ourselves, surpassed belief; yet such was the fact, and the faces that
beamed smiles upon us by day, and joined us in our congratulations for
national victories, by night were hideous with the dark designs and
murderous intent. The gunsmiths were busy, and trade in weapons of all
kinds was brisk; revolvers and knives particularly were articles of
demand. So brisk and yet so silently and secretly, was the arming of
individuals carried on, that weeks before the Convention assembled, but
few, if any, of the members of Copperhead organizations but were well
armed, and many had arms with which to supply other persons who might be
less fortunate than themselves. It was indeed a dark picture to look in
upon a group of the Sons of Liberty in their secure retreats, in the quiet
hours of night, cleaning, repairing and inspecting their muskets and
revolvers, moulding bullets, and making other preparations, and realizing
that the mission of these monsters was the murder of men who dared
proclaim and maintain their devotion to the Union. Upon the streets
treason became emboldened, as time rolled on, and not a few personal
collisions occurred from its utterance.

All this while that contemptible print, the Chicago _Times_, was
instilling treason into the minds of its readers, and doing all that it
could to embarrass the Government, discourage patriotism, and to give aid
and comfort to the rebels; our victories, with that sheet, were always
unimportant; our cause was unholy; our President a despot; our Union
soldiers were hirelings; our Union-loving citizens were abolition fanatics;
Jeff Davis was a master spirit of the age; his generals the heroes of the
_Times_; and rebel victories were events cheering and hope giving, as they
presaged the close of the war and peace; peace at the sacrifice of the
Union, of national honor, of national dignity and national interests. Such
was the Chicago _Times_ at that period--the darkest era in our
history--and as well might we have looked for mercy from a hyena, or