“'Well,' said Cornington, 'Eagle, you seem to take rather a rosy view of things. I do not look at matters quite in the same light that you do. I want to see success assured; then matters may assume the shape you say. But I fear if we fail the result will be otherwise.'
“Said Eagle: 'I tell you, sir, that no matter what happens, the brains and courage and aggressiveness of the Southern people will control this country, Union or no Union, and you will see it yet, if we live. But that belief must not prevent us from doing our duty manfully. We must hang together and terrify the Northern people.'
“'Yes,' said Cornington, 'as was said by one of our fathers in the Revolution, “we must hang together, or we will hang separately.”' This caused Eagle to laugh.
“'Oh I' said he, 'those old fellows were frightened into success, and you must know that to alarm the North about their money and property being in danger is the only road to success. You can't scare them about their lives. Our people are mistaken on that point. They care much less for their lives than for their “oil.”'
“The General, after getting all the information he could as to the extent of the organization, their designs and intended future operations, which corresponded with what he had learned from Walters, promised to see them again, and left that night for Dayburg, Ohio. On arriving there he tried every way to obtain an interview with the Supreme Commander of the Golden Circle of the United States, but in vain. His attempts were all thwarted in one way or another. The Commander (Valamburg) must have had some fears in reference to strangers.
“For three days the General tried to get a chance to see him, but could not. He met, however, three men,—Pat Burke, Tim Collins and John Stetson,—with whom he formed a slight acquaintance, and, on giving them the signs and passwords of the Circle, was taken into their confidence. They took him riding into the country and showed him several large barns where they were in the habit of holding their meetings, and gave him full information as to their prospects in reference to future operations. The three men were Agitators or, in other words, Organizers.
“John Stetson had been in Dayburg about three months; was a Colonel in the rebel army; had been a prisoner at Camp Chase, but in some mysterious way was permitted to escape by putting on different clothes from his own, which in some manner were smuggled in to him. He had shaven off his whiskers and made a close crop of his hair, and was so changed in his appearance that no one would have suspected that he was the same man. He was known in prison, and so entered on the records, as Col. Jacob Reed, 13th Ky. (Confederate) infantry. This man Stetson, alias 'Reed,' was very communicative; told the General that if they did not succeed in working up sufficient feeling in the Northern States to change the course of the Administration that they would have to resort to other and more severe methods—such as raiding in the North, destroying property, burning cities, etc.; that the Confederacy must be successful; that they were now in for it, and there must be no faltering; that there must be no sickly sentiment about the means to be adopted hereafter; that fire and flood and desolation were perfectly legitimate if necessity should ever demand the use of different means from the present. He said that they could raid from Kentucky and Missouri; that New York, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Chicago had been agreed upon as the cities for destruction, if the time should ever come for such action; that their friends in those cities could make themselves whole from the wreck—at least, all that they particularly cared for; so far as the property-holders who pretended to be their friends were concerned, they did not care for them,—that they would not help them any, and only wanted to fill their pockets out of the general misfortunes of the Southern people.
“After the General had traveled around considerably with these men as their friend and guest, he wished them success and health, bade them a hearty good-bye, and left for Indianapolis to see the Governor, not wishing to try experiments there, where he had been in camp so long. When he arrived and had time to visit the Executive, he found him greatly perplexed at what he had ascertained about the secret treasonable organization in the State of Indiana. He asked the General a great many questions about his recovery, his promotion, etc., and finally said:
“'I want you to help keep up the reputation of our State in the army.'
“Gen. Anderson replied: