St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-01-03
N. M. JOHNSO
The Blot OH John Browns
Name.


Name.
"The other day." says a writer in
the Chicago Herald, II met Jason
Brown, the son of old John Brown, of
OsawatOmie and Harper's Ferry. He
is gray-hared old man himself now,
but still IA hard worker, Il common la
bOrer. He was rather bitter against
Rev. David n. Utter, of Chicago, and
others who have been writing against
his father in the North American Re-
view and other periodicals.. Utter, it
will be remembered, charges old John
with the wilful murder of five unoffend-
ing men in Kansas. who were taken
from their homes and cut down on the
prairie. Jason admits that these men
were killed, and that his father APP
proved of it, though he did not do any
of the killing himself. But he adds
the important information that the
men thus killed had been selected ut a
secret meeting of prOslavery leaders
to assassinate the Brown family. ia
son Brown, who lives in Summit cOun
, ty, Ohio, and John Brown, Jr., whose
home is at Putin Bay, lake Erie, are
the only ones of the famous family of
, Brown boys now living"
The New York Tribune copies this
without remark. The Rev. David n.
Utter is an abolitionist of the most ad
Ba0Sa9 Bro%n E6shq E61 s son hf as sTf1fG n0 6g f m It.
because anybody can see that there is
no proof of what was done in ''secret
meeting" and secondly, it is neither
legal nor right to assassinate those
+ who we think will kill us if they get IL
, ! i. L.. Inv
Mr.. Utter in the North Aemerican Re
view, and which the son of John
t Brown admits to be substantially cor
1 rect, is as follows: one of the most aw-
full chapters in the history of human
[ crime. The party consisted of old
John Brown, his five sons, his sOn-in-
b law, and Townsley, n teamster, acting
+ as guide:
'.There was another man III the COM
h many. whose name was Winer, who
: rode IA pony; whether he had volun-
teered and agreed to obey or not, we
II do not know. 1t is not probable that
any of the men ut this time knew eN-
t actly what they were going to do. II
was the Brown family obeying theil
It father, as in duty bound, with team
II ster in their employ and a neighbol
d Joined to the expedition, probably be-
e cause it was going towards his home.
"When they camped that night they
- were near PotawatOmie creek, ant
|. here old John Brown revealed his
-e plans for the war He asked Towns
lev to guide them up the creek some
% four or five miles, into the neighbor
= hood where he lived, and show then
f the houses of all the prO-slavery men
ct saying that it was his intention t.
:. sweep the creek as he came down of al
t, the pro-slavery men living on 1t
t. Townsley refused to become even TIL
,e guide of any such expedition. On ac
IT count of this refusal the party staid i
rs camp all that night and the next day
SIS talking the matter over. 1t seemed t
o. Townsley, and probably also to som
of the other young men, that this sol
; of killing was murder. Old job
Brown urged that this was necessar
.ss as a war measure it was time for tn
er war to begin in earnest; war ther
nu must he to abolish slavery; God ha
es foreordaimed him to begin it. Once
decisive blow was struck, the fat;
ou peace policy inaugurated at LawrenC
lin would he at an end, and the free-stat
ne men would he obliged to unite an
n fight Missouri. The end of the matte
ell was. that late on Saturday evenir
Townsley Welded, either to force
his argument, and acted rs guide upon Z
'as expedition much less extensive tina
to had been originally planned, b
Y IA sufficient. surely, to cover the nan
of John Brown with infamy forever.
,ur '"The first victims of this murderer
en- foray were found in a family name
is Dovla residinp on MuSQuitO cree
which empties into the POtawatOml
Here Townsley, Winer, and Frederic
tea Brown remained outside the hOus
use while the captain and the rest OF !
up. family entered and brought out Jam
p. Doyle and his two sons, Drury al
William. These prisoners were
aid ken along the road toward 'Dut
de Henry's' for about two hundred yar'
alf Here the captain gave the order
full their slaughter, but it was either m
or understood or disObeyed. Old 10
t a Brown then himself drew his pis
Ter, and shot the father, James Doyle,
all the forehead. Watson and OliN
mi Brown then fell upon the young
She Doyles, aud William fell dead at
IAN. first cut of one of those mnrderC
heavy sabres Drury Doyle started
nth run to the house, but was overtak
,ew by his assailant and cut down. Th'
ali was a younger brother of the DOyl
in then sixteen years of age, in the hon
Ugh, whose life was spared at his mOtht
, as fearful entreaty.
sas- "From this place the 'north'
ised army as the commander styled
thus little band, proceeded down the ere
to the house of Allen wilkins