July 23. Since the previous date another Free-State
Missourian has been over to see us, who reports great excitement on the other
side of the line, and that the house of Mr. Bishop (the man who fled to us) was
beset during the night after he left, but on finding he was not there they
left. Yesterday a proslavery man from West Point, Missouri, came over,
professing that he wanted to buy Bishop's farm. I think he was a spy. He
reported all quiet on the other side. At present, along this part of the line,
the Free-State men may be said, in some sense, to “possess the field;” but we
deem it wise to “be on the alert.” Whether Missouri people are more excited
through fear than otherwise, I am not yet prepared to judge. The blacksmith
(Snyder) has got his family back; also some others have returned, and a few new
settlers are coming in. Those who fled or were driven off will pretty much lose
the season. Since we came here about twenty-five or thirty of Governor Denver's
men have moved a little nearer to the line, I believe.
SOURCE: Franklin B. Sanborn, The Life and Letters of
John Brown, p. 476
No comments:
Post a Comment