store. To bar the freeman's western path Against him evermore. Thev came : the blessed Sabbath day, That soothed our swollen veins. Like God's sweet benediction, lay On all the singing plains; The valleys shouted to the sun. The great woods clapped their hands, And joy and glory seemed to run Like rivers through the lands. They came : our daughters and our wives, And men whose heads were white, Rose suddenly into kingly lives, And walked forth to the fight; And we drew aim along our guns. And calmed our quickening breath; Then, as is meet for Freedom's sons. Shook loving hands with Death. And when three hundred of the foe Rode up in scorn and pride. Whoso had watched us then might know That God was on our side; For all at once, a mighty thrill Of grandeur through us swept. And strong and svy-iftly down the hill Like Gideons we leapt. And all throughout that Sabbath day A wall of fire we stood. And held the bnffled foe at bay, And streaked the ground wiii blood; And when the sun was very low. They wheeled their stricken ranks, And passed on, wearily and slow, Beyond the river banks. Beneath the everlasting stars. We benaed child-like knees. And thanked God tor the shining scars Of his large victories ; And some, who lingered, said they heard Such wondrous music pass, As though a seraph's voice had stirred The pu'ses of the grass. CArT, brown's statement. I have given the reader my own ac- coitnt of the defence of Lawrence, on the 1-ith of September, 1856, and minutely stated my means of inforn ition and ob- servation. I have given the pro slavery account of the aftair, as furnished by members of their own party, and pub- lished at the time in one of their own papers. I have copied from Red path his account ot the invasion, and showed what an exciting and prolonged battle was fought, in his frenzied imafjinatioii., on this occasion. Old John Brown, when before the Mas- sachusetts Legislature, in February, 1857, five months only after the event, made mention of it, which I copy from Red- path's life, page 181. He said: "I know well that on or about the 14th of September, 1856, a large force of ]Mis- sourians and other ruffians, said by Gov. Geary to be twenty-seven hundred in numbers, invaded the Territory, burned Franklin, and, while the smoke of that place was going up behind them, they, on the same day, made their appearance in full view of, and within about a mile of Lawrence; and I know ot no reason why they did not attack that place, ex- cept that about one hundred Free State men volunteered to go out, and did go out on the open plain before the town, and give them the offer of a light; wliich, after getting scattering shots from our men, they declined, and retreated back towards Franklin. I saw that whole thing." The Chairman of the Committee, be- fore whom the above statement was made, inquired "Who commanded the Free State men at Lawrence?"' Red path, page 183, gives the answer in these words : "His answer was characteristic of the man, whose courage was only equalled by bis modesty and worth. He explained how bravely our boys acted — gave every one the credit Imt himself. When again asked who commanded them, he said — no one; that he was asked to take the command, but refused, and only acted as the^- adviser." Here we have the positive, unqualified, and truthful statement of old John Brown, that he did not command on that occasion. That he was requested by somebody to do so is very probable; but it could not have come from any author- ized party without the writer's knowl- edge, for he was in a position of all REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. 39 iiieu, U> know what was transpiring on thai day in Lawrence. On tliree separate and distinct occasions old John Brown has been cred- ited with being the "Defender of Law- rence." First, he appears in the city with his sons, in December, 1855, and is arrested for insubordination — he wished "to draw a little blood." On the second he arrives witliin twelve miles of the city, reaches Palmyra, and retraces his steps — do you say, reader to Pottawotomie? And, third, he is a mere looker on, and did no more, to say the least, than any of the hundred ladies who were engaged in making cartridges, or the two, certainly, who entered the trenches with tin pails of cartridges to aid their brothers in firing more rapidly, should occasion de- mand. And yet his eulogists tell us he was the "brave defender of Lawrence, and without his services the city would have been destroyed on these occasions." At Bismark Grove, nearLawrence,Kan- sas, on the 16th of September, 1879, I heard a gentleman, from the platform, in the hearing of thousands of interested listeners, most of whom were compara- tively new-comers in that State, make the broad and unqualified assertion that the freedom of Kansas was due to the services of Gen. Lane, and old Jolin BroAvn. Shall they who know to the con- trary, remain silent, and allow such state- ments to go down to another generation, and pass into history, uncontradicted ? The most i^umble actual settler who lo- cated in Kansas with his family, who re- mained, and voted with the Free State party, rendered a greater service to free- dom than did old John Brown, who nev- er cast a vote there, and whose influence was to discourage Northern emigration, by his acts of violence. Gen. Lane is en- titled to great credit for his services, and when I write of him I shall award him that credit he deserves. I write for an- other generation, with no expectation of reward, hence it is iust that neither fear nor favor shall guide my pen. AN INTERLUDE. I have already stated that immediately after the 14th of September invasion, old John Brown and his sons, with their fam- ilies, started overland, by way of Ne- braska and Iowa, for the Eastern States. It is not my purpose to follow the Cap- tain on his long journey; to detail the in- cidents by the way ; his arrival in Chica- go, in November; his efforts in Ohio to raise a regiment of men to march into Missouri to make reprisals; his visiting Albany in December; the particulars re- garding his visit to his home and family at North Elba, Essex County, N. Y.; and thence to Boston, and visiting the Massa- chusetts Legislature in February, 1857. Neither is it my purpose to show his earnest efforts to raise funds to renew the strife in Kansas ; his contract for pikes to arm the slaves in Missouri, where he was proposing to strike his next blow, but was finally diverted, by causes which shall appear in the sequel, to Harper's Ferry; his failures, vexations, disappoint- ments, and denunciations of prominent Republicans, who stood in the way of his wild adventures, and who, he declared, were foes to the cause of freedom, be- cause of their conservatism. Ail the long period lying between September, 1856, and November, 18.-)7, when the "Liberator" again returned to Kansas, was a period of almost unbroken rest, interrupted only by deep anxiety for the future, and the earnest discussions among Free State men as to the line of policy to be pursued, and which was crowned by wresting the Territorial Legis- lature from the bogus authorities, a nd sending a Free State Delegate to Congress. Save the Lecompton Constitution, which 40 REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. still endangered us, the question was vir- tually settled between freedom and slav- ery. A new era had dawned. A large emigration from the North began to flow in upon us. The timid, who had fled during the strife, had returned to their homes; the South were discouraged and had mostly fled; cur Free State newspa- pers were revived ; separated families were reunited; and in November, 1857, it needed no prophet's ken to settle the future that awaited disenthralled Kansas. AVith this period of repose, I will in- troduce, with the consent of the reader, by way of interlude, a few sketches of border life, which I trust will not be wholly devoid of interest. A STRANGE COINCIDENCE By the generosity of those who were interested in the freedom of Kansas, and the personal efl'orts of Mrs. Brown, some $3,700 were contributed to aid in the re- vival of the Herald of Freedom. Much of this amount was reimbursed during the ensuing year. Less than $1,600 reached the writer of this, owing to large sums expended in defraying expenses of agents, and in a fruitless attempt to obtain, first from Judge McLean, at Cincinnati, and afterwards Judge Curtis, in Massachu- setts, members ol the Supreme Court of the United States, writs of liabeas corpus for the relief of the treason prisoners. Diiriog the summer of 185G, while still in durance, I opened a correspondence with the Cincinnati Type Foundry, for a duplication of the bills of the news- paper department of the ofiice. That Company chanced to liave a hand press, type and fixtures at Manhatten, wliich had been obtained of them by fraud, but possession had been regained before the boxes were opened. They sent me an or- der for the outfit, to Mr. Pipher, still living at Manhatten. Immediately after my discharge from arrest I procured the services of Augus- tus Wattles, then living near Blooniiug- ton, Kan., who, with his teams, started by the way of Topeka for the goods. Conscious of the great risk we were running, and the probabilities of capture by guerillas, on its way down to Law- rence, through the aid of a pro slavery friend, who was not in sympathy with the violent proceedings of his party, ' and in whose integrity I had implicit confi- dence, I had papers made out, putting the office in bis hands,so that if captured by "Buford's men" it would never ti.e'.ess reach me safely. Thus provided, Mr. Wattles, with the requisite order, obtained the material from Mr. Pipher,and set out on his return journey. When in the neighborhood of Silver Lake he was captured by a roviug body of armed men. Not recognizing his captors he exhibited his pro slavery papers. The "boys" assured him that a press was just the thing they wauled. He was escorted to Topeka,where he revealed the truth, was recognized by acquaint- ance?, and passed on to Lawrence, with- out further incident. As Mr. Wattles passed up Massachu- setts street, between Henry and Winthrop, with his teams, a body of mounted horse- men entered Massachusetts street from the ford of the river, dragging in the dust behind them a red flug, the identical one which waved over the Herald of Freedom ofiice on the 21st of May previous, when it was destroyed by Border Ruffians. The new press and the captors ot the flag met at the corner of Winthrop street, where the ofiice was located. The Free State boys, I do not remem- ber under whose command, had captured the day previous, I tiiiuk, near Easton, a company of South Carolinians, and took their flag and arms. The victors pre- sented me with a musket, which they REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. 41 took from the vauquislied, ou the barrel of which was stamped the State arms, and the words " South Carolina," showing that the last of the original states admit- ted into the Union, had contributed from her State armory munitions of war for our sal)jugation. I regret to write that the musket was lost by some means in one of the Indian scares in Western Kansas, as I left it with A. R. Leonard, Esq., re- siding near Lawrence, to l)e forwarded to me in Illinois. I have tlie bayonet still FURTHER STRATEGY. Though I had succeeded in getting the necessary printing material I had no paper. Messrs. Younglove & Hoyt, of Cleveland, Ohio, donated me $200 in printing paper, soon after the office was destroyed. This was shipped to Alton, 1 11., and remained in the warehouse there through the summer, I ordered it to be forwarded to Mr. McAllister, Lecompton, Kan., through a leading pro-slavery com- mission house in St. Louis, thence to the cart! of a violent one in Leavenworth. In due time Mr. McAllister was notified of its arrival at Leavenworth. He was Gov. Geary's private secretary. His given name is forgotten. Mr. McAllister procured some pro-slav- ery teamster ; at Lecompton, to haul the paper from Leavenworth, with instruc- tions to cross the ferry at Lawrence, on their return. The teamsters received the p per from the warehouse, and returned homeward, no doubt congratulating themselves on the idea that they would now have a trusty Democratic paper again in operation at Lecompton. Knowing about the time they would reach the river a watch was kept for them. On their arrival, on the Lawrence side, I presented them an order from Mc- Allister to deliver the paper to me, which they did, but exhibited much chagrin and mortification in di)ing so This is the manner, the first time made public, the Ruffians 'vere circumvented, who had resolved that no Free State newspaper office or printing material should again be allowed to reach Kansas. Foiled in this, and the circulation of the Herald of Freedom, reaching; 8,0l)0 during the winter, they readily discovered the truth of the adage that "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church," and tliought it best to not disturb the papers in tVie future. AN EXCITING INCIDENT. To illustrate the times and disturbed state of Kansas, during this interc-^tiug period in tke history of the Territory, I give the following facts: After our release from imprisonment; the arrival ot Gov. Geary: the return of Gens. Heiskell and Reed, with their in- vading army of twenty-seven hundred to Missouri; the disappearance of old John Brown, his sons and their families towards Iowa; the arrest and imprison- ment of Col. Harvey and his command of one hundred, who had unwisely responded to an "order" of Gen. Lane's, after Gov. Geary's proclamation of peace: and while Gov. Geary and his escort were making a tour of Southern Kansas to tranquilize the agitation in that quar- ter, probably sometime during the last days of October, I was sitting at my table, in the sanctum of the Herald of Freedom office building, preparing copy for the paper. A rap at the inner door. I arose, opened it, and saw three mea standing before me , armed with revolvers and bowies, and I think Sharp's rifles. Speaking to them, one inh'oduced himself as Captain H. Shaking hands with him, he then introduced the others, one as "my first Lieutenaut," giving his name, which has escaped me; the other as "sec- ond Lieutenant," whose name is also for- gotten. I passed them chairs, and took a seat myself at the table where I had been writing. 42 REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN RBOWN. Capt. H. opened the conversation ; in- quired how soon the Herald of Freedom ■would again appear; congratulated me on my restoration to liberty, and then said, with a hearty laugh, in which the whole trio joined: "Gov. Geary is tranquilizing the Territory." I replied that he seemed doing much in that direction, and from the character of letters to me Irom per- sonal friends in Pennsylvania, who knew Gov. Geary well, and from private inter- course with him, I had no doubt of his success, provided, the authorities at Washington would not interfere with his work. "He can never do it," replied Capt. H. "It is too late. The Ruffians have over- run Kansas, have had their day until the Free State men are thoroughly organized for revenge, and now they want to tran- quilize us. Ha, ha, ha, they can't do it. Let me tell you, Mr. Brown, my Lieu- tenants here and myself have been fol- lowing in the rear of Gov. Geary's pacific tour, and we have been trying to show that the thing won't tranquilize." He then i)roceeded to narrate various crimes they had committed, entering into de- tails, telling of murders, arsons, rapes, horsestealing, and othf;r offenses of an ag- gravated character. 1 was wholly alone in the presence of three brutal ruffians. What should I do? I said: "I think you mistake the true policy. Our ambition is to make Kansas a Free State. Our success is contingent upon the number of actual settlers we have from the free North, who will co-operate with us. To get these settlers it is our interest, as well as duty, to quiet down the excitement, show up the beauty of the country, the healthful climate, pro- ductive soil, and satisfy them that we have the al)ility to make it free, and we ■will see such an emigration Kansas- ■ward next spring as the world has never seen before. You must remember, Cap- tain, that the great mass of us are here with our families, our property, with all we have in the world. We came here to build up homes and free institutions, and to be successful we must have peace and quiet." "You can't do it. You can't do it. It is too late. We have got stirred np in the matter, and by G — we shall keep it stirred up. I have told you what we have done. We shall continue in the rear ot Gov. Geary's movements, and we shall continue to agitate," replied the Captain, the Lieutenants with oaths en- dorsing his threats. "Gentlemen, if this is the case, I shall feel in honor bound to repeat this conver- sation to Gov. Geary, and, much as I de- spise the bogus authorities, I shall hope to see you arrested and convicted for your crimes." They all sprung to their feet, drew their revolvers, and threatened me with dire vengeance. I arose at the same in- stant, shoved a paper aside on the table, exposing an armory, which experience had taught me were good things to have on such occasions. Without showing fear I ordered them from the room ; told them they would hear nothing further from me, unless I heard of further violence from them. They retreated down stairs, and twenty-two years have passed since then. Whether any of them are now living I don't know, but the facts are in every essential particular as I nave narrated. To the old settlers of Kansas I will make an explanation in this connection, and to the "Letter-Writers," an apology. In the summer of 1857, the letter-writers of which there were some thirteen or more, had headquarters at the Whitney House, in Lawrence. If any event was about to transpire, in any portion of the Territory, they would send one of their REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. 43 cumber to that point, who would gather up the facts, return to the general rendez- vous, make his report, when each one would write his respective paper of the event, filling up with such incidents as an active imagination would suggest, and dating their letters at distant points. Thus, corroborated by each other in main facts, all was taken as true as holy writ. Indeed the Eastern press used the same arguments to show that they were truthful, as the vindicators of the bible have done to show the correctness of the sacred writers. "They were written at dilferent times, by diflferent persons, widely separated from each other, of cotemporary eveuts, and all agree in main facts.therefore their statements are strictly reliable." Tliese letter writers were almost inva- riably sensational; the more exciting their narrations the greater the demand, and the more letters would be required. They generally received $5 each for their cor- respondence. The more letters they wrote the better it paid. The Herald of Free- dom was ever correcting their statements, and trying to convince the eastern public that "bloody Kansas" was not half as bloody as the correspondents were repre- senting. Something was necessary to protect the guild. A/riend of mine, who had access to their rooms, reported that the whole list of Letter- Writers had en- tered into a solemn agreement to crush the Herald of Freedom, by representing the editor with having "sold out to the administration, gone over to the enemy." Remembering that Captain H. was then an eastern correspondent, whether of the guild I do not know, I unwisely stated the fact, in and editorial, that the letter writers had resolved to write down tlie Herald of Freedom; that we had corrected too many of their false- hoods through our columns for them longer to submit to it quietly; that they were not the sort of men whose truthful- ness could be always relied upon; that one of their number was a profes- sional horse thief, and he would be known because he had and would con- tinue to write the most bitter things de- nunciatory of the Herald of Freedom and its editor. The insane man running through the streets stating that "Hell was out for noon," don't half express tie excitement which that brief editorial caused among the scribling fraternity. I think a dozen challenges to fight duels followed in rapid succession, and the most dignified ot them insisted on a cor- rection as to him. Our statement was strictly true, but no doubt rather sweep- ing in its effect; and, looked upon from this distant stand point, more than 32 years after, we will say frankly, if his name does not commence with H. he was not the letter-writer to wlmm we referred, and, to save another challenge, we mav as well mention that his name was not Hinton. THE TERKIBLE FATE OK A TYPO. While the foregoing incidents illustrate one phase of Kansas life, and show the disturbed state of the country, I will re- cite still another, as due to the faithful exposition of the times. It was during this same autumn of 1856. With the destruction of the Her- ald of Freedom ofHce, my own arrest and imprisonment, and business of every sort suspended throughout the Territory, my typos were thrown out of employment, and every honest means of sujjport was cut off. Four months of the outer world shut out, I lost all trace of them, save of Mr. Wliitcomb, who remained faithful to his trust, and did what he could to col- lect the broken and scattered ruins of one ot the best printing offices ever taken to Kansas, and prevent farther spiolation. He still lives in Lawrence, with his 44 REMINISCE^'CES OF OLD JOHN HIiOWN. pleasaut family, pursuing the delightful occupation of a Horist. At the time of this incident I had suc- ceeded in getting our Free State citizen soldiery removed from the office building, •who I found in full possession of each of the three floors, when I returned from camp; had received my new printing office, in spite of Border Ruffian vigilance, which had determined uo new printing establishment should reach Free State men in the Territory, and had it arranged in place. My paper, too, had already come to hand, as before mentioned. In short, I was ready to resume work on the typographical department of the paper. Sitting in my sanctum, as in the preced- ing incident, preparing matter for publi- cation, I heard a loud call at the door: " Brown, O, Brown." I stepped quickly to the door, and saw a tall, lank, awkward looking figure of the genus Jiomo, sitting astride a fine horse, at the same time leading sixteen others , which were tied together by twos, then a long rope passing between them to which each pair of horses were fastened. The following colloquy ensued : "Why, G," (I shall use only the ini- tial, for reasons which appear in the sequel,) "is that you? I am so glad to see you," reaching up and shaking him by the hand. "Where have you been through the summer?" "Well, lying around loose." "I have frequently thought of you, and wondered why you did not put in an ap- pearance. Everything is now in working order, and I am short of typos. I wish you to go to work immediately." "I would like to -jblige you, Mr. Brown, but I can't do it. Got something better." "How is that?" ♦ 'Why, I have this stock to dispose of. Gov. Geary seems hell bent on tranquiU izing things, and I am going to 'git' as fast as I can with this stock out of the Territory, and let him tranquilize." *c "Where in tlic world did you get those horses?'" "Tliey are reprisals which I have made for my last summer's work." With a cordial shake, and " good bye," I saw G. for the last time riding hurried- ly towards the ferry. Fourteen years after I was at Ful- ton, Illinois, and in conversation with the publisher of the Journal, learned that it was established by himself and G., I think in the spring of 1857. As he mentioned the name, it being an odd one, I stated the above facts, with a description of G.'s person, and that he was a native Hoosier. "You have described him accurately. He is the same person. I well remember his frequent mention of those borce troubles in Kansas." "Had he any money to start with?" "Yes, probably the proceeds of the sale of those horses." "What has become of him?" "I bought him out. He got religion, joined the Baptist church, and is now preaching over in Iowa." "The Devil he is," is all I could re- spond. "And the proceeds of the stolen horses was the capital he commenced the ministry with." Should this meet Rev. Mr. G.'s eye, he need not distress himself, for I shall not give the residue of the letters which spell liis rather homely name, and Itrust my friend Mr. Whitcomb will not. Noth- ing short of an inquisitorial rack, or thumb- screw, at least, shall wring them from me; and I know Mr. Booth, late of the Fulton Journal, will not expose him, because he is a member of the same church- BREWEKTON. Again a rap at the door of the sanctum, to which I responded. It could not have REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. 45 varied many days either way from the two preceding cases. In stepped a rather pleasant looking, gentlemanly appearing person, some thirty years of age, and extended his hand, I said : "You have the advantage of me." "Don't you remember Brewerton, of the N. Y. Heraldr "Yes, very well, you d — d scoundrel, and you get out of here this instant." Standing back, as if perfectly shocked, he exclaimed : "What does this mean." "It means sir, that you are the d — d scoundrel who came to my room, at the Harris House, in Westport, with a lot of Southern desperadoes, while I was a prisoner in the hands of a mob, who ex- hibited a letter they represented they had taken from the carpet bag of some person from Lawrence, whom they claimed to have captured, revealing a plot to rescue me from them, and when I told them it was a forgery, put up by some person of evil intent, you, like the d — d scoundrel you are, labored to convince me and them that it was genuine, when you knew it was only a pretext, they were seeking, to take me out and shoot me, as they had repeatedly told me they would do to pre- vent a rescue."^ "But, you know I was suspected, as a Northern man, and had to work my card very adroitly to keep on good terms with them, and save my own life, during that period of great excitement." "Yes, you played the scoundrel and sneak to divert attention from yourself, and I want you to leave this office in- stantly." "But I am not accustomed to being talked to in this manner. I was formerly a midshipman in the United Sta'^es Navy." J "The greater reason why you should have been a gentleman. Git!'''' And he got. Reader, I always despised profane lan- guage and made it an invariable rule to discharge from my employ any workman accustomed to its use, or who was intem- IDcrate in the use of spirituous liquors, but in this case please remember our "Uncle Toby, in Flanders," who used to swear enormously big oaths while there, but when the recording angel had writ- ten down the words, and remembered the great occasion which called them forth, according to Sterne, he dropped a tear upon the record, and wijied it out for- ever. I trust he did so on the above oc- casion. And then we have a somewhat analo- gous case with Uncle Toby's, which, with the reader's permission, I will offer in further extenuation. It was told me by a clergyman for the truth, and of course it is so. Late in the autumn of 1854, so ran the story, an eastern settler, whom we will call Mallory, was engaged with his oxen in doing some labor just out of Lawrence. A clergyman riding past interrupted the laborer with : "Good morning, Mr. Mallory." "Good morning, Elder, I am glad to see you." "But I was not aware until this morn- ing that you were a profane man." "I am not, I never swear. My parents, were pious people, and they gave me a pious education. I always despised the practice of profane swearing." "You surprise me, Mr. Mallory. lean- not understand it. As I came up I thought I never heard a person swear so wickedly as you were doing." "Oh, no, Elder, your ears have de- ceived you. I never swear." 'How could I be so deceived?" "Why, what in the world could I have RE^IIXISCE^X'ES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. said that you have mistaken it for pro- fanity?" "You were directing your remarks to the oxen." "Oh, oh, Elder, I understand you now. The truth is, I bouf!;ht these cattle down in Missouri, and I was only addressing language to them they would under- stand." It is hoped the people of Lawrence have ceased to buy Missouri cattle; and if Brewerton never intrudes himself again on my premises, I will try and never use such emphatic terms again. A FIRST CLASS BORE. ^ Bores are frequent attendants in a newspaper office. They thoughtlessly trespass on the time and patience of the editor, when he is preparing important matter for the press, delay the printers, by forcing them to wait for copy, and annoy him in all soits of ways. I have a case of this character, which the reader will allow me to narrate, for the benefit of the press, which, certainly is applic- able to our title of a "Thrilling Incident of Border Life." It was DLCcmber, 6th 1856. Theday was rather cheerless. Moist snow was falling in large flakes, melting nearly as Soon as it reached the ground. I was seated in my sauctum, as usual, hard at work, writing editorials for my paper, which then had a circulation bor- dering closely on 8,0C0. I had no assist- ant, and often wrote from ten to sixteen columns of matter each week, besides conducting a heavy business correspond- ence. To do this vast amount of labor I was compelled to be wholly alone. My clerks were instructed to allow no person to pass through tiieir room into mine, un- less it was a case of the greatest import- ance. Tlie siinctura was a beautiful room, in tiie middle of the building, on the sec- ond floor, tiixteeu f^ct fcquare, high oiling, well lighted, the floor carpeted, two fine book cases well filled, pictures on the wall, a large round table in the center of the room, and a beautifully or- namented stove, which I took great pride in keeping nicely polished. In one C( r- ner of the room was a little trap door, probably 12 by 20 inches, a series of them extending through the building (o the roof, to be used in cases of emergency. These traps gave direct access to the workmen, either on the first oi third floor. The typos were above, and through the trap the foreman received his copy. I was seated at my table, in the midst of a heavy article, laboring to show that tranquility was fully restored to Kansas; that the golden age had really dawned; that the lost Eden was found; our gorg- eous prairies were teeming with houey and wine; and was telling everybody and his wife to come right there, by first steamer up the Missouri, and enjoy thia newly-discovered Paradise, wher I was interrupted by an attempt to enter at the door, which was fastened. I was in an unusual hurry, behind with copy, and a long train of thought, which I wished to get on paper, before it should take wings and fly away, as my best always does. Two or three clerks, among whom, by the way, was John E. Cook, an accom- plished penman, who was hung with old John Brown, at Harper's Ferry, were hard at work arranging subscription books in the business office, so I resolved I would not be interrupted. But the door was shook again, followed by three raps, the sesame which had been agreed upon with the clerks to ope" the door. Impatient with the annoyance, I passed to the door and opened it, when in stepped a gentleman of probably o5 years of age, heavy set, wearing a slouch hat, face unshaven for a week, with the gen- eral air of a man that had his own nuliou REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. 47 of tilings, au(.l cared but little what oth- ers thought about it. I passed him a chair, in front of the warm stove, made some remarks about the weather, when the following colloquy ensued: " Rather an unpleasant day to travel. " "Quite." " You have just arrived in the Terri- tory?" " Yes." "Do you come to locate with us?" " Yes." " What State are you from?" " Indiana." "How are you pleased with Kansas?" " Well." Here the trap was raised, and the fore- man called, ''Copy." " Excuse me a few minutes, I have an article well under way, which I will soon finish." The trap was let down, when I dipped my pen, already between my fingers, in the ink, and remarked: " I am yery much pressed to supply copy as fast as needed, as my pap^r is almost wholly original." Again T dipped my pen in the ink, as if to write, but my thoughts were gone. To add to my grief, my visitor took from his pocket a case of tobacco, extracted a quid, and commenced chewing, and soon after made a target of my beautiful stove. The door was open in front, exposing a 'glowing fire. _ He evidently aimed to hit the opening; but in spite of his skill in that direction he would frequently miss, then a hiss, accompanied by a foul odor, and a soiled place was exposed. I tried to draw my visitor out, and learn the object of his call, but could not. Everything I said, or inquiry made, was answered with a monosyllable. Up again, every few minutes, would fly the trap, and down would come the cry of "Copy ! We are all out of copy." The pen wotild be again loaded, but the thoughts were on the bove, and I could not write. To demand his busi- ness seemed impolite, and what to do was the conundrum I did not know how to solve. Dear reader, were you ever similarly afflicted? Then it seemed an age. Looking back upon the events, and recalling the vexa- tion I experienced at the abuse my stove was receiving, when I had long ago pushed a spittoon to my visitor's feet, to which he paid no attention, it is a wonder that I did not make a slight draft on Mallory's language to the oxen to help me out. When my patience was nearly exhaust- ed, and I was studying what to say to get rid ot the intruder, to relieve the monotony, he arose, looked at the pictures on the wall, read my cer- tificate of membership in the Grand Division Sons of Temj)erance, as also of the Grand Temple of Honor of Penn- sylvania. Then coming to the table, with both hands on it, leaning over towards me, he inquiied: "Have yua any subscribers at Ceutre- ville, Indiana?" "I think so." "Who arc they?" I stepped to the business room, called for my Indiana subscription book, opened to Centreville, and read a handsome list of names. "Put down — " I did so. "Put down — " "Put down — " And so he continued, I following di- rections until I had added some eighteen names. "Put down the number on a slip of paper. Have you any subscribers at Ce- darville?" "Yes." "Who are they?" 4.S KEMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. And thus on from one place to another, each with a long list, until I had entered an even ninety names. "How much do you want for them?" "One hundred and thirty-five dollars I furnish them all to you at my lowest club rates." He drew from his pocket a bag of coin, and counted out $135 in gold, which I trai sterred to my safe, thinking to myself as I did so : "You may spit on my stove just as m ch as you dum please." ) I then inquired his name. He gave i*. as Dr.Jas.G.Blunt. He was afterward Maj. General, in the war of the rebellion, and I had the pleasure of telling Col.Thomas Moonlight, now of Leavenworth, the above fact8,in the presence of Gen. Blunt and seveial members of his staff. I suppose my journalistic friends will call the General a "First Class Bore." I "Wliile recently in Kansas, I learned with much sadness, that Gen. Blunt is at this time an inmate of an insane asylum, I think at Washington. THE LETTER WRITERS. Having had frequent occasion to refer to, or quote from the professional letter writers of Kansas, it may not be improper to give a few passing lines to them, be- fore we return to the "Liberator." Many of the names of these gentlemen have escaped me. The most prominent were Jas. Redpath, Wm. Phillips, Richard Haelf, Richard J. Hinton, J . H Kagi and John E. Cook. There were others, as A. D. Richardson, Capt. H., previously men- tioned, S. F. Tappan, Mr. Russel, etc. The first four names were foreigners, and nearly all were in sympathy with old John Brown, and acted as apologists, and vindicators of him. Redpath made his nrst appearance in Kansas, in June, 1855. For a time he made his headquarters at the Herald of Freedom office, and I saw and knew much of him. He was ambitious to secure a position as reporter of the Bogus Legis- lature, which assembled at Pawnee on the 2nd of July, 1855, and was suc- cessful. He failed, for some reason, to give satisfaction, and was discharged, af- ter the removal of that body to the Shawnee Mission. He claimed to have traveled all over the South, mostly on foot, spending much of his time among the slaves. As a correspondent he was wholly unreliable, drawing so largely on ^ his imagination that it was difficult to dis- tinguish the truth from falsehood. He was a violent Northern secessionist in feeling, and all his energies seemed di- re(!ted to involve the extremes of the Re- public in a bloody collision. He es- tablished a paper at Doniphan, under the auspices of Gen. Lane, but they soon fell out, and he left the Territory in disgust, and engaged in the Haytian emigration business. To aid the enterprise he pub- lished a paper at Boston, entitled the Palm and Pine, from which I have already copied. He is now the recog- nized head of the Boston Literary Bureau. He recently disappeared mysteriously from New York, but in due time turned up in San Francisco. Mr. Phillips was sent to Kansas as the special correspondent of the New York Tribune, in the summer or autumn of 1855. He was a man of fine ability, de- signed to write nothing but the truth, and had many excellent qualifications of head and heart. He placed too mucli confidence in the reports of his associates; frequently magnified molehills into mountains; and was an extreme partizan with a tendency toward the John Brown school. Instead of encournging Northern emigration, his published articles were always iugui)nous and lacking in hope and confidence in the final result. Richard Raelf came to Kansas, over- land, through Iowa, in the fall of 185G, REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. 49 reaching Lawrence -with the Eldridgc party, some time about the middle of October. Raelf represented himself as an adopted son of Lady Byron ; claimed to have had some trouble with her; came to New York, and engaged as an assistant to Mr Pease, in the House of Industry, belonging to the Five Point's Mission. Thence he drifted to Kansas. He was "something of a poet," an enthusiastic admirer of old John Brown, an advocate of the fighting policy, but was not a suc- cess as a correspondent. He suicided last year in San Francisco. Hiuton, like Redpath, Philips and Raelf, was an Englishman. He came to Kansas with the same party with Raelf, in October, 1856. He obtained a situa- tion as typo, in the Herald of Freedom otlice, but "was wholly incompetent as a compositor, being paid by the thousand, his wages rarely or never exceeded $3 50 a week,when good workmen made $12 to $15 a week. He was transferred to the position of assistant clerk, and thence joined the letter-writing fraternity. Cook, too, was an employe for some three months in the Herald of Freedom office; was engaged principally in copy- ing subscription books; making indexes; and entering lists of new subscribers. Jle came to Kansas in the spring of 1856, from Indiana, and joined Lenhart and others in a sort of guerilla warfare through that summer. He fell into the embraces of old John Brown, and died on the gallows a few days after the "Lib- erator." He was a man of generous im- pulses, and, in peaceful times, and oth- er surroundings would have made a worthy citizen. An anonymous writer, since these articles were in course of pub- lication, wrote me that he lacked bravery. Kagi I never saw but once, and then was favorably impressed with his appear- ance. He was correspondent for the National Era, at Washington, a very worthy, high-toned. Free Soil paper. He was Captain Brown's Secretary of War, and was killed at Harper's Ferry. He became known in Kansas principally by a personal uucounter with Judge Elmore, at Tecumseh. These young men, inexperienced in practical lite, imbued with the wildest romance, and seeking to involve the Government in revolution, writing under nom de plumes^ and flooding the country with sensational letters, in too many in- stances wholly devoid of truth, gave a false coloring to history, whith will probably impress it for years, if not lor all time. Take the "Life of John Brown," written by one of them, for illustration : I have shown conclusively that the pro- duction is in no way reliable; that the entire work was a eulogy published in the interest oi John Brown's family, with everything objectionable in his character carefully omitted, or heavily gilded; and yet so worthy and enduring a work as "The American Cyclopedia," in its arti- cle on Old John Brown, has only greatly abridged Redpath's book, without adding a single additional statement. Probably the Encyclopedia Britanica borrows its article, in substance, from the American. French and German publications will fol- low, while other nations will copy, and thus is realized the truth of that maxim: "Falsehood will travel a league while Truth is putting on his boots to join in pursuit." Sensational writers, endorsing each other, gave coloring to everything they attempted. Genuine merit was ob- scured and real worth was passed with- out mention; tinsel was thrown over their heroes, whilst their meritorious works were magnified many times, and their vices and crimes concealed. Thus left, the future historian has a herculean task before him, else an admiring gener- ation will convert these heroes of an idle w REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. braiu into gods for narrow minds to wor- ship. Exeunt, the letter writers. JOHN brown's cabin — A FRAUD. Hon. James Hanway, of Lane, Frank- lin Co., Kansas, at the Old Settlers' Con- vention, at Bismark Grove,near Lawrence, on the 15th and 1 6th of September, 1879, siiid, from the public stand, that he wished to make a correction in regard to old John Brown, because it was due to history, lie then said a photographer had taken a picture of an old log cabin, •which he had erected on his place at an early day, for preemption purposes, but had long been unoccupied. After the picture was complete the artist inquired what he should call it. " Well, old John Brown used to visit me quite frequently, while we lived in the cabin, suppose we call it the 'John Brown Cabin.' " Agreeal)ly to the suggestion. Judge TIanway said, the picture was so named, and the artist went away with it. A lit- tle time alter he saw an engraved illus- tration of the cabin, in a Kansas City paper.and published as the veritable John Brown's Cabin. At the Philadelphia Centennial, the old gentleman added, there were thousands of this fraud dis- posed of to the credulous, at high figures, ■who wanted some relic of their hero. *' But John Brown," he continued, "never owned a cabin nor any land in Kansas." In the first biennial report of the State Board of Agriculture of Kansas, a beau- tifully executed volume of 633 pages printed on heavy paper, and finely illus- trated, we find a wood cut of this cabin fraud, so characteristic of many other events Brown's eulogists have falsely heapea upon him, for the historian to correct, underneath which is printed " John Brown's Cabin, in southwestern part of Franklin county, near 0«awot- omie, Miami Co., (from a photograph by A. W. Barker.)" Gov. Anthony aided and abetted in ex tending and perpetuating this frau*, by sending a copy of the engraving to a Subscription Club in Paris, France. He says : "With this I hand you an engrav- ing of 'John Brown's Cabin,' still stand- ing, as it did when it domiciled the old hero during his residence in Kansas." This fact shows how myths are made. That cabin will be as immortal as the apple in the mythical story of Wm. Tell. Are all our histories of prominent per- sonages as devoid of truth as are those of old John Brown? THE HOME OP JOHN BROWN. From the same piece with the "Cabin Fraud" comes a statement as late as November 12, 1879, from the present Governor of Kansas, John P. St John, a very excellent gentleman, by the way, who telegraphed the Chicago Daily JS^acs, as the Governor said, from "The lionie of Old John Brown." Seven cities claimed to be the birth- place of Homer; but it is difficult to understand how it is possible for any person, while living, to have two "homes" at the same time. "Home," in law and fact, is the place where a person is dom- iciled. Domicile is a place of ■permanent residence. That place is where the fam ily resides. From John Brown's first en- trance into Kansas, in the fall of 1855, to the time of his execution, December 2d, 1859, his family was on his farm at North Elba, New York, and th. re, in the writer's natal county of Essex, among the Adirondac mountains, where he was born, rests in tranquility the bones of the "Liberator." Far be it from me to disturb his repose, or wrest from his fame a single well-earned laurel; but I am laboring to brush away the false in history, which his eulogists have thrown REMIXISCENCES OF OLD .JOHN BfiOWN. around him, in many instances robbed from those better entitled to wear the garland than he. A GLANXE IN PASSING. Many of the most interesting pages in Kansas history, when correctly and fully written, will be those describing the in- tervening events between the autumn of 1856, and November, 1857. The period embraces the whole of Gov. Geary's ad- ministration, extending through six months; of Secretary Stanton's term, as Acting Governor, for one month ; and about six months of Gov. "Walker's ad- ministration. -The correspondents and "fighting men," made a continual warfare on these gen- tlemen; but they were, nevertheless, very worthy persons, and came to Kansas with a sincere desire to* do justlf by all parties. They were hampered by instruc- tions issued by the State Department at "Washington, and were trequently embar- assedwith interferences by co-ordinate de- partments ot government. Each employed all his power to correct abuses, and con- tinually labored with the President in that direction, but was unsuccessful. The President was under the influence of Jefferson Davis, the man of "evil destiny," who seemed to have Kansas affairs in his keeping, and whose great ambition was to make it a slave State. "When Gov. Geary saw he could not be permitted to right our wrongs, he re- signed, and left the Territory ; but his in- fluence for free Kansas did not end here. After Gov. "Walker's appointment he paid that functionary a visit, and made known to him the outrages which had been per- petrated on the Free State settlers, by Missouri and the South, and placed him in rapport with influential Free State men in Kansas, who wielded valuable in- fluence over him during his whole term of oiBce. "When Gov. "Walker found that nis instructions would not permit a faithful discharge of his duties to the citizens, he visited Washington in person, and labored with the President to get his in- structions changed; failing, he, too, re- signed. Secretary Stanton, who again became Acting Governor, also attempted to assist the real settlers, but was immediately sacrificed to placate the South, and was removed by the President. Each of the Governors were violently denounced by the Bohemians of tlie press, and with Gov. "Walker, it required great effort to prevent his being driven into extreme measures, by their false, abusive and violent denunciations of him. Each of these Governors, on leaving the Territory, became indentified with the friends of free Kansas. Gov. Geary served his country with gallantry in the war of the rebellion, and was made Gov- ernor of Pennsylvania.by the Republican party, discharging his duties faithfully and satisfactorily to all. Gov. Walker was sent by President Lincoln, on a se- cret and very important mission to Eng- land, during the rebellion, and received therefor the highest commendation of the Martyr President. These facts show that however greatly they were misunderstood the time, in Kansas, their impulses were leading them in a proper direction. ' The writer had special opportunities of information in regard to the ofiicial con- duct of each of these gentlemen; and he believes it a duty he owes to impartial history, some day, to give that knowl- edge to the public. In my next I shall resume John Brown's connection with Kansas affairs, and hurry these Reminiscences to a close, stopping by the way, to correct any er- ros, pointed out by critics, which, lapse of years, or defective information has 'ed me into. Each person who has or may 52 REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. point out any discrepancy between my Btatements and facts will please accept my cordial thanks. RETUKN TO KANSAS. During this long period, from about the middle of September, 1856, to No- vember, 1857, old John Brown has been laboring in the Eastern States, soliciting funds to arm a body ot men to return to Kansas, and make reprisals in Missouri. As before stated, he contracted in Col- linsville. Conn., for one thousand pikes, to be "fixed to the end of a pole, about six feet long," which he told the manu- facturer he proposed "to place in the hands of the settlers in Kansas, to keep in their cabins, to defend themselves against 'border ruffians and wild beasts.' " This was his ostensible object. His real object was to place these rude instru- ments, which only required physical force to wield them, in the hands of slaves in Missouri. In August, 1857, Capt Brown, with a small party, reached Tabor, near the south-western corner of Iowa, where he remained inactive until the 2d of Novem- ber, when, with one of his sons, he set out with his own conveyance for Kansas. We find him a few days after in coun- cil with various parties in the vicinity of Lawrence. His stay in that vicinity was quite brief, limited to about three days. He seems to have enlisted John E. Cook, Richard Eaelf and L. F. Par- sons in his enterprise on this trip. Red- path was already co-operating, and Hin- ton, according to Cook, was to Lave joined the adventure. The Captain re- turned by way of Topeka, to Nebraska, thence to liis place of general rendezvous, at Taljor. Why tlie Captain made so brief a stay in ICniisas is not apparent. Probably he was disappointed in finding that the "Voting Policy,'- as distinguished from the "Fighting Policy," had prevailed. Certain it is, the Free State party, through the faithfulness of Gov. Walker to public and private pledges, had con- trol of both houses of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory, and had se- cured the certificate of election for their Delegate in Congress. This matter hung in doubt for a time, and the Bohemians of the press were almost positive in their statements that Gov. "Walker and Secre- tary Stanton would play false to *heir pledges. It is possible the Captain's movement was inspired Kansasward at that time, with a bloody project in view. It was certainly fortunate for the tranquility of the Territory that he was detained in Iowa, from the 7th of August to the 2d of November "for the want of funds," as his biographer states, for it is very prob- able a renewal of strife was saved by tlie event. I have one of the most exciting chap- ters in Kansas history, to detail, sometime, which occurred during this interesting period, and which may partially explain John Brown's reasons for hovering on the borders of Kansas during this inter- val. To introduce it in these pages would require the introduction of other characters, which are not at present the subjects of inquiry, hence an account of it is reserved for another occasion. Each movement of the Captain, until his visit in November to Lawrence, looked towards a renewal of the strife by him on the Kansas border. He had bid "farewell" to New England in April, 1857; had an engagement with Col. Hugh Forbes to meet him at Tabor in June to instruct a number of young Kansas men in military tactics; in May he was journeying in that direction. On July 4th he left Cleveland, O., for Iowa City. Reached Tabor on the 7th of August. Was joined by his "drill master" on the 9th. He had quite a little REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. 53 party with him at this time. He visited Lawrence in November, as we have just seen, taking one son with him, and leav- ing two others at Tabor. He called on E. B. Whitman, living a few miles west of Lawrence. On reaching Topeka, en route back to Tabor, he told Cook that the party "were to leave Kansas to attend a military school during the winter; and that it was the intention to go lo Ashta- bula County, Ohio." ^ow it seems there was a sudden ..-Qange in the "Liberator's" mind. Here is a back step, and an explanation as to the cause is required. On his return to Tabor he communicated to his followers that Harper's Ferry would be the point of at- tack. Did the Captain call on Gov. Robinson while in Lawrence? What was the character of their interview? Did that interview have anything to do with hie change of base, and las precipitate re- treat? I have written the Goyernor for information in this direction, and hope to receive his answer in time for the next number of the series. AN IMPORTANT LETTER. I wrote Gov. Robinson recently, as stated in the previous article, recalling a conversation between us twenty years ago, in regard to an interview between him and Old John Brown, and wished the facts for publication. He hesitated to furnish a statement, but with the assur- ance that I should repeat it according to my recollections, which would possibly b/ing him before the public in reply, he Bent me the following, which has just reached me in time for this place. Whether that interview was had on. the occasion of the Captain's visit to Law- rence, in November, 1857, when his whole plan of operations seemed so sud- denly changed, or a year later, at the close of the troubles in Linn and Bour- bon Counties, is not apparent. From some facts in my possession I am led lu think it occurred on the occasion of this visit, for the Governor saw clearly the end of civil strife at tliat time, aniii., like other permanent settlers who desired to see order substituted for anarchy, was laboring to bring about an era of peace. It is possible the Captain's mission was in pursuit of money with which to pro- long the agitation, and which the Gov- ernor thought best to withhold from hira, at the same time suggesting very good reasons for so doing. But these, the reader will understand, are my own de- ductions. The letter is as follows: / Laavrence, Kan., Nov. 24, 1879. Geo. W. Brown, M. D. — Dear Sir: — Your favor asking for an account of my interview with John Brown, as he left the Territory of Kansas, is received. The particulars of the conversation I cannot give, as I made no memoranda at the time. The interview was very friendly, and a frank review was had of the two lines of policy pursued in Kansas, name- ly, his policy of involvinir the North and South in a war; and our Free State pol- icy of surrounding the slave States with free, and securing the Federal as well as State governments on the side oi' free- dom. He frankly admitted that from my standpoint we had acted wisely, and had succeeded; but from his standpoint, so far as aiding the cause of emancipation, it was a failure. But as his presence here would be a source of annoyance, and do no good, he would seek another field of operations, but did not say where. It may not be generally known that I was authorized to draw on a person in Boston, for money to support .John Brown in Kansas, if I thought his presence beneficial to the Free State cause. I had written this person that I thought his presence a hindrance rather than a help at that time. Probably Mr. Brown had been so informed. It is possible, that Amos A. Lawrence can tell where the letter can be found. I notice in Redpath's book, he repre- sents Mr. Brown as speaking very con- temptuously of the Free State men in general, and of myself in particular. If REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. BO he was very hypocritical, as iu my pits ence he was always most respectful, an. I appeared to give Free State men credit for acting honestly and efficiently, al- though not to suit him or his policy. Very truly, C. Robinson. Whether this interview was in the au- tumn of 1857 or 1858, is not important to these inquiries. It shows how the Gov- ernor regarded the prolongation of civil strife, and how sincerely desirous he Mas to end it. And it gives us, in his own words, what he thought of John Brown's services in Kansas as an auxiliary in the cause of freedom. "KANSAS TOO HOT FOll HIM " Another interesting period iu Kansas history is passed, lying between the mid- dle of November, 1857, to the last of June, 1858, when our hero again appears upon the scene. There had been more or less difficulty for soipe months, in southern Kansas, growipv out of conflict- ing land titles between Free State and pro-slavery men. This led to aggressive acts on the part of each of the contending factions. "* party of armed pro-slavery ruffians, /metime in June, 1858, under the lead- ership of one Hamiltoi, visited a Free State neighborhood, and gathered one by one, eleven citizens, marched them into a deep ravine, formed them into line, and fired upon them. They all fell to the ground, five were instantly killed, five were seriously wounded, and one escaped unharmed. An intense excitement justly lollowed this bloody procedure. The whole country was on tire. Capt Brown was in the States at the time, liad just made ar- rangements for the completion of his pikes in Connecticut, and for their ship- 3ient to Chambersburgh, Pa., on their way to Virginia. He again hurried to Kan- sas, taking his faithful Kagi with him. According to Redpath, one of the mo- tives which prompted Captain Brown to return to Kansas, at this time, was to di- vert attention from his Harper's Ferry project. On his return to Iowa, in '5?, from Lawrence, he had freely communi- cated to Col. Forbes, his drill master, hia changed plan of operations. During the winter they fell out, and Forbes left for the East. The Captain was fearful that the Colonel would communicate to the government his plan of operating in Vir- ginia.hence his appearance in Kansas,the Marias des Cygnes massacre furnishing an excuse, to disguise his real purpose. From that tin^e until the close ot 1858, civil strife, with all its horrors, raged in the counties of Linn and Bour- bon, which bordered on Missouri. Neighbor was arrayed against neigh- bor, and each party sought the destruc- tion of the other. Conservative Free State men and pro-slavery men united and tried to allay the excitement. The result was their being indiscriminately pillaged by each party. Crimination and re-crimination was the order of the day. Though the disturbance was origi nally began by the pro-slavery agitators, the violence of Hamilton met with earn- est hostility from his own party friends. and many joined the conservative Free State men in trying to suppress tiie discord. The reader would not be interested in a reviewal and detailed history of these exciting times. And I am frank to own that I have not the requisite knowledge to a clear exposition of them. Noithnr can I tell what important part John Brown played in them, other than lie was assocated with the extreme Free Stale men in making reprisals from tht; (ippos- ing factions. Tiie Herald of Freedom was regularlv issued during this period, and correspon- dents were continuijly reporting tlie condition of afl"airs, l-nf, thu ,t;it'Miu iits iiEMINISCENOES OF OLD JOHN BROTTN. «5 were so couflicting that it seemed almost impossible to arrive at the truth. It was during this period that the "Jayhawking" fraternity sjirang into be- iuir, and such men as Quautrell, who at tliat time was recognized as a Free State man, coming originally from Ohio, was educated for the terrible work he was afterwards guilty of, in leading a large party, [I was about to say five hundred, but apprehensive that John Speer, or some other critic, had counted them, and found there were but four hundred and ninety-nine, I have con- cluded to be extremely cautious,] of Buhwhackers into Lawrence, and shoot- ing down in cold blood one hundred and eighty citizens,robbed the banks, pillaged the town, and burned the best portion of it, leaving ruin, desolation and death every- where. It was a fearful school, and the CDUsequences were not limited to a few years, nor confined to Kansas. Brown made repeated raids into Mis- souri captured horses, "blooded stock," ran off" slaves, and made his name a ter- ror through all that region. The Gov- ernor of Missouri ofi'ered a reward of ^8,U00 for his apprehension, and made a requisition on the Governor of Kansas for his arrest and extradition as a fugi- tive from justice. President Buchanan added to the reward. Gov. Denver, some time during this agitation, called to his aid Gov. Eobin- 6on, who had the confidence of the Free State men, and they, in company, visited the infected region, held public meetings, and labored with their respective friends to restore tranquility to the disturbed country. The United States District Court, Juilge Elmore presiding, impan- eled a Grand Jury, and subpa'naed a bundred or more witnesses, and called ihem to Lawrence to give evidence with a vit-w to indictments. While the Court was yet in session, the Legislature passed a general amuobtj law; the Grand Jury was discharged; tho witnesses returned to their homes; and quiet was restored to the convulsed border. '1 he American Cyclopedia says : —"Not only was a reward ofi'ered for Brown's ar- rest, but the more moderate Free State men Jiastened to dinavow any sympathy icitJi his during acts. The Territory became too HOT FOR HIM, and he started, early in January, 1859, for the North, accom- panied by'four white companions and the liberated negroes." Since then, save the troubles growing out of the rebellion, and the excesses produced by bad men educated to deeds of violence in these exciting times, many of whom, it is presumed, have paid the penalty for their wrongs in the peniten- tiary, and an occasional Indian scare on the "Western border, general tranquility has prevailed throughout Kansas. The Lecompton Constitution was defeated; a State Constitution, by the honest settlers, was made, and the new State indue time became a member of the Federal Union with the motto on its seal of "■Ad astra per aspera,^'' [To the Stars through diffi- culties,] and the future prosperity oi" the State was secured. EXAGGERATIONS OF HI"? EULOGIST;?. The eastern press, and the eulogists oi John Brown, were not t:-;utent to make him a model hero, in almost every direc- tion, but they gave him credit for fight- ing bravery where battles were never fought: they made him a leader where he did not command ; they represented him a veteran warrior in battles tought while he was a stripling of fourteen years, and full eight hundred miles from the battle field; they gave him command of troops where there were none to tight; defended a town against a heavy invading /'orce where every one fled to the brush; said he was the savior of a city, where the REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. ei7 amy did not fire a gun; they repre- S'-'ntcd him as possessing -wisdom he did not exhibit; with judgment to which he poemed a stranger; with owning cabins in ^hich he was only a visitor; with being a grower of blooded stock, to put it mildly, which he pressed from their own- ers ; with being a heavy landed proprietor in Kansas, where he never owned a rood ; with having a home in Kansas when it was in north-eastern New York; claimed that his wife was insulted and abused, when she was more than a thousand miles distant from the place of pretended outrage; that he had a son hacked to pieces by a hatchet, whom it is question- able if he ever saw or heard of him until after his death. Even the portraits exhibited by the ad- mirers of old John Brown are frauds. During the whole period he was known in Kansas he wore a long, flowing beard. And the same was true of him, at the time of his execution ; but the pictures bis friends take delight in, were those of a man several years younger, with a smooth shaven face — probably John Brown, the wool-buyer; certainly not John Brown, the Guerilla Chieftain. They credited him with making Kan- sas a Free State, whereas he retarded its prosperity and threw obstacles in the way of its most zealous and effective workers. Every slave he aided in escaping from Missouri; every horse pressed into his service; and every injury inflicted upon pro-slavery men was repeated on Free State raea, by friends of the injured party, with compound interest. Not content with all these, and num- berless other misrepresentations of a sim- ilar ( haracter, they next gave him a res- idence in Osawotomie, where he only lived at times in the guise of a visitor witli his sister, or other friends; and, to crown all, gave him a title robb^- from another. And that shall be the subject of my next sub-division. OSAWOTOMIE BROWN. Osawotomie lies near the junction of the Marias des Cygnes and Potawotomie creeks. Uniting at this point 'the river below is known as the Osage. The town was located early in the spring of 1855, by S. C. Pomeroy, repre- senting the N. E. Emigrant Aid Com- pany, and Orville C. Brown, a lawyer from Utica, N. Y. The name of the town was compounded by dropping the last two letters from Osage, and the first five from Pottawotomie, joining, formed Osa- wotomie, with but one s, as here printed. [0-aa-wot-o-mie.j Mr. Brown usually employed only his initials in writing his individual name. As there were so many other Browns in Kansas, and as Orville became quite prominent in our early conventions, he was frequently referred to and known at Lawrence, and elsewhere, as Osawotomie Brown. I recollect very well the earn- estness he exhibited when arrested by the mob at Kansas City in place of the writer, and his protest that he was not the Brown they wanted. He was taken to Riddlesbarger's for identity, dis- charged, and then the renewal of the ef- fort to take the "undersigned." When Osawotomie was invaded by Missouri, in a fruitless attempt to cap- ture old John Brown, for the Pottawoto- mie murders, a son of Orville, aged four- teen, fell into the hands of the maraud- ers and was carried into Missouri. After a painful search he was found at Lexington, in the care of a Presbyterian deacon, who gladly restored him to his almost frantic parents. From about this time I lose sight of "the genuine, original and simon pure" Osawotomie Brown. Two years later we find the Eastern press applying the pseudonym of "Osawoto- REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN EBOWN 87 mie" to old John JirowB, the man whose "soul is marching on." The press also confounded the name of R. P. Brown, mistaking him for a son of old John, whereas he was a teacher from Michigan, engaged professionally for a period in Mississippi. Seeing a negro burned alive in that State, for some tri- fling off'ense, as he told the writer, he left the South in great disgust, came to Kansas, and located near Leaven- worth. He incurred the displeasure of some drunken pro-slavery ruffians, be- cause of his intelligence, coolness and intrepidity in defense of his Free State neighbors, was set upon about the mid- dle of January, 1856, and was struck sev- eral times on the head with the sharp edge of a hatchet, by which his skull was fractured. He was then thrown into a lumber wagon, taken home, and bru- tally dragged into the yard,where he died sooa atter, living long enough to say, "They have murdered me like a dog." It was a terrible affair, and the actors in the tragedy deserved a dozen deaths; but he and old John Brown were strangers, unless they became acquainted during the so-called "Wakarusa War." NOT ALL BAD. I am not writing a "biography of John Brown," nor a "History of Kansas," as my critics allege; but "Reminiscences," or recollections, as the word is defined, of the Captain, with "Incidents" or sketches ot those times. Neither am I laboring to make my hero a monster of iniquity on the one hand, or a saint on the other. I have desired to tell only what I knew of him, and what has come lo me, and which I believed, from others. The Captain and the writer differed widely as regards the means to be em- ployed to prevent the extension and se- cure the final extinction of slavery, as upon many other subjects. From my earliest recollection war seemed to me a terrible calamity. History was never a source of delight, because it was mostly detailed accounts of bloodshed and vio- lence. I always thought there was no necessity for the arbitrament of the sword; that the differences between indi. viduals. States and nations ought to find a solution in peaceful means. The God I reverenced was a tender Parent, ever seeking the elevation and happiness of his creatures, never iheir degradation. The shedding of human blood, in my humble estimation, is never justifia!)le save in defense of life, or when it cannot be otherwise avoided, r Capt. Brown's < oft-quoted expression, "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission," seemed to give character to all the latter years of his life. He was a friend of the oppressed; with enlarged sympathies; a praying man; and, m many respects, no doubt, a good man ; but with his peculiar organization, and his earnest desire to aid the poor slave, he did not properly take into consideration the condition, nor properly respect the rights, liberty and person of the master. ■- Like the "Liberator," I was an anti- slavery man; an abolitionist; a Free Soiler of the John Quincy Adams and J. R. Giddings school ; but in going to Kan- sas I proposed to fight the battles of free- dom on that plane which I believed would ensure success, and make that ter- ritory, and all others bordering upon it, free territory. "One thing at a time" has always seemed an excellent maxim. By occupying certain positions we could ob- tain such assistance as to insure the results we aimed at; while an opposite one would, no doubt, have driven thous- ands from us. I was opposed to what was known as the "black laws," and so were nearly if not all from the New Eng- land and Middle States. The Western pioneers, and the great mass, if not all wrbo acted with us from the South, on 5b REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. the contrary, were Free State men only oil the condition that negroes should be prohibited from settling among us. We of the East and North felt the terrible injustice of such a provision, and labored against it until we saw we were endan- gering everything by our persistency; then we subordinated our feelings to the prejudices of the masses, and remained silent, confident that more enlarged views would ultimately prevail, when we could regain what was temporarily lost. John Brown, on the contrary, was firm and unbending. He conceded that his course had driven many, otherwise friends, into the opposition; still he kept •^5 determined to yield nothing for suc- tess. By so doing, but for others, we must have lost all. )That John Brown had many traits of character which commended him to the admiration of the public I am well aware. When on his way to the gallows he stooped and kissed a black child, a poor creature doomed, so tar as the ■world then knew, to a life of toil and bondage. This incident aroused our tenderest sympathy. That act did much ''o redeem hispast wrongs; but is no reason why we should cover him all over with adulation, falsifying history, and rob other men of their merits, to make him appear more sublime. I was -wiillng to give him more than the benefit of a doubt, and admit that — in all his de- demands for "blood," when he was so anxious to "go out and draw a little" at Lawrence, from the invaders ; when send- ing word to Gen. Lane that he would not obey another order unless it was to fight; his statement to Stearns that it would require a God to take Lecompte out of his hands if he had caught him; his whole life in Kansas, one of blood — he was partly insane— a monomaniac on the subject of slavery; a religious enthusiast, jf Ihe reader prefers, thinking tliat ho was an instrument in the hands of God to wipe out American slavery. It may be said that Brown was justi- fied in his bloody exhibitions of charac- ter, because of the violence of pro-slavery men. Others sufiered far more than he, and their brutal passions w^ere never aroused into violence. And he was by no means the only one who heard threats of indiscriminate slaughter and extermi- nation. For many months they were heard continually, and great coolness and forbearance were employed by Free State men everywhere, determined to act only on the defensive. The writer has many vivid recollections of those times, with his own painful experience; but he looked upon the persecutions as an oflfshoot ol the accursed system he was laboring tc put down, and looked forward with hope to the time when his efloits would be crowned with victory. It was this as- surance of final success that nerved all, the humblest and highest, to press for- ward, and which has ultimated in giving freedom to the world . John Brown, the professed Christian, should have taken lessons from his Ex- emplar, instead of showing such a thirst for blood, His character at Harrier's Ferry, after he was wounded, while under arrest, his hopes blighted, and even while in the engine house in the treatment of prisoners, was in pleasing contrast with what he exhibited in Kansas, and seems almost irreconcilable with his disregard cf human life at Pottaw^otomie. CONFIRMATION. I have been careful, throughout this scries of articles, to make no statement of my own, that John Brown w-as di- rectly connected with the Pottawotoniie massacre; but I have arrayed such evi- dence as was in my possession, to prove this fact upon him. How successful I have been is left to others to decide. Allow me. reader, before I close, t-^ •■'■' '\ UEMINISCENCES OF OLD JOIlt^ i3R0»/f>r. 5) the additional facts which have come into my possession, as I hope to settle his question beyond further controversy. A well-known gentleman of integrity, a prominent citizen of Lawrence, well known to me, since the spring of 1855, wrote me a private letter, of date Nov. 16, 1879, from which I make the follow- ing extract : '•Just before sunset, on the night of the massacre, I met old John Brown and his party, within a few miles of the Doyle settlement, on the Pottawotomie, and going in that direction. John Brown, Jr., and his company, were, at the time, in camp at Palmyra, this county. Old John Brown and his party left the camp early in the day, and did not return until the next day, when they came to the camp, then on 'Toywa creek near Jones'. * * I have never felt disposed to make the facts of that affair public." Another gentleman of Lawrence wrote me. Nov. 23, 1879 : '•I have been reading your articles on old John Brown. I am glad to see some one has the courage to write the truth about the Pottawotomie affair; but, good Lord, wont they go for you? I have often felt like telling what I know about it; but I was conscious those who were wholly ignorant of the facts, and were detprmined to remain so, would say I was telling that which was not true, hence I have remained silent." Even John Speer, who has higgled over tlie most unimportant statements I have made in this series of articles, and Tvlio has always been recognized as the special, ihampion of old John Brown, tinding lie could not sustain an alibi^ and the proof of his guilt being so over- whelming, says, in an article which appeared in the Lawrence Journal, No- vember 25, 1879 :— ''I have taken great pains to get at the truth of the history of the 'Pottawotomie tragedy', visiting Pottawotomie and con- versing with the men of Brown's time, with a view to facts, let them fall where they may. I find that the belief, con- firmed by the traditions, go to the estab- lishment of the fact that John Brown ex ecuted these men. Tliat he ever mutilated their bodies, or did anything except what was necessary in their execution, 1 do not believe, nor does any man who knew John Brown." John Speer is welcome to use the word "executed" in place of '•'•murdered,'''' as used by Robinson, of Paola, if he prefers. And as to the mutilation, I leave that with Phillips, in his story about the Camanches, and the sworn evidence of those who first discovered the bodies after the killing, as given under the head of "Details of the Massacre." { By private letters from Kansas, I learn that Hon. Jas. Hanway, whose cabin was photographed, and palmed off as old John Brown's, has made a statement through the press touching those mur- ders; and while this article is in type foi the press, I am in'receipt of a letter from a prominent lawyer at Lawrence, stating: "I am soing this week to Osawotomie, to interview the man who gave Johnson Clark the facts; and expect to get his statement over bis own signature. We shall soon have the whole history in de- tail, I think it a matter of importance that all the truth be known and published. I have been reading your articles wiih great interest." THE CLINCHER. Hidden away in a large book, the Kan- sas volume "United States Biographical Dictionary," and rarely seen by any per- son other than the few simpletons who paid twenty dollars for a copy of the work, with' the additional pleasure of seeing their names in it, as "distinguished in history," is found the following state- ment, exhumed by Joun Hutchings, Esq , of Lawrence, Kan., and which he kindly gave to the public through the columns of the Home Journal, of Nov. 20, 1879, from which I quote at length. It is a statement made by Hon. Johnson Clark, of Miami county, Kan. Rather choice literature in this connection : On May 21, 1855, William Sherman 50 REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. called at the house of John T. Grant, a Free State man trom New York, and there, in anger and in liquor, told the Grant family that they, (the pro-slavery men,) intended to drive out the Free State men from Pottawotomie Creek and othe parts of Kansas. This alarmed Grant, and he sent his son George to the camp of .John Brown, who was at that time on Ottawa Creek, some twenty-five miles northwest. Upon arriving in camp, young Grant told John Brown the con- dition of things in his neighborhood, and the trouble anticipated if help was not had immediately. And here it is proper to state that news had come from Kansas City that Buford had organized and armed a large force of Georgia immi- grants, and was about to march upon Kansas. The news had also arrived that Lawrence was in ashes, and that our Free State Governor, Robinson, was a prisoner in the hands of pro-slavery "border-ruf- fians," at Leavenworth. In brief, it was a lime of terror fo appalling that it was felt that the destiny ot Kansas was trembling in the balance, and its fate ub'iut to be decided. When old John Brown received this message from Pottawotomie, in addition to all other words of distress, a council was held in his camp. A party of eight was formed, headed and commanded by Brown himself. The names of the other members of this party were as follows : Frederick Brown, Owen Brown, Watson Brown, Oliver Brown, Henry Thompson, (Brown's son-in-law,) Mr. Wyner, and last the man whr now lives in Kansas and gives me the particulars, and before whom I am now writing. This last-men- tioned party, whom we will call Mr. T., took this party in his wagon and started from Ottawa Creek about two o'clock in the afternoon, arriving at the* scene of tte tragedy about midnight. The first attack was upon a man by the name of Doyle and his two sons, they being parties that had threatened. They were immediately dispatched, and left lying in the woods near the cabin where they resided. They next visited the house of a man named Wilkinson, who was at the time a postmaster under Buchanan, and who lived about one-half mile from the Doyle residence, and Wilkinson was found dead the next morning. The party then proceeded to the premises of the Sherman brothers, which was across the creek, and about one mile distant. It was the intention to dispatch both these men, as they had been particularly active in the pro-slavery cause. Henry Sherman was out hunting cattle and had staid over night with a pro-slavery friend, but find- ing William, they called him out and left him dead in the middle of the creek, upon some rocks and gravel. They then wanten Mr. 1 to drive them to another place but it was now late at night, and he declined to take them any further. Mr. T says that Brown's boys did most of the killing, by the advice and with the encouragement of old John Brown him- self, and adds, furthei, that Bfowl him- self,to nerve his party for the deeds about to be done, stepped in front oi the first victim — the old man Doyle — and, draw- ing his revolver, shot him through the forehead. In conclusion, I will only add that this is the generally accepted version of the aff"air. in the vicinity of the trag- edy, and that, notwithstanding historians have written to the contrary, I have no doubt but time will vindicate the correct- ness of this statement, which is from Mr. T., the only known witness living in the State. This Mr. T. is a quiet farmer, and now lives within a radius of a dozen miles of the dreadful scene he witnessed. This statement has been made*\o the writer of this, by Mr. T., a dozeS** times, and, in company with Judge James Han- way, I visited him at his house, where this is written, and, after hearing it read, he said : ''It is correct." After a silence of a few moments he added : '"I took no hand in the kiUing, and did not approve of it, but Brown said: 'It must be done; it is better that a score of bad men should die than one man be driven from Kansas who came here to help make it a free State.' " Johnson Claris. Mr. Hutchings adds: It will be seen by Mr. Clark's state- ment that the party that committed the Pottawotomie tragedy consisted of six members of the Brown family, and t vo others, one of whom at least was the "settler in the neighborhooa." * CHANCE FOR COKBECTION. These Reminiscences, as I contem- plated when I commenced them, l«ve awakened much interest in the Kansa" REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN RBOWN. 61 tors miiht see my statements, and cor- rect any errors; as I did not flatter my- self I could write of so many things, all occurring more than twenty years ago, relying almost wholly on memory, with- out being guilty of some mistakes. In- deed in my acceptance of Gov. Robin son's invitation to write ot Old John Brown, I said : "I shall endeavor to state nothing but facts, as seen from my own standpoint." I did not propose to write from John Speer's standpoint, nor from that of my critics. Had I attempted it, probably my breadth of observation would have been far more limited. I might have seen some trifling matters quite diff'er- ently ; though from the former's exhibi- tion of criticisms, which I shall notice farther on, I think Truth would have suflfered quite as much in his hands as ia mine. The Lawrence Journal^ a Republican paper, published -v T. D. Thacher, Esq., who has been identiflftd with the Kansas '^ress sinco 1857, kindly opened its co'uninp, and is publishing the entire series, cheerfully giving space to corres- pondents to niJikc corrections, for which I take this uccasion to publicly thank the editor. The Ottawa Gazette, a Democratic paper, published in Franklin county, in which the Pottowatomie murders oc- curred, edited by Joel K. Goodin, Esq., who was among the first settlers in Kan- sas, associated with us in all our early history, and who was the faithful secre- tary of the Territorial Executive Com- mittee, and who certainly did more iard labor without recompense than any other man in Kansas, is also publishing the entire series. In a personal letter before me, he compliments the general accuracy of my statements, and says that m.y arti- cles are giving general satisfaction. Through these channels excellent op- portunities have been offered to point out errors for emendation. Very few of such have come under my observation. These I will take occasion to correct Gov. Robinson, at whoso request these articles were written, in a communication press, and brought out a vast amount of facts, which, but fo7 their publication, would have been lost to the world. Had I written, and deposited them in the ar- chives ot the Historical Society, the his- torian a few years later would have found the statements, and copied from them, and thus no opportunity would have been left for correction. I made it a condition of writing them that they should appear in three of the leading papers of Kansas, to the end that the ac- to the Lawrence Journal, of Nov 23d, says: '^^Br. Brown's letters are so full of inter- est that I trust lie will continue them till he has covered the whole field of Kansas his- tory. I have seen no history that tcill compare in interest and accuracy with his letters; and a complete work from him would be invaluable. Dr. Brown was no friend of mine, being estranged from me, for some cause I never fully understood, for eighteen months, so that we had no intercourse; yet the estrangement never prevented us acting together when tin; cause of Kansas called. The fact that Dr. Brown knew no friendship, but in the cause of free Kansas, makes him the fittest man to be the historian of Kansas." CORRECTIONS, While I have received a large number of letters, from prominent actors in those times, fully indorsing every material statement I have made, a few persons of an over critical turn of mind, and dis- tressed at the loss of a "lesser god," have controverted several minor statements, predicated on information derived from others; and from these have attempted to weaken the force of my entire narration. As before stated, I coveted criticism, to the end that truth only should be transmitted in these pages to those who come after us. G2 remixisce:n^ces of old johx brown. Instead of the principal facts being weakened by criticisms, every one has received confirmation; and the central figure has been presented in a more dam- aging attitude than I contemplated. I stated, under the head of '-History of a Revolver," that '-the shooting of Sheriff Jones was the first blood actually drawn by Free State men in Kansas." To have been correct I should have said, as T de- sir^-d to be understood, it was the first ag- grei,!stce act of violence hy Free State men. The killing of Henry Davii, by Lewis Kibby, Nov. 29, '.54, was on the defensive; as was that of Malcom Clark, by Cole Mc rca, at Leavenworth, April 30, '55. I did not state that Charley Lenhart shot Sheriff Jones. I only gave the facts of the loan of the revolver, by .Miss Glea- son; the discharge, which she heard; the hasty rjturu of Lenhart, with the revol- ver, minus one charge ; and the deduction that it was Charley who did the shooting. By the statement of Capt. Swift, it ap- pears that Lenhart did discharge the re- volver, but not at Jones; that it was a Mr. Filer who inflicted the wound. The critic will turn to my account, and he will see that I did not err in fact, but in deduction. As to the justice of applying the title of '"C-iptain" to Lenhart, I have an origi- nal "order"' in my possession, in Gen. Jas. H. Lane's hand writing, and signed by liim, directed to "Captain Charles Len- hart,"' ordering him to "take such num- ber of active young men as you shall det-ni neccs.sary, and proceed with as lit- tle delay as possKjle to colonize Kick- apoo." In duo time I will place that doc- ument in tlie Historical Society of Kan- sas. Is not this sufhcient authority for me to mention Charley with the title of Captain? The rumor I gave that Lenhart was killed in a foolish attempt to rescue Capt. Brown, is also disproved. It seems he served his country during the first years of the rebellion, and died in Ar- kansas, with consumption, while yet in the service. It is claimed that I was mistaken in the statement, that the Territorial Exec- utive Committee was originally appointed at Big Springs, on the oth of September, 1855; whereas it is represented they were appointed at Topeka fourteen days later. The question is not important; but I think I can demonstrate that my memory is correct in this case. I.? it not strange that a new party was organized without any committee to represent it in the future? The committee, unless I am greatly mistaken, was appointed at Big Springs, and was organized hy trickery, as I will show sometime, with Col. Lane, as Chairman. The Topeka Convention, on the 19th, was holden to consider the project of a State movement, and to pre- vent any collision of authority re-ap- pointed the Big Springs' committee, with Lane as Chairman, and J. K. Goodin ^s Secretary. I wrote up the proceedings in detail, of the Big Springs convention, and published the same in the Herald of Freedom. The same matter was used in pamphlet form, two thousand copies of which were printed, and I have no doubt somebody has copies of them. If my memory serves me correctly, I was ap- pointed with others, a committee to com- municate the proceedings of the Big Springs convention to Gov. Shannon. "Would I have been likely to have re- ceived this appointment if not a dele- gate? I stated, as a fact, that I was invited by Gov. BobinsoD, who is President of the Historical Society of Kansas, to write these Reminiscences. The letter of in- vitation was i^ublished at the commence- ment of the series, and shows for itself, that it was not done in his official capacity. 1 am glad to write, however, that two ilEMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. 63 icopies of the entire work will be prc-- fierved by that body among its archives. Again, my informant was somewhat mistaken in the time old John Brown left the camp of his son, going in the di- rection of Pottawotomie, and probably, Bs to the place and hour of his return. Human memory is treacherous. Possibly I did not report him accurately. The charge that I have systemized the order of presenting my facts is puerile, and unworthy the head and heart of the icritic making the objection. He who concedes so much reverence for his hero, :and who, no doubt, indorsed the state- ment, credited to Ralph Waldo Emer- son, that "The time will come when the gallows of old John Brown will be glori- !Ous like the cross of Christ," ought to tol israte a little honest skepticism in that di- rection. A quotation is made from a letter it is said old John Brown wrote to Sanborn, 'to destroy the force of my facts, that the Herald of Freedom was in disrepute by Free State men. That paper was a foe to all forms of wrong doing, whether com- mitted by pro-slavery men, or those act- ing in the Free State ranks. Jayhawkers, thieves and murderers, had reason to "despise it," and if John Brown associated with that class of "Free State men," he, no doubt, heard just such expressions as it is claimed he employed in regard to it. The position of the Herald of Freedom through all those times is one I can look back upon with pride, as I trust is the case with every other honest reader of it. Censure, from some persons, is the highest possible commendation. '^ Under the head of "John Brown in Lawrence," first paragraph, I said: "I tliink there were seven men stand- ing in the box. * * * Each man sup- ported himself with a pole, probably six to eight feet in length, surmounted with a bayonet." John Speer, the accurate critic and very truthful historian, represents that I said: "John Brown came with seven nons, armed vi'ith pike poles ten feet long." Three additions in two lines! Now either John Speer misrepresented or was mistaken! Which? He had just read my statements, and, if disposed to play critic, should have been more accurate. Possibly there were but four sons and the father in the wagon. Does that render my statement, "I think there were seven men in the box," invalid? Twenty-four years lie between that event and the present, and, taking Speer's statement, I erred two-sevenths; while John Speer converts my "poles" "from six to eight feet in length," into '■'■pike poles ten feet in length. And my "seven men''' into seven sons,'''' increasing the entire number to eight. Will some mathematician tell us how long the poles would have been, and what name they would have borne, had he waited twenty-four years before writing? And how many men would have been in the wagon, had he told the story after the same lapse of time? ^ Williams, riding behind, saw the party some distance back sitting, the old man with a rifle across his knees. Does this prove that they were not standing when they entered town? The poles were green ones, recently cut, and still covered with bark. Where they obtained them, or however numerous the denials, / knoto the poles were there, and the facts are just as I have stated. I am charged with being a partisan of Gov. Robinson. From the 3d of July, 1856, to December 23d, 1857, Gov. R. and myself held no intercourse with each other. From that time to my leaving Kansas, nearly fifteen jears ago, we only met a very few times, and then to ad- vance the cause which took each of us to that Territory. I was never, in any sense, a partisan of Gov. Robinson ; but let me do that gentleman and myself the 64 REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. justice to say, that wliile the breach be- tween us was greatly widened by the action of the "professional letter writers," we came together, almost involuntarily, when we mutually felt that the freedom of Kansas was contingent on our harmo- nious action. From that time our per- sonal animosities ceased, without ex- planation, and time, I trust, has satisfied each, that the other is in the main, at least as good as the average man, without regard to what the world may say in that direction. Thus much for my reviewers. If any gentleman will write me, pointing out any other errors, it will give me pleasure to make the proper corrections when these pages shall Ije again put in type. THK FLY ON THE LOCOMOTIVE. We find, running through recent ac- counts of John Brown's raid into Virgin- ia, the very silly asserrion that his at- tack, at Harper's Ferry, produced the Rebellion of the Southern States, and the emancipation of the slaves in conse- quence, ^^his assertion is of a similar character with that of the eastern press in representing the Pottawotomie massa- cre as the outgrowth of the killing of Frederick Brown, which antedated the killing by more than three months. The South had threatened the nullifi- cation of United States laws, as early as 1833-"33, and a general conspiracy for secession was set on foot; but the whole movement was suppressed by the master mind of Jackson. Through all the years that followed to 1861, the critical ob- server saw that we were standing on the verge of a smouldering volcano, ready to burst forth at any time. Calhoun and associate conspirators were ever active in furtherance of their desires, while Ben- ton, Clay and Webster were eqally ener- getic to thwart their purposes. Soutliern success in securing the ad- mission of Texas; the passage of the com- promise measures of 1850; and the ac- quisition of newly acquired territory, sus- pended their action for a time. They lost control of the House of Represent- atives, in 1856; and the admission of Kan- sas into the Union in 1861, destroyed their last hope of controlling either branch of Congress ; for this, with the ad- mission of Minnesota, gave the North a heavy preponderance in that body, which they knew they could never regain. The united South had hoped to make Kansas a slave State. They knew it was the key which would decide the fate of Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Ne- vada, Arizona, Montana, Utah, etc. Fail- ing to secure their wishes in this respect ; and, to crown the causes for distress, in a square issue between the North and South, a northern President was elected. They decided to submit the question to the arbitrament of war, hoping through it if they regained nothing, they would prevent what they deemed further ag- gressions. Possibly the invasion of Virginia, un- der the circumstances, may have been employed by southern demagogues as an instrumentality to further inflame the southern heart; but this was never their pretext in a single State paper. They complained of the disregard of solemn covenants, on the part of the North ; of continued interference, both in Congress and out of it, with their peculiar insti- tutions; they said that legislation had pro- hibited slavery in the District of Colum- bia, in violation of good faith ; that the fugitive slave law was a dead letter on the statute books; that their rights were everywhere disregarded. The faithful historian has at all times stated the fact, that the contest between freedom and slavery in Kansas, inaugur- ated the rebellion, and ultimated in the freedom of a continent. The other alle- gation is the product of such minds as HEiMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. GJ James Redpath and his congeries of Northern disunionists, who, like the fly on the driving wlieel of a locomotive pompously exclaimed, "Look and see what a vast train I am moving!" HERO WORSHIP. ' "W Hi to that man who does not rever- ence the gods we set up." It is no less true to-day than in the days of Nebu- chadnezzar. The fiery furnace of public opinion is ever burning, and ever ready to consume those who will not obey the popular mandate. "Away with him, crucify him," is heard on every hand, through every age, directed against all bold enough to have and express an hon- es thought. When the Egyptian god Serapis was de:>troyed, in the year 385, by the order of Theodosius, at the instance of the Christian Bishop of Alexandria, and the rGmainiuu 350,000 volumes of the great Alexandrian library was burned, with the temple, the people looking on were hor- rilii-J beyond expression. They had been I aught that Serapis caused the Nile to overtiow and fertilize the country. Til y thought, following this indignity to their -od, and the desecration of his teini/ie, the great river would cease to give its annual tribute to the soil; that pr diictive harvests would cease; and starvation follow. No terms were suffi- ciently expressive with which to denounce the authors of their sorrow. They were sincere in their denunciations, and really b.;:ieve(l the threats of their priests would UJ executed to the letter. Tiie seasons rolled on; the waters came uDwa fii-m the mountains at their accus- tomed time, aud biouglit the usual fer- tilizing productions; the valley of the Nile was clothed with beauty and ver- d;ne. Tiiough Serapis was dead the gold- en iiarvests were as luxuriant as ever. T!ie people were fed. Peace and pros- perit. reigned. Soon the deluded devo- tee saw that his imagined deity had ot the power to interrupt the great processes of Nature, and his name was no longer revered. It is so with regard to all heroes. Tliey are the idols of the age in which hey live, and are worshipped as such. Stat- ues are erected to their memory when dead. Costly monuments adorn their resting places; and lying epitaphs perpet- uate the popular applause. Another gen- eration goes by. Cool reflection takes the place of the frenzied hour; histories are ransacked ; the truth is learned; the hero of yesterday is forgotten to day; and, like Marat in French history, liis bones are removed from their resting place by the side of kings; his portraits are torn down and trampled upon; his mausoleum is demolished; and fragments of his costly monument are all that re- main of him whom a " grateful nation " so highly idolized as to vote a pension for life to his concubine. CONCLUSION. I knew full well that the task I at- tempted — to correct the false in history — was an unpopular one. I was aware, before a single line was written, that popular prejudice had enshrined a hero, and, as in classic story, his devotees were " filling the air with hideous shrieks and shouts, and crying aloud, 'Great is Bacchus !' " Occupying too humble a position to feel the shock of their blows, and too strong in the rectitude of my in- tentions to be diverted from my purpose; fully conscious of my inability to do justice to what I had undertaken, I have continued to the end, content to leave to the conscientious and unprejudiced reader, and to future times, the rendition of their verdict. Whether I have contrib- uted anywhat of facts to aid in placing in his true position, in American history, the Guerilla Chieftain and Visionary En- 66 REMINISCENCES OP OLD JOHN BROWN. thusiast, the 'gallant and intrepid' Old John Brown? As the earth from a fiery beginning, with convulsions of a most gigantic char- acter; the incessant roar of contendinp elements; upheavals and depressions; volcanic eruptions and rivers of molten rock, and showers of scorise and ashes; geysers, everywhere sending up floods of boiling water, dissolving into vapor, and descending in torrents, falling on heated rock to again ascend as steam, forming clouds which obscured for ages sun and stars; lightnings ever flashing along the sky, with crash on crash ot deafening thunders; earthquakes rending the globe, and upheaving mountains and depressing valleys; all nature everywhere discord- ant; hurricanes and cyclones ever active; — thence change following change in gradual succession from age to age, until the present delightful era, when the earth is clothed with beauty, adorned with verdure, and animal life fills up the waste places, and man appears to crown the whole with wisdom and joy; — so we have seen Kansas, torn and convulsed by contending factions; neigh- bor warring with neighbor; Anarchy and Discord sweeping over the land, amid pil- laged homes, burning dwellings,scattered families, death and mutilation, grim- visaged famine, desolating pestilence, conflagrations, and all the multitudinous ills that humanity is subject to;— thence tranquility, and order, and beaming peace; labor largely rewarded, and pros- perity attendant upon every enterprise; commerce spreading her whitened sales; the school room showering intelligence upon her youth ; joyous homes every- where springing up, while Contentment is smihng at every door, as we find it to- day; and, bending in silent but humble adoration, before that Wisdom wliich crowns all with peace and happiness, we bid the reader, for the present, a clieerfui FAREWELL ! THE END. APPENDIX, The admirers of old John Bro-wn must desire the possession of every important fact that throws light upon his history While the preceeding sketches were pas- sing through the Kansas press a vast amount of new information, heretofore concealed in the breasts of interested partisan friends, have come to light. Such as has fallen under the observation of the writer, I propose to add in this Appendix, and shall conclude with a Review, from Hon. Eli Thayer, of Massa- chusetts, which will only appear in the pamphlet. Valuable Correspondence. Worcester, Mass., Dec. 10, 1S79. Dr. G. W. Brown : — I have received, and read with the greatest interest, your "Reminiscences of old John Brown." I earnestly hope you will continue these papers until they embrace all the impor- tant fuctsof the early Kansas history. I inclose herewith a letter which I re- ceived last summer from Hon. Geo. A. Crawford, of Fort Scott, Kansas, in rela- tion to John Brown's Pottawotomie Massacre, and his raid into Missouri, which I think may be of use to you, and which T would like to have preserved in the Kansas Historical Society. I am confident that Mr. Crawford will not object to its publication. Mr. C, in iftdvising John Brown to leave the Terri- tory, in my opinion, gave expression to the general desire of the men who made Kansas a Free State. * * * Thanking you sincerely for the great work you are doing for the truth of his- tory, I remain, very truly yours, Eli Thayer. Fort Scott, Kan., Aug. 4, 1879. Hon. Eli Thayer, WoRcester, Mass. My Dear Sir:— Yours of the 28th ult. received asking for facts in my posses- sion in regard to John Brown's participa- tion in what is known as the Pottawato- mie massacre, and the raid into Missouri. In reply I would state that 1 was in John Brown's camp, at the Trading Post, in Linn county, Kansas, early in January, 1859, and had conversations with him in regard to both transactions. As to the "Massacre" he said h(s would not say that he was not engaged in it, but he would say that he advised it, and iustilicd it, and was willing to take a full share of the responsibility of it. He said that the death of those pro- slavery men had been determined upon, at a meeting of free state settlers the day be- fore; that he was present at that meeting, and, I think, presided, and that the ex- ecutioners were then and there appointed. He said he would not say that he was one of them, but he would say that if it was wrong he was as much to blame as any. He gave as a reason for the deed tliat the men were carriers of news to the 3Iissou- rians, that they kept a "grape vine tele- graph" with Missourians, and were eudaa- 68 APPENDIX. gering the settlements, by bringing in the invaders. He said it became neces- sary to make an example, and so strike terror, and put an end to that sort of thing. As to the raid into Missouri — it was made on the 20th Dec. 1858, four days after the raid into Fort Scott. It was led by Capt. Brown in person. Capt. Mont- gomery refused to go along — protested, as I have understood, against it, — but came to the aid of the Kansas settlers when retaliatory raids were afterwards expected. The Captain's Company marched down the Little Osage River, in the north part ot this county, and about 12 miles from here, and proceeded into Vernon Co., Mo., a distance of three or four miles. The Missouri Democrat, of Dec. 30th, 1858, gave the Missouri statement of the losses. I presume it is correct. Files of other papers of the period would show. It states that they "murdered" David Crews, (or Cruise,) "kidnapped a negro woman," took wagon, horses &c., and robbed Mr. Martin and family of a fine mule; took Irom the estate of James Lawrence, in possession of his son-in-law Henry Hicklin, five negroes, 2 horses, 1 yoke of cattle, an ox-wagon, a double barrel shot gun, saddle and clothing. From Isaac B. LaRue, five negroes, six Worses, 1 yoke of cattle, clothing — and took prisoners whom they released. Ja the conversation to which I have afluded. Captain Brown said he had sent the slaves on to their freedom; that they had earned the property of their masters; and that his young men were entitled to forage to the extent of their subsistence. He denied the current ru- mor that the slaves had been taken away by violence and against their will. As to the killing of Cruise, he said that he had given strict orders for the careful use of the guns; and that there should be no firing unless resistance was oflFered. He had divided his men into two squads, one on each side of the stream. In the house of Cruise one of his quick-blooded young men, supp(>sing that Cruise was about to draw a weapon, had fired, killing him instantly. I infer- red that the Captain was not present. He claimed to have reprimanded the young man lor his haste. Cruise was a good citizen — a plain un- j offending farmer. It was reported that he had no weapons on his person. The killing of him was an unjustifiable out- rage, and it subjected our settlements to great danger from retaliatory measures. I protested to the Captain against tliis violence. We were settlers, he was not. He could strike a blow and leave. The retaliatory blow would fall on us. Being a free-state man, I myself, was held per- sonally responsible by pro-slavery ruf- fians in Ft. Scott, for the acts of Capt. Brown. One of these ruffians, Brockett, when they gave me notice to leave the town said : " When a snake bites me I don't go hunting for that particular snake. I kill the first snake I come to." I called Capt. Brown's attention to the facts that we were at peace with Missouri ; that our Legislature was then in the hands of Free-State men, to make the laws; that even in our disturbed counties of Bourbon and Linn we were in a ma- jority, and had elected the officers both to make and execute the laws; that with- out peace we could have no immigration; that no southern immigration was com- ing; that agitation, such as his, was only keeping our northern friends away, &c. The old man replied that it was no pleasure to him — an old man — to be liv- ing in the saddle, away from home and family, and exposing his life; and if the free-state men of Kansas felt that they no longer needed him he would be glad to go. He seemed very erratic — at war with all our accustomed ideas on the slavery question — but very earnest. I think the conversation made an im- pression on him, for he soon after went to his self-sacrifice at Harper's Ferry. Yours, Geo. A. Crawford. THE POTAWATOMIE TRAGEDY-COL. BLOOD's RECOLLECTION. RocKFORD, III., Nov. 19, 1879. Jas. Blood, Esq. My Dear Sir: — Yours of the 16th is at hand, and I hasten to reply. Twenty years ago I made a statement of the Potawatomie massacre in the Her- ald of Freedom. Alter writing it, but be- fore passing to the compositors, I chanc- ed to meet a gentleman to whom I allud- ed in my recent statement. He suggest- ed several corrections, which were made in his presence, and re-read to him; APPENDIX. 69 wheu he said the statement, as amended, was correct, and he would make affidavit to it, if the truth should ever be called in question. He further made the addi- tional statements at the time whicli I liave added. I asked leave to refer to him then. He declined, saying he did not wii-h to be mixed up in the matter, but sometime he would take i)leasure in stating all his knowledge on the subject. I did think of sending him the state- ment for his indorsement before publish- ing at this time; but was so sure that my memory served me correctly, and had such confidence in his statement, that, in the hurry, with the length ol time that must intervene between writing and pub- lication, I gave it to the printers with- out consultation with him. lu all cases where possible I have given the names of living witnesses and wish I could do so in every instance. I think you will excuse me fornot giving at present ihe name you request, but I will take great pleasure in correct- ing, at the close of the series of articles, which is now near at hand, auy errors which I have been led into by misstate- nunts of others, or defective memory, as it is my desire that the truth, and the truth only, be stated in the premises. The whole matter is being stereotyped as we advance, and it is expected that the edition, in pamphlet or book form, will be large; hence I ask it as a favor to the public and. to another generation, for whom I principally write, that every error be corrected in the same volume in which the original statement is made. I am satisfied that you are in posses- sion of valuable facts in the matter. I have always known you as a gentleman of the strictest truth ; your opportunities of observation, through all these times, were large; neither of us have anything to gain by concealment, or to lose by the fullest exposure. Those who come after us have a right to be fully informed of the times in which we lived; therefore I again ask you to give me a full and frank statement of the facts, without any reflections on anybody, and it shall have as wide circulation as the original state- ment. Thanking you for your kindness in writing me, and wishing that any and all other persons having knowledge on this subject would be equally frank, and write me direct, to the end that I may. in my closing articles, make the proper cor- rc^tious, I am, with pleasant old-time memories, Very truly yours, G. W. Brown. COLONEL blood S REPLY. Lawrence, Kan., Nov. 29. 1879. G. W. Brown, M. D., Rockford, 111. — Dear Sir: Yours of the 19th inst., was duly received, but I have hesitated to comply with your request to write for publication a statement of what I know about the "Potawatomie massacre," in 1856, I was not "an eye witness," but have concluded to make a statement of incidents that came within my observa- tion, as I recollect them. In the spring of 1856, I went east on business, leaving my family in Lawrence. I was in New Hampshire, when I learned that the border ruffians were gathering, under ruffianly federal officers,, to destroy Lawrence. I immediately started for home, arriving at Kansas City,. I think, on the 21st day of May, 1856. I could find no way of getting to Lawrence, direct, but hired a close hack to take me,, with two or three friends (one of thenrL was J. F. Bliss, now residing at Oskaloo- sa,) to Ossawatomie. We instructed the driver to say to any one who might halt us, that he was taking some men to Pleasant Hill, Missouri. We drove south through Westport, and the parties halt- ing us appeared to be satisfied with the reply of the driver. We stayed that night at a farm house in Missouri, a short distance south of Westport. The next day, the 22nd, we took dinner with Bap- tiste Peoria, where Paola now stands, and arrived at Osawatomie in the after- noon. From there we sent the hack back to Kansas City. The next morning I bought a horse of O. C. Brown — who will be remembered by the old settlers as the original Osa- watomie Brown. After having the horse shod, I started in the afternoon of the 23rd of May, from Osawatomie for Law- rence, by way of Ottawa Jones' and Pal- myra. I was informed while at Osawatomie that the active pro-slavery men of that part of the Territory had gone to Le- compton to join the border ruffians in their attack upon Lawrence, and tliat most of the Free State men had gone, 70 APPENDIX. ai.iicr the lead of Capt. John Brown, Jr., ti lid in the defence ol Lawrence, It was nearly sun-down that afternoon ■^ hen, between Potavvatomie Creek and Middle Creek, and but a few miles fioni the Doyle settlement, I saw a party of men coining fron the west and going toward Potavvatomie Creek, As we ap- proached each other I could see the gleam of the sun's rays reflected from the moving gun-l)arrels of the party, in a wagon. When M'ithin perhaps 100 yards thiy sto|ii)i d, and a man rose up in the wairo.n and cried, halt! I immediately reeoijni/( d old John Brown, and stated who I was, calling him by name. I was then allowed to approach the party, 'i here were in the wagon John Brown, and, to the best of my recollection, four of his sons, his son-in-law, and a man driving the team, whom I did not know, making seven in the wagon. There was also a man on horseback, I think his name was Wymer, or Winer. The party all appeared to be fully arm- ed with rifies, revolvers, knives or swords. I think some of them at least had a pecu- liar instrument, something like a Scotch claymore, or a short, very heavy broad- sword. John Brown had presented me with one of the same kind, while at Law- rence, during the Wakarusa war, in the fall of 1855. I talked with the old man for some time. I believe he was the C)nly one of the party who spoke. He stated that tney had left Capt. John'Brown Jr., with the Potawatomie company, in camp near Palmyra. He informed me that Law- rence had been sacked and burned, and that a number of leading Free State men had been taken prisoners. He seemed very indignant that there had been no resistance; that Lawrence was not de- fended ; and denounced the members of the committee and leading Free State men as cowards, or worse. His manner was wild and frenzied, and the whole party watched with excited eagerness every word and motion of the o'd man. Finally, as I left them, he requested me not to mention the fact that I had met them, as they were on a secret expedition^ and did not want any one to know that they were in that neighborhood. I came on, and when I arrived at Mid- dle Creek it was dark, — so dark that im- mediately after crossing the creek I lost the road, and after riding some time re- turned to the crossing, where I found the road and arrived at Jones' late in the night. The next morning, the" 24th, I again started for Lawrence. When I arrived at Palmyra, I fjund the Potawatomie company, with one or two other com- panies of Free State men, and there learned that Capt. John Brown, Jr., had gone to Lawrence to learn the condition of things there. I rooe on toward Lawrence, and met Capt. Brown, Jr., south of Wakarusa. From him I obtained the first reliable in- formation as to what had taken place at Lawrence. He appeared to be in good spirits and perfectly rational. When a day or two later we heard of the massacre of the Doyles,Wilkinson,aud Sherman, on the Potawatomie, on the night ot the 23d, I could have no doubt as to who committed the deed. I could not resist the conviction that it was done with those Scotch claymores. I remem- bered the wild frenzied look and appear- ance of old John Brown and his party, when I met them near the Potawato- mie settlement, on that evening,and only a few hours before those men were kil- led. I believe the Free State men liere re- garded this horrible tragedy with more sincere and sorrowful regret than any other incident of our struggle. It was regarded as terribly damaging to the Free State party and cause. No suffi- cient justification or defence could be made. I sincerely believed that it was the work of insane men. Their halting at that distance a solitary traveler, who was apparently unarmed, and upon the open prairie where they dould see for miles around, seemed to me evidence of insanity. Certainly that number of so well-armed men could not fear an as- sault and capture, or that they were in any immediate danger. I noticed that while we were in conversation the boys watched every look and gesture of the old man — keeping their guns in their hands ready for instant action. A short time after the Potawatomie massacre I had a conversation with George Partridge, an old acquaintance and friend of mine from Wisconsin, who was then a settler on the Potawatomie. He was a strong anti-slavery man, and was killed later that summer in the fight at Osawatomie. Mr. Partridge informed me that he was REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. 71 a member of Capt. Jnlin Brown, Jr's. c 'mpany, and was with them on tlieir expedition to Palmyra, in May. He stated that old John Brown l)ecame fren- zied at the condition of affairs in the Territory, and the refusal or failure of Free State men to fight; that the old man left the company, on the 23rd, with six or seven others, and against the remon- strance of his son, Capt. John Brown, Jr.; that when, on the afternoon and evening of the 24th, while in camp at Ottawa J(>nos',news wasreceiv^ed of the massacre, Captain Brown, Jr., became insane, and w is t iken liome the next day a maniac. Mr. Partridue also stated that the oiily prov. citiou the Doyles had given; as far as he knew, was, that at the spring election, a nhort time before, Doyle ex- pret'Sed his dislike for negroes and ahol - tionists, and that Brown expressed his dislike of pro- slavery men. He said that denunciations and threats were made on both sides. * In the foregoing I have stated the incidents as I recollect them. Mr. Part- ridge had no doubt that the killing was done by old Jolm Brown and his party, and sincerely regretted the affair. I believe that when we heard here of the Potawatomie massacre Col. Samuel Walker was sent down there by the com- mittee (of which Gen. Babcock was chairman,) to learn all the facts in rela- tion to the matter. Perhaps Coloi e- Walker or Gen. Babcck could furnish some information on the subiect. Respectfully, J. Blood. * Of all the fifteen oroveiMlifferent motives given for this terrilile massacre, including that by Capt. Brown himself, to Gov. Crawford, this, liy Mr. Partridge, to Col. BloO'l, seinis the most plausible. — Brown. STATEMENT OF THE GRANTS. Geo. W. Grant, a son of John T. Grant, mentioned by Johnson Clark, in an arti- cle headed "Clincher," made a state- ment to the Lawrence Journal a few weeks ago, the greater substance of which is friven below, from that paper, as follows: "We were near neighbors of the Sher- mans, of the Doyles, and Wilkinson. "When the news came that the Border Ruffians were aliout to attack Lawrence, the Free State men of Potawatomie Creek raised a company to go to the rescue. It was under command of Capt. John Brown, Jr. I was a meml)er of the company. We started for Lawrence, but on the way there a messenger reach- ed us saying it was too late; that the town was already sacked. While lying in camp the company was drawn up one day, and old John Brown called for vol- unteers, sayinj;: "//ww many men will vol- unteer to go with me and obey my ordfrsH When he called for volunteers Jilin Brown, Jr., said: "Father, I ol)jeci to any of the men leaving. We are getting up near the eneiny and may need them." After the number hid volunteered Joh'i Bown, Jr., said, "Father, be careful and commit no rash act." The volunteers were Fred, Owen, Salmon and Oliver Brown, Thompson, John Brown's son-in- law, Mr. Winer, and Mr. Townsley, with his team. After they had volunteered they went in*o camp by themselves, and ground up tlieir sabres. They were armed with short swords or sabres. "When we were at Ottawa Jones', the Brown party came in during the night. The next morning I saw one of Dutch Henry's horses, which tliey had brought in. It was a gray horse, with mane and tail sheared. We had beard of tiie kil- ling on Pottawatomie Creek, at Palmyra, and had returned. "The efiect of the news of the massa- cre on John Brown, Jr., was very marked. He showed great agitation, and gave up the command of the company to H. II. Williams." [Then follows a long account of the provocation for the massacre. As we have at least fifteen difl'erent reasons given, one by Capt. Brown himself to Gov. Crawford, we will not tax the read- er with any additional ones.] "They were apparently killed by a thrust with the short sword, and by cuts over the head with the sabre, except Doyle, who was shot in the forehead, and also stabbed. There was no idea at that time that the bodies had been purposely mutilated. The wounds in the hands had apparently been made either in at- tempting to ward oft' blows, or iii grasp- ing the blades of the short swords. Mrs. Wilkinson's description of the leader pointed out Brown as present at th? killing. She mentioned his being an old man, and his wearing a iblack stock about his neck, which Brown habitually wore. Nobody on, the creek doubted that John Brown was the leader of the party. As to the killing, it was the current story that Brown shot Doyle, but personally did nothing more, and that the cutting 72 REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. and stabbing was done by other members of the party. Tlie effect of this massacre on the in habitants of the creek, was to greatly alarm both parties. The pro-slavery set- tlers almost entirely left at once and the Free State people were constantly fearful of vengeance. As a matter of fact, there was no more killing on either side in that neighborhood. Dutch Henry — Henry Sherman, was killed in the spring of 1857, but politics had nothing to do with it." To this statement, in the Journal of Dec. 11th, 1879, is affixed the signatures of Geo. W. & H. C. Grant. The following appeared as an editorial in the Lawrence, Kan. Standa/rd, of Dec. nth, 1879: "were thby mutilated?" Mr. Tnwnsley, in his statement about the Pottawatomie massacre, says that the bodies of the Doyles were not muti lated, or at least not to his knowledge Mr. Ely Moore, who is employed in the Standard office, says that he arrived at the scene of the murder before the bodies were cold, that the ears and noses of old man Doyle and one of his sons were cut off, and that old man Doyle had a great gash down the side of his face, cut ap- parently with a sword or sabre. John Brown's pistol ball entered just over the eye. Mu. townsley's statement. The statement of Mr. Townsley, given below, was procured by John Hutchings, Esq., of Lawrence, Kansas, referred to at the close of my article headed "Confirma- tion." In answer to the question, "Who is Mr. Townsley?" the Lawrence, Kan, Journal says: James Townsley, whose statement in regard to the Potawatomic affair we publish this morning, was one of the first settlers in Anderson county. In Johnson's history of that county we notice that he was one of the Commissioners who located its first county seat, at a place called Shannon, Marcli 1, 185G. At that place all the county business was transacted until April 5, 185(5. He was also one of the Comniis sioncrs wlio located in the same moulli the first road in the county, ruiiiiiiii: from Slicrmanvillc [Dutch Henry's Crus sing] through the county seat to Hamp- den and Cofachique. Most, if not all of these places now exist only in history, and it is said that only a few persons in the county can point out the place even where the first county seat stood. Mr. Townsley's history, however, is not likely to bj so ephemeral. The closeness of his relation to the hero of Harper's Ferry in one of the most striking if not important acts of his life, will be likely to secure for his name a remembrance not soon to be ex- tinguished. I am a native of Hartford county, state of Maryland, and was born August 29, 1815. I enlisted in company I, Capt. Benjamin L. Bell, Second United States dragoons, and served five years in the war waged against the Seminole and Creek Indians, a part of the time under the command of Gen. Taylor, and was discharged in August. 1844, at Fort Washita, Indian territory. I am a jjamt- er by trade, and followed that business in Fallston, in my native county, until October 20, 1855, when I eniii,nated to Kansas with my family, and settled in Anderson county, on the Potawatomie creek, about one mile west ot Greeley, I joined the Potawatomie rifle company at its re-organization in May, 1856, at which time John Brown, Jr.,was elected captain. On the 21st of the same ni'inth information was received that the Geor- gians were marching on Lawrence, threatning its destruction. The company was immediately called together, and about 4 o'clock p. m. we started on a forced marcii to aid in its defense. Aljout two miles south of Middle Creek we were joined by the Osawatomie com- pany, under Capt. Dayton, and proceeded to Mount Vernon, where we wait- ed about two hours, until the moon rose. We then marchea all night, cam|)ing the next morning, the 22d, for breakfast, near Ottawa Jones'. Before we arrived at this point news had been received that Lawrence had been des- troyed, and a question was raised whether we should return or go on. During the forenoon, however, we proceeded up Ot- tawa creek to within about five miles of Palmyra, and went into canij) near the residence of Captain Shore. Here we rcniHiucd undecided over night. About noon the ne.\t day, the 2i5il, old John IJrown came to me and said he had just received information that trouble was ex- pected on the Potawatomie, and wanted REMINISCENCES OF OLD JOHN BROWN. 73 to know if I would take my team and take him and his boys back so that they could keep watch of what was going on. I told him I would do so. The party consisting of" old John Brown, Fred- erick Brown, Owen Brown, Watson Brown, Oliver Brown, Henry Thompson [John Brown's son-in-law,] and Mr. Winer, were soon ready for the trip, and we started, as near as I can remember, about 2 o'clock p. m. All of the party, except Mr. Winer, who rode a pony, rode with me in my wagon. When within two or three miles of the Potawatomie creek, we turned oflf the main road to the right, drove down to to the edge of the timber between two deep ravines, and camped about one mile above Dutch Henry't crossing. After my team was fed and the party had taken supper, John Brown told me for tlie first time what he proposed to do. He said he waited me to pilot the com- pany up to the forks of the creek, some live or six miles above, into the neighbor- hood where I lived, and show them where all the pro-slavery men resided ; that he proposed to sweep the creek as he came down of all the pro-slavery men living on it. I positively refused to doit. He insisted upon it, but when lie found tliat I would not go he decided to post- pone tlie expedition until the following night. I then wanted to take my team und go home, but he would not let me do so, and said I should remain with them. We remained in camp that night and all day the next day. Sometime after dark ■we were ordered to march. We started, the whole company, in a northerly dinction, crossing Mosquito creek above the residence of the Doyles. Soon after crossing the creek some one of the party knocked at the door of a cabin, but received no reply — I have forgotten ■whose cabin it was, if I knew at the time. The next place we came to was the residence of the Doyles. John Brown, three of his sons and son-in-law went to the door, leaving Frederick Brown, Winer, and myself a short distance from the house. About this time a large dog at- tacked us. Frederick Brown struck the dog a blow with his short two-edged sword, after which I dealt him a blow ■^i^ith my sabre, and heard no more of him. The old mai Doyle and two sons were called out and marched some distance from the house toward Dutch Henry's in the road, where a halt was made. Old John Brown drew his revolver and shot the old man Doyle in the forehead, and Brown's two youngest sons immediately fell upon the younger Doyles with their short two- edged swords. One of the young Doyles was stricken down in an instant, but the other at- tempted to escape, and was pursued a short distance by his assailant and cut down. The company then proceeded down Mosquito creek to the house of Allen Wilkinson. Here the old man Brown, three of his sons, and son-in-law, as at the Doyle residence, went to the door and ordered Wilkinson to come out, leaving Frederick Brown, Winer and myi! 'o . » * A 4 o^ •^ ^> .<^^ ^0^ .0^ o \,^^ /^^^ \/ y^, \^,^ ^^1^'. ^^ A 9^ °..<■* ■€■*> N. MANCHESTER. '<4S^-' INDIANA