Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1909-09-15

! ton to the highest bidder, regardless
of their family ties, as one might
sell their horses, cows. or mer-
chandise. Such was slavery in the
slave states, in the days of slavery.
While with Mr.. Renalds had a
chance to see both sides of the treat
ment of the slavers. the kind, and
humane and the brutally oppressive.
Mr.. Renalds was kind. thoughtful,
and gentle, but firm in the treatment
of his slaves but his wife, (his Sc
cond) oh my she was coarse and
brutal in the treatment of the poor
slaves; she seemed to use all her in
genuity to devise ways to be mean
and tyrranical to those innocent and
ignorant colored people, both old and
young; such things made my northern
blood boil; but was there only as an
observer, not to NEEDLE or interfere,
just to mentally take notes; Ia few
years later. 1 was again in the slave
states that time l was there to NEEDLE,
and interfere, l was there as a Union
Soldie1). 1 speak of slavery as it
was.-as I found it-because the
geat majority of people of the present
day have been born since slavery
died; and only know OF it as a tradi
ton, or matter Of history.
Tis said all things that have a
beginning have an end. so did my
stay in the land of slavery. One
smiling morning I crossed the old
Missouri or Big Muddy as it is
often called, and found myself, at
last in ''blee ling Kansas. Passing
through the heavy timber of the river
bottom, l struck west on to as beauti-
full wild rolling prairie land as | ever
saw and have seen some in my time.
The grass was high enough to wave in
the wind, and many Of the wild
flowers were in bloom. Boy as [ was,
1 could but think ''tnis land is worth
/ fighting for. =
The so.called fire eaters Of the
slave states were determined that this
| beautiful territory, should come in
to the sisterhood of states as a slave,
and the radicals of the free states,
were equally determined that there
should be no more slave states. Hence
the border rufians of Mo. focked
over the line into Kansas. to cult
vate the soil with bowie knives.
While many hotheads of even far
away New England, came rushing
down to Kansas to cultivate the soil
of beautiful Kansas with sharp rifles.
Such was the condition Of affairs in
Kansas in those days. No wonder it
was called Bleeding Kansas. - l
tramped westward until l reached
Grasshopper Creek, thence south long
the creek twelve miles, to town
called Grasshopper Falls, which con-
sisted of mill, three or four houses,
sort of store. a wheel-barrow,
and grind-stone.
Then l faced south west finally
reaching the Kansas or Kaw River
The river bottom at that place is
about mile wide, Opposite Topeka)
is of a dark, deep, rich soil, and
there l saw what to me was a novel
sight. In a field of about one hun.
dred acres or more l saw men husk
ing corn, blowing for corn, and plow
ing corn that was already four or five
| inches high, the seasons there being
long enough to permit all of that be-
ing done; such thing could not be
done up in Wisconsin, for there the
seasons being short, they have to
give heed to st. Paul's injunction,
There is time for all things
crossed the river stayed but
short time in Topeka. which was then
one of the capitals of the Territory
of Kansas, the one organized and run
by the free state party. The other
capital at Lecompton, few miles
down the river, was organized and
run by the slave state party. Oh l
tell you there was red hot politics in
Kansas in those days, human life was
cheap Frequently northern men
would be found hanging by the neck
or cut to pieces by bowie knives,
which was evidence of Kansas being
cultivated by the Missouri Border
ruffians with their bowie knives. But
don't think that the New Englanders
and northerners were not equally busy,
cultivating Kansas soil with Sharps
rifles, because for every northern man
slain, a southern man might be found
lying in the prairie grass, whose
life's blood had leaked out through a
bullet hole. For old John Brown,
whose soul goes marching on and
many more such, were there. Did
you ever see a Missouri border ruffian
I SUPPOSE not. SO I will try to give