service.' My wife spoke and said, 'Then, captain, you think that God uses you as an instrument in His hands to kill men?' Brown replied, 'I think He has used me as an instrument to kill men; and if I live, I think He will use me as an instrument to kill a good many more!'"[1]
No sooner was the deed known than John Brown became a hunted outlaw. Two of his sons who had not been with him at the murders were arrested on Lecompte's "constructive treason" warrants because they had affiliated with the free state movement. Horror at his father's deed and the cruelty of his captors drove the eldest son temporarily insane, while the life of the other was saved only by a scrap of paper which said, "I am aware that you hold my two sons, John and Jason, prisoners—John Brown."[2] The old man never wavered. He wrote home: "Jason started to go and place himself under the protection of the government troops; but on his way he was taken prisoner by the bogus men, and is yet a prisoner, I suppose. John tried to hide for several days; but from feelings of the ungrateful conduct of those who ought to have stood by him, excessive fatigue, anxiety, and constant loss of sleep, he became quite insane, and in that situation gave up, or, as we are told, was betrayed at Osawatomie into the hands of the bogus men. We do not know all the truth about this affair. He has since, we are told, been kept in irons, and brought
