The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1856-07-05
The Chicago Emigrants to Kansas.


Ali the noise and blust.r in Chicago about
sending so many ''freemen" to Kansas to
fight the border ruffians, with the So, 900
subscription, has had lame and miserable
conclusion. After three or four weeks mus
ter about $50 persons agreed to enlist for the
trip, and some 10 days ago started armed
and equipped, with colors flying. They
went to Alton, got on board steamer, and
started up the Missouri river. At Lexington
they unexpectedly met with reverse. a
committee Of the citizens waited upon them,
informed them that no armed parties were
now allowed to enter Kansas, and that they
must give up their guns-the Sharp's rifles
with which they had been supplied at Chi
cago. After considerable parleying, they
quietly submitted to the demand, and their
arms were placed in a warehouse, a receipt
having been given for them. They then
proceeded up the river to Kansas City,
where the boat was boarded by Gen. Jones,
of s. c., with party of so S. Carolinians,
and afterwards by Atchison and Stringiel-
low, who told them no fighting companies
could now be allowed to go into Kansas, and
advised them to return home. Some ac-
counts say they generally concluded to take
the advice, while others say they wished to
land at Lcavenworth. Be that as it may,
however, at Leavenworth, finding a large
and, as they imagined, (perhaps truly
hostile crowd On shore awaiting them, they
remained on the boat, went with the boat up
to Weston, and then, under escort Of a
committee Of South Carolinians, returned
down the river, and were landed near Alton,
from whence most of them have found their
way back to Chicago.
y peaceable cmIgraEts, going to Kansas
TO become permanent settlers, such treat
mcnt doubtless could only be regarded as an
outrage, and would demand attention on the
part of our state authorities. But if the ac-
counts given in the Springfield and Alton
papers Of the character of these emi grants is
correct, they looked and acted more Ike a
set Of desperadoes bent on an expedition of
rapinc, than as peaceab!e emigrants. Then
the very circumstances under which they
Were sent, and the object avowed IN Chicago
OF sending them, was IN violation OF Gov
Shannon's proclamation. forblldng all such
parties to enter the territory. What right or
commission, however, the citizens of Lex
ington had to take their arms from them,
does not appear Probably they could have
produced the needed authority il it had been
required. 1t is not to be disguised, howe
yer, that there is q spirit OF lawlessness on
and that cmigrants who are in no sense either
border or abou ion rufiian3, are frequently
obliged to submit to unnecessary annoyance
often to outrage.
1t is not true, however, that all ernigrants
from the free states to Kansas are treated a
these Chicago troops" were We notice
frequently in the accounts from Kansas
paragraphs like this, which we find in the
Cincinnati Gazette Cfasion:)
\ gentleman, writing from Lawrence,
Kansas. on the sth, says: Seven wagons
with ,ruigrantS from Illinois and Indiana
havr F.-t arrived III town. They came
thr.g-a Missouri. Good for Illinois and In
diana. There Is a rumor that seventy
wagons "it4 cmigrants from Wisconsin,
crossed over into Kansas, from ST. Joseph,
yesterday afternoon. Better still for Wis
corsiE.'
The difference between these cmigrants
and those from Chicago is, simply, that the
former went with their families. cattle, fur
niture, and all the accOutrements indicating
that their object was actual settlement, and
no, that they came either as desperadoes or
political emissares. We have seen nothing
TO indicate that the latter class are badly
treated either in Missouri or Kansas, al
though from the feeling that exists it would
doubtless always be wiscst for enigrants from
the free states to avoid Missouri or the Mis-
souri, river We are not aware that the [.
: troops in kansa, or the President has any
authority to suppress or punish any outrages
that may be committed in Missouri on emf
grants to Kansas. The only remedy would
be in the courts of Missouri on which we
could advise nobody, in the present excited
state of feeling there, to place much re-
lance