Page:The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade.djvu/755

 the marauders was destroyed. The closing act of this frightful drama was the burning of the house of doctor Robinson on the brow of Mount Oread. This was set on fire alter the sun had gone down, and the bright light which its flames shed over the country illuminated the paths of the retreating army, aa they proceeded towards their homes.

"After the sacking of Lawrence, parties of free-state men were organized and armed with the determination to continue the war which had now begun in earnest. Some of these committed depredations upon their political opponents under the pretense of recovering horses and other property of which themselves and neighbors had been robbed. They attacked the pro-slavery men in the roads and at their dwellings, and committed most flagrant outrages. These organizations and their actions were condemned by the prominent and more respectable portions of the free-state party, and very few of the actual settlers of the territory had any lot or part in their proceedings. They were chiefly composed of men of desperate fortunes, who were actuated in many instances as much by a disposition to plunder as from a spirit of retaliation and revenge for insults and injuries they had received. A detachment of one of these parties, eight in number, secreted themselves in a ravine near the Santa Fe road, where they laid in wait for a company of eighteen pro-slavery men who they had understood were coming in that direction ou a marauding expedition, and as they approached, a fire was poured into them from their ambushed enemies, killing three and wounding several more. The remainder, not knowing the strength of their assailants, fled in dismay. Other instances of the kind were constantly occurring. Indeed, it seems as though each party was determined to vie with the' other in the number of outrages it could commit. Captain John Brown, who lived near Ossawattomie, was the leader of one of these free-state guerilla bands. Lie was a Vermonter by birth, an old soldier, and had served through the war of 1812. He was a resolute, determined and brave old man; but fierce, passionate, revengeful and inexorable. His hatred for the border-ruffians had reached so high a degree, that he could emulate the worst of them in acts of cruelty, whilst not one of them was his equal as a tactician, or possessed as much courage and daring. Hence his name soon became a terror, and not a few unsuccessful attempts were made to effect his capture. Brown is said to have been the leader of a band, who on the night of the 26th of May, attacked a pro-slavery settlement at Pottawattomie, and cruelly murdered a Mr. Doyle and his two sons, Mr. Wilkinson and Wm. Sherman. The excuse given for this act is, that the persons killed were there assembled to assassinate and burn the houses of certain free-state men, whom they had notified to quit the neighborhood. These five men were seized and disarmed, a sort of trial was had, and in conformity with the sentence passed, were shot in cold blood. This was doubtless an act of retaliation for the work done but a few days before at Lawrence. Captain H. C. Pate, who was in command of a predatory band of about sixty Missourians, called 'Shannon's Sharp Shooters,' resolved to capture Capt. John Brown, and with this intent visited Ossawattomie on the last day of May. Brown was