Kit

BUFFALO, October 4, 1847.

To the Editor of the National Era:

Last Thursday, two slave-catchers visited our city, and in a few minutes created a great excitement, by seizing a colored man as an alleged fugitive slave from Covington, Kentucky. They were father and son. The old gentleman, named Robert Perry, had what purported to be a power of attorney from Levi F. Dougherty, of Covington, Kentucky, to bring back a slave named Kit, 23 or 24 years old, 5 feet 10 inches high, black skin, who escaped in February, 1846. These men, without any process or legal authority, after having secured the advice of one Wilbur, and the services of one Emerick, a constable, seized a colored man, whom they alleged was the fugitive, and dragged him down stairs and into the street. As the crowd began to gather, they took, the colored man into Wilbur's office. Counsel for the colored man soon arrived, and demanded the authority by which they detained him. The power of attorney was produced, as their authority.

In the mean time, the office, and the stairs leading to it, were filled with the crowd. The colored man walked towards the door, at which, the young man took hold of him to lead him back, but, being handled roughly, he loosed his hold and retired. The crowd opened on each side, the colored man leisurely walked out, and as fast as he walked out the crowd closed. The colored man's attorney began making out writs to arrest the slave-catchers for assault and battery and false imprisonment; but, the moment the crowd left the room and shut the door, they managed in some way to get out of the back window of the second story, and were conveyed, by the said constable, with all speed, out of town. The sheriff pursued, but they contrived to elude him. They were last seen about ten miles from the city, flying, Jehu-like, on horseback, as if they were determined to leave Buffalo as far behind as possible, in the shortest space of time. The colored man returned to his usual occupation.  
Yours very truly,
E.W.S.

The National Era, October 14, 1847