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[223] men, who had followed them from Lecompton, approached so near that it was necessary to halt and make a defence. The old man had at this time four white companions and three negro men. The whites were Stevens, Tidd, and Anderson, (who fought at Harper's Ferry,) and another Kansas boy. The Captain took possession of two log cabins in the wood, which the pursuers surrounded — at a distance,--while they sent to Atchison and Lecompton for further aid. From Atchison twelve men arrived; thus making a force of forty-two men opposed to eight only. They were preparing for the attack, when Captain Brown and his men issued from the woods for the purpose of offering fight. The Sheriff's Lecompton posse turned and fled! Not a shot was fired, not a drum was heard, as, putting spurs to their horses, they ran panic-stricken across the prairie. Only four men — ashamed of the conduct of their comrades — stood their ground; and they were made prisoners forthwith. This incident was ironically called the Battle of the Spurs, as those sharp instruments of torture were the only weapons used on the occasion. The old man caused them to dismount, and put the negroes on their horses. They swore. He ordered them to be silent, as he would permit no blasphemy in his presence. They swore again. “Kneel!” said the old man, as, with stern earnestness, he drew his pistol. They knelt down, and he ordered them to pray. He detained them for five days, and compelled them to pray night and morning. They never swore again in
Thayer and Eldridge, 1860.
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