Paola, and
assured them that the department and district commanders would not
interfere with the proposed expedition; on the contrary, that both
would countenance and co-operate with it. He also proclaimed the
object to be to lay waste the border counties of Missouri and
exterminate the disloyal people. This statement, following an
interview on that subject, was calculated to mislead a large number
of well-disposed people who would not for a moment think of acting
in opposition to military rules, and to greatly increase the number
of people who would assemble at Paola, and seriously complicate
the difficulty.

"In the evening had another interview with Gov. Carney and some of
his friends. My main object was to secure the full co-operation
of the State government in preventing the invasion of Missouri.
For this purpose I had to consult to a considerable degree the
political views and aims of the governor and his friends. Their
object was, of course, to make out of Lane's project as much capital
as possible against him. It was held by many of them that Lane
had no serious design of entering Missouri; that he expected, of
course, that the military authorities would forbid it; and that he
would yield as a military necessity, and thus gain with his people
additional ground for condemnation of the department commander,
while he had the credit of having done all he possibly could to
enable them to 'recover their stolen property.' . . . Viewing
matters in this light, the governor and his advisers were strongly
inclined to the opinion that the surest way of making capital for
themselves out of Lane's move was to let him go on with it, without
any interference on their part, confident that it would turn out
a grand humbug. . . . After reaching Kansas City and talking with
Genl. Ewing, I replied to the governor, accepting the services of
as many of his troops as he and Genl. Ewing should deem necessary
for the protection of all the towns in Kansas near the border,
stating that with Kansas so protected, Genl. Ewing would not only
carry out his order for the expulsion of disloyal persons, but also
in a short time drive out the guerillas from his district and
restore peace. In addition to this, I wrote the governor a private
letter urging him to issue his proclamation discouraging the Paola
meeting and warning his people against any attempt to go into
Missouri, and informing him I would issue an order forbidding armed
men no