292 
KANSAb. 
eattle was speaking to the governor, trying to get some redress, 
it was amusing to watch the expression of his face. There was 
a look of utter weariness, of inability to do anything, of inca¬ 
pacity to know what to do. Instead of going down the river, he 
took the first boat to Fort Leavenworth, and the next day sent a 
sealed despatch to the President. Gov. Shannon was frightened, 
and, as he repeated some things about the invasion to Col. Sumner, 
the colonel grew angry, and talked plainly to the governor, telling 
him “ he would have driven out the ruffians long ago, had he 
had the power, and now he had, he would drive them over the 
state line, or to h—11.” The colonel, with Shannon under his wing, 
started off with another company of dragoons, three brass six- 
pound field-pieces, and a quantity of stores. Col. Sumner was 
very indignant at the Osawattomie affair. 
The investigating committee had also arrived on the 9th, hav¬ 
ing finished their laborious work in the territory, and their last 
sittings at Leavenworth and Westport being in the midst of war, 
arrests of their clerks, their witnesses, and in general confusion. 
Every day at Westport armed bands of infuriated, drunken men, 
were marshalled in the streets. Their threats were open and 
violent against the committee. Whitfield had left his position 
before the committee to carry fire and sword into the territory. 
The last afternoon there was an effort made to create a disturb¬ 
ance, but the firmness of the majority of the committee effectu¬ 
ally quelled it. 
The people of Westport soon began to grow weary of the trou¬ 
blesome men whom they had invited into their midst. Not content 
with robbing free-state people, the Westport people said, “No 
man was sure, when he fastened his horse and went into a store, 
that he would find it on his return.” Such an experience 
was a little troublesome, so they called a meeting to express their 
disapprobation of this invasion into the territory, to state that they 
had no sympathy with it. But the insincerity of the movement 
was expressed by the total failure of the meeting, only six per¬ 
sons remaining until its close. They probably forgot that at the 
same time a call was in all the papers, signed by one of the most 
influential citizens of Westport, for “ provisions and horses to 
