The people of Lawrence denounced the deed ; but the sheriff hoarded up the score for future revenge . One additional incident served to precipitate the crisis . Ex-Governor Reeder was in attendance on this committee , supplying data , pointing out from personal knowledge sources of information , cross-examining witnesses to elicit the hidden truth . To embarrass this damaging exposure , Judge Lecompte issued a writ against the ex - Governor on a frivolous charge of contempt . No posse was summoned , no further effort made , and Reeder , fearing personal violence , soon fled in disguise . But the affair was magnified as a crowning proof that the free-State men were insurrectionists and outlaws . From these , again , sprang barricaded and fortified dwellings , camps and scouting parties , finally culminating in roving guerrilla bands , half partisan , half predatory . Their distinctive characters , however , display one broad and unfailing difference . The free-State men clung to their prairie towns and prairie ravines with all the obstinacy and courage of true defenders of their homes and firesides .