The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1855-12-08
Ottaua frte Graber
Exciting News from Kansas.
OTTAWA, DECEMBER s, 1855.

The telegraphic dispatches from the
south, and the newspapers generally have
tccmed for the last week with the most excl
ting accounts from Kansas. If half Of these
are to be credited, Kansas is on the eve Of
bloody civil war The free state men are
said TO be up in arms, to be drilling daily on
the open prairie, to be well supplied with
arms and ammunition, and determined TO
give their enemies the last shot in the lock
or" before they will submit, while the pro-
slavery men are also rallying from all the
border towns in Missouri, determined to put
the free state men down. Aside from the
old causes of hostility between these parties,
the immediate provocation TO the present
outbreak, as we gather from the confused
and contradictory dispatches on the subject,
is an attempt, on the part of the free state
men, to resist The execution of the laws by
an officer of the late legislature. The cir
cumstances are somewhat as follows:
We give first the version of the pro-slave-
ry men as contained in a despatch from In
dependence, datcu NOV. JUN.
Near Hickory Point, on the Santa Fc road,
three abolitionistS, with Sharp's rifles went
to the claim of Mr.. Coleman, pro slavery
man, aud ordered him to leave. He was al
lowed ten minutes to leave, or he would be
shot. lie left for short time, but returned
well armed. He met with one Of the three
men, who renewed his threats, and attempt
cd to shoot Coleman, but his gun missed
fire. Coleman then shot his aSsailant, who
died Immediately, Coleman gave himself
up for trial
A mob Of abolitionists, armed with Sharp's
rifles repaired to Colcman's house. driving
his wife and children OIL burning his house,
and ordered other pro.slavcry men to leave,
and burned their houses. Deputy Marshal
Jones arrested the leader Of the mob, and
obtained the names Of twenty others. Jones
is now at Lccompton with two prisoners
and fifteen or twenty assistants The aboi-
tiOnists are gathering at Lccompton, de-
lnanding the release Of their comrades and
the surrender Of Coleman. The Governor
has issued a proclamation calling the militia
TO the assistance Of the officers.
The following is the version Of the free
state papers Of the same affair, as condensed
by despatch from St Louis Dec. 9Th.
A young man, - years of age, named
ID. W. White, at a blacksmith shop, where
several border ruilians had congrcgated, was
deliberately shot by one Of them, named
Coleman. An attempt was made to arrest
the murderer, but through the aid Of his
abettors, he escaped to Missouri.
\ meeting Of citizens convened on the
,,.bn hn .l IA
inquire into the facts of the case. They pro-
nounced it an act of cold-boodcd murder
on the part of Coleman; and charged lia.
gus Buckley, Moody and Maggoncr, as as.
sociatcs \ series of resolutions were pass.
cd, and a committee appointed to investigate
further and search out offenders, and devise
means to bring them to justice. Sheriff
Jones arrested Jacob Branson, at whose
house Dow lived, for security Of peace, but
while proceeding to LccomptQn, he Bran
som was rescued by n party of his neigh
bors. Jones sent to Shawnee Mission for
aid, declaring that the Governor had assured
him the assistance of 10000 men, if needed
Besides rescuing Brauson, the prO-savery
dispatches allcge that the free State men
had burned sixteen houses at Hickory Point,
anu 'i"' number oi c'u"ciS from 'ha' re-
e'o" are missing supposeu " nave oeen
Another startling report, as little credited, is
circulated that one of the officers Of the free
State men had been taken at Atchison, hav.
ing important papers in his possession, dis
closing a purpose on the part of the free
State men to attack and destroy that town.
This is about all that is given in the shape
of facts in reference to the origin Of the
outbreak, and they resolve themselves into
about this: That for some reason mot to be
arrived at by the reports a free State man
named White was shot by pro-slavcry
man named Coleman at Hickory Point
that the free State men held meeting and
resolved that it was a cold booded, unpro.
vokcd murder, and determined Coleman
must be punished; that Deputy Marshal
Jones arrived and Coleman threw himself
into his hands that Jones also arrested q
fee State man named Branson as a party to
the alleged outrage on Coleman that the
free State men recovered Branson from the
Marshal's custody; that thcrcupon the Mar.
shall went to lecompten, and made such rep
reservations to the Governor as to induce
him to offer all the assistance in his power
to arrest the free State men, some twenty in
number, who had aided in the rescue o.
Branson; and that the free State men are
determined that these shall not be arrested
The governor, it appears, at once called
upon the militia to turn out and aid the au,
thorties in executing the laws but the ci,i
zcns of Kansas exhibited great reluctance tC
answer the call. This bacliwardncss, how
ever, appears to be more than made up by
the people of the border counties of Missou
ri. Dispatches from Weston and st. Joseph