Description
"Incidents in the History of Lawrence and Douglas County" - - (excerpted from longer article) - - During the three years preceding the late rebellion Douglas County (Kansas) was frequently the hunting ground for fugitive slaves, and more frequently for kidnappers and border desperadoes, who made it a business to capture a few colored men in and about Lawrence, and sell them into slavery at Independence and St. Joseph, Missouri.
Among these desperadoes was Quantrill, who went by the name of Charley Hart, and the notorious Jake Herd (Hurd).
The last named kidnapper commanded a party who stole a free colored man near Judge Wakefield’s, on the California Road. Col. Sam. Walker, myself, and a company of 20 men followed them into Lecompton, but they escaped an hour before across the river.
The colored boy was taken to St. Joseph and sold for $1,500. Six weeks after this he escaped, wandered about Platte County, swam across the Missouri River near Independence Landing, came through Kansas City in the night while a terrible storm prevailed, and called on me in Lawrence to tell of his experience in Missouri, and of his almost miraculous escape.
This same system of kidnapping was frequently repeated on the Wakarusa, south of town, and it was said and believed at the time that Quantrill, Herd and their companies increased their business by inducing slaves in Missouri to escape into Kansas, and then capturing and returning them to their masters for the reward usually offered.Date(s) of Creation
12/29/1872
