52 BUFFALO LAND, 



deavored to push him, he concluded to stick. At 

 that particular time, he was a moderate Democrat or 

 conservative Republican, and consequently had no 

 particular princij^les. But the slavery party sup- 

 posed he had, and to them accordingly he became 

 an object of suspicion. They assumed the aggres- 

 sive, and he at once resolved into a staunch Repub- 

 lican. Had the latter first struck him, he would 

 have been as staunch a Democrat. And Gripe has 

 never known how near he came to being the latter. 

 The Republicans had just decided to order him out 

 of the state as a border ruffian spy, when the Demo- 

 crats took action and did so for his not being one. 

 Those were troublous times. He went to the front 

 at once in the antislavery ranks, and has stayed there 

 ever since. Sore-headed men are apt to become 

 famous. There were those in our late war who were 

 kicked by adversity into the very arms of Fame. 



Our friend had been in both the upper and lower 

 houses of the State Legislature, and had rolled Con- 

 gressional logs, moreover, until he was hardly happy 

 without having his hands on one. 



