New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-05-29
ADVENTURES, &c.


-, ,h., The hour of intended attack or Law
r.oee spproaches for daring the sast TWO Gays tae
t,r. hsa been "Ovex the Border" Parties OF va
,;ous ,izes have bees drifting from the frontiers
toward the doomed city, and one 81 these,
s.,oe company from Platte County, with three
A.sy.,e.wa and two brass howtrers the same
runs that were brought over the came track ieet
..,r,. crossed the Misselri River ct the Della
Ferry on Saturday, end all Of yesterday were
canned at the lower ferd on the Strangers, waiting
ill its swollen waters should fal 80 that they ccad
cross
Az a report reached as that the men of Law
rence--aroused by the outrages of the selfs.yled
posse, and an insultipgly nenacing letter from
Postscript DOnaldson-wer determined to stand on
their defense, in company with Major James Red
path, the celebrated Kansas Correspondent of The
.Missexri Democrat, l left LeavenwOrth for Law
renee at noon on Saturday. had expected that
we would 90 with company of hundred men;
but the number decreased more rapidly than the
eelebra ted men 10 bucAram grew, as the time for
departure approached. 1t would be bat doing these
men an act of Justice TO state that they had all the
best of reasons to prevent their going In the
first place there wac great scarcity OF arms;
then there was difficulty about getting team,
provisions, &C.; then the creeks were up, and the
chance of being taken on the road at least "aver
.sQe;" It was not even certain that the Lawrence
ties had resolved on defense. Not few were
afraid that circumstances might place them antagO-
nistc to the United States authorities. President
Pierce and his proclamations were like lions on
one side of the road to Lawrence, and Postscript
Donaldson with his manifesto or the other. On
the whole, think they were excusable, but as my
companion and myself had not constitutional "
excuses and in any case desired to see the illum-
nation, if Lawrence were to be burned up, we
started.
What delightfully."- muddy time we had No one
was willing to risk horse and team for such an
expedition, and the heavy rains had saturated
every hollow or piece of lowland we had an inter-
estinp time. Nightfall found us following the de-
yious windings of Stranger Creek, seeking for
some means of crossing the swollen channel, butin
yaip and we retrested through piece of wet bot
tom, splashing on for more than mile through
water ankle deep, till we reached the house of an
no, not exactly an Indian, but Pennsylvania
Dutchman who had married one. He had very
good hewed log house, well furnished, and, it sp-
reared had been where We found him for thirty
years The establishment was compound OF 10
dian life and Dutch civilization. Two cOfee-cOl-
ored, buxom damsels, mine hosts daughters, were
busted about domestic matters, and half dozen
little boys, of different ages, were illustrating this
queer compound of human nature OF the cuisine
remember nothing; suppose it was satisfactory
for the guests, several beside ourselves, were en-
crossed. There is one fact that we will speak of
that must startle all new corners to Kansas; it is
the suspicious way in which strangers regard each
other Four or five others were sheltered there
beside ourselves, and the manner ia which they
addressed each other was indicative Of mutual ap-
prehension and distrust. A year ago the question
was, What is your politics." Now it is,
"Where do you comelrom 1t is not wonder
full that the fear begotten in this way should lead
20 falsehood and deceit seeing that fears for per-
sonal safety are too often well grounded The
wars of the Guelphs and Ghibelnts were not more
bitter or antsgOnistc.
In the morning we once more tried to get across
the STRANGER, but saw no way of getting over.
Travelling along the banks Of the stream we arrived
at q road, and on the other side Of the ford saw
three men with wagon waiting to get over. From
these men, whom We knew to be reliable, we
learned that Lawrence had abandoned the idea of
defense, and was lying exposed to the invaders.
AL Of the arms there mot very many, BY the by,)
had been removed; all of those who had guns to aid
in its defense had been requested to leave and all
Of those against whom wrts were ssid to be in the
hands Of the Marshal had either left to surrender
themselves or evade the wrts; and thus the back
bone of Freedom lay broken before the coaquerors.
And yet il was not the fear Of Postscript Donald.
sons lawless mob, but the pressure Of President
Pierces Kansas pfoclamatons. Irregular, mon
strous and informal although this second invasion
is-although it is notorious that more than the half
of these are from Missouri, and that all have gone
with the avowed determination of destroying Law
renee, stu it has the color of law and President
Pierce has declared that the most obnoxious Of the
Territorial laws of the bogus Legislature are to be
enforced at all hazards, and these are the men ne
has placed in the Territory to do this. la spite OF
psst ostrsges there is no present protection.
The Territorial Government is not only par
tizan one, but many Of its officers are residents
Of Missouri. Yet all Of these outrages are
indorsed by the President; the past sancthed and
the future unprovided for. The Prostate men
love the Union and would like to love the General
Government If they could, butno man can love his
oppressor. They look TO the next Presidential
election with hope, expecting that the monstrous
iniquites perpetrated them will hurl from power
those who have abused their high Office, by oppres
sng the citizens Of the Territory in order to plant