handwriting upon the wall. Hence they were ready to contribute their
talents and wealth, to sustain certain individuals as honourable men. I
could not have deemed it proper to expose "THE SECRET BAND OF BROTHERS,"
had not duty, and my obligations to society, urged me forward. The
allegiance I owe to God is paramount to all other. The result is yet to
be experienced, by the better part of the community. Heavily was the
oppressive hand of this notable brotherhood laid upon me. My soul was
sorely vexed by their daring villany.

In the county where I was bred, I have numbered, in one day, thirteen
who sustained honourable places in society, nine of whom were rich,
strangely rich in view of their facilities for acquiring wealth in a
newly settled country. Not one is a professional man. Few bear the
callous badge of industry and physical exertion upon their hands.
Several are, by an outward profession, Christians,--but invariably
opposed to all the benevolent institutions of the day and works of
reform, unless their views of what is the right course are fully met,
which are generally so extravagant as to preclude all hope of
co-operation. With these I had a severe contest. Well did they know,
there was something behind the screen which, brought to light, would
expose their villanous transactions, open the eyes of honest men, and
greatly endanger, if not destroy, their craft. That I had letters,
written by themselves, they knew--nor dare they deny it--letters which
might lead to a conviction of crime, that would raise them to a position
somewhere between heaven and earth. They may rest assured that I have
documents that place more than one thousand of them in a relative
position to law and society.

CHAPTER II.

In a previous work of mine, called "GAMBLING UNMASKED," an allusion is
made to an evident conspiracy against my life, sometime before I became
a confirmed gambler. Goodrich was the name which I gave, as the chief
actor. This same doubly refined villain, it will be remembered, by all
who have read the above work, was foremost to aid in my arrest when I
made good my escape to the Pine woods, lying back of New Orleans. The
reader will likewise recollect, that I could not, at that time, account
for such manifestations of unprecedented malignity, on the part of one
from whom I might rather expect protection than persecution. But the
secret is out, and I now have the power to give clear and truthful
explanations.