Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1857-10-10
The Knight Of iE.e Enquirer.

'Come hither. merry sir what tilukest
thou Suppose these miil-hammers had
really been some perilous adventure, have
not given proof Of the courage requisite to
undertake and achieve it? Am / obliged,
being a Knight as am, to distinguish sound,
and know which are and which are not
those of fulling- mil? But let these six
fulling-hammers be transformed into six
giants. and let them beard me one by one,
or all Together, and if do hot set item all
on their heads, then make what Jest chou
wilt of me-" 50 discourses the worthy
Knight de La Mancha after his charge upon
the six giants, who turned out to be only six
honest mill-hammers.
ave were led to believe from attending
Republican meetings and reading Republican
papers, that a party existed in this State
whose great end and aim was to convert
our prosperous Iowa into Slave State.
We could not help thinking that as all the
Republicans were telling long stories about
slavery and pro-slavery party, there must
be some person or some party endeavoring
to force slavery upon the people of this
State"
SO dscourses grave!y the Knight of the
Enquirer. ''The night was dark so says
the veritable biographer of the renowned
Don Quixotte, "they heard dreadful din
of irors and rafting chains accompanied
with mighty strokes repeated in regular
| time and measure. and they chanaed to enter
| q grove of tall trees, whose leaves, agit ted
| by the breeze, caused rnstling noise, not
| loud, though fearful; so that the solitude,
the situation, the darkness and the sound OF
rushing water with the agitated leaves, all
concnrred in producing surprise and hor-
ror.'
Something similar seems to have been the
experience of the Knight Of the Enquirer in
his adventurous search after that terrible
pro-slavery party, which like the redoubted
mll-hammers terrifying the nightly vigil:
of him of k,a Mancha, haunts him with 6
s'tlreadful din of irons and rattling chains, y
to say nothing of the 'rustling noise not lou(
though fearful Of the voices of the people
which comes up di,tantly from the prairie
] and the frest, ''as Of leaves agitated by tn,
breeze" telling him of defeat and dishonor
Perhaps in attending those Republican meet
ings and reading those Republican papers o
which he speaks, a dim conception has a
length floated through his mind Of the exist.
ence Of pro-slavery party somewhere, ant
dark vision Of fettered gangs Of slaves
marching in black columns, to the midnigh
invasion of some fair free territory, has bee
pictured by his excited imagination, and h
has dreamed that he even heard the rattlin
of their chains as they filed by him, but tina
was all he. could understand. Where tha
terrible pro-slayery party existed? Where
was aiming to introduce slavery? Whthe
those black swarms of invaders were goin
and into what fair land they were about t
be yomited? whether Iowa or the commo
territory of the country, he was not sure
He thinks Mat 1T asas loco. He says: ''W
were led to believe that party existed i
this State whose great aim was to CONVEX
! it into slave State,' and 1--WE could nc
help thinking that there must be some part
endeavoring to force slavery upon the pee
, pie of this State Such is the deliberat
3 and recorded conclusion to which, afte
, three or four years of active political lii
. and after an exciting Presidential campaign
the editor of the Enquirer has solemnly al
) rived. With such a confession of faith ,
. the result of all that he has seen and hear,
a we are not presumptuous, enough to expe'
to changeit by any statement of facts "
can make, and we leave him thus trustftl
: ly and patiently waiting the advent of th
v party which is to advocate the fntroductit
5, Of slavery into Iowa, and we hope and pre-
S that when they do come, like his prototy]
It Of the ''Sorrowful Figure,' he will set the
all on their heads.'