The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1862-10-25
REBEL FERoCITY.

tlt4eO 1nlrJeen moQtlS III Tie heDeI al
N.Y., written by young gentleman Of New
York, who was compelled TO enlist IN the
rebel army at the peril of his life, and from
which he eventually escaped. The sheets
before US contain the account of his seizure
as Northern man, and of the feroclty of a |
self-styled vigilance committee. threatening
his life under the pretense of his being an
abolitionist. We copy part of his first
interViewswith this drunken committee, as
a graphic description of the low state of
society in Arkansas, made still lower and
MORE inhuman under the inspiration of
l, Sliissk and al rebellion: .- - @at'
| About 12 O'Clock we reached the place,
and was ushered into the presence of fifty
or sixty as graceless scoundrels as even
! Arkansas can present, who greeted me with
Kisses, groans, and cries of Hang him p
Burn him % etc. Two-thirds of the mob
were maddened by the vile liquor which
abounds in such localities, and few, if any,
were entirely sober. The hope that my
innocence would protect me, which had
cherished till now, vanished, for we'll
knew that drunken cut-thIoats were blind
to reason, and rather offended than attracted
| by innocence.
Order was soon restored, and my friend
| Mr.. Scruggs was called to the chair. In
this saw ray of hope. The constitution
and bylaws of the Vigilance Committee
were read the substance Of which was, that
in the present troubled state of the country
the citizens resolve themselves into court
of Justice to examine all Northern men, and
that any man of abolition principles shall be
hung. The roll was called, and I noticed
that large proportion of the men present
were members of the committee; the others
were boatmen and loafers collected about the
town. The court of Judge Lynch opened,
and was put upon trial as an abolition
list whose business there to incite an
instruction among the slaves
The first efforts of the chairman to get
the witnesses to the point were unsuccess-
full. A mob is not an orderly body, and a
drunken mob is hard to manage. General
charges were freely made without much
point One cried out. because [ refused to
drink with them: "This should hang him;
he is too white -Hvered to take dram with
gentlemen; let him swing" EYES," shout
ed another, "he's cursed Yankee teetotaler
hang him" In quiet way showed
them that was not the indictment, and that
hanging would be severe punishment for
such sin of omission. To this rejoinder
some assented, and the tide seemed for
momentato be setting in my favor, when an
other urged, Hes too burned smart for
this country. He talks like a Philadelphia
lawyer" Arkansas would be a poor place
for the members of the legal profession from
the City of Brotherly Love. "He comes
here to teach US ignorant backwoodsmen.
Well show him new trick, how to stretch
/ ho A he
chairman got them to the specified crime.
I''An abolitionist - an abolitionist ~ they
cried with intense rage-some of them were
too drunk to pronounce the word-but the
more sober ones prevailed, and they exam
to nothing, and they piled me with Sques-
tons as to my views on slavery. | an
swered promptly, but briefly and honestly,
that I held no views on that subject to
which they should object, and that / had
never interfered with the Institution since
came among them, nor did intend to do
so. My calmness seemed to battle them for
a moment, but the bottle was passed, and /
noticed that all reason fed from the great
majority. Words grew hot and fierce, and
| eyes flashed 6re,while some actually gnash-
ed their teeth in rage saw that the mob
would soon be uncomfortable unless the
chairman brought matters to an end, and
suggested, that as there was no evidence
against me, they should bring the trial to a
close, when to my surprise they produced
The letter written to my father but thirty-six
hours before, as proof conclusive thatI was
a Northern abolitionist. l then saw, what
l have had abundant evidence Of SINCE that
! the United States mail was subject to the
inspection of Vigilance Committee in the
South at their pleasure. The ruffianism of
these scoundrels did not allow them even4o
apologize for their crime. The only phrase
IN the letter objected to was the unfortunate
but truthful one, '.This is a hard place"
never felt its force as at that instant Ii
served as catch-word for more abuse
es, We'll make it hard place for you be-
fore you get out of it, you internal spy"
etc, The chairman argued rather feebly, I
thought-but he understood lis audience |
better than did--that the letter was free II
from any proof against me, that ] was an
innocent looking youth and had behaved |
myself correctly, that | evidently did mot
know much about their peculiar Institution, |
and he thought 1 had 10 designs against it. |
They then went into private consultation, |
while l kept my place upon the counter.
though gradually moving back to the fur
Their edge of it. 1 saw the crisis was at
hand, for smothered but angry argument
was going on in angry knots of men all over
the room; my life was suspended upon a
breath, and was utterly powerless to
change the decision, whatever II might be;
but must say that nv nerves were steady /
and my hand untrembling-the unwonted /
calmness of one who knew that death was
Il l. Il a
alive of the charge, and who was determin-
ed TO defend himself tn the Last 40 T yell I