The Belmont chronicle, and farmers, mechanics and manufacturers advocate. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1848-1855, 1854-03-31
ST. gLAIRSVIhLE,. OHIO, FRIDAY, MARCH, 81 1854.


: have wasted time in returning Il. Th
;, tumult Of discordant Notwithstanding, shiel
d ing, musket and pistol firing, roars Of brut,
merriment and deadly defance--grew loude
and louder as we neared the goal. Present.
fame, at first Pickering and uncertain, thre,
, a lurid glare over the scene, and as we swsp
, round bend Of the river, burst into voIum
of fire, rendering every object within tn
circuit of mile, I should say, distinct,
visible. But we had no time to note thes
objects tninutcly; well-armed brig, will
boardng-nettings triced up, opened fire upoi
us, though without much effect. She wal
boarded and carried with one pealing hurrah
and leaving Burbage and sufficient number
OF men in charge, Lieutenant King jumped
into the boats again with the others and made
:or the left shore, which was lined with
crowd OF variously -accoutred rascals. The
flames have mentioned proceeded from q
huge csnvas-cevered building, which was
blazing furiously; and although happening
| to be in the hindmost boat, discerned the
figure OF a man, erect and motionless, upon
Its summit-how or why there | could not
imagine. The next moment the winds&birl-
flame and smoke hid him from my view, and
| heard Lieutenant Kings stentorian voice
exclaming, "Give way, men! give way, for
Gods sake, the devils have entrapped the
captain, and are burning him alive With a
will, now, hurrah!" The boats quickly
grounded, and we sprang on shore, headed by
the first lieutenant. The resistance, desperate
as it was, was broken through and dispersed
with leap and rush; and then sight-the
sublimest, the most terrible ever witnessed,
clearly presented itself. Captain Horton,
pale, ay, and calm as death, was standing
bohhd, erect, and bare headed, upon the fam
ing slave-house, with book in his hand,
what one I could easily guess. Frantic were
the efforts made to save his life-gratefully
acknowledged by repeated wavings of his
hand-and vain as frantic; the devouring
flames could not be arrested, the building
collapsed, fell in, and Captain Robert Hor-
ton was buried beneath the fiery ruin!
1t is needless to say how amply he was
avenged, or dwell further upon the savage
and terrific contest--not long contest, pro-
psry as called, although the ringing pistol
shot, the death-shrek, or the wild appeal for
mercy undeserved continued far into the night,
enough to say, in the words of the official
report, "that the attack was entirely success
full, the number. of negroes released from
bondage eight hundred and seventy-six, and
the breakng-up of the slave settlement COM
plete. This was quite true, but like anoth-
er paragraph in the same report, not all the
truth: "Cap,ain Horton died as brave man
should during the attack upon the armed
slaver-gangs on Shore" Why the exact
cause and manner Of his heroic death were
not officially set forth never rightly under
stood.
He was quite dead when dragged. as speedi-
y as it could be done, from under the burn
ing embers of the monster slave-tent, and
much scorched, yet his countenance had
remarkably composed expression. His Bible
was also found, not much injured, and is, |
believe, now in the possession of the family
Of Lieutenant King, who with swimming
eyes pointed out to us, few days afterward,
in the cabin of the CurleiO, the following
passage, written with pencil in the inside
Of one of the leaves: "Tuesday, half-past /
P. NJ. The Curie,o's boats are approaching;
thank God shall die in my duty, and not in
vain. Should this ever meet the eye of her
officers, they will by that time know, that
man who is afraid of offending God may not
fear Deathn'