The Use and Need of the Life of Carrie A. Nation [55]
of this hotel where I had stopped.
There was a crowd and I then told of the telegram and of how I was
treated. I pointed to the landlord, who was the picture of a villain, and
a coward. The two dive-keepers of Holt were at this meeting. They
asked me if I intended to smash the saloons there.
"Of course, I didn't come to Holt to do anything else."
One man told me that he would shoot me if I came into his place.
"I am not afraid of your gun. Maybe it would be a good thing for
a saloon-keeper to kill Carry Nation. It might be the means of causing
the people to smash the dives."
The one that talked to me was white with fear and anger, but at
last the color came back to his face, and soon he was in good humor; he
told me he never expected to open that saloon again. In less than ten
days from that time, the people of the county became so aroused, that
the prosecuting attorney closed every saloon in the county, which were
twelve in number.
From Holt I went to Topeka. I stopped with the United Brethren
minister there, and spoke in his church. The saloons were all over
Topeka. I went down town after dark, to see the condition of things.
It was soon learned that I was on the streets, and a crowd gathered.
I went to some dives and joints. I could not get in. One had his mistress
stationed at the door with a broomstick. She gave me four blows
before I could get away, poor creature. I met her niece after that, who
told how the saloon-keeper cast her off and that she died a miserable death.
While I was there the State Temperance Union had a meeting in
the First Presbyterian church. Capt. Cook, from Chetopa, got up in the
meeting and said: "Here is ten dollars towards giving a medal to the
bravest woman in Kansas, Carry Nation." One hundred and twenty
dollars was raised.
I said: "I would prefer that the money be used to pay my lawyers,
rather than be put into a medal as I did not wear gold in any way."
We held a good many meetings. I spoke in several churches and
held meetings in Dr. Eva Harding's office, where we prepared to take
measures to break up saloons in Topeka, where sworn officials were
perjuring themselves from governor down to constable. About this time
a certain woman pretended to be a friend of mine, but was a spy and
a traitor. I believe she was hired by the jointists to find out our plans.
She told me she knew where every saloon in the city was and would
show them to me. It was understood by a few of us that we would
make a raid one morning in February, 1901, and I called on this woman to show
us where the places were. We wandered around from
street to street, and I soon discovered that she was keeping me away from
them. One young boy said: "I'll show you a place."
I came to one dive. I lifted my hatchet to smash the door and this
woman grabbed at my hatchet and so did the man. He slammed the door
and left his hat in my hand. I passed on down to the "Senate" saloon and
went in. This was about daylight. The bartender ran towards me with
a yell, wrenched my hatchet out of my hand and shot off his pistol toward
the ceiling; he then ran out of the back door, and I got another hatchet
from a lady with us. I ran behind the bar, smashed the mirror and all
the bottles under it; picked up the cash register, threw it down; then
broke the faucets of the refrigerator, opened the door and cut the rubber
tubes that conducted the beer. Of course it began to fly all over the
house. I threw over the slot machine, breaking it up and I got from
it a sharp piece of iron with which I opened the bungs of the beer
kegs, and opened the faucets of the barrels, and then the beer flew in
every direction and I was completely saturated. A policeman came in
and very good-naturedly arrested me. For this I was fined $100 and put
in jail. Mr. Cook was sheriff and I was treated very nicely by him and
Mrs. Cook. Mrs. Cook's mother was visiting them at this time, a woman
thoroughly in sympathy with my work, and I believe that the influence of
this good woman was the cause of my
There was a crowd and I then told of the telegram and of how I was
treated. I pointed to the landlord, who was the picture of a villain, and
a coward. The two dive-keepers of Holt were at this meeting. They
asked me if I intended to smash the saloons there.
"Of course, I didn't come to Holt to do anything else."
One man told me that he would shoot me if I came into his place.
"I am not afraid of your gun. Maybe it would be a good thing for
a saloon-keeper to kill Carry Nation. It might be the means of causing
the people to smash the dives."
The one that talked to me was white with fear and anger, but at
last the color came back to his face, and soon he was in good humor; he
told me he never expected to open that saloon again. In less than ten
days from that time, the people of the county became so aroused, that
the prosecuting attorney closed every saloon in the county, which were
twelve in number.
From Holt I went to Topeka. I stopped with the United Brethren
minister there, and spoke in his church. The saloons were all over
Topeka. I went down town after dark, to see the condition of things.
It was soon learned that I was on the streets, and a crowd gathered.
I went to some dives and joints. I could not get in. One had his mistress
stationed at the door with a broomstick. She gave me four blows
before I could get away, poor creature. I met her niece after that, who
told how the saloon-keeper cast her off and that she died a miserable death.
While I was there the State Temperance Union had a meeting in
the First Presbyterian church. Capt. Cook, from Chetopa, got up in the
meeting and said: "Here is ten dollars towards giving a medal to the
bravest woman in Kansas, Carry Nation." One hundred and twenty
dollars was raised.
I said: "I would prefer that the money be used to pay my lawyers,
rather than be put into a medal as I did not wear gold in any way."
We held a good many meetings. I spoke in several churches and
held meetings in Dr. Eva Harding's office, where we prepared to take
measures to break up saloons in Topeka, where sworn officials were
perjuring themselves from governor down to constable. About this time
a certain woman pretended to be a friend of mine, but was a spy and
a traitor. I believe she was hired by the jointists to find out our plans.
She told me she knew where every saloon in the city was and would
show them to me. It was understood by a few of us that we would
make a raid one morning in February, 1901, and I called on this woman to show
us where the places were. We wandered around from
street to street, and I soon discovered that she was keeping me away from
them. One young boy said: "I'll show you a place."
I came to one dive. I lifted my hatchet to smash the door and this
woman grabbed at my hatchet and so did the man. He slammed the door
and left his hat in my hand. I passed on down to the "Senate" saloon and
went in. This was about daylight. The bartender ran towards me with
a yell, wrenched my hatchet out of my hand and shot off his pistol toward
the ceiling; he then ran out of the back door, and I got another hatchet
from a lady with us. I ran behind the bar, smashed the mirror and all
the bottles under it; picked up the cash register, threw it down; then
broke the faucets of the refrigerator, opened the door and cut the rubber
tubes that conducted the beer. Of course it began to fly all over the
house. I threw over the slot machine, breaking it up and I got from
it a sharp piece of iron with which I opened the bungs of the beer
kegs, and opened the faucets of the barrels, and then the beer flew in
every direction and I was completely saturated. A policeman came in
and very good-naturedly arrested me. For this I was fined $100 and put
in jail. Mr. Cook was sheriff and I was treated very nicely by him and
Mrs. Cook. Mrs. Cook's mother was visiting them at this time, a woman
thoroughly in sympathy with my work, and I believe that the influence of
this good woman was the cause of my