Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1856-06-06
The Soaking of Lawrence.


We give the account furnished to Nj,
souri, paper Read, and remember Tho
lives and property Of honest Freemen 6rd
no protection from the Government oc u.
United States. u $. troops-whose soty,
ces you pay for, freenen of Vermont ne.
on the ground they could stay the hands If
incendaries, robbers and murderers, b,,
your President has put them under the chi,
troll Of the tool Of the Brgonds--your Sec.
rotary Of War has ordered them onh To mn,
down the true people of Kansas. no, ,bo
Ruilians from the South Shannon will No.,
intereiore--and so your troops permit tho
Scouudrels to do their worst What lbnb
you of your Rulers, and of their toadIes a,
the North who support lhemi What think
you Is your duiy3
An eye witness writes 10 the Missouri
| Democrat graphic and detailed account If
/ the dolngs Of the law and ORDER mob n,
Lawrence, on the 2lst. We copy it entire
"A little before sunrise on "Wednesday
morning, May 2lst, body of men, armed
with u. s. muskets and cannon, appeared
upon the hill, about three lourihs Of mile
snuth-engt from the town Of Lawrence Adj
dltlonal forces continued TO arrive for sever.
al hours from the direction Of Lecomp,on.
and also from Franklin. Between eight and
nine o'clock part of the troops moved down
to the north, by Gov. Roblnson's house. TO
a hill Immediately overlooking the town.
About I O'Clock, the u. $. Deputy Marshal
w. +. Fah-three weeks FROM Georgia
with posse Of eight men, came into Law
renee. They were respectfully received al
the EIdudge House. The Mrrshal fir,t
summoned severa. prominent citizens 10 aid
his posse, and then proceeded 20 aires, judge
smith and Colonel Dietzler on O. charge of
high treason Judge Smith was sitting IN
the reading room Of the Hotel, and when Doe
formed that the Marshal wished TO see him.
he cheoriully went INTO his room and sub
mlued himself to the arrest. During these
proceedings there was no STIR or excitement
M the town, and not more than twenty or
thirty men were about the streets Tie
Marshal and his posse took dinner at the
Hotel, utter which Col Eldudge went with
his hack nnd conveyed the prisoners aud
part of the posse TO the camp.
The Marshal now dismissed his entire
posse, and Sheriff Jones immediately sum.
f'N''NN t''ftti NAAf anu AlANl IpNIlii'NLNA lIW
scenes dlsgracetul 10 humlmiv. destruction
10 Kansas, aud the end Of which God only
knows
About one o'clock T.. NJ. Jones rode into
town with pusse of twenty-five mounted
men, armed with muskets and bnyonois.-
They proceeded 90 The Hotel. and Jones
called for General Pomeroy. lie came to
the door, Jones stated he had several tunes
been resisted n that pace-attempts bad
been made 10 assasslna,e him and Doe nov
declared lint he was determined 60 exc.
cute the law d be lost bus lite And now
sand be demand of you, as the most prom
inent man ln the place, the surrender of au
The cannon and Shapes rifles that YOU have.
aud give you five minutes to decide whe,h-
60 you will give them up taking out hrs
watch, aud noting the time. The General
went up 10 the Committee room, and return
ed 30 few minutes. aud repuei that the
cannon would be given up, but that there
were no shapes rifles in the place, except
such az were private property and that those
could not be surrendered. Jones seemed tn
be OF opinion that they had niles which we're
not private property, aud requested blu TO
stack all they had ~ the street, and said that
such as could be proved TO be private pro-
perry would be returned. By this tune. the
"ho'e posse, Varlously estimated at from i've
TO eight hundred men, were marching down
the bill, aud coming into town on the south
side.
The cannon -four plecesl we're produced
and carried through the street. One was
brass q FOUNDER the others little pnpguns,
which man could carry on his should
ers. No niles were delivered up. Jones
now told Col EIdndge, who occupied the
hotel aud owned tho furniture, that The hotel
must be destroyed that he was acting
strictly under orders. The grand iuri, al
Leconlpion hat declared the hotel and presses
al Laurence a nuisance, and ordered him 10
G,stroyed them. lie would give Col Eldrdge
an opportunity 70 remove he furniture. and
for that purpose he might have until i've o.
CLOCK. 10 was then fifteen minutes past three.
Col. hldudge replied that the furniture could
not De removed IN less than half a dav. and
desired a longer time. Jones refused 49,
men, sand Eldudge, give me time To remove
my ihmllyi that is all ask. A part of lc
iurnnure was afterwards removed by the
posse as plumber, but most Of II was burned
with the house. BY this time the law and
order mob was pouring INTO the streets, and
the residents men, women and children,
sought shelter IN the adjoining woods.
he hrst property destroyed was the press
Of the Kansas Free State, which was thrown
into the river, and everything pertaining to
the oltce, with exchanges, paper, and large
quantity OF miscellaneous books, was thrown
INTO the street, mutilated and DESTROYED. -
he nag OF the lone star e South Carolina
aud Southern Rights was hosted first on
me house OF q. w. Brown, OF the H,raM
/ Of Freedom aud afterwards upon the hotel
browns press and everything N the Office
shared the same fate as the other, aud wsg-
on load OF booAs and papers was tumpled m
the streets.
Jones promised at the commencement that
no private property would be DESTROYED. But
houses were broken opon and robbed Of
whatever suited the fancy OF the mob.-
I'ocAs'ootts aho oars were no security. VIM
dows and doors were broken aud DESTROYED.
ana money aud yaluables to large amount
missing. II was currently reported. and un-
contradlcted, that eight thousand dollars.
chiehy ~ money, was lost from one house.
About two o'clock, three cannon were
placed IA the street, twelve or fifteen rods
east OF the hotel, aud some thirty shots were
hred, shatlenng the wall considerably. but
proving altogether too slow method of de-
slructon Tor these law and order men,
I lhey then set lire 10 the building la differ
ent places aud put several kegs OF powder
under H. The flames and smoke soon burst
out at the windows, and the whole building
was IN blaze. The walls trembled and
tell, AID the shouts and yells OF the mob
proclaimed the triumph of law and order ia
Lawrence, While the hotel was burning,
the house of q. w. Brown was twice set Oh
fire. The floor was burned through. The
ire was finally extingulshed by some young
men OF Lawrence. The mob threatened TO
shoot them, but they were not deferred. II
his house had burned, several others must
certainly have been destroyed, and there
would have been danger Of burning nearly
half OF the town Many of the mob were
bent on destroying every house IN the place,
ana speeches we're made urging the deslruc-