The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1860-10-18
Or;s, of tse wide Awakes.
Nersngland claims the birthplace of th

u
. Nepsngland claims the birthplace of this
: movesht, Hartford being the Connecticut
cradlih which the infant was matured.- =
: 1t ojnated in accident, like many another
:, eve,fraught with great portent, and rapidly
= as aed its present gigantic proportions
81 1t opened in this wise On the night Of
" thj5th of FEBRUARY, 1860, the city of Hart
= foIwas much moved by the advent of the
. ri Cassius NJ. Clay, the well known Re-
:" pIlican orator, who was to address the
: Witty citizens of the vicinity. Some en-
: tbsiastic young Republicans of the neisl,bor-
" pd decided to act as an escort to the distin-
, hished visitor, and in pursuance of this de-
:, Ign borrowed from a fire company hard by,
bme of their fireman's torches. Being of a
hther fastidious turn of mind, and withal
inclined to protect their broadcloth from oily
Innovation, they procured some glazed cloth
and cut into the form of capes to protect
their shoulders. A few glazed caps compl ted
the preparations, and thus equipped they
started to meet the orator. Their novel half
military appearance attracted considerable
attention and drew forth the rlaudits of the
assembled multitude, rewarding them for
their forethought On their return home
one of the party was attacked by sturdy
Democrat. But blow from the original
Wide Awake torch stretched him on the
ground and stopped all further disturbance
Before dismissal meeting was held, and
after expressing their indignation at the at
tack, they resolved to form club oflimited
numbers, equipped with swinging torches
and black capes and caps, to act as a special
escort on occasions of public parade, and DC
ready at all times for any like duty that
might forward the Republican cause. In
pursuance of these resolutions meeting of
young men was held on the Sd of March fol.
lowing, who resolved to form a"Wide Awake
club" of fifty, under the command of Capt.
James S. Chalker, the gentleman who felled
the pug nacious Democrat on the first parade,
A constitution was adopted, officers elected
and all the necessary steps taken. The op-
position press of Hartford, little imagining
this was the initiation of a gigantic move
ment, made themselves. very merry at the
expense of the Hartford Wide Awakes allu-
ding to their uniform, they christened them
the "Mantilla Cadets" and, as some of the
first members were young men, called them
the Fifty infants whose mamas didn't know
they were out :" asked that "stick ofcandy
be presented to each one,' &C., &c. In
spite of theirjibes and jeers the movement
spread like wildfire, and at the next meeting,
held only three days after their organization,
they were obliged to dispense with the rule
limiting their numbers, and Immediately en-
rolled number Of new members At their
first parade, held soon AFTER they counted
by hundreds. and their fame noised abroad.
In the course of fortnight, clubs were start.
ed in Bridgeport, Waterbury, Norwich, Union
vile, and in nearly all the towns throughout
the State. Men of all ages and occupations
fostercd and encouraged the organization.
On the 9th Of March, at the dedication Of a
camp in Hartford, over two thousand Wide
Awakes assembled, paraded tie streets in
torchlight array, and, owing to the immense
number Of torches, making a most brilliant
and imposing appearance. The Republicans
of Hartford were overwhelmed with letters
from all parts of the Union, asking for infor-
nation touching their rules, manner ofcrgan-
ization, drills, &c. 1t was at last found nec-
essary to inauSurate some system by which
these letters could be answered, and notice
was inserted in all the Republican journals,
that Mr.. Ii. T. Sperry, corresponding secre-
tary of the Hartford Wide Awakes, would
give all desired information. In the course
Of few weeks that gentleman had received
and fled over 500 demonstrations.
Thus the Wide Awake movement was
inaugura.ed, rapidly extending its ramifica-
tons from Maine to MiSsouri.--N Y Herald.
Lessons from tl,e Leaves.