Political excitement was at its very height, and it was constantly asserted that Mr.
Lincoln's election would imperil the Union.

I purposely kept aloof from politics, would take no part, and remember that on the day of the election in November I was notified that it would be advisable for me to vote for Bell and Everett, but I openly said I would not, and I did not.

The election of Mr.Lincoln fell upon us all like a clap of thunder.

People saw and felt that the South had threatened so long that, if she quietly submitted, the question of slavery in the Territories was at an end forever.

I mingled freely with the members of the Board of Supervisors, and with the people of Rapides Parish generally, keeping aloof from all cliques and parties, and I certainly hoped that the threatened storm would blow over, as had so often occurred before, after similar threats.