March, 1867.

The ill success which attended the attempted insurrection was reported
in America almost as soon as it was known in Ireland, by the agency
of the Atlantic telegraph. But, whoever believed the statements of its
speedy and utter collapse, which were forwarded through the cable, the
Fenian circles certainly did not. They felt certain that the truth was
being withheld from them, that the cable, which was an instrument in
the hands of the British Government, was being employed to mislead
them, and that when it reported all quiet in Ireland, and no movement
afoot save that of the British troops employed in "scouring" the
mountains of Cork and Tipperary, there was, in reality, a guerilla
warfare being waged over a great extent of the country, and many
a tough fight being fought in pass, and glen, and wood, amidst the
picturesque scenery of the Munster counties. Their incredulity was but
natural. They had no reason whatever to rely on the truthfulness of
the cable messages. If there had been Fenian successes to report, it
is very likely that no fair account of them would have been allowed
to pass by that route. Still, as day after day went by, and brought
no news of battles lost or won by any party, the conviction began to
force itself on the minds of the American Fenians that the movement
in Ireland was hanging fire, and that it was going hard with the brave
men who had committed themselves to it at the outset. It was necessary
that something should be done, if those men were to be sustained, and
the outbreak developed into a struggle worthy of the cause, and of the
long years of preparation, the bold threats and the glowing promises
of the Fenian Brotherhood, the risks they had incurred, and the
sacrifices they had made.

What was to be done? What was most needed to give force and power to