unded. He
retreated; and immediately afterward a formidable demonstration was made
against the town of Lawrence. The situation was peculiar. Many of the
Free-State men were armed; contributions had been openly taken in the
North for this purpose, and "Sharpe's rifles" was one of the familiar
words of the day. But this policy was fixed--to disown and disobey the
authority of the Territorial Legislature, but never to oppose or resist
a United States official. In this way, says Robinson, the entire odium
of all oppressive proceedings was fixed on the Federal administration;
"the more outrages the people could get the government to perpetrate
upon them the more victories they would gain, and this simply because
the field of battle embraced the entire country, and the chief
victories at this stage were to be moral, political, and national."

The Territorial authorities were bent on breaking down, if possible, the
passive resistance of the Free-State men. Indictments were found, by a
Federal grand jury, against a number of members of the Free-State
government for "constructive treason," and they were put under arrest.
Indictments were also found against two printing offices in Lawrence,
and the principal hotel in the town. A large force of Missourians, led
by a United States marshal, advanced on the town. The inhabitants
protested, but agreed to respect the United States authority. The hotel
and the two printing offices were accordingly destroyed. A considerable
amount of lawless pillaging was done, and Governor Robinson's house was
burned. Then the force was withdrawn.

The Free-State leaders, as Robinson states, were in no wise cast down by
the course of events. Their actual losses had not been great; the
temporary confinement of a few of their men did not seriously disturb
them; and they considered that by their self-restraint and
non-resistance they had put their enemies thoroughly in the wrong, and
gained a most valuable vantage-ground for the ensuing Presidential and
congressional elections--an estimate which the result fully justified.

But in their party were some spirits to whom these peaceful tactics were
distasteful. Chief in this number was John Brown--little known to the
world at large till a later time. He and his family of sons had made
their homes in Kansas, impelled partly by the hostility to slavery which
in him was a master passion. He was a man personally upright and kindly,
of only moderate interest and