Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-09-19
"A BIT OF HISTORY.
A Letter from Thomas Shankland to
Governor Sam Houston in 1861.
He Bids the Governor TO Flee from the Land o
Secession-Abe Lincoln in Danger OF
Losing His Virtue.
Special to the Gazette.


AUSTIN, TEX. Sept. 18.-The follow
ing letter explains itself. having been
found by an inquisitive reporter in the
musty archives of the secretary of state
to-day. 1t was written with quill pen,
and the writing is somewhat faded:
NEW YORK, Feb. %, 1851.
To Governor Sam Houston, Austin, Tex:
My DEAR GENERAL-The plot thickens
with density of treason truly alarming,
were it not so very absurd and amusing.
I had no fears tits said fools never have)
of the perpetuity of the Union, until
saw John Tyler and poor Pierce endeavor-
ing to save it. Then timidity came over
me like horse blanket. They are not
equal to any work, or embraced in any
successful plan or scheme of salvation,
but they are certainly sublime in destruc-
ton. Look at the utter ruin they have
wrought, the FascalitieS unrevealed, I'M
repented of! The former destroyed the
Wing party and the latter destroyed the
Missouri compromise which secured the
destruction of the Democratic party,
completed by DR.. Buchanan. Such
wrecks are monuments of the saving
grace of John Tyler and poor Pierce.
Salvation from such would be concession
to treason, surrender and swift destruc-
ton.
You Soathern Union men have your
selYesskso long tolerated traitors, and
treated them tenderly assuring them of
zsindness and hospitality that you are
now bound by the laws of hospitality to
stand by and protect and defend them,
taking the front of the battle, like poor
I'D ho
to this, even at the ropes end, rather
than end our glorious Union.
/ have seriously thought that you
should arise and gather together your
wife and little ones and flee out of the
land of secession. Had 1 the power and
means I would assuredly go down and
bring you out, with horses and oxen and
cattle, and sheep and goats, and jack
asses at least, so that you could settle
and vie with any of the wise men of the
East. Why dwell among TRAITORS who
will ever place You in jeopardy and sub
ject your wife to constant alarms, If not
to widOwhood, and your children to all
the demOraliZatIons which surround
slavery and spring from secession?
Here you would have peace without
revolution and could be Unfortunately
amused with the antics of the Abolition
lists and the strong-minded women.
Their conventions are equal to a hippo
potamus.
Besides this your children would be
educated in the fear of the Lord, and
not in the fear of Instructions. AS the
Great Shepherd of Texas they would
flock to do you reverence for having es-
capped out of SOdOm, and as the queen of
Sheba went out to meet the wise men,
so will the women, the widows and the
damsels delight to go out and meet you;
and your latter end, like the upright
man Of the land of Uz, will be better
than the beginning. And then thiuk
what a funeral you would have-One
that, as Byron says, ''makes the attrac-
tions and the black the woe. -
1t is worth considering as a COM
promise Washington is full of Ioafers
and upon the eve of an inauguration,
perhaps an ASSASSINATION? The cabinet is
not yet formed, but they are at work
upon It There are breakers ahead, and
unless Lincoln has courage, firmness and
sagacity enough to throw off the swell
mob Of politicians VINO would counsel
him to surrender his own to their better
he is in danger of having the
drop game played upon him. There
never was such a crowd of shrewd. un-
firing, INSCRIPTIONS Yankees surround |
ing any man as there is now surrounding
honest old Abe. He is vlrtuous like old
women, but the danger is he will |
be persuaded like them to surren-
der his virtue to another's care |
and keeping. If he surren- |
deFs she is undone, and the |
proofs will not be nine months in bear
ing evidence against him. 1t will be a |
clear case of bastardy, which may and |
will be charged against the worst set of |
libertines that ever infested Washington
and ruined an honest representation |
fresh from the country.
John Tyler and poor Pierce had been |
seduced and so often debauched before |
that people scarcely pitied them, but in
thu case of honest old Abe it would |
arouse all the fury of the Abolitionists, |
the virtuous Indignation of the strong |
minded women, and all safeguards to |
virtue would be Overthrown.
Pray write us long letter for publica- !
startling, terrible as an !
army with banners in blue jackets. |
Yours as ever, THOMAS SHANKLAND.