2

meeting of the Franklin Cty people on that
subject.

I went thence to Nashville & spent near
a week there looking after the Charter & putting
out the {illegible} of those discontents {their discontent?}. The
Charter has been perfect & is all we could
wish. But those fellows about McMinn-
ville & Chattanooga die hard. They have
been moving heaven & earth ever since to
{illegible} distrust of the selection made & have
met with many {illegible} {illegible} rebuked.

I have had to employ a good many
hours since my return in keeping them
from throwing dust {illegible} fully in the
eyes of the {illegible: baby? easy?} & in different portions of
the reputable public. Those Chattanooga
people particularly took their defeat hardest
& are the most coarse & reckless in their
vituperation. They are a repulsive set of
vulgarians & we are well rid of their
proximity. {illegible: Whitesides?} is disgusted with
them & has {illegible: removed?} to Nashville. They
have let the ball of discontent {illegible: die?} {illegible: within?}
& have been doing what they could to keep