The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1866-07-25


Incident i'm the Life Of Senator Dong
The following is from book lately
published. entitled "a Brief Treatise
upon Constitutional and Party Questions
and the History of Political Parties, as
received it from the late Senator Stephen
A. Douglas, of Illinois" rr5u /,
When 1 returned to Chicago in 1888
was met at Buffalo by friend, who
brought letters from other 1rlenus aI
Chicago, protesting against, my return
and warning me that would be lneVlt'
ably killed if did. insisted upon 60
inc. and did so. arrived there in the
morning, went to my hotel, and after -
few DAYS, three or four, issued notice OF
a speech to be made by me in front OF
the North Market Hall. All the news
papers in the city denounced me, and
published daily articles encouraging
personal violence, reminding the people
that in 1850, on the passage OF the COM
promise measures, / had returned and
succeeded in quellipg an outbreak against
those measures, and that this thing could
not be done a second time. Know Moth
ingism had, pending the Nebraska Bill,
been organized in the United States tor
the FIRST time, and in Chicago the anti
Nebraska men had organized into Know
Nothing Lodges, and probably included
within those Lodges nine.tenths OF all
the men in the city. 1t was ascertained
thatth secretly determined and bound
themselves by their oaths not to allow
me to speak; and it is known that one
of these Lodges ordered by telegraph,
and received by express from New York,
the night before l was to speak, two
hundred and fifty of Colts revolvers.
When the day arrived the flags were
hung at half mast on the shipping in the
harbor, and for several hours before the
time appointed all the church bells in
the city were tolled, at which signal the
mob assembled in a force of about ten
thousand had forty or fifty men who
pretended to be with me privately, but
not half dozen were so openly; they
were all afraid. At the appointed hour
| repaired to the meeting and went upon
the stand, and was greeted by that I'M
earthly yell taught and practiced in the
Know Nothing Lodges, howl no man
can initiate. stood and looked at the
mob until the bowling ceased. When
they ceased / commenced by saying, that
Il appear before you tonight for the pur-
pose of indicating the provisions of the
Kansas Nebraska Act" Before the SEN
tenee was ended the howl began again.
When it ceased / would begin, aud as
soon AS / commenced it was renewed.
At times appealed to their pride, as the
champions of free speech, for hearing;
the bowling was renewed at other times
| | would denounce them as set of COW
ards who came armed with bowie knives
aud pistols to put down one man., un
armed-atraid to hear the truth spoken,
lest there might be seine honest men
among them who would be convinced.
at one time got hearing for ten or
| fifteen minutes, and was evidently
making an impression upon the crowd
when there marched in from the outside
body of three or four hundred men
with red shirts, dressed as sailors, and
| thoroughly armed, who moved through
tie crowd Immediately in front of the
stand, and then peremptOrily ordered
| me to leave il. | stood and looked at
them until they ceased yelling, and then
denounced them and put them at def,
ance, and dared them to shoot at all
unarmed man The pistols began to fire
all around the outside Of the crowd,
evidently into tine air; eggs and stones
were thrown at the stand, several of
them hitting men who were near me-
and for several hours this wild confusion
and fury continued. The wonder is bat
amid that vast, excited crowd 10 one
was so far excited or maddened a. 10 fire
a ball at me. The stand was crowded
with my enemies, reporters and newS pn-
per men, and this was undoubtedly my
best protection. / stood upon the front
of the stand, in the midst of that Confu
sion, from eight o'clock III the evening
until Il quarter past twelve at night,
when l suddenly drew my watcn from
my pocket and looked at it, and III a dis
tiuct tone of voice said, after an interval
of silence, 1T is now Sunday morni"g-
I'll 20 to church, and you may ." to
HILL" and l retired amid the uprorr
got into my carriage and rode 60 my
hotel The crowd followed the carriage
aud came near throwing II off The bridge
Into the river as We crossed They had
seized il for that purpose and Itted it:
but she oliver whipped the horses VIC
lontly, and dashed srough aud over
then, aud went 10 the fremont House,
where l retired to my room The mob,
at Last FIVE thousand, followed and
commenced their bowls in Lake street,
fronting my room. The landlord begged
me to leave the house, fearing they would
buIu it up; whereupon raised my win.
dow, walked out on the ball ony, took
good look at them, told them that the
day would come when they would hear
me, and then babe them good nigh
Drunkenuess Among Womcn