“'I hope, Governor, you will never have any cause for complaint in that direction.'
“'No,' said the Governor; 'I hope I shall not! But,' said he, 'it begins to look as though we might have trouble at home. These Golden Circles are bound to give us trouble, and I fear very soon,'
“'Yes,' said the General, 'they are getting pretty numerous, and very bold and exasperating at the same time. How many do you suppose there are in this State, Governor?
“'I suppose there must be twenty or thirty thousand-enough for a pretty good army. If they had any bold man to lead them, they could release our prisoners here and destroy our city.'
“Seeing that the Governor exhibited some alarm, the General was afraid to tell him then how many there actually were in the State. But very soon his Adjutant-General came in, and in conversation raised the figures to some forty or fifty thousand. The Governor looked surprised, and the General thought that he might then disclose the facts as to numbers, and told the Governor that he had found out means of ascertaining, and that their claim for Indiana was 75,000. This seemed to startle him. He at once asked his Adjutant-General how many regiments there were now in camp near the city, and was informed that there were four, with a great many recruits in the camp of instruction. He made many inquiries of the General as to how he obtained his information. Gen. Anderson told him that he had obtained it in various ways; that some of his friends had joined the organization and, not believing in it, had posted him, under the seal of confidence.
“'Do you believe them?' inquired the Governor.
“'I most certainly do,' responded the General.
“The General then gave him the names of Strider, Bowen, Bowlens, Millington, Dorsing and Byron as the leaders—Organizers, Agitators, Commanders, etc.—for the State of Indiana. The Governor was surprised at hearing some of the names, and said he had no doubt of Strider being at the bottom of it, but that he would not be caught; that when the trying time should come, if ever, he would turn up as counsel, and in that way would get out of it, and thereby seal the mouths of the criminals.
“He advised the Governor to keep a watch on some of these men, and he would soon discover them; that they had not been long enough at this thing to understand the necessary precaution. None had yet been caught and punished, and they were not looking to the serious consequences to themselves should they be exposed.
“He also asked the Governor to apprise the President of the United States of the condition of these matters in the State, but at the same time not to mention his name as the source of information. He bade the Governor good-by and left for Camp Chase, Ohio, having, while in Indianapolis, determined to return to Ohio and investigate the prisoners at Camp Chase. When he arrived there, having no authority, he could not converse with the prisoners alone; but, becoming acquainted with the Colonel commanding the Camp, and explaining in confidence who he was and his mission, he was allowed free access to the camp and to the prisoners. He soon picked out a young man from Virginia—his appearance would indicate his age to be about eighteen years. He told the General that he lived in the extreme south-western part of what is now old Virginia. His name was Ridenbergen. He said to the General that he had no cause to fight against the United States, but that he was in now and proposed to fight it out. The General having played the Southern dodge and sympathy with the rebellion in such a way as to satisfy him, and also having given the sign of the Circle, which this young Virginian seemed to well understand, there was no longer any necessity for withholding anything in reference to their condition, expectations of succor, release, etc. He told the General that John Stetson, alias Col. Jacob Reed, of Dayburg, had been there frequently; that only a few of them recognized him; of course no one 'peached,' as they knew he was working for their benefit.