Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1846-04-17
From tie Baltimore Saturday ViSiter.
TUE SPIRTT OLE BLOOD.

ARE Bowie KNIVES AND PIsToLs NEcEs-
sARY "A correspondent of the Oasis" a
neat and spicy exchange published at Nash
ua, n. Ii. writing from Gallatin, Miss. I'M
der date of February 23d 1916, meets this
question with negative declarations p~articu-
larly pleasing, considering the locality from
which they come. The writer bears tesii-
lnony to the living virtue of the peace prin-
ciple thus forcibly and cordially:
"Let me correct a notion quite prevalent
among many in your region. 1t was once
supposed that a brace of pistols and a bowie
knife were indispensable to the traveller
Whatever the necessity once was, it does not
now exist. In the course of several hundred
miles travel in The State, among all classes,
| have never once received all insult, nor, as
far as | recollect, a single discourteous re-
mark. 1t is scarcely necessary for a gentle
man to go armed in any of the States. lie
who is so suspicious as to consider every
stranger an enemy, may well be suspicious
ofhImself. IN honest cOuHtendnce and afriend-
Ly greeting are stronger than dirks or firearms.
If | were going among the Arabs, | would
first use the former weapons. II enter the
humblest log cabin at night, and meet a be-
nevolant eye, and features speaking a well
come, in the host, | give him the few valua-
bles | may have for keeping; he is honored
by my confidence, and becomes my friend.
If | should meet a fiend, | would bid him a
good evening, and move on. Kindne>S iciH
make a friend Of a dog. If there were more
Uncle Tobies in the world there would be
less need for such "prodigious armies" in
Flanders, or elsewhere"
We also feel moved to add our testimony
TO the above. Not to allu lie TO the perilous
scenes we have encountered in this city, both
in our editorial capacity and otherwise, (and
we have been not unfrequently threatened
with cowhldings, shootings, all that, for
speaking the truth } we might cite fact after
fact occurring elsewhere, strikingly confr ma
tive of the above views. We well r~ecollect
the result of our experience, in this respect,
when engaged in medical practice among the
rude and belligerent sons Of Erin who were,
a number of years ago, engaged in digging
the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. During
the bloody riots that used to prevail-when
4" Fardowns " and Corkonians !" met in hattie
array, with pickaxe and gun-we never found
it necessary to carry a pistol or any other
A." implement Of self-defence" as they are
sometimes called. Our brethren of the Fa-
Guilty used 10 wonder at this, and ask US if
we were not afraid to go among the CANAL
ers unarmed We answered-no! And
why not! We reply, because we knew we
could not possibly give offence while in the
line of our duty-thal the contending parties
did not wish US any harm, and sought only
their real enemy. To show ourself their
friend was the way to move among them
This we did by gentle reproofs-by appeals
to their better sense-to even their reason
In this way we have prevented more than
one scene of violence. We have, by a sim
pie appeal to the better sense of some infur-
lated victim of rum, caused the arm of VIC
lence, lifted against a personal frlend-per-
haps a faithful though spirited wife-to fall
harmless. To have threatened the .conse-
quences of the law, would have been only to
Increase the flame Of passion but a gentle
word acted like a spell.
patrick, don't strike your poor wife
never strike a woman, the mother of your
children, who is trying to do the best she
can " was far more efficient than pat, you
drunken wretch would you dare to strike a
womanl or the like mode of reproof. The
former would call forth the confession that
he had been taking "a wee bit too much"
and an asking Of pardon-whereas the latter
would have only aroused a fiery spirit of de-
hauce.