The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-11-30
a Vivid Sketch of the Days When Freedom
and Slavery Struggled for suprem-
acy on Kansas Soil.
The First Signs that Indicated the
Coming Storm of War.
How John Brown Entered the Pro-Slavery
Camp in Disguise-A History,
Not an Apology.
Cleveland Leader.


man slavery, has undertaken to give the
American people new view of my father
character. Rev. David N Utter Gf that is
his name) relates in his own way, and not
according 10 the trnth of history, a single
event in the long warfare between freedom
and slavery in Kansas. Without specifying
what is true and what false in his account Of
the Potawatomie executions MAY "a. 1866,
propose to give a simple narrative of
events preceding that affair with some that
followed it, from which the reader can
Judge the completeness and fairness of Mr..
Utters article.
During the years 1858 and 1854 most of
the leading northern newspapers were not
only full OF glowing accounts of the extraor-
binary fertility, healthfulness, and beauty of
the Territory of Kansas then newly opened
for settlement, but of urgent appeals to all
lovers of freedom who desired homes in a new
region to go there as settlers. and by their
votes save Kansas from the curse OF slavery.
Influenced by these considerations, in the
month of October, twenty-nine years ago,
five of the sons of John Brown-John, jr.,
Jason, Owen, Frederick, and Salmon-then
residents of the State of Ohio, made their ar
rangements to emigrate to Kansas. Their
combined property consisted chiefly of eleven
head of cattle mostly young and three
horses. Ten of this number were valuable
on account of the breed. Thinking these
especially desirable in new country, Owen,
Frederick, and Salmon took them by way Of
the lakes to Chicago, thence to Meridosia,
ILL.,, where they were wintered, and in the
following spring drove them into Kansas to
a place selected by these brothers for settle
ment about eight miles west of the town of
Osawatomie. My brother Jason and
his family, and l, with my family,
followed at the opening of navigation
in the spring of 1896, going by
way of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to st.
Louis. There we purchased two small tents.
a plow and some smaller farming tools and a
hand-mill for grinding corn. At this period
there were no railroads west of st. Louis;
our Journey must be continued by boat on
the Missouri at time of extremely low
water, or by stage at great expense. We
chose the river route taking passage on the
steamer New Lucy" which, too late, we
found crowded with passengers mostly men
from the South bound for Kansas. That
they were from the South was plainly indi-
Gated by their language and dress while their
drinking, profanity, and display of reFolvers
and bowie-knives, openly wearing these as an
essential part of their makeup, clearly
showed the class to which they belonged and
that their mission was to aid i'll establishing
slavery in Kansas
A box of fruit trees and grape vines which
nv brother Jason had brought from Ohio,
our pillow and the few agricultural imple-
ments we had on the deck of that steamer,
looked lonesome, for these were all we could
see which were adapted to the occupations of
peace. Then, for the first time arose in ur
mind the query: Must the fertile prairies of
Kansas, through a struggle at arms, be first
l. g. H..
and reapS If so, how poorly we're we pre-
pared for such work will be seen when l say
that for arms for five of US brothers we had
only two small squrrel-rifles and one re-
Volver But before we reached our destina-
ton, other matters claimed our attention.
Cholera, which then prevailed to some ex
tent at St. Louis, broke out among our pas
sengers, a number of whom died. Among
these brother Jasons son, Austin. aged four
years, the eldest of his two children, fell
victim to this scourge, and while our boat
1aid by for repair of q broken rudder at
Waverly, Mo-, we buried him at night near
that. panic-striken town, our lonely way
lillumined only by the lightning of a furious
thunderstorm.
A HEARTLEss CAPTAIN
True to his spirit of hatred of Northern
people, our captain, without warning to us
on shore, cast off his lines and left us to
make our way by stage TO Kansas City, to
which place we had already paid our fare by
boat Before we reached there, however, we
became very hungry, and endeavored to buy
food at various farm houses on the way; but
the occupants, judging from our speech that
we were not from the South, always denied
US, saying, I'VE have nothing for you" The
only exception to this answer was at the
stape -houSn of TpdnDendanPp Mo
Arrived in Kansas, her lovely prairies and
wooded streams seemed to us indeed like
haven Of rest. Here in prospect we saw our
cattle increased to hundreds and possibly to
thousands field Of corn, orchards and vine
yards. At once we sat about the work
through which only our visions of prosperity
could be realized. Our tents would suffice
for shelter until we could pillow our land,
plant corn and other crops, fruit trees and
vines, cut and secure as hay enough of the
waving grass to supply our stock the coming
winter These cheering prospects beguiled
our iabors through late spring until midsum-
mer, by which time nearly all of our number
were Frustrated by fever and ague that would
not stay cured; the grass we cut for hay
modered in the wet for want of the care we
could not beStow; our crop of corn was
wasted by cattle We could not restrain. If
these minor ills and misfortunes were all,
they could be easily borne; but now began to
SdIneI bhe udrh ClOuuS Oh war. AN election
for first territorial Legislature had been
held on the Both of March of this year. On
that day the residents of Missouri along the
borders came into Kansas by thousands,
and took forcible possession of the polls.
There was no disguise, no pretense of legal
ity, no regard for decency. On the evening
before and the morning of the day of cleo
ton nearly thousand MssoUrians arrived at
Lawrence in wagons and on horseback, we'll
armed with rifles, pistols, and bowie-knives,
and pieces of cannon loaded with mus
sket balls Although but s31 legal electors
an the Territory voted, there were no less
than $500 votes polled. They elected all the
members with a single exception in either
House-the two Freesoiers being chosen
from a remote district which the Missourians
overlooked or did not care to reach
See Greeiey's american conflict" volume
J. page 238. That which occurred at Lawrence
on that day is but sample of what was done