Here was congregated, and here was the headquarters of, that band of desperate men, who were in a conspiracy to make Kansas a slave State at whatever cost of blood, of fraud, or violence.  Here the Territorial Legislature met to enact their bloody code of laws, and here the Territorial Judges held their courts, which were a burlesque on the very name of a civilized and Christian jurisprudence; and here, also, were kept the treason prisoners, while atrocious murderers were not molested, because they were “sound on the goose question.”

We have already told how Harvey’s men, that had attacked and taken prisoners the “Law and Order” robbers that pillaged the defenseless village of Grasshopper Falls, were themselves taken prisoners by the United States troops.  These were tried for treason in the Pro-slavery courts, and were condemned to various terms of imprisonment, varying from six months to six years.  They were kept in a wretched, old, tumbledown house, without doors or windows, during the bitter cold of a Kansas winter, guarded by “Law and Order” militia, exposed to every insult, wallowing in filth, and eaten up with lice.  But there was one circumstance to mitigate their hapless condition—­their jailer was a good-hearted, honest Kentuckian, who had humanity enough to pity them, and bravery enough to do what he could to mitigate the hardships of their lot.  Their hard-hearted judges had condemned them to wear a ball and chain; but Gov.  Geary refused to provide balls and chains for them, and the honest Capt.  Hampton refused to fasten these symbols of degradation on the limbs of men he knew to be decent American citizens; and thereat Sheriff Jones became furious.  The facts of the case were just these:  All the people were, so to speak, fighting.  The Governor issued his proclamation.  These Hickory Point “Law and Order” militia were simply robber banditti, and Captain Harvey and his company thought they ought to be “cleaned out,” and proceeded to do so, and this act, though intrinsically it was a righteous act, yet technically, laid them open to the law.  This happened on the 12th of September, but up to the 14th of September 3,000 “Law and Order” militia, coming into Kansas as outside invaders, refused to be disbanded by the Governor’s proclamation, and both before and after continued the business of murder and robbery.  Yet this was nothing, because these were “Law and Order” men.  The other was treason, for these were Free State men fighting for their homes and firesides.  But Capt.  Hampton saw the matter just as it was, and acted accordingly.  Dr. Gihon testified of these treason prisoners, “These prisoners were not all rough and desperate adventurers.  Some of them were gentlemen of polished education.”

The sunlight may sparkle and shimmer on the surface of the foul and putrid marsh, noxious with offensive and poisonous exhalations—­so Dr. Gihon throws a kind of grim and ghastly humor over his narrative of the repulsive and brutal surroundings of himself and Governor Geary during the winter they were imprisoned at Lecompton.  The Doctor tells the following story at the expense of a Southern gentleman: