South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-03-07

pass saws and tools TO them. although
few escaped. There was an odOr from
the interior of that Jail that L can
smell yet. IL was kept clean for those
days when there was no plumbing.
THE greatest event in early South
Bend was the famous fugitive slave
case in which seven slaves pursued To
this place from Kentucky were Hber-
ated in court by habeas corpus and
sOutherners dramatically drew knives
and revOlVers TO DEFY the order of
the court, but the slaves were quickly
concealed. and secretly sent TO Cana
da through Michigan. This trial was
not before Judge sample, but before
Judge Egbert several years later
when Judge Sample had retired from
public life. John Norris, the old mas
ter who lost his slaves. wrote TO Judge
Sample that he was informed that
some Of his slaves were in Cass cOun-
t.. Michigan, and requested him 10
find out if that was true and TO take
legal steps 10 recover them. Judge
sample wrote 10 Norris that he must
have been misinfOrmed, and that end
ed it, The judge said:
- feared 10 inquire. and did not
have the heart to ascertain the facts
My conscience would not permit me
to be the instrument TO send those
poor blacks living happily in freedom
back into the hopeless degradation of
slavery again.
This shows the character Of the
man, and that he was a just judge in
those bitter and intOlerant prO-slav-
cry days
The old state bank building. of
which Judge Sample was president
for a time, was in his day one of the
finest and most substantial buildings
in the north end of the state. In ar
chitecture it was modelled after the
ancient Greek temples with low slop-
ing roof and Doric columns, and il
was the earliest of the finer public
buildings of South Bend. 1t was torn
down in recent years. Judge sam
pies home was on :. Main st. where
the Nandalia station now is. and his
brick home was nearly hidden by a
mass of choice shrubbery and trees.
and there were fruit trees and flower
beds. and the house, empowered with
foliage, seemed quiet and restful.
Il have always thought that a good
portrait of Judge Sample ought to
hang on one of the walls of the cOun-
" court room, while it is now posi-
BILE to do so. He lived in a time of
very earnest striving to succeed and
he helped in laying the foundation OF
the splendid city in which we now
live. Ny own life has been devoted
/ TO IttOIuln8 the history III ltdi 80
tate in South Bend and in the cOun-
ty, and if j had the ability of Jack
London. / might take up an abstract
of title as he did and from it write
as he did the story of the families who
had owned the land from time to time
in romantic form, and there is abun-
/ dant material for il on hand. But il
would prove too great an undertake
ing, and although it might prove very
| interesting and entertaining, would be
Improbable to work out.
'All of the families in the county
| from the beginning who have owned
their homes. have histOries-sOme
tragic, dramatic, pathetic and SIM
pie, which if woven together from the
records and outside sources. would
make interesting stories, and there are
from $4,000 to $1,000 at the lowest
estimate, living and dead, to select
from. At this time ] have mentioned
but one persOn-Judge sample