The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-01-10
10 Tie NORTH.

tried You may think that was high
handed. It was not 50 regarded at that
time. and it may change your mind
about it when I tell you the sort Of a
trial the man received.
A lawyer in Leavenworth-his name
was William Phillips and I knew him
well-had opposed the slavery party at
an election in LeavenWOrth He was
arrested and sent to Weston
There his head WAS shaved on one
side. and he was mounted on 3 rail,
tarred and feathered and sold at auc-
ton as a vagrant. 1t may interest you
to know that the auctioneer was q
negro. The act was Endorsed in a
meeting subsequently held in Leaven-
worth
In 1850 the slave code, as It was
called. was repealed. Samuel Medary.
who was territorial governor from 1858
until 1851. vetoed the bill and the leg
islature passed the bill over his veto.
In 1861 his successor, Gov. Beebe,
sent a message to the legislature ask
ing that body to repeal it's anti-siave
law. but the legislature refused to do
it. The legislature OF 1S6O-61 was quite
different from its predecessor The
agitation of slavery in the territory
had brought on a large eastern popu-
lation.
In 1853 I drew will for a man who
lived in Fort Scott. Kan, by which
he willed to his wife his negro woman,
boy and girl for life, and after his
wifes death the negroes were to go to
his children. I wrote number OF
wills in the territory in which slaves
were bequeathed with other property.
There was one fact about slavery in
the territory that I never heard dis
puted, and that was that the slaves
were never badly treated by their own
ers. The negroes who had been brought
into the territory were brought more
for the purpose of establishing slavery
as an institution than for work
"One man saw what was coming in
Kansas, sold his farm for about a
dozen negroes and moved over into
Missouri, where he became prom
inent slave owner. When the war
broke out he freed his negroes and en-
listed in the Union army. do not
suppose there is a parallel case to this
in the history OF slavery.
ON the other hand, I recall an Incl
dent in the life of a Col. johnson. who
had gone to Kansas from Missouri, TAX
ing a lot Of negroes with him When ne
saw the inevitable coming he gave his
negroes their freedom and returned to
Missouri Within three DAYS everv ne
gro save one returned to his old master
in Missouri and asked to be taken back
into slavery. They all remained with
him until the Lincoln proclamation.
Quite number of slaves were owned
by Indians in the early days Of Kansas.
The tribes were the Seminoles. Choc-
taWs. ChickasaWs and CherOkees.
Slavery in Kansas, however. perish
ed ike snow under warm sun when
d cOuultiDuS began 70 AOEEsuauDN LHc NAF~
Il war. As 7 recall it. in 1857 there
were at least 500 slaves in the Territory
In 1861 there were not half Dozen
some left KANSAS before ttts, var AID
" N. North.
There was a man named Tom Bourn.
who went 70 Kansas II ON Virginia by
steamboat He took a cargo Of slaves
with him, to establish the institution.
Soon after his arrival Tom got scared
and wanted to go back to Ole Nfrginnys
h1Jr his slaves uprSl1afec7 him to stay
and one of them, an old preacher said
I to Tom.
Yves come to occupy de Ian m
stablfsh de inStitushur, and, bress Gawd
wen see It frOo.'
.sTn less than two weeks every one OF
them ran away to the north and Tom
Bourn returned to Virginia alone and
died beartbroken.