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who began to imagine that every thicket and rock concealed a free state man.

Four days after his return six brave men from the north joined him. Three days afterwards they attacked the house of Davis, a violent pro-slavery man and a leader of the desperadoes. He was a Captain of a company of Territorial militia, who were armed with United States muskets. With the view of securing the Captain and what guns he might have at his house, they made the attack. But meantime Governor Geary appeared with three hundred troops; Davis and his men, seeing him, had taken to the brush. Montgomery and his party only found, therefore, at Davis' house, one man by the name of Brown, bogus Sheriff of Linn County. They secured him and a number of arms, and a quantity of ammunition. While they were engaged in concealing the arms, Brown managed to make his escape. It was their design to attack the pro-slavery men on Big Sugar, and disarm them; but Brown having made his escape, who would spread the alarm, they feared the troops and militia. To avoid the troops they made a circuitous tour of some twenty miles south, and on their return came in sight of some Texan Rangers, who immediately fled to Fort Scott, where they gave such an exaggerated report of the number of free state men in arms, marching upon the place that the inhabitants abandoned it in a panic.

Montgomery with seven men next set out to attack two points in Missouri, where pro-slavery men were in the habit of gathering, and from which they would sally out on plundering expeditions to Kansas, and to which they would return with their spoils. These men about three weeks previous had sought to waylay and kill Montgomery as he passed from that State into the Territory with provision for his family. When collected at those places, they would freely partake of their favorite beverage and loudly boast that one pro-slavery man could whip six free state men. On arriving in this neighborhood Montgomery and

his men feigned to be Indians, in order to draw the proslavery men out, as the latter were in the habit of seizing Indians whenever they came into that vicinity to hunt, and flogging them. Failing to call the pro-slavery men out in this way, they entered Burnet's house, but found no one, except women and children, in it. They resolved to wait, knowing that the ruffians would soon gather as the presence of free state men in the neighborhood was known. Shortly the pro-slavery men began to drop in, one and two at a time, who were severally seized as they came, disarmed and placed under guard until twenty-one were thus held. At last Burnet appeared, who, first informed by a woman of what was going on, declared that he would fight rather than surrender. But on his approach a single man went out, disarmed and brought him in prisoner. They then broke the captured guns, took $250 in money, provided themselves with good horses, liberated their prisoners and returned.

Montgomery next marched upon some invaders, encamped on Bull Creek; but at his appearance they fled. Thence he, with ten men, crossed into Missouri after negroes, but their presence and mission being discovered, and being pursued, they were so closely pressed that they seized sixteen good horses, escaped to Kansas and visited Lawrence. Here, in accordance with the advice of prominent free state men, he determined to go home and keep quiet. On his way thither, when about one mile beyond the Wakarusa, he suddenly met two of Geary's United States militia, one of whom immediately seized his horse by the bridle. Montgomery, with the agility of a panther, leaped from his saddle upon the opposite side of the horse; snatched his revolver from the holster, and with his person shielded by the horse leveled it upon his assailant, who was in the act of raising his musket. The soldier, with his hand grasping his weapon, dared not level it, knowing that a ball would pierce his heart the moment he should make the at

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tempt. Thus they eyed each other for a moment, when, without saying a word, the militia.turned, passed on and left Montgomery to pursue his journey unmolested.

During the winter of '56 and '57 the pro-slavery men held the claims and appropriated to their own use the stock that the free state men had left. They kept up their military organization and committed some depredations the ensuing spring.

Early in the summer of 1857 new free state immigrants began to pour into that section of the Territory, and many of those driven off the fall previous, began to return. Thus the free state element in that locality continued to increase all summer.

As might be expected, a conflict soon ensued between the two parties. The returned free state men first undertook to gather up their stock, which they had been compelled to abandon the fall previous; but those who now held it refused to give it up; whereupon the former, being the stronger, took it. They next banded themselves together for the repossession of their claims. The first difficulty of this kind was the restoration of Mr. Stone, who had been driven off the fall previous, to his claim, now occupied by Southwood, a Methodist preacher of the Church South. The free state men built Stone a little cabin near the one in which Southwood lived, and moved his family into it, that he might await the opening of the land office, when he could properly prosecute his right to the claim. A difficulty soon arose between the two families about a well of water, which led to an assault by Mrs. Southwood upon Mrs. Stone. The aggravating circumstances attending this attack, together with the conduct of the former's husband, exasperated the free state men of the neigborhood, insomuch that they gave Southwood orders to leave the premises by a named time. The pro-slavery men, notified of this order, prepared to remove Mr. Stone by an armed force of two hundred men the day before the time allowed Southwood. The free state

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