Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1848-07-08
NATIONAL INTELLIGENcER.
PRIVATE LETTER TO MAJOR JACK DOWNING
Post Office, DowaiagoiHe, State Of Maine,
June 80, lS4S.

Jusle 81, 1915.
DEAR NEPHEW Bein our army is about breakin
.sp in Mexico and coming home, thought the best
chance TO get letter to you would be TO get your
old friends, Mr. Gales and Seaton, to send it on
that way, and may be it might come across you
somewhere on the road, if SO be you are still in
the land Of the living. Your aunt Keziah is in
great worrment about you, and is very much fright
ened for fear somethin has happened, because we
haven't heard nothin from you since your last let
ter. try to pacity her, and tell her the fighting
was all over, and nothin to do but to finish up the
court martial the last time you writ and that there
isn't agoing to be no more annexin' till Mr.. Cass
comes in President, and you'll soon be along. But
all wont pacify her; she's as uneasy fish out of
water and says she lays awake half the night think
ing Of them garillas, for fear they've got hold Of
YOU. So hope you write home as soon as pos
sible, and let us know whether you are dead or
alive, and set your aunt Keziah's heart to rest.
For my part, hope you will hurry along back
as fast as you can. Our politics is very much
mixed up and in bad way about the Presidency
Ii would puzzle Philadelphy lawyer to tell how
it's comm out 1t was very unlucky hit when
President Polk sent old lack Taylor down to
Mexico. He wasn't the right man. But, then,
'spose Mr.. Polk had no idea of what sort of chap
he had got hold Of. 1t cant be helped now, but
it's like to be the ruin of our party. The Demo-
CratC party HdlHL SeCl well udy SlfiCC
begun his Paly Alto battles and now we are all
shiverin as bad as if we had the fever and agay.
don't know, after all, but this annexn Mexico will
turn out to be an unlucky blow to the party; for
what will it profit the Democratic party if they gain
! the whole world and lose the Presidency! We
see, the Wings have put up Taylor for President;
and it has completely knocked us all into cooked
hat There isn't one half of us that knows where
we stan or which way we are goin and there isn't
party fence in the country that is high enough to
keep our folks from jumping over. They are get
ting kind of crazy, and seem to feel as if old
Hickory had got back again, and they was all rum
ming to vote for him. The Wings laugh and poke
fun at us, and say they have got good right to
have Hickory as we Democrats have. We put
up Gineral Cass FIRST and thought we should carry
it all hollow for he's strong man and took good
deal of pains to make the party like him all over
the country. And if the Wings had done as they
ought to, and put up Clay, or any one that they
had right to put up, we should carried the
day without any trouble. But the conduct of the
Wings has been shameful in this business. Instead
of taking man that fairly belonged to EN-, they
have grabbed hold of man that got all his popu-
larity out of our war, and was under the pay OF
our Administration, and has been made and built
up by our party and the Wings had no more bust
ness with him than they had with the man in the
moon. But, for all that, the Wings had the impn-
dence to nominate him. We'll, that rled our water
all up, SC we couldn't see bottom nowhere. But
we soon found there was a shiftin and whirlin of
currents, and the wind and the tide was settn on
to the rocks, in spite of us. Weso see that old
Rough and Ready, as they call him, was agong to
be too much for Cass. But, as we was all making
up our mind that it was gone goose with us, Mr..
John Van Buren,, of York State-he,s smart Teller.
q of President Van Buren,, and chip OF the old
block-he sings out, "sDon't give up the ship yet
if one boss amt enough to draw the load hitch on
another" Well, the idea seemed to take; and they
stirred round and got np another Convention at
Utica, in York State, to Gee who they should put
up, and they all pitched upon President Van Buren,.
Mr.. Van Buren, patted them on the shoulder, and
told em to have good courage and 60 ahead, for
they on the right track, but they must hitch on
somebody else besides him, for he had made up his
mind four years ago not 10 take hold again. But
they stuck to him with tears in their eyes, and told
him there wasn't another man in the country that
could draw like him alongside of Cass, and If ne
still had any patriotism for.the party left he mustn't
say no. And they worked upon his feelins so
much that at last he didn't say no. So now we've
got two candidates, Cass and Van Buren,, and good
strong ones too, both Of 'em; and if we cant whip
Taylor, think it's pity. know as well asd want
to that we shall give him pesky hard tug. Some
are afraid we amt hardly strong enough yet, and
they've called another Convention to meet in Buffalo
the 9Th of August, to put up another candidate. But
others faint-hearted about it, and say it's all no
kind OF use; we may put up twenty candidates,
and Taylor will whip the whole lot: it's way he
has; he always did just so in Mexico. IL they
brought twenty to one agn him. it made no odds; he
whipt the whole ring, from Pally Alto to Bona VISTA
So you see what sort of pickle we're in, and
how much we need your help jest now. But
there's one thing have on my mind pretty strong.
You know this appointment in the Downingville
Post Office, that you got Gineral Jackson to give
me, has always been great comfort TO me, and il
would be sad blow to me to lose il now in my
old age. | wish you would make it in your way to
call and see Ginera Taylor as you come along
home, and try to find out how he feels towards me
because if he is to be elected any how, any
use there would be in my biting my own nose off for
the sake Of opposing his election. And Ldoat think
that patriotism to the party requires it; and I'm
sure prudence don't.
When you get to Washington, call and see Mr..
Richie and try to comfort him; I'm told the dear old
gentleman is workin too hard for his strength-out
nights in the rain, with lantern in his hand, head
ing the campaign. Try to persuade him to be calm
and take good care of himself. And be sure and
ask him how the Federals are gon this election for
we cant find out any thing about it down here.
used to know how 10 keep the run of the Federals,