Brown's Station, K. T., April 7, 1856.
Dear Wife And
Children, Every One, — I wrote you last week, enclosing New York draft
for thirty dollars, made payable to Watson; twenty dollars of which were to be
given to Ruth, in part payment for the spotted cow, the balance to be used as
circumstances might require. I would have sent you more, but I had no way to do
it, and money is very scarce with me indeed Since I wrote last, three letters
have been received by the boys from Ruth, dated March 5 and 9, and one of same date
from Watson. The general tone of those letters I like exceedingly. We do not
want you to borrow trouble about us, but trust us to the care of “Him who feeds
the young ravens when they cry.” I have, as usual, but little to write. We are
doing off a house for Orson Day, which we hope to get through with soon; after
which we shall probably soon leave this neighborhood, but will advise you
further when we do leave. It may be that Watson can manage to get a little
money for shearing sheep if you do not get any from Connecticut. I still hope
you will get help from that source. We have no wars as yet, but we still have
abundance of "rumors." We still have frosty nights, but the grass
starts a little. There are none of us complaining much just now, all being able
to do something. John has just returned from Topeka,1 not having met
with any difficulty; but we hear that preparations are making in the United
States Court for numerous arrests of Free-State men.2 For one, I
have no desire (all things considered) to have the slave-power cease from its
acts of aggression. “Their foot shall slide in due time.” No more now. May God
bless and keep you all!
Your affectionate
husband and father.
_______________
1 The meeting of the Free-State Legislature.
2 James Hanway, of Pottawatomie, speaking of his
old log-cabin, not far from Dutch Henry's Crossing, said, some years since: “It
was in this cabin that the Pottawatomie Rifle Company, under Captain John
Brown, Jr., stacked their arms when they paid a friendly visit to Judge Cato's
court, in April, 1856. The Free-State settlers were anxious to learn what
position Judge Cato would take, in his charge to the grand jury, concerning the
celebrated ‘bogus laws’ of the Shawnee Mission. This visit of our citizens was
construed by the court as a demonstration unfavorable to the execution of the
bogus laws. Before daylight the next morning Cato and his proslavery officials
had left (they were on their way to Lecompton), and the grand jury was
dismissed from further labor. This was the first and the last time that this
section of the country was visited by proslavery officials.” But we shall see,
when we come to consider the Pottawatomie executions, that this court did take
action; and perhaps their action led to the killing of the five proslavery men
near Dutch Henry's.
SOURCE: Franklin B. Sanborn, The Life and Letters of
John Brown, p. 228-9
