hundred pounds of hams and sides, two hundred pounds of flour, two hundred pounds of cornmeal, forty pounds of lard, one quarter of beef, and a feather bed. To all this was added a negro woman, Rachel, and her three children, all of whom were slaves. Rachel's husband, a man by the name of Ambrose who belonged to Doctor Henry C. Wright, was permitted to accompany his wife and children to Bowling Green. These altogether made a pretty fair wagonload.

My wife and I took an old buggy drawn by faithful old Sam, and we all started early Thursday morning for Bowling Green, a distance of thirty-five miles. Shortly after starting it began to snow and so continued all day. The roads were heavy and we did not reach the end of our journey until it was dark. The negroes went to the little house in the yard of the place I had bought, and there remained during the night. My wife and I staid at Blain's Hotel, and the next morning, bright and early, we went to our own house, built fires, and began housekeeping.

I prevailed upon my friend, Doctor Stephen J. Reynolds of Bowling Green, to hire Ambrose from Doctor Wright for the ensuing year, so that Ambrose and his wife and children could be close to each other. On the day after our arrival we were joined by my wife's mother and little sister. My wife's brother, Levi Pettibone Hunt, was temporarily at school at St. Charles. Thus it was that the family was formed and continued until death removed Mrs. Hunt.

Toward the end of November I received my commission as Circuit Attorney for the 3d Judicial Circuit. The first term of the Circuit Court for the trial

of a criminal cause was held at Danville, Montgomery County, on the first Monday in December. I rode across the country on horseback to Danville and prosecuted a man for malicious mischief. The accused was at outs with a neighbor of his, and out of revenge for a real or supposed grievance, cut out the tongue of a mule belonging to his supposed enemy. The defendant was defended by General Jeff Jones and Henry C. Hayden of Callaway County. After a trial lasting a couple of days the defendant was convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary for two years.

VI

THE VOLCANO RUMBLES

Missouri State Convention of 1861- Secession Debated-Camp Jackson-Lincoln Inaugurated· Frank P. Blair, Jr. - Incompetence of Fremont — Appointed Lieutenant of Home Guards - Amusing Incidents of the Time.

At this time the country was in an uproar over the election of Abraham Lincoln and threats of disunion were heard on every side. The Legislature of the State in January passed an act authorizing an election of delegates to a State Convention, ostensibly to take into consideration the relation of the State to the Federal Government, but in reality for the purpose of passing an ordinance of secession. The election was to be held in February, 1861. The number of delegates to be elected was three from each Senatorial District in the State.

Sentiment was very much divided and the bitterness engendered was most pronounced. There were unconditional Union men, conditional Union men, secessionists and semi-secessionists. The members of the Legislature that passed the act calling the convention were strongly pro-slavery, and it was their purpose to control the election of delegates and thus secure the passage of an ordinance uniting the for

tunes of Missouri with the more southern States. The Union men from all parts of the State enthusiastically rallied, and elected a majority of the delegates. Never in the history of the State had there been gathered together in a legislative body men of such great ability as composed that convention.

In the Pike County District the leader of the Union forces was John B. Henderson, while Aylett H. Buckner, then judge of the Circuit Court, was the leader of the disunionists. Henderson and his associates Calhoun of Audrain and Zimmerman of Lincoln) were elected by a large majority. From other parts of the State came their greatest men. Hamilton R. Gamble, James O. Broadhead, Samuel M. Breckenridge, Uriel Wright of St. Louis, Sterling Price of Chariton, William A. Hall of Randolph, Willard P. Hall of Buchanan, John F. Philips of Pettis, A. W. Doniphan of Clay, Joseph J. Gravelly of Cedar, Robert M. Stewart of Buchanan, and John T. Redd of Marion were some of the men elected to that Convention which met at Jefferson City on the 28th day of February, 1861.

The Legislature that called it into existence was also in session and continued to pass bills of a treasonable character, among which was one known as the "Jackson Military Bill" providing for the enrollment of all white male citizens of the State between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years. Provision was made for the appointment of enrolling officers, etc. This bill provided for an oath to be administered to each enrolled militiaman to support the Constitution of the State and obey orders of the com

mander-in-chief, Claiborne F. Jackson, then Governor of the State, but no mention was made of the Constitution and laws of the United States.

All of this was being done before Mr. Lincoln was inaugurated and while the Southerners in President Buchanan's cabinet had absolute control of the Army and Navy. During this time the Union men of the State began to organize companies and regiments of what was then called "Home Guards." They had only such arms as were owned by individual members, such as shot-guns, squirrel rifles, with now and then an old "horse pistol" that was worthless except for the noise it made.

A semblance of order was maintained in the State for a while. The courts were in session, trials of causes held, etc. I attended the courts in my circuit, presented cases to the Grand Juries and tried quite a number of persons that were indicted. While the courts were in session, the people were busy organizing for what seemed, and subsequently was shown to be, an inevitable conflict. The citizenship of Pike County was made up largely of Virginians and Kentuckians. The very active participants on either side were chiefly Virginians. The most prominent on the Union side was John B. Henderson who was born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. The most prominent and aggressive on the disunion side was Judge Aylett H. Buckner, also a Virginian by birth. The contest took the appearance of a "family row" and was very, very bitter.

During its session in Jefferson City, the Legislature was visited by one or more emissaries from the South, notably one from the State of Mississippi.