Report of the special committee appointed to investigate the troubles in Kansas,: with the views of the minority of said committee.

KANSAS AFFAIRS. was shot on the 6th of December, 1855, on Thursday, about two o'clock in the afternoon. I was in company with him at the time. He was shot about three and a half miles from here, going west. I was by his side when he was shot. My brother, and brother-in-law, Thomas M. Pearson, and myself, had started from Lawrence after dinner. We were on horseback. I told my brother, Thomas Barber, that I had better come back to Lawrence and borrow a pistol. At that time we had got but about 200 yards out of town. He said he did not think it was necessary to have one; but if I wanted to go back and borrow one, he would wait for me. I then came back and got one of Colt's naval revolver pistols, and then rode back after him. After we had got, I should judge, between 21 and 3 miles from Lawrence, we saw a party of men. We remarked, when we saw them, that they were Missourians, and supposed, at the time, there were 12 or 15 of them. They came round a corn-field, directly up towards the California road that we were then on, but close to where we intended to turn off towards home. We rode on some distance, not very far, and this party came right towards us, and two of them rode out from the rest, and rode on and headed us. The eornfield that they came round when we first saw them, was on the north side of the California road. The road we intended to turn off in to go home, led off south from the California road. We had turned off on our road home, and had gone some little distance on it, when those two men left the others and rode along to head us off. They rode right up to us, and when they came off against us, one of them ordered us to halt. The rest of the party to which these two belonged had crossed the California road, anrid got into our road behind us. When we were ordered to stop, the two men were not more than five yards from us. We halted immediately, and one of the two rode directly before us in the road, and turned round facing us. Tile other was on our right side, a very little behind, if anything. My brother and myself were side and side-my brother on my right. My brother-in-law was about the length of hie horse behind me, a little to nmy left. The one that was ahead of us did all the talking. He asked u: where we were from. My brother told him we were from Lawrence The next question was, where we were going. One of us, if' not both told him we were going home. He asked tL,nm what was going on ir Lawrence. MIy brother told him there was nothing very particular going on; but the citizens were preparing for defence, or I thin' something near that. This man then said they had orders frol Governor Shannon to have the laws of the Territory enforced. M brother asked him what laws the citizens of Lawrence, or the citizen of the Territory in general, had disobeyed. The man used sorm. expression after that-I do not recolleet what-and said, "what in hel was the reason the citizens of the Territory could not obey the laws?' When he had made that remark, he ordered us to turn our horses heads and turn back, pointing to the main body of men behind us My brother said we could not do so, as we wanted to go home. E, then remarked, and said, "you won't, hey?" and then rode aroun' 1122

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Title
Report of the special committee appointed to investigate the troubles in Kansas,: with the views of the minority of said committee.
Author
United States. Congress.
Canvas
Page 1122
Publication
Washington,: C. Wendell, printer,
1856.
Subject terms
Kansas -- History

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"Report of the special committee appointed to investigate the troubles in Kansas,: with the views of the minority of said committee." In the digital collection Making of America Books. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/afk4445.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 13, 2025.
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