These had visited the
home of the fugitive and called upon him to surrender himself to
his owner. This the fugitive had refused to do, and he was backed
in this refusal by a considerable party of men of his own race,
some of them free men, and some fugitive slaves, who had assembled
at his house.
"I'll have my property," asserted the slave owner, according to the
report, "or I'll eat my breakfast in hell." One of the Marylanders
had then fired upon the slave, and the fire was returned in general
by the negroes. The old planter, a man of courage, was struck to
the ground, killed by the blacks, his two relatives disabled, and
several other men on both sides were wounded. The fugitive himself
was not taken, and the arresting party was obliged to retire.
Naturally, great exultation prevailed among the triumphant blacks;
and this, so said numerous despatches, was fostered and encouraged
by comment of all the northern abolitionist press.
Josephine St. Auban pondered over this barbarous recountal of an
event which would seem to have been impossible in a civilized
community.
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