Raftsman's journal. (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, July 16, 1856, Image 1

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    BY S. B. BOW.
1 WISH SO.HEBODY'D COME.
The flowers are blooming on the lawn,
The birds are singing free,
And everything is full of life
And happiness but me;
The flowers look strangely dull to-day,
They are shadowy as my dreams,
And very lonely seem to me
The sunlight's golden gleams.
As for the birds, I heed them not,
They had as well be dumb ;
They cannot charm my heart to-day
I wish somebody'd come!
I've tried my books my music, too,
I've tried it oer and o'er
J3ut. pshaw ! I cannot see my notes,
My eyes keep wandering so.
Unanswered notes before me lie,
I'll count them one, two, three;
And here are letters waiting, too,
And what are they to me '.
My books arc staler my music
Discordant as a drum,
My voice is very bad to-day .
I wish soxedody'd come'.
The sun is setting in the west,
And twilight deepens now.
And night ccmes forth, an ebon queen,
With jewels on her brow ;
The cat is sleeping on the hearth,
The bell has rung for tea,
And not one living soul has oome
What can the matter be?
The day is gone, the night comes on,
And I will look no more
There! Bettie, don't you hear the bell ?
Somebody's at the door !
BLUE BEARD.
This bugbear of every nursery in Christen
dom was no fabulous monster veiled in human
lorrn. lie actually lived, moved, and had a
Leing in the fifteenth century ; not, however,
as a long-robed, turbaned Oriental, as the pic
tures which used to make our blood curdle
would lead us to think.
On an eminence which overlooks the little
village of Champtoce, near the Loire, stands
the imposing ruin of an old feudal castle. Its
grey walls, bare and broken, rear themselves
against the glorious sky ; and amid the tumb
ling turrets, the bat and the owl beat their
wings and shriek in their midnight revels.
The superstitious peasantry avoid the neigh
borhood from fear, and when the storm whis
tles and the wind moans, they imagine the
sounds to be wails from the injured dead of
the old ruin. The dread of the place is not a
new feeling, but has existed among succeed
ing generations of peasantry since the reign
of Charles the Seventh. It was at that time
the dwelling of Gillcs de Ketz, a feudal baron,
who, as he was then, and still is called the
Barbc Bleu," was, no doubt, the original of
our time honored, or rather feared Blue Beard.
His deeds of blood, which were but the every
day incidents of his life, made him the terror
ol the surrounding region. The bare mention
of his name was enough to subdue tho most
rebellious urchin into submission ; and even
the parents believed the winds which reached
them by passing over his domain, were sul
phur tainted.
Well does the history of this man reveal the
dark superstition of the fifteenth century, and
aloo the impunity with which one in high rank
might commit the most revolting crimes a
gainst humanity. De Ketz had once been in
possession of immense estates and untold
wealth. But by the most debasing excesses
he not only squandered his fortune, but also
ruined his constitution, so that, while yet a
young man, he bore the appearance of decrep
itude and old age. He could not, however,
consent to pay the penalty of his sin by be
coming old before his time. In the blindness
of his superstition, he conceived the hope of
reclaiming both health and wealth by the pow
er of magic. Having heard of a famous Ital
ian alchymist who had performed some great
miracles by this art, he sent for him to the
castle.
The cunning magician at once read his man,
and encouraged his hopes ; he was, therefore,
employed at a high price to undertake the
work, and invited to make the lofty castle his
home. The first act was the winning back of
health and vigor, without which all other trea
sures arc of little avail. Numberless were the
arts he tried, and mysterious the preparations
he made. The dark dungeons and secret sub
terranean passages beneath the castle were the
seen? of this work. Here the terrified pea
santry imagined that the Italian made a com
pact with the Frince of Darkness, and sold the
duped De Retz to him in compensation for his
aid in restoring his health. Among many
nonsensical and harmless experiments, were
also some of a cruel and abominable charac
ter. He induced his infatuated employee to
believe there existed in the blood of infants a
charm for restoring youth and vigor. He as
sured him that by bathing daily in the blood
of these innocents, the pure young life which
had so lately coursed through their tiny veins
would be transferred to his own.
The bloody baron did not shrink for one mo
iiient from the commission of the horrid crime
which this prescription rendered necessary.
Tender infants were secretly stolen or forcibly
tcra from their parents, and kept in the dun
geons of the castle tilt their blood was re
qaii ed. It is believed that not less than one
hundred humble mothers were thus deprived
of tueir youngest born. This fiend in human
shape hired a magician but not a murderer
That cfSce ho reserved for himself, nor did his
savage nature shrink from the horrid work it
imposed. "With his own hand did he pierce
the hearts of his affrighted littlo victims until
there was blood sufficient to cover his emacia
ted lody. This is one instance of thermHv
f De Ketz. We think very likely his wires
shared the fate of the poor infants, and that
the story of Blue Beard in wide trousers, loose
robe and turban, was not much exaggerated.
But crime cannot always go unpunished.
Even then, when the rich ruled over the poor,
justice and mercy triumphed at last. The
cries and entreaties of the heart-broken peo
ple around his domains reached the ears of his
superior, John V. He was arrested and bro't
before a tribunal of justice. His palace was
thrown open to the public gaze, and its horrid
dens and vaults were swift witnesses against
him. He was found guilty of murders by
scores, and after confessing many crimes, be
fore unknown, he was burnt at the stake in
Nantes, 1440. This was the original of "Blue
Beard," and there, although more than four
hundred years have passed away since he paid
the penalty of his crimes, the broken walls
and jagged turrets still stand as a memorial
that the wicked shall not go unpunished.
OWE OF OUR PECULIARITIES.
A quaint contributor to one of the maga
zines, says that the "character of a people
may be known by the beverages which they
use." This theory is not without a certain
degree of plausibility, but it would bo difficult
to apply it to the people of this country. The
English may to some extent, derive their som
niferous plethora from the beer which th;y so
universally imbibe ; and it is even possible
that the immaterial character of rin ordinaire,
or sparkling wine, may impart to the French
men a certain measure of their own volatile
nature. The valorous Highlander may per
chance derive his indi fibre nee to danger and
his personal courage, from his potations of his
favorite usquebaugh ; and the Irishman owes
his quickness of repartee and natural shrewd
ness, to the poteen which ho surreptitiously
distils under the very noses of the excisemen.
But when our theorist takes the people of this
country into consideration, his idea fails in
the application. Unfortunately, we aro a na
tion of bibbers, and our drinks are as multifa
rious as is possible. Without any positive sta
tistics upon which to base the assertion, it is
nevertheless safe to say, that r'")
are the most inordinate consumers of ardcut
spirits upon the face ot the globe. Go where
we may, we find drinking and drinkers, and
drinking is the order of the day drink drink
drink ! If one man is introduced to anoth
er, they must drink "to our better acquain
tance;" and when friends separate for a time,
a libation must be poured down, as a liquid
bath in which to drown regret. .We drink in
negotiating transactions ; drink to raise tho
spirits when they are depressed ; drink when
elated, to prevent the body from taking wing
with our happiness and ascending like a bal
loon. "We drink to induce warmth when the
air is keen, and to sustain nature when it is
sultry. We drink when wo are travelling be
cause we are "away from home, and it does us
good ;" and we drink when at home for all the
reasons enumerated above. Phil. Ec. Jour.
Those wuo live in Glass Houses should
not throw Stones. In the reign of James I.,
the Scotch adventurers Mho came over with
that monarch were greatly annoyed by per
sons breaking the windows of their houses;
and among the instigators was Buckingham,
the Court favorite, who lived in a house in St.
Martin's Fields, which, from its great number
of windows, was termed the "Glass House."
Now the Scotchman, in retaliation, broke the
windows of Buckingham's mansion. The
courtier complained to the King, to whom the
Scotch had previously applied; and the mon
arch replied to Buckingham, "Those who live
in glass houses, Stecnie, should be careful
how they throw stones;" whence arose the
common saying.
A Joke Discovered. A Joke goes a great
way in the country. I have known one to last
pretty well for seven years. I remember mak
ing a joke after the meeting of the clergy, in
Yorkshire, wheie the Rev. Mr. Buckle was,
who never spoke when I gave his health, say
ing that he was a buckle without a tongue.
Most persons within hearing laughed, but my
next neighbor sat unmoved and sunk in
thought. At last, a quarter of an hour after
we had all done, he suddenly nudged me, ex
claiming : "I see now what you meant, Mr.
Smith; you meant a joke."
"Yes, sir," I said, "I believe I did."
Upon which he began laughing so heartily
that I thought he would choke, and was com
pelled to pat him on the back.
We accosted a little fellow t'other day.
He was about the size and build of a plug of
"dog-leg" tobacco, and bis face was some sort
of a landsbape, done up in free-soil and apple
butter. "Who are you?" we asked rather
sternly. "Me !" 6aid Young America, try
ing to look brave : "I'm One of Em Don't
you know me ?"
Cigar abhes will be found an invaluable
remedy for the bite of the mosquito and other
insects. Wet the ashes and rub them on the
part bitten, and the stinging sensation will be
extracted almost instantly. The reason of
this is, that ashes contain alkali, which neu
tralizes the acid of the poison.
The meanest man in the world lives out in
West Troy. In helping him out of the river
once, a man tore the collar of his coat. The
next day he sued hiai for assault and battery.
CLEARFIELD, WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 1856.
THE GAP OUTLAWS.
The Columbia, Pa., Spy, of the 21st June,
says : If is well kuown in this county and
throughout the State, that a regularly organ
ized band of villains under the name of the
"Gap Outlaws," has long been aa 'institution'
in the beautiful Pequea Valley. Their celeb
rity has not, however, been confiued to this
State or any section they are known over the
whole country, and have their different stations
and depots throughout the union. The leader
of the gang Is an old man about seventy a
smooth, sleck-tongucd rascal, who is as slip
pery as an eel, who has grown old in wicked
ness and crime, and whose history, could it be
written, would present a greater variety and
generally successful practice of villainy than
the records of the most notorious "lives of
criminals" that have ever been published.
For over forty years has he had the reputation
of being prime mover and instigator in every
act of lawlessness and infamy in the county ;
of being an adept in crime a perfect "prince
of devils" prime imp of Satan and agent of
the powers of darkness. Assisted by aids who
do justice to their commander, he has long
held the neighborhood of the Gap under sub
jection. If one attempted to have any of his
band answer the powers that be, for some
criminal act, anonymous letters threatening
the burning of their property and death, were
received by the prosecutors almost immedi
ately, and when arson was threatened it was
almost invariably followed by the reality.
Their depredations have not been confined to
a single crime ; they stole everything from the
copper on a dead man's eyes to the most val
uable silver plate, horses, &c. Counterfeiting
they carried on extensively, manufacturing
money to meet their demands. Barn-burning,
poisoning animals or injuring them so as to
render it merciful to kill them, &c, &c, have
been the frequent acts of the Gap ontlaws.
When brought into court, which was very
rarely, they could prove alibi at sight, and
perjury was among their least crimes.
We are happy to believe that a process of
extermination has been at last commenced a-B4-iu.
. ;.A.a.. U uiiok is likely to
result in its breaking up. Several of the ring
leaders, Bill Bear, young Clemson and others
are now in the hands of justice, and we trust
it will be meted to them in full. The cause
of these arrests, was the stealing of two valu
able horses from Jacob Sheeler, of Warwick
township, Chester county, some two or three
weeks ago. The neighborhood was aroused
and suspicion was directed towards the Gap.
Upon the arrival of the pursuing party in that
neighborhood, the citizens of Fenningtonville,
Christiana and the surrounding country, join
ed in an endeavor to arrest the thieves, and
followed them to Baltimore and Washington.
Their efforts were fruitless, but we have heard
that the horses have been recovered and are
in the hands of tho officers of Washington city.
Among the gang arrested is a man named
Young, who has peached, and his story has
led to the discovery of caves, metal for coun
terfeiting, goods of all kinds, &c, evidencing
the guilt of many usually thought to belong to
the "Gap outlaws," as well as several respec
table men in the vicinity who have never been
suspected of connection with them. We trust
the officers will perform their full duty, aud
not stop until every man, no difference what
his station, who has had any lot or part in this
matter, is brought to answer at the bar of jus
tice. The Gap gang has long been a reproach
to Lancaster county ; it has been a terror to
many honest people, and it is high time these
disgraceful and criminal outlaws should suffer.
A little bad luck is beneficial now and
then. If Patrick nenry had not failed in the
grocery busiuess, it is not at all probable thnt
he would ever have been heard of as an orator.
He might have become celebrated, but it would
not have been from his eloquence, but the
great wealth he acquired by speculation in
bar soap and axe handles. Roger Sherman
became a signer of the Declaration of Inde
pendence for no other reason than that he
could not make a living at shocmaking. He
cut his bristles and staked his "all" on the
"rights of man." The consequence was that
the same individual who found it bootless to
make shoes, in a few years became a living
power in our revolution.
The Flood in France. The inundation in
France appears to have exceeded all former
floods, back to Noah's; 40,000 habitations
have been destroyed or rendered uninhabita
ble without serious repairs. Immense agri
cultural districts have been rendered wholly
or nearly valueless by deposits of sand, and
the crops have been entirely swept away
throughout fourteen departments. The hu
man suffering involved in the calamity is quite
incalculable. It is well, therefore, that the
wealthy and benevolent have taken measures
to aflord relief.
A Fraction. "Humble as I am," said a
Buchanan spouter to a mass meeting of the
Unterrified,' "I still remember that I'm a
fraction of this magnificent Republic."
"You are, indeed," said a bystander, "and
d-d vulgar one at that."
"An' is O'Flaharty yer name 7" said Paddy
to his new made acquaintance. "Shure, an I
knew two old maids in Tipperary of that name;
but they vrern't yer mother, was they T"
REPORT
Of the Kansas Investigating Committee.
On July 1st, Messrs. Sherman and Howard,
two of the Kansas Committee, made their re
port on the affairs of that Territory to Con
gress. Mr. Oliver, the other member of the
Committee, and who is proved to have acted
with the Border Ruffians in invading Kansas,
has not yet made his report. The Committee
set out with the declaration, that all the cir
cumstances connected with the history of the
Territory, go to show that if the Compromise
had not been repealed, tho settlement of it
would have proceeded gradually and quietly,
until the people would have made application
for admission into the Union. Such applica
tion would have been made only on a Free
State basis. When the Missouri restriction
was removed, agitation at once began, and the
peace begotton by the act of 1820, was gone
forever.
The Committee reviewed the first acts of the
Missourians in regard to the question of the
introduction of slavery into the Territory.
These acts in point of time, were immediate
ly subsequent to the passage of the Douglas
Bill, and anterior to the setting-in of the tide
of emigration. They exhibit these facts,show
ing that a deliberate, systematic effort was
made to keep emigrants opposed to the intro
duction of slavery into the Territory from em
igrating thither, ere any number of them had
resolved to go. They also assert that every
officer to the Territory, from Congressman
down to constables, had been elected by peo
ple who did not live in the Territory. No ac
tual political power has ever yet been exercis
ed by the citizens of Kansas.
The committee declare that, in October,
1854, and before any election was or could be
held in the Territory, a secret political society
was formed in Missouri (1.) It was known
by different names, such as "Social Band,"
"Friend's Society," "Blue Lodge," "The
Sons of the South." Its members wcro bound
together by secret oaths ; and they had pass
words, signs and grips by which they were
known to each other. Penalties were impos
ed for violating the rules and secrets of the
Order." Written minutes were kept of the pro
ceedings of the Lodges, and the different
Lodges were connected together by an effec
tive organization. It embraced great numbers
of the citizens of Missouri, and was extend
ed into other slave States and into the Terri
tory. Its avowed purpose was not only to ex
tend slavery into Kansas, but also into other
territory of the United States, and to form a
union of all the friends of that institution.
Its plan of operating was to organize and send
men to vote at the elections in the Territory,
to collect money to pay their expenses, and if
necessary to protect them in voting. It also
proposed to induce pro-Slavery men to emi
grate iuto the Territory, to aid and sustain
them while there, and to elect none to office
but those friendly to their views. This secret
society was controlled by men who avowed
their purpose to extend slavery into the Terri
tory at all hazards, and was altogether the
rnosft effective instrument in organizing the
subsequent armed invasions and forays. In
its Lodges in Missouri the affairs of Kansas
were discussed, the force necessary to. control
the elections was divided into bands, the lead
ers selected, means were collected, and signs
and badges were agreed upon. While tho
great body of .he actual settlers of the Terri
tory were relying upon the rights secured to
them by the organic law, and had formed no
organization or combination whatever, even of
a party character, this conspiracy against their
rights was gathering strength in a neighboring
State, and would have been sufficient at their
first election to have overpowered the settlers
if they had been united to a man.
Concerning the election of 1854,when Whit
field was first elected to Congress, they state
that there was little or no fraudulent voting
was done in the First, Third, Eighth, Ninth,
Tenth, Twelfth, Thirteenth or Seventeenth
districts. They say however of the Sjcond
District, that out of 261 votes cast, 85 were
thrown by citizens of the Territory and 226 by
those who were not. In the Fourth,out of 161
cast, only about 30 were deposited by citizens.
Out of 82 voters in the Fifth, between 20 and
30 were entitled to vote ; the others who vo
ted wcro Missourians. In the Sixth, 105 votes
were given, and 80 of these were cast by the
invaders. In the Seventh District, 604 votes
were cast, yet "the census shows there were
but 53 residents therein, taken three months
after." The Committee found but 12 names,
who were voters when the census was taken,
and they declare that not more than twenty
legal votes could have been pollod altogether.
This was a most glaring and terrible fraud.
There were 584 illegal votes polled. In the
Eleventh District, out ol 245 votes cast, 238
of these were polled by Missourians. In tho
Fourteenth, out of 153 cast, 50 were fraudu
lent. In the Fiftcenth,not more than 100 were
legal out of 306 thrown. In the Sixteenth, or
Leavenworth District, there were 312 votes
deposited, and not more than 140 were enti
tled to be given.
The following is a resume of the election
and census of 1854 :
Legal votes, . . . 1,114
Illecal votes. - . . 1,720
Thus your Committee find that in this the
first election in the Territory a very large ma
jority of the votes vrerccast by citizens of the
State of Missouri in violation of the organic
law iu the Territory. Of the legal votes cast
General Whitfield received a plurality.
In January and February, A. D. 1855, the
Governor caused an enumeration to be taken
of the inhabitants and qualified voters of the
Territory, an abstract of which is here given :
ABSTRACT OF TUB CENSUS RETURNS.
Males, 5128
Female, 3373
Voters ..... 2905
Minors, ..... 8469
Natives of the United States,. - 7161
Foreign Birth, .... 409
Negroes, 151
Slaves, 212
Total, .... 8501
On the same day the census was completed,
the Governor issued his Proclamation for an
election to bo held on the 30th of March, A.
D. 1855, for Members of tho Legislative As
sembly of the Territory. It prescribed the
boundarias of districts ; the places for-polls ;
the names of Judges; the appointment of
members; and recited the qualifications of
voters. If it had been observed, a just and
fair election would have reflected the will of
the people of the Territory. Before the elec
tion, false and inflamatory rumors were busily
circulated among tho people of Western Mis
souri. The number and character of the emi
gration then passing into the Territory were
grossly cxaggeiated and misrepresented.
Through the active exertions of many of the
leading citizens aided by tho secret societies
before refened to, passions and prejudices of
the people of the State were generally excited.
Several residents there have testified to the
character of the reports circulated among and
credited by the people. These efforts were
successful. By" an organized movement which
extended trom Andrew county in the north to
Jasper county in the south, and as far east
ward as Boone and Cole counties, companies
of men were arranged in regular parties and
sent into ever- Council District iu the Terri
tory, and into every Representative District
but one. The number were so distributed as
in -control the election in each district. They
went to vote and with tho avowed design to
make Kansas a slave State. They were gen
erally armed and equipped, and carried with
them their own provisions and tents ; and so
marched Into the Territory. The details of
this invasion, from the mass of the testimony
taken by your Committee, are so voluminous
that we can hero but state the leading facts
elicited.'
At tho election thus ordered by Governor
Reeder, out of 1034 votes polled at Lawrence,
the Committee are satisfied that not more than
232 legal ones were potted leaving 802 fraud
ulent. At Bloomington, the Second district, there
were 311 votes thrown, of which 30 were given
by citizens. At Tccumsch, in the ThirJ,from
200 to 225 citizens voted out of 805. Of the
legal votes cast the Free State candidates re
ceived 152. Iu the Sixth district at Fort Scott,
of the 350 deposited, 100 were legal. In the
Seventh, 252 were given, only 25 of which
were from citizens ; and 23 of these were cast
for M'Gce the only Free State candidate run
ning. In the Eleventh, S28 votes were cast,
of which only 7 were found in the regular cen
sus. In the Thirteenth, 269 were deposited
when there were only 96 votes in the District.
In tho Fourteenth, only 200 out of 727 were
legal. There were 417 cast in the Fifteenth,
of which 80 were thrown legally. 964 were
given in the Sixteenth, and only 150 were le
gal. In the Eighteenth, 62 votes, and only 17
by residents.
The Committee report the following facts
not shown by the tables :
Of the 2905 voters named in the census
roll, 831 are found on the poll books. Some
of the settlers were prevented from attending
the election by the distance of their homes
from the polls, but the great majority were de
terred by the open avowal that large bodies of
armed Missourians wvuld be at the. polls to
vote, and by the fact that they did so appear
and control the election. Tho same cause de
terred the Free-State men from running can
didates in several districts, and in others in
duced the candidates to withdraw.
The poll books of the Second and Eighth
districts were lost, the proof is quite clear that
in the Second district there were 30, and in
the Eighth district 38 legal votes, making a
total loss of 898 legal voters of the Territory,
whose names are on the census returns, and
yet the proof, in tho state in which we are o
bligcd to present it, after excluding illegal
votes, leaves the total of 1310, showing a dis
crepancy of 412. The discrepancy is account
ed for two ways first the coming in of set
tlers before the March election, and after the
census was taken, of settlers who were omit
ted in the census ; or secondly, the disturbed
state of the Territory while we were investi
gating the elections in some of the districts,
thereby preventing us from getting testimony
in relation to the names of legal voters at the
time of the election.
If the election had been confined to the ac
tual settlers undeterred by the presenco of
non-residents, or the knowledge that they
would be present in sufficient numbers to out
vote them, the testimony indicates thattbe-
couneil would have been composed of seven
I in favor of making Kansas a Free State, elect
VOL. 2,-M). 48.
cd from tho 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th and 6th Council
districts. The result in the 8th and 10t eleo
ting three members would have-been doubtful,
and the 5th, 8th and 9th would have elected 8
pro-slavery members.
Under the circumstances the House of Rep
resentatives would hav been composed of 14
members in favor of making Kansas a Free
State, elected from the 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, 7th,
8th, 9th and 10th representative districts,
The result in the 12th and 15th representa
tive districts, electing five members would
have been doubtful, and the 1st, 6th 11th and
15th districts would have elected 7 pro-slavery
members.
By the election, as conducted, the pro
slavery candidates in every district received a
majority of the votes ; and several of them in
both the Council and the House, did not "re
side in" aud were not "inhabitants of" tho
district for which they were elected, as requir
ed by the organic law. By that act it was de
clared to be the true intent and meaning of
this act to leave the people thereof perfectly
free to form and to regulate their domestic In
stitutions in their own way, subject to theCon
stitution of the United States."
A lengthy recital of the history and purpose
of the Emigrant Aid Society a full detail of
the people in their election of a constitutional
convention a narrative of tho proceedings
and deliberations of the Convention tho rat
ification of their work by the people are giv
en, and tho Committeo finish their report by
avowing that they have reached the following
conclusions :
1. That each election In the Territory held
under the organic or alleged Territorial law
has been carried by organized invasion from
the State of Missouri, by which the peoplo of
the Territory havo been prevented from exer
cising the rights secured to them by the or
ganic law.
2. That the alleged Territorial Legislaturo
was an illegally constituted body, and had no
power to pass valid laws, and their enactments
are, therefore, null and void.
3. That theso alleged laws have not, as a
general thing, been used to protect persons
and property and to punish wrong, but for un
lawful purposes.
4. That the election under w hich the sitting
delegate, John W. Whitfield, holds his seat.
was not held in pursuance of any valid law,
and that it should be regarded only as the ex
pression of the choice of those resident citi
zens who voted for him.
5. That the election under which the con
testing Delegate, Andrew H. Reeder, claims
his seat, was not held in pursuance of law, and
that it should be regarded only as an expres
sion of the choice of the resident citizens who
voted for him.
6. That Andrew II. Reeder received a great
er number ot votes of resident citizens than
John W. Whitfield for Delegate.
7. That in the present condition of the Ter
ritory a fair election cannot be held without a
new census, a stringent and well guarded elec
tion law, the selection of impartial Judges,
and the presence of United States troops at
every place of election.
8. That the various elections held by tha
people of the Territory preliminary to the for
mation of the State Government, have been
as regular as the disturbed condition of tho
Territory would allow ; and that the Constitu
tion passed by the Convention, held in pursu
ance of said elections, embodies the will of a
majority of the people.
As it is not the province of yonr Committee
to suggest remedies for the existing troubles
in the Territory of Kansas,they content them
selves with the foregoing statement of facts.
We deem the facts submitted and proven by
a eloud of witnesses, as establishing beyond
the shadow of a doubt, all the allegations here
tofore made by tho Free Stato men. Tho
whole forms a history of a concerted systema
tized plan of violence, crime and usurpation,
never equalled by any act of occurrences in
the history of our country. If it docs not
startle and convince the most unbelieving and
captious, we arc iudeed much mistaken in our
judgment of tho force and effect truth ought
to have.
True Yankee. A Yankee out walking ia
Virginia at Wheeling, while to himself a talk
ing, experienced a feeling strange painful
and alarming from bis caput to his knees, as
he was suddenly covered o'er with bees !
They rested on his eye lids, and perched upon
his nose ; they colonized bis peaked face, and
swarmed upon his clothes. They explored his
swelling nostrils and dove deep into his cars,
they crawled np his trowsers, and filled his
eyes with tears. Did he yell like a hyena T
Did he hollow like a loon T Was he scar't and
did ha "cut and run !" or did the critter
swoon ? Ne'er a one. He wasn't scar't a
mite ; he never swoons or hollers ; but he
hiv'd 'em in a nail keg-tight and sold 'em for
two dollars !
Some wise mas, years ago, said : "If you
want to learn human nature, get married to a
spunky girl, move in the house with another
family, and slap one of the young ones, and
then you'll learn it."
Patrick, meeting a jackass braying hideous
ly, remarked, "It's a fin large ear that bird
has for music, but he's got a wonderful cowli.'
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