North Elba, Dec. 27, 1859.
Dear Sir, —
Your letter to my mother was received to-night. You wish me to give you the
facts in regard to the Pottawatomie execution, or murder, and to know whether
my father was a participator in the act. I was one of his company at the time
of the homicide, and was never away from him one hour at a time after we took
up arms in Kansas; therefore I say positively that he was not a participator in
the deed, — although I should think none the less of him if he had been there;
for it was the grandest thing that was ever done in Kansas. It was all that
saved the Territory from being overrun with drunken land-pirates from the
Southern States. That was the first act in the history of Kansas which proved
to the demon of Slavery that there was as much room to give blows as to take
them. It was done to save life, and to strike terror through their wicked
ranks.
Yours respectfully,
Salmon Brown.
SOURCE: Franklin B. Sanborn, The Life and Letters of
John Brown, p. 261-2
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