New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-12-15
EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF KIDNAPPING
From Liberty to Servitude
RETURN OF THE VICTIM

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RETURN OF THE VICTIM
About two and half years ago next
month, q Mrs. Sackett, then living in a
clearinghouse Of Mrs. King, i'll St. Louis,
on Fourth street, advertised for servant
glrl to perform ordinary house work. Mar
garet Robinson, sixteen years old, among
others, applied for the situation, and as she
was rather better looking than the others,
was accepted. She remained in the Fourth
street boarding-hOu with Mrs. Sackett
only three days, when they crossed over to
the other side Of the river, for the purpose,
as her mistress said, of purchasing some
fruit. Margaret took no heed of what was
transpiring around her, being utterly -unso-
phisticated, aud all things were strange to
her, as she had not long been off planta-
ton, where she and her parents were slaves
previous to the war.
Before she was aware of it they were on
the railroad cars, bound for Cairo. When
there, Margaret began to grow uneasy and
expressed desire to return home. Her
fears were easily quieted by small gifts and
large promises. The party, then joined by
silent kind of man, took passage on a
steamer for New Orleans. Arriving in this
city soon after the holidays. Margaret was
sent to q house in Algiers, remaining there q
few days-how many, she can not remem-
Der, as she had nothing to do or to trouble
her. as all her necessities were supplied by
some one unknown to her, although she now
thinks that Mrs. Sackett paid her board.
Being told, after the lapse of short time,
that they were ready to return home, the
party went on board vessel, which proves
to have been the steamship Liberty, for
Havana.
Margaret was old enough to understand
her new condition, ON her arrival i'll Ha-
vana- After landing some difficulty arose
concerning her, as far as she could under
stand, with customhouse officials. She was
left in house by herself for short time,
when an officer and Mrs. Sackett appeared
Gold coin crossed the officials palm, and all
objections vanished ON the instant.
They then proceeded to boarding house
kept by a Mrs. BOlio. person formerly OF
this city. Mrs. Sackett was an inmate OF
the building only a few weeks. Margaret
finally lost all knowledge Of her, and when
she ventured to inquire for her mistress OBJ
tanned no answer further than that things
were changed now, and all she had to do
was to attend strictly to her daily labors.
From that day she became conscious that
she was doomed to involuntary servitude-
slarery.
For many weary months she labored day
and night in that house, precisely the same
as others who were born slaves, and was
treated as a slave, and was such in word
and deed. Occasionally one of her fellow
servants would whisper that she was free,
but she could scarcely comprehend the stu
alton. Her position was not calculated to
sharpen her poor wits, but as time passed
she gathered knowledge, never forgetting
father and mother near st. Louis, in dis
tant land where ice and snow whiten the
earth. These could not be banished from
her otherwise confused IDEAS, and she had
almost grown reconciled to the new country
when the time Of her glorious delivery from
bondage approached.
Her fellow-servants, native and others,
finally impressed ON her mind the great
wrong she Was suffering. Beginning to un-
derstand that she could not depart of her
own accord, she managed to inform our
consul general, Mr.. Hall. That official in
~. sriv, ln
full extent of the abominable facts, took
immediate measures to procure Margarets
release from involuntary servitude. The
steamship Cuba, Captain Dukehart, arrived
in port few days afterward, when the vic
tim was placed on board to be returned to
her native land, and parents. The steam.
ship arrived here, yesterday, when Colonel
Robinson, Acting Superintendent Of Police,
was informed of the circumstances, and
Margaret sent to his Office. She was sub
sequently placed in a family until she can
be returned to those who had mourned her
as among the dead.
Our reporter gathered her story from
herself, as written above. An official docu
ment from Consul General Hall, detailing
this terrible history, has already been sent
to Washington. Mrs. Sackett and hel
friends are believed to be mulattees, but
Margaret is not very positive on that point
We published the letter OF Consul Genera
Hall, and the essential facts now again mar
rated in the REPUBLICAN Of November %
The Mrs. Sackett is described in thai
article as having been a witness in the For
rest divorce case, to prove all sorts of bad
conduct on the part of Mrs. Forrest and al
having subsequently married Robert Sack
EFT in New Orleans, since which time sh'
has become notorious as blackmai.er and
| thief.
Business on the jackson Railroad.
The business of the jackson Railroad ha'
grown, latterly, beyond the most sanguint
expectations Of its friends. In the einglt
item of cotton, there has already been more
received since the first Of December thar
| for the whole month last year, as will bt
seen by the following:
Bales
From December
Increase this year. Az
Total receipts of December, 1869, weresS,
1 ~