Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1856-07-03
Written for the Green Mounatin Freeman.
Kansas Correspondance.
Council Cry, X. I. June 9th, ls5t

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aconaintel with the writer, proceed to lay be:
fore YOU, hastily. brief statement of our at
fairs. and IL few words in reg .rd to the nature
of the Tr'itnry.
The question is often asked, by these writing
me, .'ara things as bad as represented y can
say honestly that the half has not been toll
The Nco York Times and Tribune give II
true account as far as it goes but it is not
com,lete Mr. Sumner has come nearer setting
things forth in their true light than any man
in Congress whose speech have read (though
I have not seen Mr. Collamer's) An angel
would hardly be able to describe the damning
wickedness that has been plotted aud carried
into execution on our borders, much more to
make Eastern people believe it. When the re-
port came that Mr.. Sumner had been knocked
down in the Senate, by "a member of Congress,
we all said it is q lie," and now can hardly re-
alize that such is the case. So it is East the
publicImind which has SO long been accustomed
to peace to liberty of speech, and to law, is un-
able toconceive it possible that such scenes are
taking place in the center of this great common
wealth.
We ore not ignorant that the grand success
with which these unparalleled outrages are
carried on is as much attributable to Franklin
Pierce and his coadjutors as to the Border Ruff
fans sAll his officials here are men Pro-Slavery
to the backbone They wink at these crimes,
or, rather, urge them on, hoping thereby to
drive the Free State men out of the country.
The name of Frank Pierce is q Kissing and by
word in the mouth Of every honest man here.
Men here who voted for him, who worked with
indeiatigable energy to elect him to office
would not disgrace themselves by shaking bis
blood-stained hand. We look upon him with that
holy horror that the people of the Revolution
did upon George the third, while we pity not
Jess his stupid imbeclity. Our hearts bea,
with emotions Of love and reverence at the
mention Of the names of Collamer and Seward
and Sumner and they are as near and dear to III
as those Of Pitt and Thompson ever were tc
| the sons of seventy six. We feel that we are il
the right and it nerves our arms to know that
men of snch wisdom and integrity are on oul
side.
Man after man has been shot down here in
cool blood Highway robbery is of daily occur
renee. The burning Of houses is as frequent as
! the fires on our prairies. Our public thorough
fares are now blockaded by bands of armed
men, who take our provisions and goods, and
sometimes money and teams, and dispose oil
them as they like. Our mails are inspected SO
that not half our letters ever get through Mis-
souri,. And all these things are done and
done in open day, and no attempt is made by
the "AuthOrities > to bring this law brakers to
justice.
Tho Congressional Committee have finished
their labors and " black book will show you
how one ballot box has been dcsecrated. I'm
agine yourself in one little town near Burlington
81 voters and the night before election count t(
the nui},ber Of three hundred men from New
Hampshire some of them as far as from Con
cord, moving along in wagons drawn by mules
horses and oxen, on foot, and on horseback
bringing with them provisions, and whisky b,
the barrel, all armed to the teeth with rifles
shot guns, reyolvcrs, bowie knives &c; SCI
them pitch their tents, and listen to the repor
of their fire arms all night, and what is NOR
their drunken trawls and profanity and OF
the morrow have the pleasure Of witnessing
Judges of elections drvn from the polls ant
men of their own body appointed, their votes
deposited, and the ballot box taken along with
them, as towards evening they set up their line
of march homeward imagine yourself, | say
the spectator of such an occurrence and you
may have very accurate description of what
took place at this settlement, one year ago las'
March, ut the time of election.
These election frauds were but the beginning
of the ontrages which have followed. 1t is but
few days that the fine large Free State hote
at Lawrence was indicted, under the charge OF
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Judge Lecompt as nuisance and destroyed as
such by Government authority, Nor was this
all, the house of Gov. Robinson was pillaged
and burned and the Free State presses thrown
into the river. Men are stopped in the streets
Of Wesport, daily, and insulted, and sometimes
their horses and wagons taken away from them,
for the simple and only reason that they came
from free State A battle took place Il few days
since between here and Missouri between the
Border Ruffians and Free State men, in conse-
quence Of insults offered by the former to some
females. Two Rulians were killed, six wound
cd among the latter was man by the name
of MeGee, who is a perfect devil in human shape
and who. from the nature of his offence, was
wounded just as he deserved to be. The Free
State men lost none and had but two wounded
while they took twenty prisoners. The forces
men. auhbered thirty-two Border Ruifians and
thirty one Free State.
We aFs nearly cut off from supplies as we
are dependant almost entirely upon Missouri
for our provisions. Our population is scattered
over territory in extent as large as New Eng
land here we are deprived of that unity of &C.
ton necessary to defend ourselves to advan-
taee. We wait however to seei if VIC are to receive
assistance from the North if not you may no t
be surprised to hear that we are fighting our
battles alone We do not want men, true men,
who will die rather than surrender but we
are in want Of arms, and ammunition and pro-
visions, necessary to sustain a long conflict
L can not describe this country to you, as it
is not in the power of man to do SO. The fer
tility of the soil, the purity of the Atmosphere,
the loneliness of the landscape, are all unsur-
passed The fields are decked out in unsur-
passed loyeliness by the thousands of flowers of
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