The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-07-03

Nee IRON the Territory. LANE did the latter, |
escaping in disguise. He returned in the fall, |
however, leading in a company of armed emf
grants from the North by way OF Nebraska. The
line of march he then took over the untrodden |
prairies is known as "LANE's road" to this day.
In the summer of 1858, the unfortunate hom |
eide of GAIs JENKINS occurred. The crcumstan. |
ces we're briefly as follows:-LANE aud JENKINS |
were contestants for very valuable claim ad- |
Joining the city of lawrence. Each was living |
upon the claim-thelr houses not far separated. |
Within the yard of Lanes house was well from |
which both families had been in this habit of
using water. There were two ways of entering
the yard, one of which LANE fastened up; JEN
K1Ns tore down the fastenings; LANE restored
them JENKINS sent hostile message TO him
that he was coming that way for water again,
and soon made his appearance, armel with an
axe, and accompanied by a couple of friends,
one or both of whom had firearms. LANE took
o shotgun from the house, and stationed him.
self near the well, warning JENKINS not to ap.
proacb. JENKINS paid no attention to him, but
broke down the gate with his axe, aud ad-
vanced towards the well. LANE fred upon him
at the distance of few feet the whole charge of
fine bird shot striking him full in the breast and
causing bis almost instantaneous death. Nearly
simultaneous with the explosion OF LANES gun
several shots were fired from the other side, one
of which struck LANE in the leg, innicting a
severe flesh wound. OF course, the affair caused
intense excitement, as JENKINS was an old and
prominent citizen, and had many friends both
in Kansas and at the East LANE sustained
protracted examination before three justices OF
the peace, who refused to bind him over for
trial, and, we believe, no bill of Indictment in
The case was ever found by grand Jury of the
county. The legal contest for the claim was
carried to the Court of last resort and the claim
was finally awarded to LANE. The growth of
the city of Lawrence had, meanwhile made
much OF it available for building purposes, so
that it had become extremely valuable. After
the contest was over he male The widow pre-
sent of SlJOO; she, however, in consideration,
giving him quiet titlc to the land.
Upon the admission of Kansas os a state,
LANE was elected one OF her first Senators
drawing the short term of four years. At its
expiration he was elected TO the full term of six
years from the 4th of March, 1865. During the
war he held several quasi military positions,
which, however, on the whole, added no II sire
70 his reputation.
AS public speaker, under favorable circum.
stances, LANE had few superiors. He made no
impression in the Senate, nor on an ordinary
topic before an ordinary audience But take
him in an hour of great excitement or danger,
or before Kansas crowd in a savage political
contest, and he had great power. There was a
vein OF argument in all his speeches. hut their
chief strength was in their enthusiastic, impas-
stoned, al cdptGndunt style. He was fond of
appealing to persons in the crowd oy name,
the midst of his harangues. He had no wit.
and rarely told a story. There were few stock
anecdotes however, which he used on all occa-
sions. He was proiane in his speeches 10
shocking degree, but when the occasion was
sufficiently important, he made even this ele-
ment startlingly effective.
Old Kansas men, who heard his speech at
o'clock at night in the Constitutional Conven-
tion at Minneola in 1885, well remember an
instance Of this kind. He was the foremost
man in eXctements OF all sorts. He was
making a harangue one evening to a house full
| of listeners in Lawrence, when, in the midst of
| his remarks, a Cry of "fre" was raised from
neighboring building. The crowd rushed en-
| TnGsSe to the scene of the confagration, and
when they got there, LANE was already on the
| burning building, assisting in putting out the
| fire. He was man of iron frame, of great
strength, and OF an energy that knew no
bounds In his political campaigns he would
ride from one end OF Kansas to the other, in all
kinds of weather, speaking every day and night
During the sittings of political conventions it
was the general impression that ne did not sleep
| at all.
As politician he was corrupt and unscrupu-
lous to the last degree. Born and brought up
in the most depraved school of Democratic poll.
ticians, he never forsook its practices. He was
utterly reckless of the means he used TO secure
his ends. His most prominent trait of charac-
ter was his total want of truthfuness. He
seemed TO have lost in his own mind all dstinc-
ton between truth and falsehood. In this re.
spect he was alike to friends and foes and yet
such was the magnetism Of the mans presence,
that men whom he had deceived hundred
times would trust him yet again.
The secret of his power with the people OF
OF Kansas lay in his early services to the Free
State cause, his popular manners, his wide ac-
ouaintance with the inhabitants in every part OF
the Stale, and the fact that he constantly made
himself the exponent of their dominant political
sentiments. For the last five years, too, he has
welded the entire patronage of the general
Government in Kansas, which is very large.
His death will work a complete revolution ol
no leader that can succeed to his power He
was the life of the dominant faction, and il
cannot hold together longer II will be a bless
ing to Kansas, for it will prove her emanclpa
tion from a Dolitical rule which has gone tar to