General Robinson, as Commander in Chief, delivered the following speech which was loudly applauded. He said: "...The moral strength of our position is such that even the 'gates of hell' could not prevail against us, much less a foreign mob and we gained a bloodless victory."... As General Robinson closed, six cheers were given to him. Even a reporter and journalist so enterprising as James Redpath failed to know of Brown's much advertised speech. He said:[105] I had no personal knowledge of his opposition to the Treaty of Peace.... The first time I heard of old Brown was in connection with a caucus at the town of Osawatomie. It was not Redpath's fault that he did not then know John Brown or that he had not even heard of him. It was simply because Brown was an ordinary person, and had not done anything yet to attract public attention to his personality. Opportunity did not happen to knock at his door on that occasion; if it had, Brown, doubtless, would have acquitted himself creditably, and Mr. Redpath would have heard of him. As soon as Brown did even a little thing, Redpath heard of it promptly. April 16, 1856, a meeting or caucus was held at Osawatomie to consider the question of paying the taxes that had been levied by authority of the Territorial Legislature, and other public measures. To pay the taxes would be a recognition of the "Bogus Legislature" that had enacted the laws relating to taxation. Richard Mendenhall was chairman of the meeting and Oscar V. Dayton was secretary. Brown, among others, spoke in opposition to paying the taxes. There was nothing sensational in this incident, but Redpath heard of the meeting and located Brown in his mind, because of it. Referring to the incident Mr. Redpath made this authoritative statement:[106] "This was John Brown's first and last appearance in a public meeting in Kansas." Therefore, it appears that Mr. Villard has been imposed upon. Of Brown himself, the _Herald_ published the following sane and _restful_ paragraph: About noon Mr. John Brown, an aged gentleman from Essex County, New York, who has been a resident of the Territory for several months, arrived with four of his sons,--leaving several others at home sick, bringing a quantity of arms with him which were placed in his hands by eastern friends for the defense of the cause of freedom. Having more than he could well use to advantage, a portion of them were placed in the hands of those who were more destitute. A company was organized and the command given to Mr. Brown for the zeal he had exhibited in the cause of freedom, both before and after his arrival in the Territory.[107]