ee returned to
Westport, Missouri. While we were there we saw an armed and
organized body of residents of Missouri march across the line into
Kansas to retaliate, as we were told, the murder of five pro-slavery
men at Osawatamie. While they were marching into Westport from
the east, Governor Shannon, in obedience to the summons of the
committee, came into Westport from the territory, and in his presence
they filed off in regular array into the territory. It was difficult
to ascertain the precise causes of these murders, but it was shown
that they were in retaliation for those of certain Free State men,
one of whom was the son of John Brown, later the famous leader of
the attack on the fort at Harper's Ferry, and who had acted for
the committee in summoning witnesses to Lawrence. The testimony
in respect to these murders was vague, and the murderers were not
identified. Two years afterwards I met John Brown in Chicago, and
asked him about the murder of the pro-slavery men at Osawatamie;
he replied with spirit that they were not murdered, but that they
had been arrested, tried by a jury, convicted and executed. The
arrest, trial and execution must have been done during one night.
He did not disclose the names of the executioners, but his cool
statement was a striking picture of the scenes then enacted in
Kansas by both sides; both appealed to the law of force and crime,
and crime was justified by crime.

The evidence taken at Westport closed the investigation and Mr.
Howard and I returned to Detroit, as already stated.

The report was approved by Mr. Howard, and presented by him to the
House of Representatives, July 1, 1856, as a question of privilege.
The reception of it gave rise to much debate, but in the end I was
permitted on the same day to read it. The minority report of Mr.
Oliver was presented July 11 of that year. No action was taken on
the reports, but they were widely published.

On July 31, 1856, I made a speech on the Kansas contested election
between General Whitfield and Governor Reeder, during which I was
drawn into a discussion with Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia,
and Mr. Oliver, of Missouri, in which the general questions involved
in the Kansas controversy were fully debated. I closed with this
language:

"The worst evil that could befall our country is civil war, but
the outrages in Kansas cannot be continued much longer without
producing it. To our southern brethren I especially app