[Diary] February 21.
Mr. French came up and preached. He told the people to hold on to their preempted lands and all might come out right yet, and when they wanted to plant crop, to take what they needed and defend it with their hoe handles. He said that Mr. Philbrick and Mr. Thorpe were honest, but were getting rich by the labor of the blacks, and while they were lining their pockets, their laborers were no richer at the end of the year than they were at the beginning. He urged them to plant for themselves rather than for others. Mr. Barrows qualified. After church Mr. French stayed a long time talking in the church with Ellen and me upon the land question. We condemned parts of his speech. He was patient and willing to heed our warnings.
