Madison County, Illinois - Chapter 9: Killing of Love Joy, 1912

Consequences to Alton - Lovejoy in St. Louis - Rise of Bitter Feeling yt Alton - Lovejoy Defends Himself - Story of Riot and Death - The Defenders of the Press - Alton Trials - Alfred Cowles.

The most far-reaching event in the history of Madison county, the one of greatest na¬ tional importance, was the tragedy of the killing of Elijah P. Lovejoy, by a pro-slavery mob in the city of Alton, on the night of the 7th of November, 1837. The horror that un¬ toward event inspired throughout the country advanced the anti-slavery cause, it is safe to say, at least a generation. It inspired the elo¬ quence of Wendell Phillips, increased the de¬ nunciation of Garrison and lighted a flame of indignation over the land. Notwithstanding the fact that sixty volunteers enrolled them¬ selves to defend Lovejoy and his cause the fact that the mob triumphed made the city a bye-word and a hissing." The men enrolled were organized under the laws of the state and elected M. G. Atwood captain. The pros¬ pects of Alton at the time were as bright as those of any city of similar advantages, but the tragedy cast a blight over the young mu¬ nicipality that the passage of two generations hardly sufficed to efface. Emigration from the New England and Middle States which was then pouring into Alton ceased at once, but it is only fair to say that at that period no man could have expressed himself against slavery with the same boldness as did Lovejoy without causing an outbreak of the mob spirit.

Lovejoy, before coming to Alton, had suf¬ fered mob violence in St. Charles and St. Louis, Missouri. In the latter place his office was destroyed and he was compelled to move to Alton where St. Louis hostility followed him. Yet St. Charles and St. Louis suffered no detriment for their course towards him - perhaps because nothing better was expected from them - but Alton was in a Free state and was made to suffer in reputation, in wealth and in population because the mob spirit was not successfully curbed by the law-abiding citizens who made unavailing efforts in that direction but were not upheld by the authori¬ ties. Not only did immigration to Alton cease as a sequence of the riot, but many men who had settled there who held anti-slavery views, or who foresaw a shadowed future for the city, sought new homes. Many, especially business and professional men, moved to Chi¬ cago or St. Louis. Not for nearly two gen¬ erations did the city rally from the blow. But in 1896-7 the state of Illinois and citizens of Alton erected a stately monument in memory of the martyr. Since that time the city has grown and prospered remarkably. Is there anything in this fact to encourage the theory

Several histories of the tragedy have been written: One by Mr. Love joy's brothers; one by Rev. Edward Beecher, and one by Henry Tanner, one of the defenders of the press. I condense from the last two and other sources a sketch of Lovejoy's life and their account of the riot and the occurrences preceding it.

Elijah Parish Lovejoy was born at Albion, Maine, November /8, 1802. He would have been thirty-five years old the day after he was murdered. He was a graduate of Waterville college and soon, after receiving his diploma removed to St. Louis, where he taught school several years, and then became editor of the St. Louis Times. In a revival of religion in St. Louis, in 1832, he was converted and soon after entered Princeton Theological Seminary and, on completing his studies there, was li¬ censed to preach. He returned to St. Louis and became editor of the St. Louis Observer. His fearless editorial course in denouncing public wrongs made him many enemies and he was denounced as an Abolitionist, although not holding such views at the time.

Matters reached a climax when a negro named McIntosh, a deck hand, was chained to a stump by a mob and burned to death for killing a white man who had grossly abused him. The act of the mob was justified by the city judge, one Lawless. Mr. Lovejoy un¬ sparingly denounced the barbarity of the mob and the apologetic charge of the judge. This so exasperated the mob element that the cry of Abolitionist was again raised against him and his office destroyed. He then decided to move to Alton and continue his fight for law enforcement and the right of free speech. On being interrogated as to the course his paper would pursue there he replied that his object was to publish a religious paper, but that he claimed the right to discuss the question of slavery, or any other subject of public mom¬ ent if he saw fit. This was well understood and Mr. Lovejoy was welcomed as a citizen of Alton.

Another press was bought, to take the place of the one destroyed in St. Louis. The paper was called the Alton Observer and it soon aroused opposition by its course on the slav¬ ery question in which Lovejoy manifested an increasing interest, although he was then what was known as a colonizationist. But the old cry of Abolitionist was raised against him and on the 22nd of August, 1837, his office was wrecked and the press destroyed. The au¬ thorities made no serious attempt to prevent this outrage.

This action brought Lovejoy to the front as an avowed Abolitionist, pledged to oppose the further aggressions of slavery. He at once issued a call for a convention to organize an Anti-Slavery Society. The convention met at Upper Alton, October 26, 1837, with a large attendance, including many citizens bent on defeating the objects of the meeting. They were led by U. F. Linder, attorney general, and Rev. John Hogan, a Methodist minister, rabid pro-slavery men, who succeeded in de¬ feating the effort of the meeting to effect an organization. The next day, however, the friends of the cause met at the residence of Rev. T. B. Hurlbut, in Upper Alton, and or¬ ganized the "State Anti-Slavery Society of Illi¬ nois, with an enrollment of sixty members. Another meeting of leading citizens and anti¬ slavery men was held August 30th, at the store of Alexander & Company, at which it was adment of the law in such protection and resist¬ ance to lawless mob elements. These resolu¬ tions were referred to a committee of which Hon. Cyrus Edwards was chairman (Mr. Ed¬ wards was then a member of the state senate and the Whig candidate for governor). This committee reported what was called a com¬ promise series of resolutions, the gist of which was that while Mr. Lovejoy had the right to entertain and promulgate anti-slavery views it vised that Mr. Lovejoy re-establish the press and that it was the duty of the friends of free discussion to stand by him in defense of it. At a subsequent meeting the same day in the Riley building there was a much larger attend¬ ance, and the opposition to Lovejoy was again led by Linder and Hogan, who denounced all Abolitionists in bitter terms in order to stir up the mob spirit. A series of resolutions of¬ fered by Rev. Edward Beecher, asserting the right of free speech, the duty of officials to protect individuals in this right, the enforcewas not expedient that he should do so, and in order to promote the peace and harmony of the city that he should sever his connection with the paper.

Mr. Lovejoy then took the floor and spoke in opposition to the resolutions and in defense of his course. With a tranquil air he went to the bar within which the chairman sat and in a tone of deep and tender feeling addressed the meeting. He repelled the charges and in- sinuations made by the principal opposing speakers, Linder and Hogan, saying it was not true he held in contempt the feelings and sen¬ timents of the community in reference to the great question that was agitating it. He re¬ spected the feelings of his fellow citizens and it was one of the most painful duties of his life to differ from them. If they supposed he had published sentiments contrary to those generally held in the community because he delighted in differing from them, they had en¬ tirely misapprehended him. But though he valued the good opinion of his fellow citizens as highly as any man could, he was governed by higher considerations than either the fear or favor of man. He was impelled to the course he had taken because he feared God. He told the meeting he had not asked any com¬ promise ; he had asked for nothing but to be protected in the rights which God had given him and which were guaranteed by the consti¬ tution of his country. He asked : "What in¬ fraction of the law have I been guilty of? When and where have I published anything injurious to the reputation of Alton? Have I not, on the contrary, labored to promote the best interests of Alton? What is my offense? If I have been guilty, you can easily convict me. You have public sentiment in your favor. You have your juries and you have your at¬ torney (looking at Linder) and I have no doubt you can convict me, but if I have been guilty of no violation of law, why am I hunted up and do'wn perpetually as a part¬ ridge upon the mountain? Why am I threat¬ ened with the tar barrel ? Why am I waylaid from day to day and from night to night, and my life put in jeopardy every hour?" He planted himself upon his unquestionable rights ; said the question was not whether a compromise could be effected but whether he should be protected in the exercise of those rights. "This is the question : Whether my property shall be protected ; whether I shall be to go home to my family at night without being assailed and threatened with tar and feathers and assassination ; whether my afflicted wife, whose life has been in jeopardy from continued alarms and excitements, shall, night after night, be driven from a sick bed into the garret to1 save her life from the brick¬ bats and violence of the mob. That, Sir, is the question." There his feelings overcame him and he burst into tears. Many others in the room also wept, and for a time, the sym¬ pathies of the meeting were with him. He apologized for having betrayed any weakness ; it was the allusion to his family that overcame him. He assured them it was not from any fears on his part ; he had no personal fears. Not that he felt able to contest the matter with the whole community - he knew perfectly well that he could not - but where should he go? He had been made to feel that if it was not safe in Alton he would not be safe anywhere. He had recently visited St. Charles for his family and had been torn from their embrace by a mob. He had finally come to the determination after consulting his friends and earnestly seeking counsel of God, to remain in Alton, and here insist upon pro¬ tection in the exercise of his rights. If the civil authorities failed to protect him he must look to God for protection.

Love joy concluded his address in these words : "Sir, I dare not flee away from Alton. Should I attempt it I should feel that the angel of the Lord with his flaming sword was pur¬ suing me wherever I went. It is because I fear God that I am not afraid of all who op¬ pose me in this city. No, Sir, the contest has commenced here and here it must be finished. Before God and you all, I here pledge myself to continue it, if need be till death. If I fall my grave shall be made in Alton."

Mr. Lovejoy had his audience with him, but when he retired Hogan and Linder arose, in turn, and denounced his speech as hypocritical cant ; held him up as a fanatic and a dan¬ gerous man in the community, and flayed all who sided with him as Abolitionists. The chairman, Mr. Edwards, arose and in very decided manner expressed himself as dissent¬ ing from the sentiments of Hogan and Lin¬ der. He urged the importance of maintaining peace and good order, and said he wished to take his stand before the country on that. But the meeting was carried on the side of Linder and Hogan and their followers adjourned with the evident intention to ruin Love joy or pursue him to the death.

In the meantime events moved rapidly. Agreeable to the decision at the Alexander store meeting another press had been bought and arrangements made with the steamboat company to have it arrive at night. The boat, on board of which was the press, arrived on the night of November 6th. Here follows Mr. Tanner's statement: "A company of about sixty volunteers had enrolled themselves under the laws as a military company and tendered their services to the mayor to keep the peace of the city. This number of men had met for drill that evening, at the store where the press would be landed, and they were armed with good rifles, all well loaded with ball. The sixty men inside had concluded to prolong their drill till the press was stored, so they were divided into companies and stationed at points overlooking the boxes and all had received orders that if any unauthorized person should attempt to handle the boxes, they were to shoot at the boxes, and if anybody was in the way it would appear to be the fault of the intruder. A committee of two were sent to call the mayor and have him at the store, that, at least, he might see it well done. To the first sum¬ mons he promised to come, but was so long in doing it that a second was sent. This was ef¬ fective, and the committee and mayor came in together. The press was soon transferred from the boat to the fourth story of the warehouse

"This brings us in detail to the morning of the 7th of November, 1837. All was quiet in the city, the press was out of harm's way in the keeping of responsible men. As night ap¬ proached nearly all of the men who had given their names to form that military company went to the building containing the press, one loft of which was our drill room, and were drilled there, until nine o'clock. Then, as no one apprehended any trouble, the company was dismissed, when Mr. Gilman, one of the own¬ ers of the store, asked if some few of the num¬ ber would not volunteer to remain through the night, and he was intending to stay himself as a precaution against any one breaking into the store and committing any depredation. Nine¬ teen men volunteered to stay, who with Mr. Gilman made twenty in all. Within a short time appearances seemed to indicate that the mob were gathering, but no one thought of any serious trouble till Edward Keating, a lawyer, and Henry W. West, a merchant, came to the building and asked to be admitted to see Mr. Gilman, the owner. Some one not possessed of much judgment (for they were both known to favor the mob), allowed them to come in. They, of course, soon took in the small num¬ ber left to guard the building and press, and they then informed Mr. Gilman that unless the press was given up to the 'gentlemen' outside, the building would be burned over our heads and every man killed. Consultation was had inside and they were promptly given to un¬ derstand that the press and the store would be defended.

"Early in the night, after the main body had left, the twenty men remaining in the building had elected Deacon Enoch Long to act as their captain, and as he had seen service in the War of 1812-15 we supposed him the most fit man for such a case. About as soon as the mob could get their report, we understood by the wild shouts among them that our numbers were satisfactory to that side, at least, and that we would have work to do. A council was called by the inside party to take measures for defense, and some advised most vigorous de¬ fense ; but our captain overruled, saying our course would be a useless sacrifice of human life, and if the mob, whose shot and stones had began to come, should persist in their attack, after being counseled of the consequences, then he would select some one man to fire into the mob and no doubt they would instantly dis¬ perse. He was promptly told by some that they would not be so selected ; that if they fired into that mob, which they were anxious to do, they should fire with all present. And some took themselves to different parts of the build¬ ing to defend on their own account, but there was thereafter no concert of action by the defenders. The building was of stone, over one hundred feet long at the side toward the vacant lot. The attacking party were covered by this stone wall. The ends of the buildings would show three stories on the street and four at the river end, owing to the formation of the land. The two upper stories were lofts or garrets, the roofs of each resting on the middle wall, and no com¬ munication between them without going down the stairs of one and up those of the other. In the loft of one of these stores was stored stone jugs and jars. Reuben Gerry had stationed himself in this loft, while the writer was in the other. The mob were working in the street in front of both, but more particularly under Gerry's part, for the door they were trying to force was more directly under him. In his room, and my own also, were doors fronting the street under the roof with small glass win¬ dows in the doors, but no other windows. Mr. Gerry had opened the door in his room over the head of the mob, and was amusing himself and them by rolling the jugs and crocks out of the door down on their heads. The mob for a time tried throwing up stones, but they did not go up with the same effect that the jugs went down, and one of their number was selected to cross the street and shoot whoever might be throwing down the jugs. By the time the party had got to his appointed place where he could command Gerry's door, my rifle was through the glass forming the top of my door and resting on the sash, perfectly covering the man in the street. I knew him well and saw him clearly, for it was a beautiful moonlight night. Two men had come up to the room where I was to get a good sight of the mob, and the street was full. They were asking me not to shoot, for we were getting the worst of the fight already. My promise was readily given not to shoot unless the man raised his gun to shoot Gerry ; if he did, he could never perform the act. But Gerry knew of the pre¬ parations to shoot him, and did not know of my position, neither could I let him know ; so he kept out of sight and saved the life of one who bragged the next day that he was the one who shot Love joy, perhaps not one hour later.

I soon heard Mr. Gerry going down stairs and immediately went down myself and we met on the floor below ; and while we were discussing the situation with the view of returning to our stations, he to roll jugs and I to cover him, we heard the report of a gun close to us from the inside and the exclamation that a man on the outside was shot. Our captain had put in force his saving theory and had selected one man to fire, and that shot had killed a man by the name of Bishop on the outside. The ball had en¬ tered the top of his shoulder while he was stooping to pick up a stone and gone nearly through him lengthways. I heard one call and

'I did.' I went to the window and saw four men pick up Bishop, and carry him to Dr. Hart's office nearly opposite, but I subse¬ quently learned the man was dead when they reached the office with him. The shooting of this man seemed to have the effect con¬ templated by our captain, and the mob with¬ drew. But the lull was short; they soon re¬ turned reinforced, and with savage yells threat¬ ened to fire the building and shoot every called, as we might leave the building. Even at this time no orders were given for any con¬ centrated fire on the mob ; but many shots were fired, but with poor effect. The mayor came into the building and we asked him to take us outside to face the mob and order them to dis¬ perse, or else in their hearing order us to fire, and we would pledge our lives to clean them out, but he prudently and cautiously declined, saying he had too high a regard for our lives to do that, but at the same time he justified our right of defense. When he returned to the mob from us he could do nothing.

"About this time the mob had approached the building with a long ladder and operating on the side of the house next the vacant lot, where there was no opening in the long wall, they had got the ladder to the roof and a man on the ladder with material to set the house on fire on the roof. When volunteers were called to go out and shoot the man off the ladder, the men on the lower floor - Mr. Love joy, Amos B. Roff and Royal Weller - stepped out of the door towards the river, and as they stepped clear of the door to get at the side of the build¬ ing, Mr. Love joy received five bullets in his body and limbs from behind a pile of lumber near by where men were concealed, probably for the purpose. Mr. Roff was also shot in the leg; and Mr. Weller was shot in his leg, and had a bullet through his hat that just cleared his head. Mr. Lovejoy walked in and up stairs one story to the office, saying as he went, "I am shot ! I am shot ! I am dead !" He was met at the door of the room by all on that floor, and died without a struggle and without speak¬ ing again. The two that were, wounded also got back up stairs to the same room. Very soon there appeared on the river side of the building the same two men who were in the beginning admitted and let out of the building - Keating and West - and calling the atten¬ tion of whoever was in sight, displayed a white handkerchief and called for Gilman, and said that the building was on fire, but the boys would put it out if he would give up the press ; that was all they wanted, and would not de¬ stroy anything else, nor hurt any one if the building was surrendered.

"Mr. Gilman then concluded that inasmuch as there was great value in the building of goods, and also the interests of many firms all over the state were jeopardized, and Mr. God¬ frey, his partner, not present, that to save all these interests it was his judgment that the buildings and press had best be abandoned to the mob. Others, under the circumstances, could say nothing, and so it was resolved to give it up and the spies were so ordered to no¬ tify their fellows. Accordingly our guns were secreted in different places, and all of the num¬ ber left the building in a body, except Lovejoy, dead; Roff and Weller wounded, and S. J. Thompson, who remained till the mob entered ; and as the men passed by that vacant lot, it seemed as if a hundred bullets were shot at them from the mob congregated at the other and higher end of the lot, and being thus elevated the balls sung harmless by to the river. The escaped congregated in a hard¬ ware store on Second street, a little removed from the scene of action, and after a time went to their several homes, and the work of destruction was completed on the press.

"The next morning, on returning to the scenes of the night, the dead body of Lovejoy lay where it fell and the dead body of Bishop in Dr. Hart's office. Friends procured a hearse and removed the body of Mr. Lovejoy

Mr. Lovejoy was buried, I think, the day following. Rev. Thomas Lippincott made the prayer at his funeral, and never a word or in¬ timation but that the death was a natural one. It was a rainy, drizzly day - fit one for such a funeral. No word or allusion to mob violence, and so Lovejoy was buried without inquest or word to tell the manner of his death. After the body was taken home from the place of death, Owen Lovejoy, the brother of the martyred, standing over the dead body, vowed that from henceforth he would fight the cursed

The names of the twenty men that night in the building, according to Mr. Tanner s rec¬ ord, were; Eli j ah P. Lovejoy, killed, Royal Weller, wounded ; Amos R. Rolf, wounded , William Harned, James Morse, Jr., John S. Noble, Edward Breath, George H. Walworth, J. C. Woods, George H. Whitney, Reuben Gerry, W. S. Gilman, Enoch Long, Geo. T. Brown, Samuel J. Thompson, D. F. Randall, H. D. Davis, D. Burt Loomis, Thaddeus B.

Hurlburt and Henry Tanner. "I also find else¬ where," he says, "the names of R. D. Farley and J. N. Brown, who are credited with hav¬ ing been among the defenders, but perhaps in¬ correctly. They were at least among those en¬ rolled for the defense."

"Many of the defenders of the press, named by Mr. Tanner, lived to old age, but few of them remained in Alton. The last sur¬ vivor was D. Burt Loomis, who died in 1897. He served through the Civil war and was later a member of the Minnesota legislature. Jo¬ seph Brown, brother of George T., a lad of sixteen, molded the bullets for the defenders at the request of his employer, Royal Weller, and took them to the building early in the evening. I find the names of a few more of the sixty men enrolled to defend the press in the following order, issued to the captain of one squad of men in the building at the time the press was received on the night of No¬ vember 6th, when the mob was expected to make an attack:

"Order - The first story, Mr. Tanner, cap¬ tain; Your men are George Kelley, Owen Lovejoy, Royal Weller, J. W. Chickering, William T. Temple, David Horner, A. F. Lindsley and T. Guild. You will hold fire un¬ til the second and third stories have fired and don't waste a single charge. Have a light and other preparations to reload.

Perhaps this warlike order is the most sig¬ nificant document extant as showing the de¬ termination and deliberation of the defenders. It is time justice was done to those men of Al¬ ton who rallied to the defense of the liberty of the press at the risk of their lives. The "shot heard 'round the world" was fired as truly at Alton as at Concord.

the municipal court of Alton took cognizance of the riot and found indictments against twelve of the defenders of the press and eleven of the rioters. A report of these trials was written out in full, at the time, by Wil¬ liam S. Lincoln, then resident in Alton, with his brother John. They were sons of Gov¬ ernor Levi Lincoln of Massachusetts. His re¬ port makes a volume of one hundred and fifty-eight pages. It was printed in New York in March, 1838. The title page of this volume is a curiosity. It reads as follows:

"Who was indicted, with Enoch Long, Amos B. Roff, George H. Walworth, George H. Whitney, William Harned, John S. Noble, James Morse, Jr! Henry Tanner, Royal Weller, Reuben Gerry, and Thaddeus B. Hurlburt,

For the Crime of Riot Committed on the night of Nov. 7, 1837, while engaged in defending "A Printing Press From an Attack Made Upon it at that Time By an Armed Mob.

For a Riot Committed in Alton, Nov. 7, 1837, in unlawfully and Forcibly Entering the Warehouse of Godfrey, Gilman & Co. and Breaking Up and Destroying "A Printing Press.

It will be noticed that the indictments made no mention of the death of Lovejoy on the one side or of Bishop on the other. Neither was any additional indictment found against "Dr.

Jennings of Virginia," who, Hon. Joseph Brown in his "Reminiscences of Alton" as¬ serts was the man who shot and killed Lovejoy. One of the witnesses at the trial added to the probability of this statement being cor¬ rect by stating that "Jennings had skipped out." Neither was Jennings ever arrested or brought to trial, as were the others indicted, except Morgan and Bruchy, who had perhaps followed Jennings.

At the opening of the court on the 16th day of January, 1838, Hon. William Martin, judge, the case of the defenders of the press came on for trial. The prosecuting attorneys were F. S. Murdock, city solicitor; U. S. Linder, at¬ torney general, and Samuel G. Bailey. The attorneys for the defense were G. T. M. Davis, Alfred Cowles, and G. W. Chickering.

The clerk proceeded to impanel a jury. The regular panel having been exhausted talesmen were returned by the sheriff and at last a jury was obtained, sworn to try the issue, consist¬ ing of the following persons : James S. Stone, Timothy Terrill, Stephen Griggs, Effingham Cock, George Allcorn, Peter Whittaker, Hor¬ ace Buffum, Washington Libby, Luther John¬ son, George L. Ward, Anthony Olney and Jacob Rice.

Upon the first calling of the jury W. S. Gil¬ man, through his counsel, moved for a separ¬ ate trial from the other individuals included with him in the indictment. This petition was granted by the court and a plea of not guilty was entered. The indictment presented by the prosecution was endorsed upon the back, A true bill, Thos. G. Hawley, foreman." Murdock, for the government, maintained in his opening speech that the offense committed by the defendants, consisted "not in defending their property but in doing it in a manner not sanctioned by law." At the close of the open¬ ing speech by the prosecution the following witnesses were presented who testified sev¬ erally and in detail : Edward Keating, Henry W. West, Sherman W. Robbins, Anson B.

Platt, Samuel Avis, John H. Watson, Joseph Greeley, for the people; William L. Chappell, John M. Krum (mayor), and Samuel J. Thompson, for the defense.

The defense also introduced the record of the common council, showing that certain in¬ dividuals had called upon the mayor, repre¬ senting that the peace of the city was at stake, and that he (the mayor) believed their repre¬ sentations to be true, and submitted to the council "the propriety of authorizing him to appoint special constables to aid in the main¬ tenance of order." The record does not show that any action was taken on the mayor's sug¬ gestion. The testimony of the witnesses, the cross examinations, the speeches of counsel and the rulings of the court take up seventynine pages of Mr. Lincoln's report. The ad¬ dresses of the counsel for the defense, in such a ridiculous indictment, were necessarily far¬ fetched and sophistical, but that of the at¬ torney general was in addition, very unneces¬ sarily bitter in its vituperation of "the damn¬ able doctrine of Abolitionism." At the close of his address the case was given to the jury, which after fifteen minutes' absence, returned a verdict of "Not guilty" against the defend¬ ant, Mr. Gilman.

At the opening of the court, the next morn¬ ing, the prosecution, in view of the verdict acquitting Mr. Gilman, entered a nolle prose¬ qui with the court's permission, as to the other defendants, and they were discharged.

On the 19th of January the case of the People vs. the defendants indicted for riot was called in the same court. The attorneys for the people were F. B. Murdock and Al¬ fred Cowles; for the defendants, U. S. Lin¬ der (attorney general), Seth T. Sawyer and Junius Hall. It seems decidedly incongruous, in this day, that the attorney general of the state should appear in defense of men charged with riot - but so it was. At the calling of the case the counsel for defendants presented a demurrer reciting that the matters contained in the indictment were not sufficient, and praying that the defendants be dismissed. The motion was argued, at length, affirmatively, but the court overruled the demurrer. The defendants then entered a plea of "Not guilty." The following individuals were then ac¬ cepted as jurors: Timothy Terrill, John P. Ash, William S. Gaskins, George Allcorn, John Clark, William T. Hankinson, Richard

Broughton, Henry W. West and Mayor John M. Krum for the People. The report here seems a little involved. It says : "Winthrop S. Gilman was then called by the defense," which does not seem logical. Other witnesses called by the prosecution were Sherman W. Robbins, Samuel Miller, Aaron Corey, Joseph Greeley, Edmund Beall, John H. Watson and Webb C. Quigley.

Following the testimony came the addresses of the counsel, Messrs. Sawyer and Linder closing for the defense and Cowles for the prosecution. The jury, after considerable de¬ lay, returned a verdict of "Not guilty ;" Alex¬ ander Botkin, foreman.

The verdict was contrary to all the facts and evidence in the case and was a travesty on justice. The closing words of Alfred Cowles to the jury, in pleading for a verdict against the rioters, are so prophetic that they are worthy of preservation. He said : "I am no Abolitionist. I have no sympathy with their party, no communion with their creed. But I am a friend to law, an enemy to mobs and an advocate of good order. I am opposed to the lawless acts of an unprincipled, an in- furiated and a licentious mob. I am opposed to any resort to brute force, much more when it is resorted to to break down the barriers which the constitution throws around us all. Put down the freedom of thought ! Suppress the freedom of speech! Restrain the free¬ dom of the press! Lawless force cannot do it. The effort will be useless, the trial will be as idle as was that when Canute, the Dane, planted his throne upon the seashore and com¬ manded the waves to roll back. The effort was idle but not more so than this one. The press still speaks out in tones of thunder and it will continue to speak out in tones which cannot be resisted and in a language not to be misunderstood or disregarded. You cannot put down the press by force! I warn you! I warn you all against such inconsiderate acts. Let Abolitionists think if they please; let them speak if they choose; let them print if they will. Freedom of thought is the birthright and freedom of speech the charter of every American citizen. Let him use his privileges ; let him exercise his rights responsible to his peers and the laws of the land."

This last clause is almost a quotation from Lovejoy's last speech in which he said : "I have the right to speak freely and publish my sentiments subject only to the laws of the land and the abuse of that right."

Mr. Cowles continued : "This verdict will determine, for weal or for woe, the fate of this community. If lawless force can be re¬ strained; if it is ascertained that mobs shall not rule over us; if it is determined that li¬ centiousness shall not prevail ; that crime shall not be legalized among us, then all shall be well; but if the verdict of this jury is to sanc¬ tion the deeds of violence and murder which have disgraced this city, then who will stay or who will come among us?" (The jury sanctioned them.) "Remember that the eyes of this community, of the whole country, are upon you ; that the record of this trial will go to the world, and that upon yourselves it de¬ pends whether you are honored through com¬ ing ages as men who, in an hour not without its dangers, fearlessly asserted the province of the law ; or whether your names shall go down to all after time as fixed figures for the hand of scorn to point his unerring finger at. I have an unyielding hope, an unshaken con¬ fidence that this jury will apply the law and the evidence as they should be applied. I have a firm belief that you will act well your duty to yourselves, your country and your God : and that you will, as far as lies in you remove the stain which now rests upon this com¬ munity. I throw the responsibility upon you. I have faithfully laid before you the law and the testimony. I have discharged with what ability I ought, the duty which devolved upon me. I wash my hands of the consequences. I throw from my shoulders the weight of re¬ sponsibility which has rested till now upon them, and lay it, where the law places it, upon your heads. In your hands is the fate of the accused, the cause of good order, the interests of society and the maintenance of the laws."

The publisher of the book, "Alton Trials," John F. Trow of New York, said in his pref¬ ace: "There has rarely been an occurrence that has produced as intense an interest throughout the whole country as the disgrace¬ ful and murderous affair at Alton, Illinois, on the night of November 7th last. But the indictment of the defenders and the trial of the owner of the warehouse for the crime of riot in attempting to defend his property from mob violence, together with the singular verdict of the jury in the case of those of the mob that were tried, has, if possible, increased this feeling and created in the public mind a great desire to know the facts in the case.

"To gratify the public, and, at the same time correct the contradictory reports that have been circulated, by giving the facts, with¬ out comment, as they were drawn out in evi¬ dence, is deemed sufficient apology for spread¬ ing the 'Alton Trials' before the public."

A word as to Alfred Cowles, whose perora¬ tion in prosecuting members of the mob is given above. He was a native of Connecticut, born in 1787. On coming to Illinois when a young man, he settled first at Belleville and re¬ moved thence to Alton when of middle age. He possessed acknowledged legal ability and was considered a very safe and reliable law¬ yer. He, at one time, served as acting, or as¬ sistant attorney general of the state. He fig¬ ured in important trials, the most noted of which was that of P. H. Winchester for the killing of Daniel C. Smith of Pike county. The trial took place at Edwardsville in 1824. Cowles and Benjamin Mills prosecuted the case, and Henry Starr of Edwardsville and that eminent criminal lawyer, Felix Grundy of Tennessee, appeared for the defense. The prisoner was acquitted. Brink's "History of Madison County" says that Cowles spent the later years of his life in Oregon. This is er¬ roneous. On removing to Alton Cowles formed a law partnership with Hon. John M. Krum. Mr. Cowles was a man of high stand¬ ing and character, and was a member of the first board of elders of the Upper Alton Pres¬ byterian church. He had acquired quite a large property for those times, some $50,000, but the panic of 1837 and the disastrous aftermath of the proslavery riots, which depressed business and caused the value of real estate to shrink almost to the vanishing point, dissi¬ pated the greater part of his fortune. His partnership with Krum continued until 1844, when it was dissolved. Mr. Krum moved to St. Louis and became mayor of that city, hav¬ ing also been mayor of Alton. Mr. Cowles moved with his family to Chicago, where he formed a partnership with the celebrated Wil¬ liam H. Brown.

when he moved to California to join his eldest son who had located in that state. He resided first at San Francisco, then at San Jose, and finally in San Diego county. At the age of ninety-three he presided over a Republican convention in San Diego. His career in the Golden State was a successful one. He died in San Diego city, November 16, 1887, aged one hundred years and two months, and re¬ tained his physical and mental powers unim¬ paired to the last.

To return to the aftermath of the riot. Where many were heroes it seems invidious to discriminate, but it appears that the cool bravery of Wfinthrop S. Gilman animated and dominated his comrades. In reply to the threats of the mob to blow up or burn his building if the press was not delivered up he replied that he and his associates had "assem¬ bled to defend the press and would do so, if necessary, with their lives." Another intrepid spirit was Rev. T. B. Hurlbut, associate editor of Lovejoy's paper, the Observer , who, after the defenders of the press had been driven out, remained all night with the body of his friend and associate. It is related of one of the mob as he surveyed the body of Love joy, that he remarked : "Good enough for you. You should not have set yourself up against the people !" It is a curious fact that M. de Tocqueville who, in his great political work on "American Institutions" selects the murder of Lovejoy as a typical illustration, ascribes precisely the same motive to the rabble, denying, in effect, that their resentment in such cases arises from a horror of heterodox sentiments, but asserting that they resent the presumption of a few in contemning the judgment of the many. There is manifest truth in this as a review of the cases of martyrdom in all ages will attest.

The closing inquiry of Mr. Cowles as to "who would stay or come among us" if the jury sanctioned the deeds of violence and murder which had disgraced the city, had the fulfilment he prophesied. In connection with the panic of 1837 and the riots came a slump in prosperity and a decrease in the population of the city. Mr. Cowles himself, as we have seen, left the city. So did W. S. Lincoln, the re¬ porter of the trials, and his brother John Lin¬ coln, both lawyers. Likewise followed W. S. Gilman, who went to New York and became one of its most eminent bankers. Likewise re¬ moved James S. Stone, foreman of the jury that acquitted the defenders of the press and became one of the merchant princes of Boston. G. T. M. Davis, a brilliant lawyer and editor, moved eventually, to New York. John W. Chickering located in Chicago in 1843. F. B. Murdock, city solicitor, settled in St. Louis in

1841. Junius Hall, an accomplished lawyer, became discouraged after the slump in pros¬ perity and returned to his former home in Bos¬ ton. Thus of the eleven attorneys engaged in trial only two remained permanently in Alton. These were Samuel G. Bailey, who died in 1846, and Seth T. Sawyer, who continuel until his death one of the most prominent law¬ yers of the county. I cite these instances sim¬ ply to illustrate the hegira from the city which followed the riots and in which many leading business and professional men of Alton joined those mentioned above. Truly the riots were a costly experience for Alton. "The evil that men do lives after them; the good is often in¬ terred with their bones."