“There is no one more readier than I am to settle, but I see a great crowd down there at Dunn’s store, all armed, and drunk, or playing off drunk. Springer, yo’ tell Gen. Baker that I would meet him, but that I would like for him to come away from where them men are, and that I am willing to meet him at yo’r house, if that is agreeable.” The aspect of things became more gloomy very soon. A company of twenty-five or thirty thoroughly-armed and mounted men had entered the village some time before, since which squads had been seen coming in from all directions. Several leading citizens had joined the group at Rives’s house, and all united in urging the officers to comply with Gen. Baker’s request; but they were more and more reluctant to go, fearing it was only a ruse to decoy them there, secure, disarm, and then murder them. The suspicion was but natural, as similar transactions had been far from rare since reconstruction. At length, after it had been reported that Gen. Baker had sworn to lay the town in ashes if they did not comply with his demands, all the members of the company again consented to go, but on approaching the door, fell back again. “You must go to save the town,” said Springer; “but don’t take your guns.” “We won’t go without them,” said all the men. “But he’ll make a demand for their surrender. Better leave them behind.” “Yes, that is just it,” said Watta. “You men have been keeping that back. Why should we go to General Baker? Why doesn’t he come to us if he wants to see us? There are no drunken rowdies here for him to fear. Two men drove into our ranks, an organized a legally chartered company of the State militia, with loyal guns in our loyal hands, and a flag which brought us freedom from these old masters—the right to stand up like men, and not fear their nigger-catching blood-hounds; and we have sworn to be true to that flag—to the United States, and to the State, and ourselves, and to take care of these guns that belong to the State, and to yield them up only to lawful authority. These two nigger-catchers whose occupation is gone, drove into our ranks; and we, like a set of cowards, opened ranks and let them go through; and now they bring this ex-confederate General, who got the only title he has and of which he and they are so proud, in fighting the United States; they bring this General Baker here, and he asks us to go down to old Baker’s feet and apologize—for what? _I_ don’t know; and to give up our guns that we have sworn to protect from all enemies of the Union, and all unauthorized persons—to give them to this ex-confederate General, who boasts to-day, and is applauded by these, his old confederate soldiers around him to-day, for what he did against the Government. _He_, surrounded by those who love and revere him for what he did to destroy the Union and keep us and our parents and children in slavery—he demands our guns and ourselves! Pretty _National Guards_!! Which are we, men, cowards or traitors?”