as a Free State.” “I do not expect you will be allowed to vote,” was Mr. Kelley’s reply. On the following morning Mr. Kelley called at the National hotel, corner of Second and Atchison streets, where Mr. Butler had spent the night, accompanied by a number of friends and demanded Butler to sign the resolutions, which of course Mr. Butler refused to do, and walked down stairs into the street. A crowd gathered and seized Mr. Butler, dragging him towards the river, shouting that they intended to drown him. The mob increased in size as they proceeded with the victim. A vote was taken as to the kind of punishment which ought to be given him and a verdict of death by hanging was rendered. It was not discovered until forty years afterwards that Mr. Kelley, the teller, saved Mr. Butler’s life by making false returns to the excited mob. Mr. Kelley subsequently was a resident of Montana and gave this information while stopping in St. Joseph with Dr. J. H. Stringfellow, the former editor of the _Squatter Sovereign_. Instead of returning a verdict of death by hanging Mr. Kelley announced that it was the decision of the mob to send Mr. Butler down the Missouri river on a raft, and an account of what followed is best given by Rev. Pardee Butler himself: “When we arrived at the bank Mr. Kelley painted my face with black paint, marked upon it the letter “R.” The company had increased to some thirty or forty persons. Without any trial, witness, judge, counsel or jury, for about two hours I was a sort of target at which were hurled imprecations, curses, arguments, entreaties, accusations and interrogations. They constructed a raft of three cottonwood sawlogs, fastened together with inch plank nailed to the logs, upon which they put me and sent me down the Missouri river. The raft was towed out to the middle of the stream with a canoe. Robert S. Kelley held the rope that towed the raft. They gave me neither rudder, oar nor anything else to manage my raft with. They put up a flag on the raft with the following inscription on it: ‘Eastern Emigrant Aid Express. The Rev. Pardee Butler again for the underground road; The way they are served in Kansas: Shipped for Boston; Cargo insured. Unavoidable danger of the Missourians and Missouri river excepted. Let future emissaries from the north Beware. Our Hemp crop is sufficient to reward all such scoundrels.’ “They threatened to shoot me if I pulled the flag down. I pulled it down, cut the flag off the flag staff, made a paddle out of the flag staff and ultimately got ashore about six miles below.” The mob was considerate enough to provide Mr. Butler a loaf of bread and permitted him to take his baggage on board, afterwards escorting him down the river for some distance.