Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1861-01-25
AsPRI>G GriaLD mANINCEoRcI.

Nj d tAn d. Mcknight, OF lilly Hayes Il
Co. g great clothing house in this city, re-
turned last Saturday evening. after a two
weeks absence, having been to Georgia ON
business. lie was in Georgia, at Savannah
and Macon, for only 4 week, and although
confning himself to these principal towns,
he says no one who has not been there can
imagine the strict espionage that exists over
all strangers no matter how quietly they
deport themselves His name was registered
as from New York, that being safer than to
acknowledge q residence in Massachusetts,,
aud yet a crowd would glther, even in the
leading hotel Of Savannah, to discuss tOGeth-
er over his name, to scrutinize him and point
him cut, and 10 express, as we'll IN words as
looks. their deep hostility to any one from
the North. At one time. in one of these
crowds. words ran high and he heard him5elF
called a - damned Government eOercer,"
sent to spy them out and point out, at sOmo
future time, the active leaders in secession.
s. It seems they duly consider the possibility
! Of & future arrlignment for high treason,
and the need, therefore, If guarding against
evidence being 90: against them At Macon
his styl. Of coat led people to think he was l
Yankee, and bat for his having a friend
there who answered for him. he might have
been troubled. lie was in Macon only a day,
and yet probably half the t0wl asked his
friend who he was, and whether il would be
safe 70 let him remain. One thing, however,
lie was informed Of, that be could by 10
possibility be allowed to 20 farther west, or
into the interior On the rIilroad trains
there were sharp eyes upon hlm, and he felt
| at every station the danger Of arrest by
! local vigilance committee. Indeed, he says
he never in his life felt 50 lOst-su constantly
! apprehensive Of cJwardIy attack, and 90 as If
! he was among untdrned savaccs. The looks,
speech and manner of the Georgians were
wild. They talked furi0usly. and all of the
same tenor-that they wanted "no com
promise, but only the independence of the
South and to whip the Yankee abolitiOnists.
Trade WAS at = cJm{ lete stand-still in ali
except fire arms, ami he heard a man say hs
had bought the las- pistol to be had at any of
the stores in savannah. While he was in
that ely Fort Pulaski was taken, and the
revenue cutter DJbbin seized The military
were in constant motion. The town WIS
II ldeI with posters calling the Owls"
"Rlttlesnakes, y "Aligators," Eagles"
and other secret organic ltions 10 De in their
nests at certain hour It was in npossi-
bic Tor him to get copies Of Savannah papers.
The hotel keepers would not supply the
reading Of them, but would even take them
away when got. On the steamer by which
he came to New York were some seventy
passengers, including al kinds Of peoIle,
and Northern men who represented u resi-
dence in ali the Gulf States There never
was seen haT pier set OF men than that on
the state OF Georgia as it steamed out of
Savannah river Men whom he had heard
IN the city pr0clIiminS as loudly as any for
secession, and denUuncing Massachusetts,
now Lifted up their voices for very i0y and
there was hardly passenger but now ayowed
a faith, the bare suspicion Of which would
have won him halter but an hour before
One man was Nova Scotian resident for
years in Savannah, who WAS only few eve
nlngs before waited upon by the "Owls, zone
of his own employees heading the rufianIy
gang. lie saved his life by showing pluck
and loaded weapons, but he seized the earl:-
est moment to escape. Another was a Nor
thern man, officer in the Savannah Blues,
and it would have been his turn next day to
90 to Fort Pulaski be fed without waiting
to settle up his uf.iVs, and, like the first
named, was glad to get off thus well The
passengers now began to relate the horrors
they had seen in their several localities. One
had seen three unOf -nding Northern men
shot down like dogs ard all agreed that the
half had not been told OF the frenzy and
madness OF the SJuthern people, Mr..
Mcknight says he would not 20 through an
other such week Of terror and espionage FOX
five thousand dolllrs.-SPrngfeld Repu56.
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