White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1860-07-19
{ WHOLE NUMBER, l5S.
Scenes at Charleston.

Here Is one Of many scenes transporting
ing at Charleston, during Convention
week as dsguerreotyped by the correspon.
dent of the N. Y. Rtrold: %.
Imagine crowded bar room. A hun
dred people present. Huge bowls Of
claret punch. brandy punch and other
luxurious connections OF the balmy South
are loading down the counters About
ten expert blacks assist the white bar
princes in turning out cocktails, sherry
COOLERS, mint juleps, smashes, and all
sorts of those things The weather IL
hot; the people are thirsty. Loud dec
lamations, secret conelaves, soft and hard
whisperings, plotting and counter plot.
tings, stratagems, pineplaying, and all
other surroundings Of ahigh blooded po-
litical convention, give zest to social
drink that no other excitement can pro-
duee; and yet the bright fragrant roses
you see through yonder window seem to
weep and bow their heads sorrowfully in
the gentle south wind as each drink is
swallowed. There are drinkers from the
North. drinkers from the luxurianI West,
drinkers from the fiery South-drinkers
from everywhere. The conversation is
heated, although drinks are cooling. The
perspiration pours from many a swarthy
brow. Douglas will sweep the whole
Northwest" cries one. ''IIe will set
the prairies a-burning. and all HI can't
put the FIRE out" "He is true friend
Of the South, let the South say what they
please" Californian appears. Dick
inson of New York, is his man, and the
man of his delegation. A New Yorker
appears-rather Seymourish. A Penn
sylvanian enters Some Guthrie-some
Breckinridge-some Douglas" More
drinks. A fire eating Louisianian APP
pears. lie curses both loud and deep.
He comes to Charleston to expose and
denounce Slidell and Benjamin, U. s.
Senators from his State. From what be
says they are brace Of very wicked men.
But behold q gray bearded defender Of
Slidell appears. According to his &C.
count, Slidell is good and true man
true to his friends as steel to the mag
net. More drinks. A Northener's ORTIZ
odoxy is questioned. He becomes en-
ragged and pronounccs the statement a
damned lie No challenge-no duel.
More drinks. Two Southern young bloods,.
rich, with nothing to do but to spend
money. get into a quarrel. They are
somewhat elevated. Words grow warm.
An epithet is uttered, followed on the
other side by blow on the breast l.
Hatchets and bowie knives are talked of.
Friends interfere. Reconciliation. Shake
hands. More drinks. A Westerner
says. if people will quarrel about poll
tics in bar rooms he will make speech:
He speaks. More drinks. And so it is
for hours and hours. They talk and talk
-jabber and jabber-bet and bet, drink
Five hundred dollars day for drinks is
one of the items Of receipts at the Mills
House. They tell me that the liquors
are good. As q general thing the views
Of the principal bar rooms are in favor Of
Douglas. -..
The great heat Of the weather here
30 degrees of Fahrenheit-hhs not d.
the srdor Of the partizans of
Of the several candidates but, on the
other hand. they pitch into the business
Of buttonholing and electionesring with
ardor Of new recruits, and refresh their
zeal with the aid which, in . warm eli
mate. is to be obtained through the most
luxurious potations.