Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1860-11-09
CARD FROM s. STRAIGHT-TIiE WAY
tiEEsCHASFS III TRAVELLING ON BUSE-
u NESS ARE TREATED BY DISJNJCN
DEMOCRATS IN THE SOUTH



paper Of this morning induces me to
offer you the essential facts in regard to
my recent experience in the South. To
save space and repetition, I refer your
readers to my card in this mornings
Commercial, for statement of the pru-
dence [ used, and one of the causes of
my interruption.
1t has been verbally stated here that
[ met with trouble in Atlanta, which is
entirely destitute of truth. There and
at Macon was treated most courteously.
At Columbus no one offered me any in /
suit that L am aware of, though, as |
afterwards learned, those Rome Gar
Courier missiles had been copied there
before my arrival AtNashvil!e, Clarks
vile, McMinnville, Chattanooga, Knox
vile, Morristown and other places in
Tennessee, | was treated with all the
respect and kindness that any Demo
cratic business man could even desire.
arrived at Rome, Ca, Saturday
evening; attended church and Sabbath
school the day following; called on the
merchants ON Monday, and left, when
ready, on the evening train. At this
place much of bitter disunion spirit was
constantly revealing itself and here, in
the Courier, originated the article which
proved a leading instrumentality in
bringing on the trouble in which [ be-
came involved in Montgomery. At Ma
rietta, Griffin, West Pointand La Grange,
GA, all on VIII ON [ called acted the part
Of gentlemen.
[ arrived at Montgomery, Alabama,
on Friday noon, Goth ult., and put up at
the Exchange Hotel, one of the largest
and most deservedly popular public
houses in the country. At night [ went
to hear speech from Senator Toombs,
which was full of treason, and admirably
calculated to arouse the most violent
feelings of all who heard him, toward
the people of the Free States, and pre-
pare them for the part some of them
acted during the afternoon Of the follow
ing day: I can give the substance of
this speech from my notes, if desired
This Breckenridge rally called to
Montgomery an unusual number of the
followers of Messrs. Yancey, Toombs &
Co., who had no better business on hand
than retailing the senseless falsehoods
in regard to Republican completely in
the destruction of life and property in
Texas, (Which Gen. Sam Houston says
in his Austin (Texas) speech never oc-
cured by any agency,) indulging freely
in strong drinks, and working them
selves up into an earnest desire to take
the lives Of some members Of the party
they believed about to wrest from them
the power so long held and so basely
abused. Under these peculiar crcum-
stances one of the leading merchants on
| whom l called very imprudently CUES
toned me in regard to my political
views, &c, not thinking that he was
kindling an excitement among those
who listened that it might soon be i'm
possible to control or subdue. Passing
over incidents which, though of much
interest, as showing the progress of
mobs, the management of vigilance com
mittees, &c, &c, would occupy too much
space, We arrive at the searching of my
trunk by members Of the vigilance com
mittee, the declarations Of outsiders, in-
termingled with the most horrid oaths,
that they would gladly shoot me down
on the street as though a mad dog, cut
me up with knives, and amuse them
selves Iii various ways at the expense Of
my life, and pass on to the time when
the members of this Committee, num-
bering thirty five, and including some
Of the wealthiest and most popular
citizens of Montgomery, who had me in
charge, and the proprietors of the Ex
change hotel became seriously alarmed
for my safety.
During all this time the apparent
danger which threatened my life seemed
like a dream to re, though l saw evi-
dence in the very looks and all the ac-
tions of those who sought to protect me
that it must be real to them My ex-
traordinary composure, even when
! threatened with being sent to planta-
| ton few miles out, ornamented with
ball and chain, to work in place of
slave that had escaped to Ohio, till our
people would return him, seemed to en-
rage my prosecutors. The scene Of ex-
element my slavery would cause, which
rose before my mental vision, was so
ludicrous as to render it difficult to con-
ceal my mirth. 1t was almost as anus
ing as the Montgomery Advertisers
description Of my nose and whiskers.
But l must leave incidents, and hasten
to close. After hiding me away for
some time, in an unfrequented part of
the hotel, away from light, or anything
to reveal my locality, and assuring the
crowd of my innocence of ''incendiary
documents" with promises that the
Vigilance Committee would give me my
deserts, the mob reluctantly and slowly
dispersed. Your well meaning CORES
podent &C." is greatly in error in his
reference to ny fears, my "hasty re-
treat the desire of the citizens of
Montgomery to protect me, and their
censure of the Vigilance Committee
The truth is, so far as human agencies
were concerned, under the guidance Of a
merciful Providence, nay life was pre-
served by some of the members of that
Vigilance Committee, and the proprie-
tors of the Exchange Hotel. If the
professions Of those conservative" citi-
zens were sincere, why did they not,
like brave, generous men, hazard their
lives, if necessary, in protecting an in
nocent stranger? This is the first l
have heard of this stuff, and it comes
too late The truth is, those who are so
clever noU, were afraid Of the mob and
the Vigilance Committee then.
Mr.. Hargroye and others, who were
most active in securing my protection,
advised NE by all means to leave on the
night train for some other place (allow-
ing me to 60 where [ pleased afterward)
assuring me my life would probably be
the forfeiture if | had the imprudence