Norwich bulletin., 1921-10-22

Did you ever hear about strange ship that landed one morning on the sands of Montauk Point, at the ex- treme end of Long Island? The name of the ship was The Amistad, and it brought between forty ard fifty black folks, who did not want to land on Long Island. They wanted to reach Africa Strange, but true. Long tune ago? Not at all. It was in 1889, when the United States was something of a nation, and Martin Van Buren was President. It came about in part be- cause of a joke; one that cost the perpetrator of it his life. There had reached Havana short time before a ship of the usual cramped type, bringing many hundred captives from the district of Mendi, Africa. A slave driver had purchased 49 of the captiVeS paying $450 each for them. Crossing Atlantic ali had been in chains, but this slave driver thought his property so tractable that when he placed his slaves aboard "The Armistad" he all lowed the wrists and ankles, raw from the chains that had been on them for weeks, to heal by leaving the chains off He was not humane. He was not far from his plantation, and he want ed his slaves to be fit to work for him.
 One of the captives asked the cook where they were to go and what for.
 The cook made joke. He replied they were to be killed and eaten. How could captives fail to believe him Was he himself not Q cook2 Right here bit of righteous manhood as- serted itself in the hearts of the cap tives. They killed the cook, the cap- tain and the slave driver, and taking charge of the small craft built only for the waters of the West Indies headed it as they supposed for home for Africa. Ignorant without compass the wonder was they did not so to the bottom. Luckily. however. they brought up on the extreme end ot Long Island, much to the astonishmeni Of the fishermen there. A government boat lowed them and their O"Amistad' 1 to New London harbor, and they were l taken to a jail in New Haven.
 Here came in all sorts of compli- cations in which the rights of the captives were by no means the larg- l est factors, save in the hearts of : l few people. And these people were by ] no means all of New England. Here 1 were slaves. They were the propert! of a Spanish gentleman, and Spail " eAo VII Ato dOO P4 OtSSlAA6 0pdAASl
 rights and property. Slave owners O the United States were alert, but st ] were few other people. Three men l the Rev. Simeon S. Jocelyn, the Rev
 Joshua Leavitt, and Lewis Tappan, thu l last named a New York business maj 1 formed the "Amistad Committee, ant 1 together they went into the courts. 1 l was in September when the case wen to court before Judge Thompson, who's l decision was that while slavery is no tolerated in Connecticut. it does no 1 follow that the right of these Span l ish claimants cannot be investigate, here in the proper court of the Unite, States" The discharge of the African l was therefore refused, but as Judg Thompson had decided that they ha,
 committed no crime against our law 1 they were now given much more free
 dom, and on pleasant days were take
 out on the New Haven Green for. ex
 ercise. Within the jail they had muc
 more freedom.
 The appeal was now to the distrie
 court. Judge Judson, who presided, ha
 best been known as having brough