Thanks for the comments and the link. I skimmed all the letters between 1858 and Fort Sumter, and I didn't see any mention of the border troubles. However, there sure was an interesting quote in Letter 30 (April 15, 1861): "It is the general belief that Kansas State will go with Mo if she secedes. Old James Lane says he made Kansas a free state but if Mo Secedes he will make it a Slave State." If this was indded the "general belief", I would interpret that as meaning that the rank and file of the free staters that dominated Kansas were more "pro white labor" than they were anti-slavery. How else could they have even entertained the notion that Lane would align with the South? I would welcome other interpretations of this remark.