We have already told how Sheriff Jones failed to wipe out Lawrence;
how Gov. Shannon patched up a peace, and how that, in no good temper,
the "Law and Order" party returned to the border. But immediately
the Free State party gave evidence that its spirit had not been
broken. A convention had been called to meet at Topeka, in November,
1855, to frame a free State Constitution, and this was ratified at
an election called December 15 following, 1,731 votes being cast in
its favor, the election having been held only one week after the
treaty of peace had been made. Then in less than two weeks a second
convention was called to meet at Lawrence, at which a full board of
State officers was nominated, the election having been set to be held
on the 15th of January.
At Leavenworth, the attempt to hold the election resulted in such mobs
and tumult that it was forbidden to be held by a faint-hearted Free
State mayor, and was consequently adjourned to Easton. The Free State
printing press of Mark Delahay was, during these troubles, destroyed.
At Easton, a mob undertook to break up the election, but was driven
off, and in the affray one of the attacking party named Cook was
mortally wounded. Then the _Kansas Pioneer_, published at Kickapoo,
made an inflammatory appeal to the "Law and Order" party to rally and
avenge Cook's death, and in an answer to this appeal the "Kickapoo
Rangers" and Captain Dunn's company, from Leavenworth, in all about
fifty men, turned out to go to Easton on this errand. A number of
gentlemen had gone from Leavenworth to Easton to attend the election,
and had stayed over night, among whom were Captain R. P. Brown, a
resident of Salt Creek Valley, near Leavenworth. Captain B. was a man
well esteemed in his neighborhood, and was a member-elect of the
Legislature. Captain Dunn and his company met these men returning to
Leavenworth, and took them prisoners, carrying them back to Easton.
Here they got up a sort of Lynch-law trial for Captain Brown, but the
rabble composing Dunn's company, having maddened themselves with
drink, broke into the room where the trial was going on, seized
Captain Brown, who was unarmed and helpless, and tortured him with
barbarity that has been supposed to be only possible among savages,
and then threw the wounded and dying man into an open lumber wagon, in
which they hauled him home to his wife, over the rough, frozen roads,
in one of the coldest nights of that bitter cold January; stopping
meantime at the drinking-houses by the way, they consumed seven hours
in making the journey. His wife became insane at the sight of her
butchered and dying husband, thrown into the door by these brutal
wretches, and was, in that condition, taken to her brother in
Michigan. All this was testified to, with every _minutia_ of detail,
before the Investigating Committee.
The border papers were aflame with appeals to the "Law and Order"
party to go over into Kansas and wipe out the pestiferous Free State
men, who set at naught the Territorial Legislature. The following
sample of these appeals we extract from a speech made by David R.
Atchison, at Platte City:
They held an election on the 15th of last month, and they intend to
put the machinery of a State in motion on the 4th of March, "_I say,
prepare yourselves; go over there_. And if they attempt to drive you
out, then drive them out. Fifty of you with your shot-guns are worth
two hundred and fifty of them with their Sharpe's rifles."
Meanwhile a great cry of wrongs and outrages against the Free State
men had filled the whole North, and Congress could not choose, but had
to pay attention to it. Ex-Governor Reeder came forward and contested
the seat of Mr. Whitfield as Territorial delegate to Congress,
alleging that Mr. W. owed his election to the votes of men not
residents of the Territory. As a result, a Committee of Investigation
was appointed to go to Kansas to take testimony, this committee being
composed of Sherman of Ohio, Howard, of Michigan, and Oliver, of
Missouri. These took an immense number of depositions, which were
published in a volume of more than 1,200 octavo pages, and of which
20,000 were ordered to be printed. This investigating committee made a
majority report signed by Howard and Sherman, in which they summed up
their conclusions under eight heads. Of these we shall copy four:
MAJORITY REPORT.
1. That each election held in the Territory under the
organic or Territorial law has been carried by organized
invasion from the State of Missouri, by which the people
of the Territory have been prevented from exercising the
rights secured to them by the organic law.
2. That the alleged Territorial Legislature was an
illegally constituted body, and had no power to pass valid
laws, and their enactments are therefore null and void.
3. That Andrew H. Reeder received a greater number of
votes of resident citizens than John W. Whitfield for
delegate.
4. That in the present condition of the Territory a fair
election can not be held without a new census, a stringent
and well-guarded election law, the selection of impartial
judges, and the presence of United States troops at every
election.
_(Signed)_ WM. A. HOWARD,
JOHN SHERMAN.
Mr. Oliver made a minority report, summing up his conclusions under
seven heads. From this we shall copy three:
MINORITY REPORT.
1. That the Territorial Legislature was a legally
constituted body, and had power to pass valid laws, and
their enactments were therefore valid.
2. That the election under which the sitting delegate,
John W. Whitfield, holds his seat was held in pursuance of
valid law, and should be regarded as a valid election.
3. That the election under which the contesting delegate,
Andrew H. Reeder, claims his seat, was not held under any
law, and should be wholly disregarded by the House.
_(Signed)_ M. OLIVER.
As a result, Congress permanently unseated Mr. Whitfield, and ordered
a new election, thus affirming the conclusions of Howard and Sherman.
This committee began its work in April and ended in June.
The "Law and Order" party did not, however, wait for the conclusion
of these proceedings at Washington. Col. Buford, as we have told in a
former chapter, arrived early in the spring with his company of South
Carolinians, and Gen. David R. Atchison had gathered, along the
borders, several hundred men to make a second raid on Lawrence. These
all marched to Lecompton, where they held themselves in readiness to
act, as soon as a pretext could be found invoking their help.
And now the inevitable Samuel J. Jones, Sheriff of Douglas County,
again put in an appearance. This time it was to arrest Sam Wood for
the rescue of Branson. Jones arrested Wood on the streets of Lawrence.
A crowd gathered around, and in the jostling and pushing Jones and
Wood were separated, and Wood walked away. No threats were made, and
no violence used. The next day was Sunday, and Jones again appeared,
but Sam Wood was missing. He had stayed that night at the house of the
writer, in Atchison County, being then on his way to the free States.
Jones, however, had writs for the arrest of those who had been the
occasion of Wood's escape, and the Sheriff called on some of the
church-going people to act as his _posse_ in making his arrests. But
these were of "the most straitest sect" of the Puritans, and it was
contrary to their consciences to do any manner of carnal work on the
Sabbath day, and in their estimation this was exceedingly carnal work,
and they kept their faces set as if they would go to the synagogue.
Samuel F. Tappan was one of the Branson rescuers, and Jones seized
Tappan by the collar, and Tappan struck Jones in the face. This was
enough; Jones had been resisted, and he went to the Governor and
demanded a _posse_ of United States soldiers to aid him in making his
arrest. Thus reinforced with a detachment of United States troops, our
valorous Sheriff Jones went a third time and arrested without
resistance six respectable citizens of Lawrence, on a charge of
contempt of court, because they had declined to break the Sabbath in
aiding him to make arrests on the Lord's day. In due course of law, it
should have been his duty to take his prisoners before a magistrate,
and allowed them to give bail to appear at a given time to answer for
this alleged contempt. But Jones elected to keep his prisoners without
bail, and to act as his own jailer, and so he encamped in a tent on
the prairie, using these United States soldiers as his guard. This was
a manifest bait to the people of Lawrence to attempt a rescue, but
they did not walk into the trap, and so these prisoners slept on the
prairie, and their wives slept at home bereaved of their husbands.
Somebody shot Jones. It is presumed that somebody thought he ought to
be shot, but it was as great a calamity to Lawrence as was the rescue
of Branson. The people of Lawrence removed Jones to the Free State
hotel, showed every sympathy they could show, and offered a reward of
$500 for the apprehension of the assassin. Notwithstanding, all
Western Missouri was immediately aflame with appeals to the people to
come to the rescue, and avenge the death of the murdered Jones. But
the papers making these appeals did not publish the proceedings of the
indignation meeting held at Lawrence, nor did they tell that a reward
had been offered for the apprehension of the assassin, nor did they
tell that Jones' wound was so slight that he was able to be removed
the next day to Franklin.
Meanwhile a conspiracy was hatched at Lecompton, in which Chief
Justice Lecompte was the chief conspirator, to arrest the leading Free
State men on a charge of treason, and keep them prisoners without
bail, and thus smother out the Free State movement. James F. Legati
was one of the United States grand jurors, and violated his oath of
secrecy and made a night journey to give warning to the men that were
to be made victims to this conspiracy. Gov. Charles Robinson fled down
the Missouri River, but was detained at Lexington, was brought back
under charge of treason, and placed in confinement at Lecompton;
others fled the Territory, and Lawrence was left to fight its battles
with its old leaders gone. According to the purpose of this conspiracy
a large number of Free State men were indicted for high treason; and
the Free State hotel and the two printing presses were returned by the
Grand Jury as _nuisances_, and as such were by Judge Lecompte ordered
to be destroyed. Immediately following Legati's nocturnal visit,
Ex-Governor Reeder received a summons at the hands of Deputy Marshal
Fain to appear at Lecompton _as a witness_. Mr. Reeder declined to
obey the summons. The next day a writ was served on him to appear on a
charge of "contempt of court" for not having appeared as a witness.
Mr. Reeder refused to submit to the arrest for two reasons--first,
that his life would be in danger; second, he plead his privilege of
exemption from arrest because he was a member-elect of Congress. Then
United States Marshal Donaldson issued the following
PROCLAMATION.
WHEREAS, Certain judicial arrests have been directed to me
by the First District Court of the United States, etc., to
be executed within the county of Douglas, and
WHEREAS, The attempt to execute them by the United States
Deputy Marshal was evidently resisted by a large number of
people of Lawrence, and as there is every reason to
believe that any attempt to execute these writs will be
resisted by a large body of armed men; now, therefore, the
law-abiding citizens of the Territory are commanded to be
and appear at Lecompton as soon as practicable, and in
numbers sufficient to execute the law.
Given under my hand this 11th day of May, 1856.
J. B. DONALDSON,
U. S. Marshal of the Territory of Kansas.
On receipt of this proclamation the citizens of Lawrence
called a public meeting and adopted the following
preamble and resolution:
WHEREAS, By a proclamation to the people of Kansas
Territory, by T B. Donaldson, it is alleged that certain
judicial writs of arrest have been directed to him by the
First District Court of the United States, etc. to be
executed within the county of Douglas, and that an attempt
to execute them was evidently resisted by a large number
of the citizens of Lawrence, and that there is every
reason to believe that an attempt to execute said writs
will be resisted by a large body of armed men; therefore,
_Resolved_, By this public meeting of the citizens of
Lawrence, that the allegations and charges against us,
contained in the aforesaid proclamation, are wholly untrue
in fact and in the conclusion which is drawn from them.
The aforesaid Marshal was resisted in no manner whatever,
nor by any person whatever, in the execution of said
writs, except by him whose arrest the Deputy Marshal was
seeking to make. And that we now, as we have done
heretofore, declare our willingness and determination,
without resistance, to acquiesce in the service upon us of
any judicial writs against us by the United States Deputy
Marshal, _and will furnish him with a posse for that
purpose_, if so requested; but that we are ready to
resist, if need be, unto death, the ravages and desolation
of an invading mob.