Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1856-09-24
Letter from Kansas.

AuO OAAC IA ASSeOA MAS CCh AAOAA
Mr.. John G. German, who left this City a
few months ago, and is now. as will be seen,
in Kansas. His letter contains nothing la.
ter than has been published, but will give
the reader a reliable account of how matters
stand there between the Abolitionists and
Southerners:
TUESDAY, Sept. 8, 1856.
In CAMP, Near WestpOft, Mo-
l have seen my first battle. We arrived
in Kansas last Friday evening, and immedi-
ately repaired to the camp, which was situa-
ted about 40 miles above here on the Nilsson
ri river, and that evening received Mississip-
pi rifles, and the next day was ordered to
Ossawattomie, a mall village which the alb
olitionists held, Is miles from the camp: 1t
was occupied by a number of Gen. Lanes
Anti-slavery forces, which he calls his ad
vanced guard. Lane is now at the head of
1000 Yankees, and has fortified himself at
Lawrence. His has been a course of whole
sale butchery of all southern men. lie has
killed about one hundred. burned and sacked
their houses, and in some instances even
murdered their unprotected families. His
conduct so scared the pro-slavery men In the
territory that they precipitately fed to Mis-
sO1ri, and when we arrived at Kansas City,
we saw the perfect folly of trying to peacea-
bly, locate, and concluded to help our suffer-
ing brethren who had accumulated at a point
on the Missouri, and when we arrived there |
we found about $50 men, a large portion of
them Missourians, who had nobly come to
help US. But such an army perhaps. you
never saw. Some had horses, some had none,
all or nearly all in their shirt sleeves, some
red shirts, some blue, some gray, green aud
white, some had blind brides on their hor.
4 sao NTH outlaoc holcfar r;oLolo o0I ehok
guns, doubled barrelled, old U. S. muskets,
3 and flint and steel rifles, and beneath the belt
of every one might be seen the scabbard
and handle of a glistening Bowie, and now
and then one or two of Colts repeaters. We
had two pieces of artillery, under Capt. Bell,
a ). q. man, a small man with eyes as keen
d as n hawks, and as brave as a lion, and as
a we were new corners, and had not time to
II equip ourselves, were placed with old U. s.
muskets as artillery guard.
AS we advanced near Ossawattomie, on
Saturday morning, the picket guard of the
is yankees fired at US at a distance Of 800 or a
thousand yards, and ewere surprised to hear
the bullets whistling about our heads at that
distance. We concluded to halt and let our
artillery play upon them, as our guns were
useless in such long-taw warfare the cavalry
and infantry halted, and let the artillery
! play upon them with grape and canister
KS When the Yankees saw this, they pointed
m their every rifle at the artillery, and We gods,
es you ought to have heard the balls whistle
no around our heads. One bullet struck ry
bo musket stock and splintered it in my hand,
nd without doing any other injury than raising
a blister or two on my fingers. But, about
o5 a dozen discharges of cannon caused the
r~ascals to fly to a thicket for protection, and
then the cavalry were commanded to charge,
,-hao kha V,~l.noz oonIa N aDr,lo r > n ~ ~aAo
'i and left us in possession of their town, tC
~ which we Immediately applied the torch, and
~ in a few hours there was not a house to be
'e seen. We took about 80 horses, and killed
thirty two of the scamps. We sent the fam
lilies to Lawrence where Lane is, with the
to horses we took, and did not do as they haC
70. done, murder them.
After the pursuit you ought to have seer
the scramble after the dead yankees Sharpe's
rifles. Lane has two-thousand men at Law
renee, armed with Sharpe's rifles, and vel
led mounted. There they have the advantage
it of us and can take US off at long tao, bu
ad the towards cannot stand a charge. In TIL
nd pursuit, we killed Brown, a noted abolition
t leader, who it is thought has with his bant
ng murdered at least one hundred southern
ID people. He was killed by a Sharpe's riff
ta- in the hands of Capt. Wallace of Missouri
all as he was crossing Ca W., or as it is now cal
lev ed, Kansas river. The Missourians hav
ept done, and are doing, all that a people Cal
to do for us, and it is computed we have enoug
the provisions now in store, which was sent to u
ink by them, to last 1900 men three or fou
did months, and more provisions and ~reinforc
l ments are arriving every day.
me, You may get news by telegraph, befor
re- TINS reaches you, OF a bloody battle at hal
the sas, and the complete annibilation Of Il
yankees at Lawrence. 1t was a plan
will attack it yesterday, but was postponed, al
err | we are here In considerable anxiety abou
the northern portion of our army, composer
700men, who it feared advanced on Lawren
under the mistaken idea that the southel
J. portion of our army were icting in conce
with them. If they have done SO, there is
=, probability that they may be cut to piece
We have sent them word by express to pc,
pone it to the thirteenth.
GEES As far as the land is concerned, Kans
ctu- is the garden Of the world, and it makes /
It in sorry to see the teeming fields which ha
our been caused to be deserted by these rascal
yankees. The prairies are the ~prettiest sig
up n | ever beheld. Monday | was on one on t
ltest Sante Fee road, twenty FIVE miles in lengt
ture The cattle and stock in this country are We
der, fine, and the meanest looking oxen on a
imp farm about here, will vie with any that | eV
tice, saw in any Fair in the States, both in 81
de and appearance. l noticed a train as
passed. through Westport yesterday, flu
cut, two miles long, all the wagons pulled by c
ives en-, and they looked like ponderous elephan
The have seen numerous tribes of Indian
the and all are friendly to the southern peop
olive and have saved many a proslavery mans
hlch by concealing him from Abolitionists a
the plotting him to southern settlements by tn
ward trails, unknown to the Yankees. / will
with ter more largely on the indians if ever | hs
Ives, another opportunitv of writing. am gni
to see the southern people out. l came ht
thus as q peaceable citizen, to settle on my clal
s are but the Yankees will not let any one act il
. one conservative or neutral manner; SO as |
drove to the emergency, l I'm Determined
settle in Kansas, or my bones shall viii
ough its soil. J.C. GORMAN
that
, the ~
ough n LEE 60 ! 49,: you:S 1a.n;
,nn ran after a girl who was engaged in sea-
III AA