The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1859-11-12
The Life of osawatomie Brown.

in the Chicago Tribune, and from it we take
the following sketch: Tradition and histo-
~ are at fault in locating the birthplace of
Brown, but his first known appearance to
his oldest friends, was as a tenant on the
farm of Garritt Smith, in Essex county, N.
Y. From that State he removed to Ohio,
and subsequently, to Kansas Up to the
time of his removal to Kansas, nothing pc
cular or eccentric is recorded of the man.
It would seem that the earliest border ruff
an skirmishes reused the dormant military
MOVERS of "Old Brown and in short
time he became one of the principal leaders
of the Free State forces. When Lawrence
was marched upon in May, 1856, Brown
offered to defend the city, but Robinson,
Pomeroy and others bad decided not to OPP
nose the marauders. This action disgust
ed the cold man. and he determined to act
benceforth in an independent capacity
The exact time that s'Old Brown" received
his divine commission to free the country
O. slaves does not appear to be known, but
it was probably about the period that Osa
watomie was burned and pillaged the sec
ond time, (June, 1885, when his house
was DESTROYED and his son, Frederick, was
taken and coolly murdered by ReU. Martin
White, who attended Reid's army as chap
lain. But Brown was not unrevenged, fer
two wagon loads of dead Missourians testi-
fed to the deadly character of his hatred.
Before this occurrence, III. Clay Pate had
fitted out company for the express pur-
pose Of getting possession of the person of
Brown, but when the forces met in the bat
tie of Black Jack, Pate was taken prisoner
with twenty-one of his followers, and a
large amount of plumber. These incidents
were made public in the newspapers at the
time, as many of our readers will remember.
At last "Old Brown" became so notori-
GUS that company of U. S. Dragons were
despatched after him, and he travelled for
some days with them, through Nebraska
and Iowa. This last escapade proves that
Brown possessed the usual craftiness of par
tial insanity. Capt. Brown parted with his
escort in Iowa, and went on to New York,
for the purpose of raising 100 men to free
Kansas. In this project be was unsuccess-
full, and returned in the fall of 81 to Bour-
bon county, Kansas, taking up claim
The attack upon Capt. Montgomery again
called Brown into action, and for some rea-
son he was notified that Missouri Sheriff,
with posse of twenty men, would capture
him. Although sick with fever and ague,
he rose from his bed, and called several of
his neighbors together in log hut, where
they awaited the Sheriff, who soon came in
sight and asked them to surrender. NO."
was the prompt reply, and IN short time
the Sheriff's posse were seen showing their
heels to Browns party
After executing some bold and dangerous
movements in Missouri, and being pursued
by treble the number that followed him,
Brown conceived the idea of removing his
company to Canada, knowing that their
necks were in momentary danger in Kansas.
While pursuing his march through north
ern Kansas, party of Missourians, three
times as large as his own, came upon him.
! In the fight which followed, Brown took
four prisoners, and put to flight the remain
: der of his party. The prisoners he after
wards discharged, as was his custom, first
giving them lecturing on the foolishness
of attempting TO capture divinely ap-
pointed warrior!
After Brown and his party had reached
Canada in April, SO, nothing more was
heard of him until the Harper's Ferry in
surrection discovered his whereabout, and the
manner in which he has been engaged for
the past six months. Brown will rank
among the first fanatics in the New World,
in the history to be written.
In person, Brown is about five feet eight
inches in height. He has short grey hair,
and diversiies his appearance with iron grey
whiskers and moustache to suit the exigen-
ces of his situation. His appearance is that
of intense peacefulness, combined with
hopeless verdancy. To the casual observer
he is the most inoffensive man that could
be met with in days ride through Area
dia His rural exterior has enabled him to
pass through scores of perils, where his life
would have paid the forfeit of his discovery.
1t is believed by many of those who knew
him in Kansas, that the butchery of his son
Frederick made him monomaniac on the
subject of slavery, and that he had made a
VOW to wreak a great revenge on the system
of society which had wrought so deep a
wrong on him. But Brown himself repudi-
ated this idea, contehding that revenge was
no part of his composition, and claiming to
be guided strictly by the principles of Holy
Writ.
He seems to have been laboring under a
religious hallucination to the effect that he
was the appointed instrument of the Al
mighty for putting an end to human slave
~. What time he and his handful of men
in Kansas were not marching or fighting,
they were praying or singing psalms
brown hlmsel1 passing many hours III Wrest-
ling in secret prayer. His evident halluci-
nations caused all the clear headed men in
Kansas to avoid him, or to have as little to
do with him as possible. His name in
spired the same terror on the border, as the
"Jibbenainosay, or ''Nick of the Woods"
among the Indians of Kentucky, or that of
the Cid among the Moorish hordes of Spain.
1t was name to brighten children to bed
with. No further evidence of his insanity
could be required by commission de Jana
tieo than the late hair-brained movement at
Harper's Ferry-an act which VIM. Lloyd