he
house, and were determined never to be taken alive as slaves.
Soon the colored people of the neighborhood, alarmed by the
horn, began to gather, armed with guns, axes, corn-cutters, or
clubs. Mutual threatenings were uttered by the two parties. The
slave-holders told the blacks that resistance would be useless,
as they had a party of thirty men in the woods near by. The
blacks warned them again to leave, as they would die before they
would go into Slavery.

From an hour to an hour and a half passed in these parleyings,
angry conversations, and threats; the blacks increasing by new
arrivals, until they probably numbered from thirty to fifty,
most of them armed in some way. About this time, Castner
Hanaway, a white man, and a Friend, who resided in the
neighborhood, rode up, and was soon followed by Elijah Lewis,
another Friend, a merchant, in Cooperville, both gentlemen
highly esteemed as worthy and peaceable citizens. As they came
up, Kline, the deputy marshal, ordered them to aid him, as a
United States officer, to capture the fugitive slaves. They
refused of course, as would any man not utterly destitute of
honor, humanity, and moral principle, and warned the assailants
that it was madness for them to attempt to capture fugitive
slaves there, or even to remain, and begged them if they wished
to save their own lives, to leave the ground. Kline replied, "Do
you really think so?" "Yes," was the answer, "the sooner you
leave, the better, if you would prevent bloodshed." Kline then
left the ground, retiring into a very safe distance into a
cornfield, and toward the woods. The blacks were so exasperated
by his threats, that, but for the interposition of the two white
Friends, it is very doubtful whether he would have escaped
without injury. Messrs. Hanaway and Lewis both exerted their
influence to dissuade the colored people from violence, and
would probably have succeeded in restraining them, had not the
assailing party fired upon them. Young Gorsuch asked his father
to leave, but the old man refused, declaring, as it is said and
believed, that he would "go to hell, or have his slaves."

Finding they could do nothing further, Hanaway and Lewis both
started to leave, again counselling the slave-hunters to go
away, and the colored people to peace, but had gone but a few