Letter, John Vansickle to Dear Father Webb, Thomas H. (Hopkins) , 1801-1866 (Creator) John Vansickle wrote from Bourbon County, Kansas Territory, to his father back East. Vansickle advised him not to travel to the Territory to visit him in light of recent events. Vansickle referred to the release of Benjamin Rice by James Montgomery and a band of free state men. Rice had been in a Fort Scott prison for killing a proslavery man. Shortly thereafter, according to Vansickle, John Brown entered Missouri, freed slaves and stole property. He also told his father that the newspapers communicated little of the story, as victims of crimes and anyone whose opinion was published would be subject to mob violence. This item was part of Territorial Kansas Online (TKO# 101830). TKO topic guide: National Debate About Kansas>Responses to Activities in Kansas>Press coverage 1858-12-28 StillImage electronic image/tiff ku-kansascollection:1898 https://digital.lib.ku.edu/ku-kansascollection/1898 aspace_43386a3858f8c4b0c696ef7e82523976 John Henry Vansickle papers--http://hdl.handle.net/10407/3003412994--RH MS P170 This work is free of known copyright restrictions.