Captain Frederick Emory, a United States Mail Contractor, rendered himself conspicuous in Leavenworth at the head of a band of ruffians mostly from Western Missouri.  They entered houses, stores and dwellings of Free State people, and in the name of “Law and Order” abused and robbed the occupants, and drove them out into the roads, Irrespective of age, sex or condition.  Under pretense of searching for arms, they approached the house of William Phillips, the lawyer who had been previously tarred and feathered and carried to Missouri.  Phillips, supposing he was to be subjected to a similar outrage, and resolved not to submit to the indignity, stood upon his defense.  In repelling the assaults of the mob, he killed two of them, when the others burst into the house, and poured a volley of balls into his body, killing him instantly in the presence of his wife and another lady.  His brother, who was also present, had an ana broken with bullets, and was compelled to submit to an amputation.  Fifty of the Free State prisoners were then driven on board the Polar Star, bound for St. Louis.  On the next day a hundred more were embarked by Emory and his men on the steamboat Emma.

At this time civil war raged in all the populous districts.  Womi n and children had fled from the Territory.  No man’s life was safe, and every person, when he lay down to rest at night, bolted and barred his doors, and fell asleep grasping firmly his pistol, gun or knife.

Emory’s company were all mounted on “pressed” horses, the owners of some of which were present to point out and claim them; but as there existed no courts or judges from whom the necessary legal process could be obtained, and as Gen. Smith would not listen to their complaints, they had no means by which to recover their property.

Emory and his company held their headquarters at Leavenworth City, whence they sallied into the surrounding country to “press,” not steal, the horses, cattle, wagons and other property of Free State men.  It was during these excursions that Major Sackett, of the United States Army, found in the road near Leavenworth City a number of the bodies of men who had been seized, robbed, murdered and mutilated, and left unburied by the wayside.

On the 17th of August, 1856, a shocking affair occurred in the neighborhood of Leavenworth.  Two ruffians sat at a table in a low groggery, imbibing potations of bad whisky.  One of them, named Fugert, bet his companion six dollars against a pair of boots that he would go out and in less than two hours bring in the scalp of an Abolitionist.  He went into the road, and, meeting a Mr. Hoppe, who was in his carriage just returning to Leavenworth from a visit to Lawrence, where he had conveyed his wife, Fugert deliberately shot him; then, taking out his bowie knife, whilst his victim was still alive, he cut and tore off his scalp from his quivering head.  Leaving the body of Hoppe lying in the road, he elevated his bloody trophy upon a pole, and paraded it through the streets of Leavenworth.  On the same day a teamster, who was approaching Leavenworth, was murdered and scalped by another human monster.