The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1883-12-14
"OLD JOHN BROWN"
The true Character ot tie THIauous old
Hurticrcr.


There has been growing impression
that the deeds Of John Brown do not wars
rant all the culcges that have been pro-
nouuced upon him. Emerson spoke of him
AS the saint whose martyr lom will make
the galows glorious like the cross" TAs
, quoted in Redpath' Life OF Brown" PAGE
4. The prcscut writer would be glad to
know that Emerson did not use JUS this
languasc.l Thoreau said, ale could not
have been tried by his peers, for his peers
did not exist" Theodore Parker wrote
from Rome, Brown will die, | thiuk . like
martyr aud also like saint. y
None of the Christian martyrs died in.yaiu;
aud froul Stephen, who was stoned dt j cru,
salem to Mary Dyer. whom ours fa,hers
hanged on bough Of 'the great tree on
Boston Common, thuk there have been
few spirits more pure and devoted than
j ohm Browns, and none that gave up their
breath in a nobler. cause. Let the Amcri>
can State hang his body and the American
Church damu his soul, still the blessing of
such as are ready to perish will fall on him,
and the universal ju ticc of the infinitely
perfect God will take him welcome homc
The road to heaven is as short from the
gaIlows as from throne perhaps, also, rs
easy" These mcu were the Radical Aholi-
tloniStS o.. the time, to be sure. but their
words and sentiments were adopted durug
the war period by the entire North, and
since thcu largely by the civilized world.
But to the average citizen of to>day such
cxtravagant cuogy of Il doubtful character
is diStastctul. The mention of the name
"f John Brown no longer brings down the
house, aud for two or three years ii spirit
OF doubt has been slowly spreading eastward
from Kansas whether the man deserves any
culogy whatever. John Brown was diS>
turbing influence in Kansas from the first.
lie went to the Territory not as settler,
but to fight. His voice was always for
war, and he probably was more anxious to
fight Missouri than To make Kansas free
Those who had gone to Kansas t. make
homes aud build State naturally felt very
differently. They would fight if it became
necessary in support Of their principles. or
in defence of their rights but general
war with Missouri II the South was last
and least among the things desired or hoped
for
1t will be remembered that the first
Territorial Legislature was elected irau,lu>
lcntIy by voters who actually lived in Mis-,
souri,. This body OF w.makcrs assembled
first at Puwnec in July, 1865, but imm0>
diatcly moved to Shawnee Mission. near
the Missouri border, where they completed
their iabors in pro>slavcry atmosphere and
in the most Shameless pro->iavcry fashion
-cStablishin" the entire code OF Missouri
as the laws Of Kansas, and adding whatever
beside they could think ot;hat they believed
would aid in the establishment of slavery in
the Territory. These were the "boyrs" laws
resisted rom the first bv the Free State
party, but they received in due time the
approval and sanction Of President Pierce
Then It became very serious question
what was to be done. \ few extremists
were in favor of resisting these laws To the
bitter end, even to the point of h.h;in.
United States troops. But the WISER and
more moderate policy Of submitting for the
present, and fighting out differences at the
ballot box, tiualy prevailed having all
along had the support Of the best citizens.
even the most earnest AbolitiOnists. John
Brown was among those who secuted the
voting policy and urged armed resistance
to the iraudulcntly enacted laws. Notthat
his voice was heard in the councils Of the
time, rs he was teen an unknown and
unnoticcd man, but it was afterwards
remembered that he had always been mum.
borcd among the rcvo.u,ioniS;s Tie lead
crS Oh this fighting party, so for as it can
be called party, were not citizens, gene
rally, hut correspondents Of Eastern news
papers, and people who, in various ways.
lived upon money sent from the East to help
make Kansas a free State.
On the 2lst Of May, 1856. occurred what
is known i'll history as the sacking of Law.
renee. The Free State Hotel was shot
thr"u@h with cannon balls and afterwards
burned. The two Free State printing
Offices wsre destroyed. many private housrs
piIlagcd and that of Dr r. Robson, then
"Govcrncr, according to the Topeka or
Frrc.Statc faction, burned This VAS done
10y a band Of nearly eight hundred men.
partly United States troops commands. by
Federal officers, bat largely mob of mcr
from nearly all the Southcrn States, who
had come ON their OWE account to ''wirc
ont the abolition town" There was no
resistance and nobody was killed except by
"'''u'h'' - peace ppllcy hau DGcn resolved
upon, and was strictly carried ont by the
frcr>Statc men, though it cost them heavily
that day
While these events were taking place in
Lawrence, two companies Of rincmcn were
being organized in the adjoining counties Of
Franklin and Miami to come to the defence
OF the iIl.tatcd town. These were the Osawa
tonic company, commanded Eya Mr. Dayton.
ana the Potawatomlc company, whose cap
tain was John Bro II Jr. Both companies
started for Lawrence, and they net on the
way and continued their march all night.
On the morning Of the 22d old John Brown