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AFFAIRS IN KANSAS
The Land Sales—Threatened Attempt to Mob George S. Parks.
Special Correspondence of the N.Y. Daily Times.
QUIDARO, K.T., Wednesday, Dec. 17, 1856.
His Excellency, Governor GEARY, arrived in Lawrence last evening, from Leavenworth, and was the guest of Captain WALKER. The sale of the land upon which Leavenworth is built is postponed for ten days, on account of a combination said to exist for the purpose of preventing competition in the purchase of the unimproved lots.
The Government is under a solemn obligation, bound by treaty, to these Indians, that the land shall be disposed of to the highest bidder. And their rights should be respected even if they are red men. But the squatters upon the trust lands are determined to get possession of the soil as cheap as possible, and for that they have combine together for mutual protection. Either the Indians or the squatters must be cheated, and the former have few friends, and they will probably be the sufferers. The Government have little friendship or respect for the Indian. And a treaty with them is considered of little importance.
THREATENED MOBBING OF MR. PARKS.
The citizens of Platte City, Mo., have threatened to come down upon Parkville en masse for the purpose of mobbing GEORGE S. PARKS, Esq., formerly editor of the Luminary, which was destroyed by a mob two years since.
STATE OF AFFAIRS AT PARKVILLE.
PARKVILLE, Mo., Thursday, Dec. 18, 1856.
Last evening I stated that trouble was anticipated here, as some of the Platte City boys, under the guidance of ATCHINSON, STRINGFELLOW & Co., intended coming down, for the purpose of mobbing the driving from the State GEORGE S. PARKS, Esq., formerly editor of the Luminary.
To ascertain the facts of the case, I came here, and learn that a few days since, during the absence of Mr. PARKS from the city, a delegation of six persons arrived, representing the Blue Lodge of Latte City, to ascertain the public sentiment in this community in regard to the forcible expulsion from the town of one of the most wealthy and influential men living in Parkville. They also brought along an abusive letter, prepared in Platte City, for publican in the Southern Democrat, published here. It was a blackguard’s attack upon the proposition to build a railroad from this city to Burlington, Iowa, and from thence to connect with Chicago and the East. The editor of the Democrat refused to insert the article in his paper, but returned it to the Committee with a most positive refusal to publish it. They were indignant and made threats of doing something dreadful. The citizens en masse (with the exception of two men) expressed their determination to defend MR. PARKS to the last extremity, and the Border-Ruffian Committee were made to understand that an attack upon Mr. P. was a declaration of war against the city, and if undertaken a bloody time would ensue.
At such an evidence of spunk manifested by the people of Parkville, the Committee, wisely concluded to leave, and, for the present at least, not to undertake the expulsion of their intended victim from the State.
THE SCALPING BORDER-RUFFIAN.
CHARLES FURGATE, the person that murdered Mr. HOPPS, near Leavenworth, last August, and afterwards exhibited the scalp of the murdered man, with great gusto. is now living in the country, about ten miles from this city, very much frightened, and always on the alert. The spirit of the murdered man troubles him. FURGATE’S uncle, a rough Border-Ruffian, but in whose heart there is a spark of human feeling, on learning the particulars of his nephew’s crime, turned him from his house, and refuses to see him.
I have just heard the particulars of another murder, by the Border-Ruffians, and do not remember of having seen it in print.
SIGMA.
OFFICIAL INVESTIGATIONS.
LECOMPTON, Kansas, Sunday, Dec. 21, 1856.
The Chief Magistrate has recently sent an officer of the Government out here, to inquire and examine into the official affairs of CALHOUN, the Surveyor-General of Kansas and Nebraska, who will doubtless be the next Governmental official removed by PIERCE. There seems to be a design, on the part of the President, to have a general “claring up” of affairs in this Territory. The corrupt officials will be compelled to take their wlaking-ticket.
FIRST CONVICTION FOR MURDER.
The first person convicted of murder in Kansas is a Pro-Slavery man named JOHN CUSHING, who has just been on trial in Tecumseh before Judge CATO, on an indictment of murder for killing a man named WILLIAM NORTON a few months since. He has not yet been sentenced by the Judge, and there is but little doubt that CUSHING will be allowed another trial. The Marshals find it extremely difficult to find Pro-Slavery men enough in the Second Judicial District to sit on the jury, and they are compelled to accept the services of those persons not considered sound on the goose. The result has been the conviction of a “Law-and-Order” man, which is not on the programme of these one-sided officials. One thing is certain, CUSHING will never be hanged for murder. The counsel for the Government was MARCUS J. PARROTT, Esq., of Leavenworth City. He was counsel for the Hickory Point boys. His plea before the Jury is pronounced to be a masterly effort.
WILLIAM PARTRIDGE, of Pottawatomie, was convicted of burglary and sentenced by Judge CATO to ten years’ imprisonment and hard labor. He is a Free-State man, a brother to the PARTRIDE killed by the Missourians during their attack upon Ossawatomie in August last.
SLAVES ADVERTISED.
The following advertisement is the first of the kind I have seen published in Kansas; it is clipped from the Lecompton Union, published in this town:
FIFTY DOLLARS REWARD.—Left my premises, near Lecompton, on Tuesday, the 17th day of November last, my negro woman JUDY. She is about 35 years old, 5 feet 3 or 4 inches high, and corpulent, weighing about 225 pounds. She is very black, with several teeth out in front, and speaks intelligently and plausibly. She has been seen at several houses in this vicinity, and when last seen she was traveling towards Lawrence. She is a good cook and washerwoman, and in other respects a good house servant. She is no doubt lurking in or about Lawrence, if she has not already secured a passage on the Underground Railway to Chicago.
I will give $20 for information that will lead to her apprehension, or $50 to any person who will deliver her to my residence.
GEORGE W. CLARK
Dec. 2, 1856.
MICELLANEOUS.
News of WHITFIELD’S reception and admission to a seat as “Delegate from Kansas” has been received, and the other evening the Pro-Slavery men got out the big gun and fired a salute in honor of the even.
The “Territorial Legislature” convenes here in a few weeks, and halls are being provided for their use during the session, and whisky imported for the members.
We have had here in Kansas some very severe weather. COLBURN and HALL’S surveying parties were out in the vicinity of Fort Riley townshipping the land. One night they camped in a ravine; before morning a severe storm of wind and snow was upon them. Their tents were blown down, and for hours the men were exposed to the howling blasts of Winter, which sweep with great force over these broad prairies. Two of the Party were from Missouri—one was named PURCELL. There were so much frozen that they have since died. Others of the party have been frozen, and many of them will lose their limbs. It was a weary journey for them the next morning to reach a settlement, as the snow in several places had drifted to the depth of fifteen feet.
SIGMA.
Indian Hostilities.
From the Westport Correspondence St. Louis Republican, Dec 20.
Judge WATTS who came through with the mail, informed R.C. MILLER, the agent for the Upper Arkansas Indians, that the Kiowas gave the mail train much trouble, and it was with difficultly all hands escaped with their lives. This tribe attacked Bent’s Fort, and in the attack two of them were killed; after this, if it had not been for the Cheyennes, the Fort would have been destroyed and all killed. Captain BENT had moved his goods to Taos, New-Mexico.
This news goes to confirm the position taken by agent MILLER, in his report to the Department, which I had the privilege of reading before it was forwarded. He shows that the Cheyennes are disposed to be peaceable, while the Kiowas take every chance to annoy, and sometimes make war on the whites. It is to be hoped that Government will not neglect long to chastise the red rebels, who are as mean and malicious as they are savage. We have received no news from New-Mexico of importance.
The talk in Kansas now is about the meeting of the Legislature. All thought that the movement was give up, but since the return of ROBINSON from the East it seems that they are going to keep up the war. The Herald of Freedom says that Governor GEARY will not interfere with the revolutionary Legislature.
Ex-Governor WILSON SHANNON is here. Everybody wonders what he has come for, and nobody can find out. He leaves for Leavenworth immediately. The Governor looks care-worn.
H.C.P.