Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1861-02-14
LYNCHING A RAILROAD ENGINEER IN
FLORIDA.
He is Driven from the State after Having One
Side of his Hair and Whiskers Shaved OH.

Among the passengers by the steamer Mont
gomery, from Savannah, was o. ID. Kinsman,
late civil engineer in the employ of the Fer
nandina and Cedar Keys Railroad Company,
Florida, who was recently lynched and driven
from the State, without an hours notice.
Mr. Kinsman is young man, and native
of Portland, Me-, where his mother resides
Some three years since he went to Florada,
and soon obtained employment as a civil engi-
neer, in which capacity he remained until driv-
en- from the State by mob violence. 1t appears
that planter named Chambers, whose lands
lay near the route of the railroad, found some
fault with Kinsman for opening ditch on some
part of his plantation against his wishes This
man appears to have adopted the common
method now in vogue in the South to get rid
of obnoxious persons, viz: denouncing them
as abolitionis,s. Having drawn the engineer
into seemingly friendly conversation, he re-
marked to him that there would be war, and
he, Chambers, intended to fight for the South.
"What shall you do? ?" then inquired Cham
bers. Kinsman answered, II shall not; | am
Northern man my friends are all there, and
shall not take up arms against them."
He heard no more of the matter for two or
three days, when riding up from Cedar Keys
one morning, he was met at Bronson by an
armed body of some seventy-hve men. lie
was seized by three persons, and notified that
resistance would be met with death on the spot.
He was taken to tavern near by, and shut in
close room, adjoining which, in another room,
the Committee of Vigilance" assembled to de-
liberate upon his case He distinctly heard
the excited crowd clamoring for his blood, and
with oaths and imprecations upon "the ID
Yankee" declared that he should be hung
lie had no one to speak in his favor. So de-
termined were the mob to finish him, that g
rope was purchased for his execution.
With view of getting an opportunity tc
search his baggage, they ordered him to send
for it, as he would shave to leave" When his
things came up from Cedar Keys, gentleman
who had known him on the road, accompan ed
the engine, and spoke strongly in his favor
ale had never heard anything against the man
though he had known him long" and persua
ded them not to proceed to ertreme measures
The timely appearance of this man probably
saved his life
At 10 o'clock, p. NJ. he was taken to tht
"store" to hear his sentence. AS yet he hat
not heard the nature of the accusation agalns
him, and only knew that Chambers had accused
him, and a drunken Irishman who had beer
discharged from the road had been wltnes
in the case. He was ushered into the room
where the "Committee" had sat, when the lead
er stepped forward ana Sulu, AL you lnuI uI
in favor of the sentence just agreed to agains
this man say Aye" A savage affirmative vel
endorsed the sentence" But what the sen
tence was he did not know, though he soon as
certaned He was seated in chair; a ma
with pair of scissors approached, and Will
? he was held by two others, the hair from on
side of his head, and one-half of his whisker
and moustache were closely cut off. He wa
then permitted to go to the tavern where h
spent the night.
In the morning the COMMITTEE" escorte
him to the cars, and under their surveillanc,
. he started for Fernandina. Much against hi
wishes they obliged him to take a seat in tn
passenger car, where his shorn condition woul
, excite the derision of his fellow travellers. o
the way down his baggage was again searched
but nothing was found except small MAJ
which the ignorance Of some Of the party le
them to think was intended to give informatio
to the enemy. They demanded of him a wri
ten promise that he would never return to Il
State which he refused to sign. The next da
he took the steamer for Savannah, and thent
came to New York by the Montgomery
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