186 FORT if- FOUR YEARS OF 



cjiven time, I immediately sent out two sergeants, to give 

 notice that, on a certain day, all who had been enrolled in 

 the company should attend at Selby's Port. The Demo- 

 crats, or Republicans, sent me word by the sergeants, that 

 if I appeared there on that day, they would not only whip 

 me, but take my commission from me, and that they never 

 would suffer me to command them. 



Here was an unforeseen difficulty to contend with, which 

 entirely occupied my thoughts. My old friend Lynn being 

 in his grave, I had no adviser; and more the pity, for, 

 had he been alive, I feel certain that I should have gone 

 on to Baltimore with the rest of the draft, and thus kept 

 out of trouble. But being the captain, duly commissioned, 

 I was not to be frightened in that way ; and both they and 

 I knew that there was not a man among them who could 

 make anything in a fight with me, whatever he miglit 

 lose ; though I really had no apprehension of a fight oc- 

 CMrring. But on the evening before the parade, a friend 

 came to me, and told me that my enemies had sent to 

 >Smithfield, in Pennsylvania, for a bully, who was there 

 engaged in butchering for the hands who were building 

 the bridge across the Yough. river ; and that he had agreed 

 to come, and give me such a whipping that I would never 

 come there again, to trouble them any more. 



Still, I thought they would not attempt to do what they 

 tlireatened ; and the following day I set out for the parade, 

 and when I came to the ground, I found a great many 

 men gathered — among the rest Mr. Shannon, the butcher 

 and bully. I then began to see that there was some real- 

 ity in what I had heard, and concluded that I had better 

 settle the matter at once. I took a good view of the 

 man, and found that he was truly as dangerous-looking a 

 man as I had ever seen ; but though I had just recovered 

 from another attack of rheumatism, I was determined to 

 Uring the difficulty to a close as soon as possible. 



