Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1866-11-07
SH SGrts of 6GuA gta0ing.
Douglas in q Difficult Role,

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J. MADISON CUTTs has written, and
had published in New York, "a Brief
Treatise Upon Constitutional and Party
Questions and the History of Political
Parties" as he received it from the late
Senator Stephen A. Douglas.
The author describes the following
scenes at Chicago, which is characteristic
of the late distinguished Senator. The
report is given as related by Douglas
himself:
When / returned to Chicago 1 was met
at Buffalo by friend, who brought let
ters from other friends at Chicago, pro-
testing against my return, and warning
me that I would be inevitably killed if 1
did so. arrived there in the morning !;
and after a few days, three or four, issued
a notice of speech to be made by me in
front of North Market Hall All the
newspapers in the city denounced me,
and published daily articles encouraging
personal violence, reminding the people
that in 1850, on the passage ofthe Com
promise Measures, I had returned and
succeeded in quelling an outbreak against
those measures, and that this thing could
not be done a second time. Know-Noth-
ingism had, pending the Nebraska Bill,
been organized in the United States for
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. It was ascertained
that they secretly determined and bound
themselves by their oaths not to allow
me to speak and it is known that one
of these thirty or forty lodges ordered by
telegraph and received by express from
New York, the night before I was to
speak. two hundred and fifty of Colt 'sre-
volvers.
When the day arrived the flags we're
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 force Of about ten thousand
I had forty or fifty men who pretended
to be with me privately, but not half
dozen we're so openly they were all
afraid. At the appointed hour I repaired
to the meeting and went upon the stand !
and was greeted by that unearthly yell |
taught and practiced in the Know-Noth
ing lodges howl TO man can initiate /
l stood and looked at the mob until |
the bowling ceased. Whenthe ceased. |
| commenced by saying that " | appear
before you to night for the purpose Of |
vindicatng the Kansas Nebraska Act"
Before the sentence was ended the howl |
commenced again. As it ceased I would I
begin, and as soon as commenced it was
renewed. At times l appealed to their
pride, as the champion Of free speech for
a hearing the howling was renewed 4; |
at other times | denounced them as a set
of towards who came armed with bowie
knives and pistols to put down one un-
armed man-afraid to hear the truth |
spoken, lest there might be some honest
man 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 from the outside body of three
or four hundred men, with red shirts,
dressed as sailors, and thoroughly armed
who moved through the crowd immedi-
ately in front, and peremptorily ordered
me to leave I stood and looked at them
until they ceased yelling, and then de
bounced them and put them at defiance,
md dared them to shoot an unarmed
nan. TIE pistols began to fire all around
he outside of the crowd, evidently into
he air; eggs and It mes were thrown at t
he stand, several of them hitting men c
7ho were near me, and for several hours c
his wild confusion and fury continued .
1he wonder is, amid that vast excited d
rowd no one was 80 far excited or mad b
ened as to fire a ball at me. The stand t
7as crowded with my enemies, reporters j
nd newspaper men, and this was un- j
oubtedly my best protection. Il
stood upon the front of the stand, in n
lidstof that confusion, from eight o'clock f
4 the evening until a quarter past 0
Kelye at night, when I suddenly drew d
~ watch from my pocket, looked at tin P
ront of the crowd, and in a distinct W
1ne of voice said, at an interval of a
Hence 1t is now Sunday morning 81
II 90 TO church and you may 60 to helll' ei
nd l retired amid the uproar, got in my II
arriage and rode to my hotel. The p
rowd followed the carriage and came fl
ear throwing it off the bridge into the CT
ver as we crossed; they had seized it o.
IT that purpose, and lifted it, but the Y
river whipped his horses violently and, p
ashed through and over them, and went 81
, the fremont House, where l retired st
, my room. The mob, at least FIVE m
lousand, followed, and commenced their st
owls in Lake street, fronting my room. IL
The landlord begged me to leave the Il
ouse, fearing they would burn it up, 81
hereupon I raised my window, walked Of
ut on the balcony, took a good look at N
lem, and told them that the day would b
ome when they would hear me, and then al
ade them good night. "
he Expected Meteorio Shower in No7sm- st
berthe Showers of 1899 and 1888. e