The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1856-07-10
LETTER FROM OUR KANSAS CORRESPONDENT.


Dcar Friend Daris Il have intended
to give you description of the Border
Rullian," q class Of men made famous by
the importance Of the events in which they
arc engaged. There being at present, no
thing of novelty Or interest to write about,
except perhaps few trite cases of murder,
robbery and violence, / will devote q por-
ton of this letter to the more pleasant task
Of drawing picture of such of the specie
of Border Ruffian as came under my obser-
vation in the late "war." Now it is proper
to make Il distinction between all who are
termed Border Ruilians by our Abolition
christcncrs, (including the whole pro.slavcry
party in the Territory, who are, by-the-by,
proud of the tifle,) and the bona .fde orr
ginal. OF tho former class, there were at
Lawrence, OH the memorable 2lst ult,
about five hundred, although the Tribune
reports t,cclre hundred Missourians. do
not think there were over scvcnty-fvc Bor-
der Ruflians who answered in any wise to
the following portrait:
Imagine u fine looking man, with heavy
heard and moustache, felt hat, red shirt,
(no coat,) blue pants, heavy boots drawn
over the pan;s, immense Spanish spurs, a
pair Of waterproof scabbards, each con.
tanning large "navy repeater" u Sharp's
, rifle slung over one shoulder, ard a large
bowic-knfe stuck into the right boot or
swinging to the same belt with the repeat
crs, charging down upon you across the
prairie on fine bay, or Il large Kentucky
mule. AS lie comes nearer, you see that
he is completely prepared for a long march,
rapid movements, and "soltary entertain
ment" on the prairie. lie rides deep
Spanish tree, which, without appearing
numbered, is yet rugged with the greatest
variety OF articles. His horsehair 'arracttc,
with an iron picket at one end, hangs from
the high pummcl. ~ portcmanteau or
Il pair of saddlebags contains II change Of
linen, IN extra rcd shirt, Gn case of rain,)
and two or three days rations Of bread
dried beef, ham, ground coffee, and sugar.
y pair of blankets, and a military cloak,
with cape and sleeves, are tied on behind.
~ pair OF pouches at the pummcl, contain n
flask or two Of whisky (also IN case Of ,min)
and some other extras. a cantccn slung
over the shoulder contains water, and a neat
leather box fastened to the belt is full Of
cartridges and caps. Besides all this, there
is generally number Of leather thongs,
fastened TO rings in various parts Of the
saddle, to which hang a lin cup, a small
cotfee-pot, somtimes a frying-pan, n hatchct,
&c, &c. Thus caparsoncd he can move
with case and celebrity, and like the brave
knights Of old, is ever ready for fight or
fun, and is equally at home in camp, in a
>Iuaiter's shanty, or on the lonely prairie
Most OF those with whom h"d IN opIor-
iuuity 20 l'cconlc intimate. had crossed the
plains, 10 Santa re, or Salt Lake, or CaSor-
mia, several times, and were in consequence,
the best OK drivers, the best cooks, aud the
most hardy soldiers that ever saw
Rough i'll their manners, but generous as
sailors, and sharp rs travellers, they are al
ways welcome, and always manage TO win
the hearts of their fellows. They are from
tho border counties Of Missouri, where they
leave their families and come to the Terri
tory occasionally to hold their claims, pay
their taxes, vote legally, and, if necessary,
fight. Most Of them intend moving into
the Territory rs soon as it is made slave
State. Such are the men about whom the
whole negro-stealing pack arc raising their
howl. And where they ..re not known,
doubtless much capital can be made on the
assertion of their fo1ciLle intervention
in the affairs of the Territory, &c.
But l am assured in what l assert, that
more Free-Soilers' votes than Border Ruff
lans, were pollcd here at the last election
on the pro-slavery ticket. How it happen
ed can be readily accounted for. The true
position of the border Missourans, in fact,
is to look on calmly, and without intcrfer-
ence, at the operations Of the ballotLox,
confident AS they are of the success of our
party but that when blows must be struck,
to be ready to sustain us with their arms.
That position they do maintsin with the
advice Of their leaders. All who are en-
gagged in this struggle in the Territory, act
upon tho same principle of maintaining tic
Legality of the party. In truth. why need
we 60 beyond the law when we are so am
ply protected and so completely successful
under the lawa 1t is a misconception that
has prevailed to considerable extent at
the South, that North and South occupy
equal ground, morally speaking, in this
Territory. So far, from that being the case,
the Abolition party denounces all claim to
having observed the laws, and large body