The daily Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1862-1863, 1863-02-24
communicated.
Kidnapping.


This infamous business has been pros
ecuted here in Evansville for weeks and
months past, in the most shameless man
ner Colored people, many of them free,
have been seized on board of steamers,
on the streets, and sometimes decoyed
from the houses of our citizens by gangs
of thieves, and without pretense of right
o. show of legal process, transported
whatever they could bargain for-or
10 lged in Jail there for some other kidnap-
pr to take them away to a market fur
ther South. 1t is said that some of the
public officers of this community have
been engaged in this business of man
stealing.
Many Of your readers are familiar with
the transaction of last week, when rs
colored people were brought here by the
railroad and shipped in the night to Ken
lucky in an old leaky fiat boat like so
many cattle, having been brought from
Missouri through Illinois and Indiana
By being brought into free State
they become free, and it was high
handed violation of our law to carry or
to assist in carrying them out of this
State. Under our LAW they ,cere as free as
any man, tcomaa or child an Ecdasrille,
and yet who has the maniness to raise
his voice against an affair so wicked
and inhuman.
But here is another case: During
last fall, when Col Foster was capturing
guerrillas in kentucky, and driving out
the rebels and robbers in and around
jacksonville and HopkinsvilIe, he had
the assistance of colored man, familiar
with the country and people, as a guide
for his scouting parties He was with
| the Union forces some three months and
rendered valuable services to the coun-
| try.
In November last, he came to Evans
vile, having pass from COL Foster, by
which he came through our lines He
has been here since that time earning
an honest living by hard work. His
owner was guerrilla in the rebel SER
vice, doing his utmost to destroy our
Government and to murder the brave
volunteers who have gone out to defend
this city from plumber and pillage.
This defenseless colored man (whose
services in the cause of our country
ought to protect him from outrage), was
set upon and seized to-day. (Feb. 3d.
while at work in the lower part of the
city, by a couple of vagabond white men
with the intention of carry ng him to
Kentucky on speculation! They had no
pretense of claim to his person or to his
services, they had 10 shadow of authori-
ty either in law or equity. 1t scas a
naked attempt to steal man aud sell
him for gain!
Transactions similar to this occur fire.
quently, almost daily, right here in a
country and city claiming to be governed
! by just laws. We have churches. We
have Christian Ministers. We have
multitude Of people who profess to be
lovers of justice and followers of Christ,
and yet SO ter to raise their voices
against this wickedress-amidSt all this
profession Of Christianity, there is no
protection, no justice, no compassion, no
Bible, no gospel for the pour, de$pised
| Africqni
Our pulpits are silent about man steal
ing; Christians are too busy in mon "
! making, and too stingy and mean to
spend time and means in protecting the
/ oppressed and down-trodden in our midst.
| Shamei Shame!