On the 18th of May, 1858, soon after we had eaten breakfast, Mr. Read went to Mr. Nichols', a neighbor one mile distant, for the purpose of getting a horse, and while there Charles Hamilton (sometimes spelled Hamelton) came up with a band of thirty men and took him prisoner. The house where he was taken was in full view of our house, but being very busy, I did not see nor hear anything until Mr. Brockett came to our house and informed me that Captain Hamilton had come in with a band of men and was taking our men prisoners, and that Mr. Read would not be injured. I thought differently. I feared that they would take him into Missouri, and then I should never know what became of him. I hastily prepared to follow them to know if possible what they did. I went directly to Mr. Nichols' house, and found Mrs. Nichols and the children crying, and the house all in confusion. She pointed out to me the course they had taken, and with a spy glass I saw some of them two miles distant, near Mr. Colpetzer's, marching toward Missouri. I went to Mr. Colpetzer's house and found there three women whose husbands Hamilton had taken. Mrs. Colpetzer said that she did not think any of them would be hurt, as Hamilton's men had promised her that they would not hurt her husband. Mrs. Robinson said they told her husband that they only wanted to talk to him. Mrs. Colpetzer wished me to spend the afternoon there, as it was now about noon. I told her that I intended to follow that posse, and see the end. I then left, and went about two miles before I discovered them. At this time they were about one mile from me, marching the prisoners toward the ravine where they were shot. I then thought it would be best to try to (?head) them. I was on a high mound, and consequently it was very steep down where I had to go into a timbered ravine. While passing through the timber, I heard the discharge of arms. The thought occurred to me that they might be shooting the prisoners but I tried to banish it from my mind, for I thought they would pretend to have some sort of formal trial before they put them to death, but I felt alarmed, and hurried on faster, although I had walked fast over five miles. As I left the timber I ascended to the top of another mound, when I saw some five to eight mounted men. I felt perplexed, not knowing certainly who they were. I took my bonnet and ran toward them, waiving it. They waited once or twice for a few seconds, and then turned and went down the mound. At this time I had got so near them that I discovered our pony. Then I knew who they were, and going on I presently saw more of the same party coming toward me. I turned to them and asked them to stop. I then asked them where the men were they had taken prisoners near the Post. The foremost man gave me an evasive reply. I then said, "You are the men, for there"-- pointing to the party in advance-- "is a man leading my pony." He then called to the man with the pony, and beckoned with his hand for him to come back. Some words passed between the men which I did not understand. The man that had the pony then led it to me and said, "If it is yours, take it," and rode off. The saddle was gone. I then asked," Where are the prisoners: my husband is among them?" One of the men replied that they could not tell my husband among so many. I replied that I wanted to know where they all were. The foremost of them said that there was a company coming that could tell more about them and they then rode off. I went on and soon met the other party, and one of them asked,"Whose pony are you leading," "It is my own, sir." He said, "Very well," and rode on.
I asked them to stop. A part of them did so, and I asked them where the prisoners were. At first they tried to evade my question, but after some parley one of them said they had a horse shot by the prisoners, which was repeated two or three times. During our conversations I said to them that if these men had broken law, let them be tried by the law, and then suffer its penalties, but don't kill innocent men. As they were about to start, I again asked them where those men were. One of them replied that I would find some of the men in the timber and with that they rode off. I then went on in the direction they came until I saw what I supposed to be a part of Hamilton's men lying on the ground in a ravine. I spoke to them and asked them if they had some prisoners. I repeated the question two or three times. The last time I recognized the voice of my husband, and went to him, and he told me that they had all been shot, and would all die. When he raised up his head the blood was oozing from his mouth and running from his wound profusely. O, what a sight! -- eleven strong men shot down by the ruthless band of pro-slavery ruffians, and there they lay in the grass among the rocks, the hot sun beating down on their poor, mangled, bleeding bodies. Of them all but one was uninjured. My feelings were beyond description for a moment, and at first I felt faint. My husband requested me to go and get help as soon as possible. I asked him if I should not get some water for them first, but he said, "No." I said, "I have got the pony: can't you ride?" He said, "No; go quickly; some are dead now." I thought of what Mrs. Colpetzer had said regarding the promise of the ruffians not to injure her husband, and I asked if he was there. Mr. Read said that he was there, dead, and asked where the murderers were, and I told him that they were gone.
I then started to obtain relief; but where was I to go? I had never been in that place before, and to think that they might all be dead before I could obtain relief was harrowing. I had to lead the pony, for I had no saddle. That same Divine Being which had hitherto lead me directed my step by the nearest way to Mr. Hairgrove's house. On the way I had to pass over a long high mound, on the side of which, in the valley, I discovered a house with the door open, and children standing in it. I waved my bonnet to them, with the hope that they would come to me and see what was the matter. Presently a man came to the door, and I waved my bonnet to them, with the hope that they would come to me and see what was the matter. Presently a man came to the door, and I waved my bonnet again. He soon started to come towards me, or in the same direction I was going. He had to come to the mound. When I saw him start my heart leaped for joy amid my sorrow. I though he would render me some assistance, but when I saw how slowly he walked, I though he would not. I had not slackened my pace at all. I found it necessary to suppress my feelings, as much as possible, so that I might act with judgment, and do what was best for those poor men. I thought of other's sorrows, and it seemed to assuage my own. I thought of those poor wives and children who had yet to learn the fate of their husbands and fathers, and I thought, too, of the poor slave mothers and wives, who have their children and husbands torn from them by the ruthless hand of the oppressor. O, Slavery?-- how much sorrow and anguish thou dost cause! As I began to descend the mound the man whom I had seen called to me, and asked what was the matter. I told him that I would like to know his name. He told me, and I then asked him if he was a Free State man. He said that he was a friend to good order in society. I then said, "You are not a friend to lawless murder?"
"Who had been murdered?" he asked.
I answered, "My husband and many others have been shot."
"How do you know" was his next question.
I told him that I had seen them: that my husband was a minister of the gospel, and I asked him what he had done to be shot down in that manner. I told him that I could stop no longer, and as I hurried on, he turned away. I have since learned that he was a Democrat. I felt as if my heart would break. I was afraid that some ruffian would go to them and kill those who were left alive, before I could get back, but all I could do was to commit them into the hand of God. I felt that he was able to preserve my husband alive, if it was his will that he should live. This confidence in God afforded me much consolation. I met Mrs. Eli Snyder-- I had never seen her before-- and her children. I told them what had happened. She said that she expected her husband and son were among the killed. Soon after I met Mr. Hairgrove's son, and told him of the murder, and that he should take my horse and go as quickly as possible to Mr. Nichol's and inform them of the murder. He found quite a company there. I went directly to the house of Mr. Hairgrove, (? senior), and there found the two Mrs. Hairgroves and Mrs. Colpetzer. I related the murder to them, and them I wanted them to go back with me. Mrs. Colpetzer said that her oxen and wagon were there and if we could get them hitched on, we could go with them. We managed to get the oxen on the wagon, and got water, bed clothes and other accessories, and started for the ravine. It was rather difficult to make the oxen go where we wanted them. Mrs. Colpetzer and Mrs. Hairgrove would frequently get out of the wagon to make them go right. Mr. Colpetzer's little boy overtook us when we had gone about a mile, and then he drove almost to the ravine. Mr. Austin Hall saw us, and came to us. He was the only one of the prisoners that had escaped unhurt. He said he was going to try to get some one to go for a doctor. When we came to the ravine, we found five men who were dead, and Charles Snyder, who was badly wounded. He said that the others had gone into the timber to get water, but that he could not get there. I gave him some water, and put a sheet over him to shield him from the burning sun. Mrs. Colpetzer found her husband-- dead. I stood with her for a moment beside his lifeless form, and then busied myself brushing the flies from the faces of the other men, and protecting them as well as I could by covering them with their hats and caps. Mrs. Hairgrove and myself went into the timber to look for our husbands. She soon found her husband , and I found his father who was very faint. I gave him some water, and put a spread over him. He said that if I did not find Mrs. Read in the timber, he thought he had succeeded in reaching some house. I searched for him through the timber, and then went to a house near by, but he had not been there. There were four men there but no women. I inquired who lived there, and was informed in such a manner as to excite alarm, as I suppose him to be one of the ruffians, but the surmise proved incorrect. I then inquired for Snyders's and one of the men pointed the house out to me. I started to go there, and was so much exhausted that I would walk but a little way without lying down on the ground to rest. I went back to the house to rest. I almost fainted, and went back to the house I had left and told one of the men that I was very faint and asked if he would take a team and carry me to Mrs. Hairgrove's. He said that he could not. I asked for some water, and he gave me some, and I then started to Mrs. Hairgrove's. On my way there I had frequently to lie down to rest. Soon after Mrs. Colpetzer came with the wounded. I inquired if she had seen Mr. Read. She said she had not, but that one of the men stated that he had crept into some timber and died. I immediately started back, and met the men who were bringing the dead. They had not seen him, but a part of the men went back to look for him. It was thought best that I should go to Mr. Nichols', as I could ride there. A seat was prepared for me so that I could sit facing the outside. Five dead bodies lay in the wagon box. I went to Mrs. Nichols, and the bodies were taken to a house near by. While here a welcome messenger arrived with the joyful tidings that my husband was alive and in the timber on Sugar Creek, with some people who had fled to the timber for safety. As soon as a guide could be procured, I started on horseback in search on him. I found him three miles distant about 11 o'clock at night, lying on the ground with two forked sticks driven into the ground and a blanket spread over him. Almost the first words he said to me were, "If, when I really come to die, it does not seem any harder than it did today, when I though I must die, it will not be much to die." There were four women and as many men there, yet I could not get them to assist me in doing anything for my husband's wound. They did not refuse for want of kindness, but because the wound looked so frightful, and his clothes being saturated with blood. As nothing could be done for him then, he told me to find some place to lie down. The day had been very warm, but when the sun went down the dew began to fall, and it grew very cool. I was cold and exhausted, and crawled up into a wagon which stood near, and laid until about four o'clock, when I took my pony and went to Mrs. Nichols'. As soon as arrangements could be completed, two physicians with other men and a wagon and team when back to where Mr. Read was. I accompanied them and we removed Mr. Read home.
I have been induced through the solicitations of a friend to give a particular account of the scenes connected with that dreadful murder on the 18th of May, 1858. The anguish and agony of mind resulting therefrom it is impossible to delineate on paper. We were kept almost in a constant state of alarm through the summer. I have after the toils and fatigues of the day were over helped my poor wounded husband on the pony, and walked by his side two miles to stay through the night where it was thought safe for him.
Newspaper Account July 12, 1879, provided by Alice Widner of
Trading Post Museum