And now here were some Yankee neighbors whom they knew to be kindly and peaceable people, and whose help they needed in building up their churches; and yet these were to be murdered or driven out of the Territory _for nothing!_ and it touched their Southern blood.

It was neither just nor right, and they would not allow it; and in such an issue there would be a common bond of sympathy on both sides of the river.

Moreover, such men as Oliver Steele, Judge Tutt and the Irvings and Harts and Christophers had grave misgivings what would be the final issue of this system of murder and violence that had been adopted to make Kansas a slave State.
And so it was that the leaders in this conspiracy, right here in this city and county of Atchison, which was their headquarters, found themselves strangely embarrassed and handicapped.

Their will was good enough, but how to carry out their purpose ?--that was the pinch.

A private assassination was a thing that looked easy enough at the first sight, but it might turn out that they had undertaken an ugly job for themselves.
A meeting of the Disciples was held at the house of Archibald Elliott in the month of June.