got from himself. Colonel Young stated that he himself was competent to decide whether he was qualified or not. Mr. Abbott said he considered it the duty of the judges to decide that. The other two judges decided to take his vote, whereupon Mr. Abbott resigned. After he resigned a man was sent in from the outside-Mr. Benjamin-whom the judges consented to receive as a judge. I do not recollect about his being sworn. After that they commenced taking votes, without questioning more than one man in eight or ten. They would ask them they did question if they were residents of the Territory and would swear to it, and they did so. I do not think more than one eighth or one tenth of the men were sworn. I do not recollect whether Colonel Young was sworn or not. I was inside of the house, and heard Colonel Young say that he had been forward and voted, and all could vote without difficulty. Cross-examined by Mr. Woodson : I do not recollect whether Colonel Young was sworn or not. LAWRENCE, K. T., April 30, 1856. CALEB S. PRATT. THOMAS HOPKINS called and sworn. Examined by Mr. Reeder: I came into this Territory in June, 1854, from Carroll county, Missouri; I came to Missouri from Kentucky; I settled in this Territory some nine miles south of this, in this county; I made my claim the first of June, moved my family on it the tenth of August, 1854. I have resided there ever since. I was at this place at the election of the 30th of March, 1855. I was a stranger in this place, but when I got here that day I met a good many of my acquaintances from Carroll county. I found them about the polls and in their camps. Colonel William Austin, William Austin, again, cousin of the other, Robert Dunde, John Snoddy, from Carroll county. They stated that two others I was well acquainted with, Clarke Lindsey and James Wagnier, had gone up to Douglas. There was a Mr. Roy here, I heard-I do not recollect his first name. They told me there was about twenty-five of my old neighbors and acquaintances there. Carroll county, I should suppose, was from one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and thirty miles from here. It is twenty miles below Lexington, on the other side of the Missouri river. They told me they had come here to vote, and intended to vote. They stated that they were afraid if this became a free State they would lose their property; and, moreover, that, if it was necessary, they would come back again at the next election. They told me there were supposed to be between seven hundred and one thousand from Missouri at this place. They also told me there would be, from the best information they could get, between five thousand and ten thousand voters from Missouri, in this Territory, at that election. I do not know as I recollect particularly anything further that they said. Cross-examined by Colonel Woodson: It was said in this company that the Emigrant Aid Society were sending on men here to vote; that I heard before I left Missouri. They said, also, that they had come in to aid the pro-slavery settlers here, and to elect members of their own party. I think they did not tell me that the first inducement to come here and vote was to counteract this emigrant aid movement. I had heard it spoken of, but do not know as that was their first inducement. I am not able to say about that; I did not hear it spoken of here upon the day of the election, though I had heard it spoken of in Missouri. They were voting when I got here; there was one little skrimmage, but I do not know the cause; I do not think any free State man had a chance to vote while I was on the ground, owing to the crowd of others at the poll. I reached home before night, some nine miles from here; I reached there a half an hour or an hour by sun. I suppose it was later than two o'clock when I left-I do not recollect what time I went to the polls. As well as I can recollect, it was about one o'clock; they had commenced voting when I got here in the morning, and had been voting ever since. I saw no violence offered at the polls. I suppose there were some free State men voted that day, but not any while I was here, that I knew. I voted that day here. LAWRENCE, K. T., April 30, 1856. THOMAS HOPKINS. JORDAN DAVIDSON called and sworn. Examined by Mr. Reeder: I moved into the Territory in September, 1855, and settled about a mile and a half from here in this district. I came from Cass county, Missouri. I moved from Jefferson county, Missouri, into Cass county, about the first of November, 1854. I moved from Franklin county into Jefferson county in 1842. I moved from Kentucky to Franklin county in the spring of 1836. I came here with my neighbors to the election of the 30th of March, 1855, and voted here in this district. I should suppose there were nine hundred or one thousand, though I did not count them, in that company. I saw very few here from Cass county. I saw some said to be from Jackson and Lafayette; some from Jefferson, Howard, and Saline counties. I saw some said to be from several counties, but I do not recollect about others. I saw no arrangement by counties, but, while they were in camp, they seemed to be intermixed. The arrangement was to meet at Cold-water Grove, near the south part of Cass county. But not all met there-not a general meeting. A great many met there and left; but I was not at a general meeting until I got to camp. The most general meeting was at the encampment at Bull creek, as there seemed to be an understanding about the meeting at Cold-water Grove. The company that were here in this precinct returned home, some on the evening of the election, and some the next morning. Colonel Young appeared to be the principal leader. I do not remember what county he lived in, and was not acquainted with him until I saw him here. I was told he was a Missourian. The companies generally had arms for that occasion. I had none myself. I think each individual bought and borrowed his own arms. So far as I am acquainted with the arrangements in my own county, Cass county, some who did not come put in provisions, some wagons; and each one put in what he wanted for himself, provisions, wagon, &c. I put in provisions in a wagon for myself, and fodder for my horse. I missed my wagon and provisions at Bull creek, and from there I got provisions of other companies till I got here, when I lived off provisions belonging to my son-in-law, A. B. Wade, who was a candidate at that election for the house of representatives. He was voted for by our party. The first I knew of his nomination was from a letter he wrote me at Pleasant Hill, Cass county, saying he was nominated. There was no confirmation of that nomination in Missouri, to my knowledge. From there we all put out to support the pro-slavery ticket. I do not know of money being raised. Men that had not means to come could come with the provision wagons, and were fed there. I became acquainted with Claiborne F. Jackson at the Wakarusa. He was of the company here, and I thought he was in the position of a lieutenant. The party from Bull creek went I do not know where, after I left them, the evening before the election. I left them and came here by myself. At Bull creek I did not see them altogether at one place, but I should think there might have been between seven hundred and one thousand there in one encampment. Those at Bull creek did not come here. There was another encampment there I did not go to see. I understood there were many in that other encampment, but I do not know how many there were in it. The encampment was not in sight, but I understood there was another there. I do not recollect of seeing any here that I left at Bull creek; but I think, probably, there were some of them here. I started on horseback from Cass county, and expected to overtake the provision wagon, but did not do so. I overtook a company at Wea, but that one had merely stopped there for dinner; they formed a portion of one of the companies at Bull creek. Bull creek is somewhere from 40 to 45 miles southeast from here, and is a branch of the Osage river. I do not know what district the encampment was in, but it was south of the Independence and Santa Fé road; I should think, from a rough estimation, 25 miles. It was near Baptiste Paola, in this Territory. I did not see Colonel. Young at Bu 1 creek, but saw him first here, on this ground. I first saw Claiborne Jackson on the Wakarusa, eight or nine miles from this place, the day before the election; I took dinner with him that day, on my way up from Bull creek. There was a large encampment there, the third one I had seen. I do not know how many there were there, as a large portion had come on to Lawrence when I got there, and I think the balance came on that evening. I came on here after dinner. There were some expresses came here the evening before the election, that there were so many wanting at Douglas and Tecumseh, and perhaps at One Hundred and Ten. There were three detachments of volun teers sent off; some started, I think, to go up on the river here some twenty miles. There was one place where it was pretty hard to get volunteers to go on the morning of the 30th, as they were tired of riding. Colonel Young made a speech, and urged that, as an old man had volunteered to lead them, they ought to volunteer to go. I do not recollect where that detachment was to go; there were some, I think, sent to Tecumseh and Douglas, and probably some elsewhere. I understood that, of this encampment, some were from Jackson, Lafayette, Clay, and Carrol counties; and I saw a small company from a small county way down in the State, where I have an uncle living. I had a conversation with one, who lived close to my uncle. county my uncle lived in was Howard county, I think. I saw some from Ray county, I think. I knew some men who were in the encampment at Bull creek. There were a great many men who left Cass county, but I do not know where they went; I saw but few in the encampment at Bull creek who were from Cass county. The I heard of some cannon being along in the Lafayette company, but I did not see them. I may have heard after I came into the Territory that there was a cannon along, but I do not recollect by whom I heard it; I heard of the cannon at Pleasant Hill. I rode with a gentleman from the head of Bull creek, where I stopped on the Wednesday night before the election, who told me that there was a cannon along. Cross-examined by Colonel Woodson: We understood in Missouri that Governor Reeder had sent to the east and mustered up a large force to come here, and we came here to vote, too, though that was not all the inducement. We intended to vote first here, and after we had got through we were willing to let anybody vote who wanted to. I do not know of any persons coming here to vote the free State ticket and then returning to the east. Ï saw some men as I was going down home, who said they were returning to the east. They hired my son and my son-in-law to carry them on. I do not recollect that I saw them here at Lawrence. I heard some conversation in that company about the election, and some two or three said they had not voted. I did not hear the rest say anything about it. There were free State men voted, but I do not think any were hindered from voting except, perhaps, Mr. Bond, who got into a fuss and went off and did not come back again. He was run off the ground, but I do not think it was to prevent him from voting. He got into a personal difficulty, I understood, and they run him off to the river. Just as he jumped down the bank a pistol was fired at him, the contents going perhaps six feet over his head, though I do not think it was aimed at him. The cry was "kill him, "kill him." I do not know of any free State voters being brought here by the Emigrant Aid Society. By Governor Reeder: We did not understand that Governor Reeder had brought on voters from the east, but that he made the day of election known there before it was known here, in order to induce voters to come on here. The other inducement we had for coming here was to extend slavery into Kansas Territory. The general talk among our people who came here was that they had a right to vote here. I contended myself that I had a right to vote here. LAWRENCE, K. T., April 29, 1856. JORDAN DAVIDSON. WILLIAM LYON called and sworn. Examined by Mr. Reeder: I resided in this district on the 20th of March, 1855, and saw the body of strangers encamped here participate in the election, and had some conversation with some persons as I passed through the edge of their camp on the day of election, and also with Mr. Shelby, here in town. He told me he came something like one hundred miles to vote, and I understood that he lived near the Missouri river. I asked him how many of his party, citizens of Missouri, would vote here that day, and he said about seven or eight hundred. In answer to my remark that I supposed they would not lose a vote in Missouri in consequence of their voting here, he said they would, as they would not vote in Missouri for one year. That was their place of voting here, I understood. Cross-examined by Colonel Woodson: Mr. Shelby said that he would not care whether there was slavery in Kansas or not, if they could have security for their property, but they were sure they could not. The conversation that I had in coming through the edge of their camp had nothing to do with the election, I thought it was not safe to say anything about it. I saw persons there armed with shot guns, pistols, and clubs, but no one harmed me. Mr. Shelby named the place he was from, but I do not recollect it now. To Mr. Reeder: He gave his name and address to the editors of the Kansas Tribune, to which he subscribed. LAWRENCE, K. T., April 29, 1856. WILLIAM LYON. J. B. ABBOTT called and sworn. Examined by Mr. Reeder: I was one of the judges of election in this city on the 30th of March, 1855. We got together at the time appointed, and Mr. Blanton had resigned. After about another hour we chose another judge and opened the polls. The first man who offered his vote was, I think, a man named Page, and took the oath that he was a resident of the Territory. I inquired of him if he had a home in any other place. He said he had; that he lived in Missouri. I inquired if he intended. to make this Territory his home. He said he did not; that he expected to go back after the election. I told him I could not consent |