St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-02-09


rifles of his faithful company. Having
good mount, had the honor of be-
ing selected to carry the dispatches,
recalling Captain Brown to Lawrence
from the vicinity of Mound City, about
seventy-five miles distant, where he
was supposed to be. l was instructed
to secure an escort of half-a-d dozen
true and well-mounted men, and start
at once. On the Doth of August, about
ten miles south of the village of Osa-
watOmie, marching nOrthward, towards
Lawrence, little scouting party, con-
slstlng of five, one of whom was Fred
Brown, the youngest son of the Cap
tain, met the company. The dispatches
having been delivered, we rode along,
chatting with him and his men for some
distance, and then came on in advance,
his command being in heavy marching
order, encumbered with wagons and
other impediments. He was to remain
IN. .osawatOmie that night, where there
was good blOck-hOuse. This was the
day following the one we had left Law
renee. Fred Brown had ridden most
of the way by my side, and that night
we had slept together at the cabin of a
settler about two miles from OsawatO-
mie. Sleep was sound after a hard
days ride. And when my companion,
who was an early riser, offered, to feed
the horses, at little after daybreak,
made no objection, and soon was
wrapped in sleep again-but not for
long. The crack of rifles at no great
distance brought me out of bed in a
trice. Half-dressed, with rifle and re-
vOlver, | tumbled down from the loft
of the cabin. and the sight which pre-
sented itself was not reassuring. The
guns | had heard We're those which had
killed my late bedfellOw, and twenty
or more hOrsemen were trOtting down
towards the house. Luckily for myself
and one other of the party, the house
was so near the edge of the timber,
and in the face of such odds the only
resource was to attempt to reach it. In
this endeavOr Garrison, a young Ohioan
was killed. Cutter, bright young
fellow from Massachusetts, received
five charges of buckshOt, though he
afterwards recovered, cripple; while
one other besides the writer was able
to escape scathless.
Now, John Brown had with him when
we met his command about thirty men.
The force which my little detachment
had encountered was the advance guard
of force of prO-slavery men, num-
bering over three hundred. SO the
odds were little disheartening. What
| feared most, however, was that the
Captain might be surprised just as we
had been, and so, like horse |
sped down through the timber, to
alarm the camp. The way, however,
was roundabout, and the underbrush,
in some places, dense. The open prai-
rie did not strike me as being particu-
larly healthful, after recent expert
ences and so, before | reached the
town [ could hear the sharp hiss of
bullets, as well as the roar of artillery,
for, knowing that there was a block
house, the enemy had brought couple
of field pieces. When l reached the
field ON men were posted behind trees
in the edge of the timber. The enemy
were battering away at the block house
from which our men had retired, and a
line of skirmishers were peppering
away at a respectful distance, though
there was very little for them to shoot
at. After a while movement was
made which would flank our handful
of men if successful, and which would
have resulted in our capture, or more
probably massacre. And so, with
pistol in hand, i'll his shirt-sIeeves,
without his spy-glass, John Brown
gave the order:
"BOys, we've got to get across the
creek-but don't hurry-fire as you
fall back"
The MlssOurlans never tried to cross
the creek, which, indeed, was very
respectable stream-the Marias des
Cygnes-and probably had good rea-
sons. Thus ended the Battle of Osa-
watOmie. Besides the two men killed
of the scouting party, and one wound
ed, only two Free State men were hurt.
while the enemy carried in wagons,
returning to Missouri, more than thirty
dead and wounded men. The fight
lasted about two and One-half hours,
and was chiefly notable for the great
disparity in the numbers engaged
But it did more to show the Free State
men their strength, and inspire conf
dence in themselves, than any event
which had transpired during that event
full summer. If thirty or forty of oul
men could hold at bay a force of ter
to one, why should we falter? So al
felt, and every man renewed his vow.
as a Crusader of Freedom.
| saw John Brown many times after
wards during that exciting summer
campaign. Moreover, I often hearC
him pray. If you don't know what il
means to "wrestle with the Lord il
prayer" you should have heard Cap
tain John Brown. He didn't mine,
matters a bit. He toll the Lord wha
he wanted, and then he begged tn,
Lord to do it !; he cried aloud that i
might be done he implored that it b.
done ; and done quickly right away
| heard one of the company say tina
"The old Captain could just pray tn
roof right off the top of house." |
God did not hear such prayers an,
answer them, Pm afraid there is no
much use for ordinary people to try t.
make their supplicatiOns heard.
1t was about three years afterwards
while engaged in my avOcation as
journalist that messenger came I
me from John Brown. Were to men
ton the name of the messenger man
would recognize it. | was cautiousl
| asked if | wished to join a desperate
fOrlOrn hope, under the leadership c
the "Old Man." where the chances {
: death were greater than those OF vic
tory-an undertaking which had fo
; its object the blotting out of America
: slavery. In strictest confidence, whic
! at that time and among our men wa
} inviOlable, | was given the cOnceptiO
: of raid into East Tennessee, an ap
. peal to the slaves to strike for thei
| freedom-a a torch lighted in the mid:
: of the South, a shaft aimed at the hea
T of the monster Slavery. This plaI
f modified, as it afterwards was, so ths
the first blow should be struck in Vii