The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1879-12-18
KANSAS NEWS.
THE pOrrAwaToH;E TRAGEDY.
John browns Connection With it
statement OF James Townslpy. m
Eye illness,
Lawrence Journal,l

state menl OF James TOwnsley. n
Eye - illness,
Lawrence Journal.l
we are euas,ed TO lay before cur readers
this morning, the most important cDntriou-
ton ever made to Kan sas history, viz. A
full and ciIcumstaptial sccount o. the Potts.
watom lie tr seedy, IN May, 1876 from one who
Was an eyewitness and part ci paied in that
terrib'e AT ir.
The history of the paper which we publish
below Is as follows: In the course Of the va
rions sr;icIes which have been recent V pub
ushed IN the Journal in regard TO this affair,
and the discussion uhich has ensued, IL be-
came important, II possible, 10 determine
Just where John Brown and his company
vent alter they LETT camp on mat historic
afternoon when me Old man called for volun.
tsers and departed upon his secret exped =
son; whether John Brown rem aimed with
the company: If he dis, what part he tooh
If any, in the killing; w1tre the party went
tbst night AT, er the kI.Iipg was done and
their subsequent mo- ements until they re-
turned TO John Blown JT.'s company al o.
lava Jones.
IL was evident that these facts could only
BE- Obtain ned from some one v no WAS a menu
ter ofthe patty. The only person Supposed
10 he living in Kansas and known to have
been one OF the party, was Mr. James Town.
ley, OF o>awatomie. John iiutching-, Esq I,
of his. city, who has taken the deepes- III.
terest in this history, Noiusteered 10 visit
Mr.. TOwnsiey an. II possible procure from
hi n a full and circumstantial statement
GA thursday, Decent Der An, Mr.. Hutchings
left Lawrence and reached Lane, FRANKLIN
county, in the afternoon, and put up with
Judge halwsy. He called into reqU!sitiOn
Inc services of Judge Hanwsy and Johnson
Clark, E>q. Mr.. Townsley, In response to
an Invitation from these geatIeme, came to
Judge Bsnway's house. and aften spending
several hours IN conversation respecting all
the points and details of the tragedy dictated
To Mr.. Hutchiugs the folio ~ins statement,
which is so far the only full authentic and
detailed history OF the Pota xatomie tragedy
ever given to the pubic. 1t is needless to
say that both The journal and public are I'm.
der deep obligations to Mr.. Ii utchings for the
Efforts he has made 10 get at the bottom
facts OF thIs most trsgicsl event In Kansas
history. The following Is The statement
led.
lam n native Of Hartford county. state of
VI .ry land. and was born August Zstn, 1915.
In Au.usT, 1859, / Unlisted I'm Company l.,
, apt. B-uj amin L. Bell. Second UDitsd states
Dragons, anu served i've yesIe IN the FIOri
da wal ~ tinsI the Seminole and creek L.
dians, "A part of the time under the go mmand
OF GENERA Tay Tor, aud vas scuars cd In An
gu>I, lSH, at ForJ Wasnita, Indian Territory.
] am IA painter by trade. and folio \ Ell tn IL
business in Faliston, In nay native counts,
until O.toDer ~, lS5J, when ! rnigrsted to
Il 4nsss sIth my family, aud settled In Ans
de son county, on tue PoIaw atomic Creck,
1, bout one mile west Of Greeley. 1 Jtined the
PptawatomIe rifle company its re-
organ ID IN May, 1850 at which time John
Brown Jr. was elected captain. On the 2lst
Of the same month iDiormstiDn was re ceiv.d
thet the Geo glans were marching upon
Lawrence, lhTesteneng IT. des rucliOn. The
company was Immediately called together,
a nd 3 b nut four O'clock y. IN. We started on q
forced march to aid IN Its defense. About
two miles south OF Middle Creek We we e
lined y the u awalOmIe conn any, under
captain Dayton. and proceeded 10 Mount
Vernon, " here We waited about two hours
tIil the moon rose. We then marched ali
night, camping the next morninA-tLe 22i,
for breakfast. near ottawa Jones'.
Before We arrived at this point news had
been received Inst Lawrence had been de.
stroyed. and question was raised whether
". should Ieturu OF 20 on During the fore
noon, hONeyrr, we IrOceeued M OtfOwa
creek 10 within about five mi es OF Palmy "a
aud went into camp near the residence OF
Captain shore. Here We rem aimed undecided
%. er night. bout noon the rext day. the
.3I, Old John Brown came 10 the ard said he
had Just received II formation thst trouble
wa- expected the PoLawaiomie, and
wanteu to know II 1 wolid take my team
and take nm and MS boys b tck so III At they
could Keep watch OF what was going Oh. /
.oiu HIM / would DO 50. Toe party, consist
ing Of Old Jonn Brown, Frederick Brown,
Watson Brown. O!Iver Brown, Henry Thomp.
son, tJohn Browns son iu-law), and or.
winer. were soon ready for the trip, and We
"A mi ..r
two o'clock All OF the party, except
Mr.. Winner, wno rode pony rode with me
Ia my wagon. When within two or three
miles o. tie POta vat. InIe Greek We turned of
the main road 10 tue right drove down into
the edge of tue timber, and John Brown told
me Tor the nrst Time what he proposed To do
he said he wanted me To pi!oJ the company
up TO the forks Of the cresk some fiv. or six
miles above, INTO the eighbJrnoOl in " hich
1 lived, and show { eU where all the pro-
slavery man resided; that ne proposed to
swer ID the creek as he came down OF all the
pro.sIavery men living On IT. / positively
refused 10 do IT. he iTslsted upon IL, but
" nen lie found that would not go he 4 ecid-
Il to posi- pOne the expedition until the iOI-
low ng night. | then wanted TO take my
te IN and go home but he refd,od 10 let me
10 50 and said l should remain with them.
We reInalTed in camp tn II Dis mt and ali day
tue r.xt day. Sometime alter dark We were
Ori, red to march.
west4ited, the wEo.e company In a north
cry direction, crossing MuEquito creek
.
,fter crossing tue creek 20 ne one of he party
6nOche 1 at the door of a cabin but received
1 o rtyiy 4 nsSr IOTgOuen whose c Ibn II
" A. a. knew at tue lime. The next place
we came to Was the residence OF the D1S les
John Brown, three OF bis sous and son u-taw
went 10 the door, leaving Frederick Brown,
Wiuer and my se,f saort distance from the
house About this time Large dog sttaCk ed
u. Fre!erIck Il roSn struck the dog "A b Nv
un the heal with mY sabeT and heard no
more from him. ihe Old man Ioyie and
Two sons were called "uI ard maTcbed some
distance iIon the house TOWARDS Dutch Hem
rvs IN the road, where matt made.
Old John Brown drew his revolver anu shot
tue Old man Doyle in the Tor, head, and
Browns Two youge>t sons i'm ;nedlai,!y fell
upon the you"ge DoyIes with their short
two-edg ed swO Us
One of tue Dung Dog les wa stricken down
IN an instant, out the oth=r att-m ptsu to
escape, and wss pursued a short distance by
uIs as>.ilant aud cut down. The com pany
tuen prOree,ied down Musg1i'O cr.ek o the
mouse OF Alien wiIkinsUn. Here m. q d man
Brown, three OF his sons ami son-In-law, rs
at the boy ie Te.ldence. Went 20 tue oODr and
ordered wilkinson TO come out, leaving
Freterck Brown, WineI AMI mysslf 81 and
ing in the road e as OF the nOGs-. wtk insOn
was taken and III arch ed some de lance sOut h
oi his hUule, aud slim IN The road with a
>norl sword by one OF the younger Browns.
Alter he was IL Ell hi, BODY WAS dragged out
10 one siUe and left.
We then crossed the PJttawatom-e and
came 10 the house OF Henry Sue'man. gen.
orally known as Dutch Henry. Here John
Srown and the parry, excepting Frederick
Gro IN, Winer aud myself, who were left
ouI eide a short distance from the door, went
into the house and brought out william
sherman. Dutch Henry's brother, marched
aim down into Pot,awstomie creek, where
ne vas slain with swords by Browns two
younger sons, and left ly ing In the creek.
IL was the expressed intention OF Brown to
execute Dutch henry also, but ne IVES not
found at home. He also hoped to mud George
Alison, Z. o nate Judge OF Anderson county,
there. and intended, II be did, to Kill him
too. Wilson had been notifying Free Stale
men u leave the Territory. 1 had received
such q notice from him myself
desi re 10 say here that IL Is not true that
there w,ss any intentional nutilation of the
bodies afser they Were Killed. They were
slain rs quickly as possible snd left, and
whatever gsshes they received We've inflicted
in the process of cutting them down with
swords. | understood that the killing was
done with these swords, SO 10 avoid alarm
log the neighuorhood BY the discharge OF
firearms.
desire also to say that did not then ap-
prove o. the k ling OF those men, but Brown
said II NUT be doue for the protection of the
Free s ate settlers; tn at the pro slavery party
must be terri oed, and that IT was better that
a score of bad men should die than that one
man who came here to make Kansas a Tree
State should be driven out
Brown wanted me to pilot the party into
the neieh NIB 'rnood where lived, and point
Dut all the pro- slavery men In II, whom he
proposed to put to death } positively re-
fused To do IL, and on account OF my refuS sal
we rem aimed in camp ali OF the nis hit upon
which the stack was first in ended 10 be
made, and the next day. l told him I was
willing TO go with him TO Lecompton and at
tack the leaders, or Il Zht the leaders in open
field anywhere, bat did not want to er gage
In killiug these men. That night and the
acts then perpe'rated. are WILDLY nxed in my
memory. and have thought OF them m any
times since.
then thought that the transaction was
terrible, and have mentioned n 10 out few
persons since. In alter time, however, / be-
came salts fied that IL resulted in good to the
Free State Cause, and was especially bened
C al to Free state settlers on nDttawatOmie
Creek. The pro-slavery men were dreadful