REPORTED FOR THE EVANSVILLE JOURNAL
In the Warrick Circuit Court, !
October Term, A. ID. lS47.
{"character_count": 4657, "word_count": 863, "ccnet_language_score": [0.9908999800682068], "ccnet_perplexity": [1011.0999755859375], "fasttext_language": ["en"]}
The indictment charged tnat CTdmeT, Otlt,
Brouun, and the deft. Blougher on the first day
of September, l947, in Wanick county, for
cibly and unlawfully took and arrested col
ored man named Love Fluella, and his wife,
colored woman, named Mary Fluella Nth the
intent to take them to parts without the State
of Indiana, l1ithout first hGUing established q
claim TO their services according TO the luUrs Of
the State of Indiana or of the United States.


The defendant, Blougher, pleaded not gull
ty, and was tried separately. The evidence
was substantially as follows:


Mr.. H., a livery stable keeper in Evansville,
Vanderburgh co., was applied to by Cramer,
one of the persons indicted, late one evening
inSeptember last, for hack, to go, as ne said,
some twenty miles and back H. hesitated and
enquired where he wanted TO go and what his
business was, and Cramer replied that it mat
tered not, all H. had to do was to let him have
the hack and horses and send one of his own
drivers along to take care of them. H. then
agreed to let Cramer have the hack and before
he started Cramer took H. aside aud told him
he had found out where his negroes were and
he was going after them. H. asked him why
he did not go in day time, he replied that the
Ablitionists would interfere.


Mr.. Smith who resides near Boonville, in
Warrick CO., testified that about o'clock in
in the morning he was aroused by knock at
his door, and upon enquiring who was there,
the person knocking replied ga stranger" Smith
then got up and opened the door and found
Cramer standing near it and another person
standing further off, but within the yard. Cra-
mer enquired if there were any negroes about
the house and Smith replied that there were (the
two negroes mentioned in the Indictment y Cra-
mer then said they were his slaves and he had
come after them, and cursed and abused Smith
and threatened to prosecute him for harboring
them. Smith replied that he had done moth
ing wrong and that if the negroes were his (Cra-
mer's) he could have them by showing his au-
thority; Cramer said he hadauthority and would
show it when he got the negroes to Boonville.
Smith then turned and went to the opposite
side of the room to dress himself, and then saw
at the window on the out side another man.
He dressed himself and after lighting candle
went to the room where the negroes weresleep-
ing, and Cramer, Still, and Blougher followed
The negroes rose and dressed themselves and
Cramer again said that they were his slaves
and cursed Smith for horborine them the ne
groes denied that Cramer was their master
Blougher asked the negro woman if she
knew him: she replied that she did not; Ploug
her rejoined "if you don't you will" She ther
asked him what her name was, and he replied
81 hardly know my own name these days.
Still and Cramer then bound the negroes and
took them the hack which stood in the road il
front of the house as Smith and Blougber fol
lowed out to the hack, Smith asked BlougheI
If they were going to take the negroes to Boon
vile to prove them, and he replied that they
they would not but would take them to Evans
vile and prove them there. Smith asked hin
if they were Cramers slaves, and he said h,
did not know, but ifthey were not he (Camer,
knew whose they were. As Smith approach
ed the carriage, Cramer aud Still who were in i
with the negroes, exhibited pistols and threat
ened to kill any person who should interfere
Blougher then got in the carriage and it wa
driven off briskly. 1t passed on through Boon
vile, without stopping, on the road toward
Evansville. Smith gave the alarm, and he an,
several others went in pursuit on horseback
and overlook the hack about ten miles from
Boonville on the way to Evansville. Whel
Smith overlook the hack there wasno one wit
it but Brown and the two negroes who ha
been liberated. Another one of the person
who was before Smith said, just before he over
took the hack it stopped, and Cramer took tn,
negroes out and liberated them and then fled
The same witness stated that in a converse
ton, with him Blougher said Cramer hired hin
and Brown at Evansville TO go with him afte
the negroes alledging that he owned them
that before going to Smiths they stopped a
the house of one Boner, in Warrick CO., an
owing to some suspicious circumstances he
Blougher, became fearful that he might get in
to scrape and expressed his fears to Bone
saying that he had just got out of scrape an
did not want to get into another, and Bone
assured him there was no danger because tn
negroes were the slaves of Cramer, and tina
when he saw the witness and others coming i
pursuit he got out of the hack and hid in tn
fha a,.J hot