Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1856-02-05
From the Cincinnati Commercial of the 10Th ult.
GREAT STAA-PEDE OF SLAVES.

bout ten o'clock on Sunday, & party Of eight
slaves, two men, two women, and four children,
belonging to Archibald X. Gaines and John
Marshall of Redwood Station, Boone county,
Kentucky about sixteen miles from Covington,
escaped from their owners. Three of the party
are father, mother and son, whose are
Simon, Mary and Robert, the others Mar
garet, wife of Robert, and her four children
The three first are the property of Marshall, ais
the others of Gaines.
They took sleigh and two horses belonging
to Mr.. Marshall, and drove to the river bank,
opposite the foot of Western Row, where they
left them standing in the read, and crossed over
to this city the lee. They missed
few hours after their flight, and Mr.. Gaines,
springing on horse, followed in pursuit On
reaching the river shore he learned that a resi-
dent had found the horses standing in the road
as above stated. nearly dead from the hard drive
that they had experienced and half frozen with
the cold.
He tlen crossed over to this city, and after
few hours dilisent inquiry he learned that slaves
in :. house about quarter of a mile below
the Mill Creek Bridge, on the River Read, occu-
pied by negro named Kite. son of Joe Kite
of Infamous notoriety. He proceeded to the
office of L. S Commissioner John L. Penderv
and, procuring the necessary warrants with L.
S. Deputy Marshal Ellis and large body of
assistants, went at once to the place where the
state that Kite had bee, formerly owned in the
neighborEood of Redwood Station, and was
purchased from bondage by his father. On
reaching the house, Major Murphy, a neighbor
of Gaines and who was acquainted with Kite,
called ON him to open the door, and said that
resistance would be useless This Kite agreed
to do. but delayed so long that the officers at
tempted to force it open, when Il window was
suddenly thrown up, and orc of the negro men,
Robert, presented pistol and fired. The ball
wounded Mr.. Patterson, resident of the Fourth
Ward, who had been deputised to assist in the
arrest, He was standing in front OF the window,
and, observing the intention of the negro. threw
up his hand at the precise moment the pistol
was fired. The bullet cut eff one of his fingers,
and then struck him in the mouth, inhictng a
severe flesh wound. a second party of officers
came up and the doors We're forced open, and
after short but desperate resistance the slaves
were secured, but not until Robert had fired
three times, but without effect.
After the conflict was over, a bloody and mel
ancholy spectacle presented itself One of the
slave children was discov cred /, ing on the floor
with its head nearly severed from its body, two
others, boys, aged about four and five years.
were bleeding from wounds in the neck and
head, and infant in the of Margaret had
its head much swollen and was bleeding quite
freely at the nose. The officers state that Simon
and Mary, the eldest of the party made no re-
sistance, but that Robert and Margaret fought
with the ferocity of tigers, and that during the
affray she struck her infant on the head with
fire shovel, in the opinion of many with the in
tention of taking It's life.
During conversation with Margaret, she sta
ted to us that she was eating breakfast in COM
pany with the other fugitives when she heard
some cry out, They are coming, they are
coming" They sprang up in alarm, but before
they had time to fly, their captors burst in upon
them. She fought with all the strength with
which she was capable, and cannot tell how her
child was killed and the other wounded, but
only knows that the death and the wounding
occurred during the ARRAY THIS is her story,
but it is evident that the bloody tragedy was
perpetrated while Tie officers were seeking adj
mittance and she is said to have acknowledged
the fact Of killing her child and wounding the
others during the excitement incident to the
arrest The Coroner's il est, which we give
below, viii throw some farther light upon the
subject
The captives, as soon as arrested, were placed
in express wagons and driven rapidly to the
Office Of the United States Marshal on Fourth
street, between Main and Walnut, followed by
a large crowd of excited people. On reaching
the Marsbai's office, the wounds Of the children
We're examined, when it was found that one of
the children had received flesh wound on the
neck, about three inches in length, but barely
penetrating the skin-the other scalp wound
about the same length. They are but little hurt
and yesterday afternoon were playing about the
Marshal's office, apparently unconcerned. On
questioning the little fellows they said that
some in the house threw them down and
tried to Kill them, but they either did not know
or would not reveal who it was The slaves on
reaching the Marshals office. seated themselves
around the stove with detected countenances
and preserved moody silence, answering all
or refusing to answer them at all Simon is aD-
parently about fifty-five years Ct age. and Mary
about fifty. The son of Mr. Marshall Is here
in order, if possible, to recover the property of
his father
Robert Is young man about twenty-five
years old, of very 1.-THE and active foi,n and
rather mild and pleasant countenance he is
spoken of by his owner as being an excellent
servant. Margaret is a dark mulatto, apparently
about the same age with her husband her coun-
tenanee is far from being vicious, and her senses
yesterday, appeared partially stultifed by the
exciting trials she had endured After remain
ing about two hours at the MarshaTs office Com
missioner PeEdery announced that the slaves
would be removed TO the custody of the t. s
Marshal until O'Clock this morning when they
would come up for examination.
The slaves were then taken down stairs TO the
street door, when a Wild and exciting scene pre-