Daily State Sentinel

Colonel Streight's Report

The report of Colonel Streight to His Excellency O. P. Morton, upon the Clay county disturbance, is a rare document - in fact, decidedly Munchausenish.

It appears that the gallant Colonel went three miles east of Brazil, a little village in Clay county, upon a reconnoissance in force, and discovered through a microscope that some three hundred men had congregated around with all sorts of weapons, from a tooth pick to a jewsharp. Upon his return from this reconnoissance east of the town, he found another party numbering some forty or fifty men similarly armed approaching the town on the National road from the west.

According to Colonel Streight, some three hundred and fifty men threatened to invest and capture Brazil, but only a very small number were known to the citizens of Clay county. Says that gallant officer in his report: "The citizens of Clay county knew but a small number of them. They were mostly on horseback. Some were recognized who lived twenty-five miles away. All refused to give their names, or the names of comrades," &c., &c. Again, he says:

"I will here remark that they were a very hard looking set of men; not an educated, gentlemanly appearing man among them; and it is my opinion that unless some of their leaders are speedily arrested, we may look any day for startling news from Clay county."

The Colonel ordered out the Home Guards or the Legion, and "informed the treasonable armed men that if they did not disperse at once, he would give them an opportunity of testing the sincerity of their declarations by giving them battle without delay."

That was the three hundred whom he had determined to annihilate root and branch. But the fifty coming in from the west he regarded with more leniency. He gave them the choice to go on to the town or return home, "whichever they saw fit," and accepting the proposition "they left hurriedly," but whether for the town or home the Colonel saith not.

Nobody can read the report of Col. Streight without coming to the conclusion that either he was humbugged, completely sold, or else that he was making an effort to humbug O. P. M. Probably the latter, for nobody else would be deceived by such a batch of inconsistencies, contradictions and hyfalutin.