The American Indian as Participant in the Civil War. Annie Heloise Abel

      Spring, Kansas, 272.

      

Cochrane,¹¹⁹ Thaddeus Stevens¹²⁰ and many another, fully endorsed the principle underlying Frémont's abortive Emancipation Proclamation. He advocated immediate emancipation both as a political and a military measure.¹²¹

There was no doubt by this time that Lane had it in mind to utilize the Indians. In the dog days of August, when he was desperately marshaling his brigade, the Indians presented themselves, in idea, as a likely military contingent. The various Indian agents in Kansas were accordingly communicated with and Special Agent Augustus Wattles authorized to make the needful preparations for Indian enlistment.¹²² Not much could be done in furtherance of the scheme while Lane was engaged in Missouri but, in October, when he was back in Kansas, his interest again manifested itself. He was then recruiting among all kinds of people, the more hot-blooded the better. His energy was likened to frenzy and the more sober-minded took alarm. It was the moment for his political opponents to interpose and Governor Robinson from among them did interpose, being firmly convinced that Lane, by his intemperate zeal and by his guerrilla-like fighting was provoking Missouri to reprisals and thus precipitating upon Kansas the very troubles that he professed to wish to ward off. Incidentally, Robinson, unlike Frémont, was vehemently opposed to Indian enlistment.

      Feeling between Robinson and Lane became exceedingly tense in October. Price was again moving

Footnote 119: (return)

      Daily Conservative, November 22, 1861.

Footnote 120: (return)

      Woodburn, Life of Thaddeus Stevens, 183.

Footnote 121: (return)

      Lane's speech at Springfield, November 7, 1861 [Daily Conservative, November 17, 1861].

Footnote 122: (return)

      For a full discussion of the progress of the movement, see Abel, American Indian as Slaveholder and Secessionist, 227 ff.

      

suspiciously near to Kansas. On the third he was known to have left Warrensburg, ostensibly to join McCulloch in Bates County¹²³ and, on the eighth, he was reported as still proceeding in a southwestwardly direction, possibly to attack Fort Scott.¹²⁴ His movements gave opportunity for a popular expression of opinion among Lane's adherents. On the evening of the eighth, a large meeting was held in Stockton's Hall to consider the whole situation and, amidst great enthusiasm, Lane was importuned to go to Washington,¹²⁵ there to lay the case of the piteous need of Kansas, in actuality more imaginary than real, before the president. Nothing loath to assume such responsibility but not finding it convenient to leave his military task just then, Lane resorted to letter-writing. On the ninth, he complained¹²⁶ to Lincoln that Robinson was attempting to break up his brigade and had secured the coöperation of Prince to that end.¹²⁷ The anti-Robinson press¹²⁸ went farther and accused Robinson and Prince of not being big enough, in the face of grave danger to the commonwealth, to forget old scores.¹²⁹ As a solution of the problem before them, Lane suggested to Lincoln the establishment of a new military district that should include Kansas, Indian Territory, and Arkansas, and be under his command.¹³⁰ So anxious was Lane to be

Footnote 123: (return)

      Official Records, vol. iii, 525, 526, 527.

Footnote 124: (return)

      —Ibid, 527.

Footnote 125: (return)

      Daily Conservative, October 9, 10, 1861.

Footnote 126: (return)

      Official Records, vol. iii, 529.

Footnote 127: (return)

      Daily Conservative, October 9, 15, 1861.

Footnote 128: (return)

      Chief among the papers against Robinson, in the matter of his longstanding feud with Lane, was the Daily Conservative with D.W. Wilder as its editor. Another anti-Robinson paper was the Lawrence Republican. The Cincinnati Gazette was decidedly friendly to Lane.

Footnote 129: (return)

      Daily Conservative, October 15, 1861.

Footnote 130: (return)

      Official Records, vol. iii, 529–530. Lane outlined his plan for a separate department in his speech in Stockton's Hall [Daily Conservative, October 9, 1861]. (cont.)

      

identified with what he thought was the rescue of Kansas that he proposed resigning his seat in the senate that he might be entirely untrammelled.¹³¹ Perchance, also, he had some inkling that with Frederick P. Stanton¹³² contesting the seat, a bitter partisan fight was in prospect, a not altogether welcome diversion.¹³³ Stanton, prominent in and out of office in territorial days, was an old political antagonist of the Lane faction and one of the four candidates whose names had been before the legislature in March. In the second half of October, Lane's brigade notably contributed to Frémont's show of activity and then, anticipatory perhaps to greater changes, it was detached from the main column and given the liberty of moving independently down the Missouri line to the Cherokee country.¹³⁴

      Lane's efforts towards securing Indian enlistment did not stop with soliciting the Kansas tribes. Thoroughly aware, since the time of his sojourn at Fort Scott, if not before, of the delicate situation in Indian Territory, of the divided allegiance there, and of the despairing cry for help that had gone forth from the Union element to