Another Stealing Expedition into Missouri
On last Tuesday night a party of fifteen black and three white men crossed the river from this side, and after scouring around through the bottoms and stealing various small articles, finally halted in front of the house of James R. Burckhartt, an old farmer of Platte county, living six or seven miles back from the river. They called Mr. Burckhartt up and demanded his negroes, seven in number, three men, two women and two children. the negroes were ordered out and told that they must go along. This they positively declined doing. The party then told them that they would be back in a few days, and that if they did not go with them they would blow their brains out, saying at the same time that they intended to clean out that part of Platte county of negroes and stock. Nothing further was heard from them until last Sunday night, when they again appeared in the neighborhood augmented to about twenty black men, all uniformed and armed, and lead by three white men. They first visited the Widow Pence, a Union woman, and took all her negroes, six in number, her two horses, a wagon, and a gun and pistol. They next called on Joseph Todd and forced all his nine negroes away, taking his wagon and a fine yoke of oxen and his gun. Between 1 and 2 o'clock they arrived at Mr. Burckhartt's, who is now and always has been a good Union man; and immediately ordered his negroes to go with them, which they at first declined doing, but were forced along; they also took his only wagon, a valuable yoke of oxen, a rifle and a shot gun, and a considerable quantity of beds and bedding, clothing, &c. With all this plunder they immediately started for the river. Mr. Burckhartt having a horse left, mounted him and started for the Ferry. He arrived—just in time to discover the thieves preparing to cross their plunder in a flat-boat about one mile above the ferry landing. Crossing over he went to Detective Losee's residence and with Mr. Losee pushed for the point of landing, up under the bluff, just above Hensley & Spratley's saw mill, just in time to meet the boat load as it touched the shore. Mr. Losee at once seized the property and arrested as many of the thieves as he could, unaided, as he was. These were marched up to the Fort and are now in prison. No attention was paid to the slaves—they were allowed to go when and where they choose.
These thieving and rascally marauding expeditions have been going on for weeks, and yet our city authorities make no effort whatever to check it—the Mayor even says that the negroes are right, are justifiable in their stealing whatever they can lay their hands upon. In such a state of affairs what honest, honorable man will say that Gen. Ewing is not justifiable in proclaiming martial law. Must these outrages upon Union men of Missouri go on without any redress whatever, until all their stock is stolen and the very name of Union made hateful to them, by reason of the fact that their Government will afford them no protection? Must black men be allowed to steal simply because they are black men? By such a process, how soon will their race [fold in paper] men lead them into these robberies, for the sake of pillage and plunder—there is no philanthropy, no patriotism, no religion in such a course. Gen. Ewing is determined to put this infamous system down. That is what martial law is for.