The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1882-09-14
EARLY RENINIsoENcEs OF Kansas
EecOlIections OF the Days of John
Brown and OF the Border Warfare.

OPRINeFIELD, MO, Sept. g.
EDITORS NEWS: The Fort Scott war
occurred during the winter of 1857;
A Old John Brown fought his celebrate
OsaWatomie battle in the fall OF IS5l
! snc the battle of Black Jack foilowe
= soon after. II. Clay Pate marched i
from Independence with force said I
number three hundred, and camped &
BLACK Jack, intending to come up an,
capture Prairie City, Hext day. Oh,
: John Brown was at the latter place AMI
q directing Captain Samuel Shores, will
about thirty men. 10 attack Pate al day
light He marched around during Ia,
e night with six men and took position O
, | rates rear, fully satisfied that Shores
would whip him, and he determined Il
cut OF the retreat. Captain Shores
3 men had Sharper's rifles, while Pate,
f men were armed with old muskets and
shoG guns, and they could not stand the
music of those shrieking Sharpers slugs
: Brown disarmed and 'tstood up" about
thirty of the invaders, who attempted to
nee down the ravines in which he was
; posted
Then there was lull, but all the next
summer military companies in every
Town drilled regularly once a week to be
in readiness in case of an emergency.
Our company at Prairie City enrolled
among lis members several of the Black
Jack her Jes and two men who were
with Brown at Osawatomie while
Capt Shores was in command. The
boys were tolerably we'll armed with
muskels and rifles and after drilling all
summer were eager for an opportunity
10 put themselves on record as veterans
who had smelled powder So tremen
duous whoop went up one evening in
December as couple of mounted cour-
iers dashed into toWn and up To head
| quarters with the news that large body
of invaders from Missouri had surround
Ell a band OF Free State men in a log
cabin. on Little Usage, above FIT Scott,
and We're shooting down every man who
tried TO escape. Before daylight next
| morning every man who could get
| horse or mule was in the saddle, and
away we struck across the country to
rescue the terrified settlers aud pqniah
the border ruftiaps.
We crossed OttaWs creek at the point
| where Ottawa now stands, but the only
building near there then was the house
| of Ottawa Jones, chief Of the Ottawa's:
thence on southeast TO Mound City, |
where we arrived after dark Just before
We reached this place we were met by a |
. s.,-e"t "h" "r%H us 10 MAKE All haste |
possible as there was u camp of Free |
State boys on Sugar creek, WHICH was |
mnmeRtafily expecting an attack from |
the border ruffians who had cap
captured the little Free StaIc band on |
the Little Usage and were moving south, |
That was march not calculated to be |
soon forgotten. Bling commanded to |
preserve strict silence so as not 10 at |
tract the attention of the invaders, we |
plodded slOng on our jaded horses in |
thick darkness, across a prairie fire. |
quently iutersecled by very muddy rl. |
Wings Though which our animals ii0un. |
dersd, and it seemed an age before we |
finally reached camp in the brush on |
Sugar creek. Once inside The camp,
however, our spirits were considerably |
raised, especially when there was served |
up to each of Us tin cup of hot coffee, |
and some boiled meat, the latter ia dish |
es followed uat az lsF go chips of wood,
with wooden spoons to eat fiom.
Next morning our camp presented |
quite military appearance. Gen. Jim /
Lane arrived with his staff and assumed |
command, end soon after The men were |
ordered into line for "Feview.p There /
was company from Blue Mound, near |
Lawrence, and Capt. James Montgom- |
eryis company from Pottawatomie creek,
besides several small detachments from |
various sections of the territory. Col
LeOnhardt, q Polish refugee, with a |
IO~4C up anu uOWl InC line, exc !
cutting wonderful flonFisles. With talal /
awe.inspirius weapon aud when |
"Sld Jim Lane in his bcar-skin coat, /
Numbered out, Attention, baItalionp
the enthusiasm of the boys rose at the /
rate of one hundred degrees per minute. |
Then Gen. Lane delivered 10 US one of |
his famous war speeches, reminding US |
that tbs eyes Of the whole country were |
upon as, and the salvation esI our noble |
territory depended on our bravery in the |
great battle that would soon be fought
After Gen. Lane and Col Leonhardt |
had passed along the line and inspected |
our arms, we were ordered hack into |
camp 10 draw FaIions and prepare for the |
march that would be taken up Al noon. |
There were Ahont 100 men in |
the command. Capt. james Mont
gomery had little while before re- |
pulsed detachment of U. S. dragons,
who had twenty-five men TO Lie twelve
and of course he vas ore Of the 7.lions"
of the camp--a quiet, modest, appearing
man, Of medium size, spare built. blue |
eyes and very gentlemapiy behavior. A
price had boon set ON his head, but he |
seemed perfectly uncOncerned about 1t
and his men claimed he could not be
surprised nor beaten without bloody
resistance. The Cole bOys IF the Blue
Mound company and Sheriff Walker,
WHIP I belfeye, came with them were
also notaGles on account of former ex-
ploits One of the Cole boys soon be
came involved in quarrel with another
of his company who dreW hig weapon
ian old AIlle4 epapper GoX.1 and told
! hils to defend himself "Sh0Ot, shoot
| and be id" said Cole; but don't for
Gods sake throw ii ut me-"
That afternoon We marched on down
to the Little Usage, and camped on the
ground where the recent battles had ia
| ken place. There was the log cabin in
| WHICH the men had teea Imprisoned
! and the treSs all about were shivered
and spotted by the bullets that had been
fired at it. Two or three hundred yards
| away was a rail fence, which Slsq bore
marks of showers CT ah4rp's bullets that
had been hurled against II Ia the vain
attempt to hi! some of U. s. Marsh
al Little's posse who had come out from
Fit. Scott to arrest seme of the free state
| settlers, upon some trumped up charge
| in order 10 init nidSte free state settlers
! generally an;f prevent their becoming
the majority in Kansas. But NO one
had been killed on either side
though the marshal himself had been
| WGpGded, and one or two of his men
causing him to retire for reinfogeements
while the besieged had fallen back on
Logan creek, aud now with our force at
their back they had come down and re-
occupied their old fort
During the march that afternoon, we
noticed every now spd then a couple or
horse men gallopIng across the road in
front of our little army, or beating up
fGVines, u scampering over some hills
and were soon informed these were our
scouts, Capt. p. b. Plumb and VIM. Il.
Phillips. The former dressed in close
fitting mOle-skin coat and pante. aud a
skull cap, and mounted on. = feet little
pony, exactly fulfilled the pictures we
had always carried in our imagination
of western scout.
That bright, calm, peaceful evening
closed down, and darkness settled over
| valiant band that had come at dang
era bidding to shed its blood, if need be
in defense of the homes of free state
Kansas. The writer will never forget
the incidents Of that night Soon after
7 dark dense black cloud swept down
] toward US from the northwest, and soon
. It turned cold, then drizaling rain set
in. The men were generally scantilY
clothed, the majority of them .withou!
blankets, and there was not tent IN the
} entire camp. Some of US young fellows
rolled couple Of logs pear together
and spreading O blanket acFoss from one
] | ~ the Other. were enjoying quite com
Portable sleep. when suddenly word was
; passed around TO US TO make all haste
5 and get into our saddles, for our scouts
}. had come IN and reported four compan-
: les of United States dragons marching
: CD on double quick TO ATTACK us o.
+: course we needed no further urging. i
e didn't take many minutes TO PVT As out
: but it was nov dark a. pitch, the wind
! blowing fpFiously while the cold rair
pelted Us until We were drenched from
!, head to foot. There were three or foul
: wagons in the command and quite 9 10
a of infantry, and our cavalry we're KEEP
t standing in the st0rm till line coulC
g be formed with the wagons IN front, tn.
J, infantry next and the mounted men q
o bring up the rear. One Col. Williams