The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-12-14
OLD Underground STATION

in charge of Mr.. Armstrong and
a man named Mills.
They were carried in a closed wagon
and either Mr.. Mills or Mr.. Armstrong
did the driving while the negroes were
kept concealed. There was no incident
of interest during the trip and the two
men returned to Topeka in three weeks
after having delivered their human
freight at Silver Bend, near Tabor,
Iowa The next load of slaves left To-
peka five or six months later and was
in charge of Rev. Lewis Bodwell, pastor
of the Congregational church, and a
man named Emerson.
Later the slaves were simply deliver
ed at the stations where some one in
sympathy with the cause took charge
and delivered them at the next station
farther north Sometimes the slaves
were taken across the river at Topeka
and at others they were rowed across
at the Billiard farm which is now a
part of Oakland, the Billiard family as
SiSting
usually stopped at the Sheriden home
at Highland Park for there was price
upon his head and he was particular
not to make himself conspicuous when
he went abroad. When Brown finally
left Kansas in 1859 he passed through
Topeka but Mr.. Armstrong was not at
home and did not see him. He stopped
with Sheriden and had three families
of slaves. Mr.. Armstrong thinks that
Brown had three wagons and J. H
Kagi and Whipple who afterward lost
=
Ferry were with him. Kagi and Whip
pie both lived in Topeka Whipple's
right name was Aaron Dwight Stevens
The following account of the expedi-
ton is in Mr.. Armstrong; own words:
1T was on Sunday and I was on my
way TO church when messenger rode
up and handed me a message 1t was a
note from John Brown and he said he
States Marshal G. N. o. p Wood at DIR
FullerS, six miles above Holton- The
church was held in a two story school
house on the property which is now
occupied by the Jacob Smith homestead
at Fifth and Harrison streets. I went
to the church and called Col John
Ritchie who was already there and by
4 o'clock we had raised q company OF
16 men to go 10 the relief of Brown.
I'VE lost no time In starting and at
o'clock in the morning we reached
get breakfast 1t was there that I first
saw Major Tom Anderson who joined
our party at Holton. We sent word to
Brown that we were coming and when
we reached DIR. Fuller's, Brown had the
teams hitched up and was already to
start
BATTLE OF THE SPURS.
Woods crowd were some distance
ahead near log school house, and
when we moved forward, they fell back
to q stream known as Walnut creek
I advised Brown to go up the
stream some distance to cross for
the w d1ilul CIOSS1IiS was very Ood anu
I knew it, because 1 had been caught
in it while going through with slaves,
but he refused to take my advice. He
said that he would not deviate one inch
from the route he had planned We
moved on down to the creek and Woods
retreated without attempting to cap
ture US or firing a shot There were
three young men from AtchiSOn who
were so Disguised with Woods, that they
refused to retreat and we captured
them at the creek. Woods had 26 men
and he could have wiped US off the face
of the earth as we marched down the
creek if he had made a stand This is
called 1.-The Battle of the Spurs
Brown got stuck in the mud at the
crossing and was there all day. We went
with the Brown party on the old Jim
Lane road to New Albany in Nemahd
county, where two brothers named
Graham kept station on the Under