The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-15

the teeth, and many times it looked as
| If collision could not be avoided. Filing
| tons attorneys claimed that under the fugitive
slave law the State courts had no jurisdiction
and could grant no writ against the United
States marshal The attorneys for Freeman
| contended that he was citizen of this State,
| and the State was bound to protect him with all
her power. During the argument so intense was
the feeling OF the people that Ellington and his
| attorneys had to be escorted to and from the
courtroom by police force. At last the argu-
| menf6. pro and con- were all concluded, and
then occurred one of the most remarkable scenes
ever witnessed in any court of Justice q scene
that was indelibly burned into the memories of
those who witnessed it
During the latter part of the argument, there
| was sitting in the courtroom Joseph G. Marshall,
| or DO Marshal, as he was called, OF Madison,
one of the Marshall family of Kentucky, noted
| for their eloquence. He was not engaged In the
case, put had come upon other business, and
seemingly he had taken no interest in what was
going on around him, but had sat with his head
| bowed upon a desk in front of him. This
| was habit with him, and his listiess,
| distracted manner, when thus occupied,
contrasted with his vehement eloquence
when speaking had given him the name of the
| sleeping lion.' He was thus sitting when Judge
Majors began delivering his opinion. He said:
How can presume any colored man is free!'
| Marshalfs frame began to trembe, as If stirred
| by some emotion. The court paused and then
slowly repeated "How can L. in view of the
Constitution and the laws, presume that any
| colored man is free?" At this Marshall's hands
were seen to grasp the sides of the table in front
of him, and with his body shaking like aspen,
| he pushed himself upward, until he lowered in
| front of the judge, his broad Scotch Irish face
all aglow, and with his eyes flashing out indig-
nant fire, he Numbered out: II will answer that
| question:" And then, without moments pause,
| the court being too astonshed at the Interrupt
ton to interfere, he launched out into torrent
OF logic and eloquence. He claimed that 1t was
q fundamental question, going back to the foun-
dation of the government; it was, in fact, the
| first principle upon which it was founded. 1t
was essential to State sovereignty. For 1T we
| went to war with Great Britain in 1872 and ne
| asked if we should surrender it now.
He showed that under the Constitution
| and the laws the presumption was that
every man, made in the image of his Maker,
was free, until the contrary was established and
that slavery could only be established by positive
proof. He contended that the writ of habeas
corpus had not been suspended by the fugitive
slave law; that it was iEalienable right of ev-
| cry citizen, white or black, bond or free Tle
| state, he said, was not bound to give up per-
| son to bondage until she knew whether he was
slave not. In this case slavery was denied,
and there was no power in the world that had
| right to determine the question, but the sover-
eign State of Indiana, to whom the man be-
| longed.
The words leaped from his mouth like hot
| shot from lannon's muzzle, and ne piled up
citations of law and precedents after another,
and closed with tremendous appeal for the
downtrodden and oppressed, and for the rights
or man. His voice, peculiar at all times, was
more peculiar under the intensity of the passions
| which swayed him, and in it's keen, piercing
treble seemed to cut into the very marrow of
his listeners, and when he turned and hurled his
| invectives upon the slavehuntArs and the whole
| system of human bondage, it seemed to scorch
and burn. HIS el0quence was like a torrent, his
| logic like an avalanche and his invectives like
h11rP hOu
he spoke; his form swaying to and fro,
his long hair standing out from
his head if electrified; when he stopped and
sank into his seat For while it seemed as if
no one could breathe. No such scene had ever
before been witnessed. A judge on the bench.
| in the act of delivering his opinion had been in
terrupted by one not engaged in the case, and
for an hour been compelled by the very force of
/ the impassionate eloquence of the speaker to
| listen. For moment or two all was hushed as
death. then the room shook with the shouts of
the people. They had found champion of their
rights Again, and again, and again the shouts
rent the air.
The wonderful pleading. the array of logic,
law and presidents, were all in vain. The grip
of the slave power and of prejudice was too
| strong. When silence was finally restored the
judge proceeded with his opinion, but was care
full to say nothing that might again arouse the
Sleeping Lion" He refused the writ, and Free
man remanded to jail. By this time the
excitement was higher than ever and it took all
| Freeman to prevent the people from assaulting
and destroying the jail, and thus freeing him.
| Months had elapsed since he was first arrested,
but his friends and the friends of liberty did not
| despair of finally releasing him.
| General Coburn, indefatigable in the interests
of his client hurried to Canada, and found the
| real fugitive living near Colchester He ad-
mitted his identity and and related the details
of his escape 1t would not do to bring him to
| Indianapolis, for then he would be in the power
| of his former master. And even if here, under
the then existing laws his testimony would not
be accepted. Mr. Coburn turned again to
| Greenup county, Ky. There he found Captain
| Nicholas. an old soldier of the war of 1872 and
| Squire Mead, relative of Ellington. They
| were both shareholders, but honest men, bear
| ing irreproachable characters They were ac-
| auainted with the fugitive slave and agreed to
accompany Mr.. Coburns to Canada He took
them to Colchester, where they met and rec
| ognized the fugitive. They spent time
with him, recalling the incidents of
tive bore no resemblance to each other Onewas
| short, boW~legged and black, while the other
was tall and light. 1t was a most infamous at
| tempt to steal freeman and make slave of
! him. II was no case of mistaken identity but
| deliberate conspiracy The attorney and his
| Kentucky witnesses returned to Indianapolis
| when arrangements were begun to arrest Filing
| ton for conspiracy and perjury BY some means
| he got wind of it, and fed in the night, escaping
to Missouri, where he died few years later
| Freeman was released and lived here until about
| 1860, when he went to Canada. OF those promi-
nently identified with the case all are now dead
save John Coburn, who is now United States
| Judge in Montana Thus ended a celebrated
case, one that had much to do in bringing into
existence the Republican party. 1t was one of
many others that taught the people of this Ma
| ton he value of freedom, and to hate slavery.
1t was one of the cases that made Republicans of
such men as Morton and Chase, and strengthened
the hands of Seward and Sumner, and Wade,
and Giddings
Victor HugO's Daily Life.
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