Page:John Brown (W. E. B. Du Bois).djvu/166

158 Monday, May 26th, a man came to us at Liberty Hill,. . . his horse reeking with sweat, and said, 'Five men have been killed on the Pottawatomie, horribly cut and mangled; and they say old John Brown did it.' Hearing this, I was afraid it was true, and it was the most terrible shock that ever happened to my feelings in my life; but brother John took a different view. The next day as we were on the east side of Middle Creek, I asked father, 'Did you have any hand in the killing?' He said, 'I did not, but I stood by and saw it.' I did not ask further for fear I should hear something I did not wish to hear. Frederick said, 'I could not feel as if it was right;' but another of the party said it was justifiable as a means of self-defense and the defense of others. What I said against it seemed to hurt father very much; but all he said was, 'God is my judge,—we were justified under the circumstances.

This was as much as John Brown usually said of the matter, although in later years a friend relates: "I finally said, 'Captain Brown, I want to ask you one question, and you can answer it or not as you please, and I shall not be offended.' He stopped his pacing, looked me square in the face, and said, 'What is it?' Said I, 'Captain Brown, did you kill those five men on the Pottawatomie, or did you not?' He replied, 'I did not; but I do not pretend to say that they were not killed by my order; and in doing so I believe I was doing God's