The Kansas herald of freedom., 1858-05-08
Exposition of the Bourbon Co. Difficulties.

Exposition Of the Bourbon Co. Difficulties.
LITTLE Usage April, l, 1858.
Nh. BRowN When last wrote you, /
intended to continue my plain and home
ly exposition of the difficulties in Bour-
bon County, but was taken aback by some
new developments and concluded to wait
few days. Time sped, and several new
scenes in the, shall I call it drama, had
passed. About the first of March last,
the Free State settlers in this part of the
Territory had become intensely excited
on account of the ruffian deeds that had
been perpetrated at the Fort, and on the
Little Usage. It's not saying more than
the truth viii warrant perhaps, to state
that some threats had been made against
the persons engaged in provoking this
deep feeling of the public mind. About
this time Gov. Denver, through the false
representations of the friends ofruffianism
as it here exists, was induced to send two
companies of Federal troops to Fort Scott.
To denominate them the friends of ruff
fianism is perhaps going to far, but SO they
are regarded. If they are the friends of
law and order, why have they not used
their power to suppress the many acts of
violence, perpetrated in the Fort ? Why
has the robbing of Johnston been suffered
to pass unoticed Why has an effort
been made even to justify the villainous
deed by ominous hints against his char
acter? The facts are not covered up here.
The citizens know what position certain
law-abiding pretenders in this part of the
country sustain. Again: Why was not
the lawless and blood-thirsty Clark ar
rested and put under bonds of peace on
the occasion of his slapping Mr. Craw-
ford in the face ? Why was not ex-sher-
if Hill and Brocket brought to justice
when they, in broad daylight, on the Sab
bath day, fired three shots at two men
riding through town on their way to Mis-
souri, ? These are questions the civil cit
liens would Ike to have answered by
those whose duty it is to see the laws
faithfully executed. Why are those
gambling bells and gambling devils suf-
fered to remain nuisance and an outrage
to the moral sense of the civil part of the
community -? There is something rotte 4
in Denmark fear some men in high
places will be weighed in the balances and
found wanting. The truth is, the Free
State settlers on the Usage, and on the
Marmaton are good citizens, and opposed
to lawlessness and violence, but they
have been driven to look to their own
strong arms for protection.
Well, what has been done About the
time the troops arrived at the Fort, a
company of armed men came down
from the north and made strong dem
onstration against some violent men iv-
ing high up on the Osage-Zamalt was
shot through the shoulder by man, as
we have been informed, whom he had
most violently handled in the summer
of '56; the Farrises, of somewhat wide
reputation, were also visited, plundered
and ordered to leave. This demonstra-
ton produced great excitement; the
troops were ordered out, but were moi
able to arrest any persons engaged in these
transactions, they were headed by Depu.
ty Marshal Little with writs against a
number of the Free State settlers on the
| Usage. I do not know whether any per-
son has yet been informed what crime
was charged. The troops acted as posse
until some five persons were arrested
These actions aroused the citizens to the
point of taking up arms against the Fed
eral troops. Open rebellion, if it can b
called rebellion, stared us in the face
We felt that we must submit to unnum
bered indignities or give those engaged il
arresting our citizens for supposed offences
to understand that we would not suffe
those things to be repeated. This bring
us up to the 10th of March.
CHEROKEE.