Samuel Tappan writes this letter from Lawrence, Kansas Territory, to Reverend Thomas W. Higginson of Worcester, Massachusetts. Tappan is leaving for Colorado in a week or two, presumably to meet some family members who are working the gold fields there. He mentions Theodore Parker, a supporter of John Brown, who had a terminal illness and passed away while in Italy. Tappan also writes of James Redpath's biography of John Brown, including a portion of the book that discusses a mail coach robbery in the summer of 1856.