Evening star., 1917-03-11

Special Correspondence Of The Star.
PORTLAND. Ore, March 1, 1917.
70HN BROWNS body lies molding
in the grave, and has for SO many
years that time has completely
burned in the days when the old aboli-
ZIONIST played such a vital role. Even
the war song that had its origin in his
execution. after the raid at Harpers
Ferry, is hardly familiar to the young
er generation.
But John Brown lives again in Sal
mon Brown. his only surviving son.
now in his eightieth year. In appear
ance. in ruggedness Of character and In
uncompromising attitude toward the
right, as he sees it. Salmon Brown is q
true personification of old John Brown
OF Osawatomie. There is one marked
difference. however: Salmon Brown
has shown no trace of the fanaticism to
which historians have attributed the
activities of his father on "the skir-
mish line of the civil war"
The stirring days Of border warfare
are fresh in the mind of Salmon Brown,
who. at the age of twenty-four. took
part in most of the raids that were en-
gineered by the elder Brown. After his
adventurous youth and active life the
son is spending his declining years
quietly and happily in his home in
Portland. 1t is not surprising that his
thoughts dwell almost continuously in
the past and that he recalls every de-
tail of the clashes between the pro-
slavery and anti-slavery factions In
Bleeding Kansas"
Salmon Brown holds as almost sacred
the memory of his father. 1t is not
likely that he approves of everything
that his father did, although he makes
no criticism He himself took part in
all of the earlier raids. but he was not
at Harpers Ferry with the other boys
and his father. He knew Of the plans
for this foray and tried to discourage
his father from undertaking the en-
terprise But John Brown was not a
man who could easily be discouraged
when he had once made up his mind to
do a thing So he went to Harpers
Ferry and fought his last fight. Owen
Brown, one of the sons, who died in
1889, was long the only survivor Of
this raid.
Critics of John Brown have directed
their harshest censure at him because
of the Pottawatomie massacre, on the
night of November "a, 1856. when he
caused the death of five pro-slavery
leaders Salmon Brown w.s partici-
pant in this trouble. Before this there
had been various clashes on the slavery
issue, and Judge Cato of Alabama had
established a border court at Dutch
Henry's crossing of the Pottawatomie.
Warrants were out for all the Browns,
but they denied the authority Of the
court It was while an effort was
being made to serve the warrants and
after the slavery supporters had burned
a part of Lawrence. Kan. that John
Brown determined on the massacre, ac-
cording to his son. The killing. he says,
was decided on deliberately. On the
way to Pottawatomie they met many
partisans, among them H II. Williams.
an old friend. Telling the story of this
event, Salmon Brown recently said:
Williams knew everybody on the
Pottawatomie My father told him we
were going back there to break up a
Cato court and get away with some
of his emissaries before they got away
with us. That Is just right, replied
Williams, and I will write down their
names' which he did. stood within
two feet Of him while he wrote down
the names Of those who wore later
killed.
sWe xhen ground our swords Oh -