The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1857-08-27


dred horsenen, appeared on the top o1
Mount Dread, on the outskirts of the
town OF Lawrence, where their cannon
had been stationed late on the preceding
night. The town was quiet, and the
citizens had resolved go submit without
resistance 10 any outrage whcih might be
perpetrated About seven O'Clock, Dr..
Robinson house, which stood on the
side of the hill, was taken possession Of
and used Al the headquarters Of the in-
vadcIs. At eight O'Clock the main body
Of the army posted themselves on the
outer edge Of the town Deputy Mar
shall Fain. with ten men, entered Law.
renee, and without molcstation served
The wrts in his possession, and arrested
Judge q. ". Smith and g. ". Deitzler
F2in and his companions dincd at the
Free-jStatc Hotel, and afterwards return
ed to the army on Mount Dread The
Marshal then dismissed his monster posse,
telling them he had 10 further use for
them.
1t was near = three o'clock in the after
noon when suddenly another actor ap-
pearod upon the stage The dead"
and "dying" the immortal Sheriff Jones
rode rapidly into Lawrence, al the
! head Of twenty five mounted men and
Rs he passed along the line Of the troops,
he was received with deatening shouts Of
applause. Ills presence vas the signal
for action, and i sanction for the outra-
ges that ensEed
Atchison then addressed his forces, III
language not sufficiently we'll selected
for cars polite, and then marched the
whole column TO within short distance
of the hotel, where they halted. Jones
now informed Col Eldridge, the propri-
etor, that the hotel must be destroyed
he was acting under orders he had writs,
issued by the First District Court of the
United States, to destroy the Free State
Hotel, and the Offices OF the NlrQld Of
Freedom and Free State The Grand
jury at Lecompton had indicted them as
nuisanecs, and the Court had ordered
them to be destroyed lie gave Col FL
drigc an hour and half 10 remove his
family and furniture, after which time
the demolition commenced, and was
prosecuted with en- earnestncss that
would have done credit 10 better cause
In the N, antime, the newspaper Offices
had been assailed, the presses broken 10
pieces, and these, with the type and 9th
er material thrown into the Kansas river.
The following extract from the report of
these transactions, given in the columns
of the Lccompton t,nion, the most rabid
pro-slavery paper in Kansas, the ,Sqaeat-
ter Sorerctyn excepted, ia too significant
not to be read with interest:
Whilst the work Of destruction was
going on at the printing Offices, The bom-
bardmept Of the hotel, strongly con-
structed three story building, commenc-I
ed. Kegs Of gunpowd.r had been placed
inside, and the house fired in nuEcrous
places and whilst the flames were doing
their destructive work within, heavy can
non were hattering against the walls !
without and amid the cracking Of the (
confagration, the noise Of falling walls
and timbcrs, and the roar of the artillery
were mingled the most frantic yells Of
satisfaction that constantly burst from
the ''law and order lovers of Kansas
Territory Jones was in extaoics. lie .
rat upon his horse, contemplating the ,
havoc he was making, and rubbing his :
hands with wild delight, exclaimed: This /
is the happiest day of my life. deter
mined 10 make the fanatics bow before .
me in the dust, aud kiss the Territorial
laws; and | have done it--by Cd |
have done it
And then followed scenes Of reckless .
pillage and wanton destruction in all /
parts of that ill-fated town. Stores were
broken into and plundered of their con-
tents. Bolts and bars were no obstacles I
to tho entrance Of drunken and infuri-
ated men into private dwellings,, from
which most of the inhabitants fed in
terror. From these everything Of value
was stolen, and much that was useless
TO the maraudcrs was destroyed.
The closing act of this frightful drama
was the burning Of the house of Dr. Rob
inson, on the b,ow Of Mount Dread
This was set on fire after the sun had
gone down, and the bright light which
its flames she'd over the country illumi-
mated the paths Of the retreating army
as they proceeded TO their homes, piilag-
ing houses, stealing horses, and violating
the persons of detenceless women. All
these dreadful deeds were done by hu-
man authority, There is Yet an account
to render to Higher Power.
This was the state of affairs near Hick-
DRY Point on the morning of the 9th of
june. Whitfield was eneamped behind |
Palmyra with near three hundred men
The free-state camps mustered, or mus
tering, on that day, were about two hun
dred strong, and two companies were
marching from Topeka with fifty NOR
who arrived the day after, , /