The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1901-03-01
THE JAYHAwKER WAR.
The Number killed and wounded During
EIrst Years OF Kansas Is Not Known

The Number KILLED and Wounded During
FTrst Years OF Kansas Is Not Known
BRIEF sketch Of John Browns Career.
The story of the struggles of the
free state and prosIavery men Of Kan
sas would fill many pages. The most
prominent character Of the Kansas
struggle was John Brown. Born Of
old Revolutionary stock in Connect
cut, Brown became jealous abolition
ist, and from early manhood cherished
the design which led him to mis- death.
Ia 1854 four Of his sons emigrated to
Kansas, and writing back to their faith
CT Of the strife then going on there be-
tween the proslayery element and the
free state element, John Brown decid-
ed that the time bad come for him to
carry out a purpose that he had long
cherished, TO inaugurate war against
slavery He therefore went in 1850 to
Kansas, taking with him arms and am
munition, and throwing himself with
most ardent zeal into the struggle then
going on there. Though he undoubt-
eddy lent valuable aid to the free state
settlers there in their struggles with
the border ruffians, he was himself as
lawless as any of the prOslavery bands,
aud being constantly at war with the
efforts to settle the existing difficulties
there by peaceful means, he formed
one of the greatest difficulties with
which the legal government had to
deal For example, Prof. Spring says
in his book, kansas, the Prelude to
the War for the Union" that May "a,
1856, John Brown, with a small company
of others, in the night, dragged five
prOslavery men from their homes and
murdered them In cold blood, 'to
make an example of them" This was
the affair at Dutch Henry's Crossing,
which has been denied by so many of
John Browns admirers, but which is
now generally admitted to be an incon-
testable matter of history. The affair
aroused a terrible excitement, and in
retaliation the proslavery men attacked
Osawatomie on August 80, during
which Brown's.son, Frederick, was kill
ed, and the free state men were forced
TO retreat, which resulted in the burn
ing of the village by the victors. This
fight gave to Brown the nickname of
Osawatomie, which he ever afterwards
carried. In December. 1856, during
the Shannon war;" he first made his
appearance among the free state men
at Lawrence, Kan. He brought a
wagon load of cavalry sabers- and was
accompanied by thirteen men, seven of
whom we're his own sons. Gov Robin
son on one side and Gov Shannon on
the other had met to- make treaty of
peace. Brown took the stand uninvit-
ed and opposed the terms of the treaty,
urging that the proslavery men be
driven from the territory or hanged,
He was arrested for his language, but
later released. The burning of Law
renee excited him anew to action He
organized a small company, armed with
rifles, bowie knives aud revolvers and
f. at the head of this band secured south
ern Kansas until the name of sold
Brown became a terror to border ruff
fans and slavery advocates. In 1857
he drove Hamilton's border ruffians
back to Missouri, seized village, shot
two men and liberated several slaves.
The course was repudiated by Gov.
Robinson and leaders of the free state
party. This caused Brown to publish
his famous letter called ''Phe Two Par
allels," in which he assumed the respon-
sibility of his acts and relieved the free
state men from any share therein. Soon
after this Brown went east with the
avOwed purpose of raising an army to
free Kansas, but in this attempt he
was unsuccessful, though he spent more
than a year in the effort. 1t was dur
ing this time that be conceived his
plot to attack slavery in one of the
slave states, which resulted in the Har
per's Ferry raid. Tt is not known how
many men were killed and wounded
during the first years of Kansas, but
the number would run into hundreds
Fire Destroys a Farm House.
: he l.