“A free man, belonging to Baltimore, by the name of Ephraim Larkin, who came here cook of the William Tell, was arrested and thrown into prison a few weeks since, and sent in chains to work on the road.  I heard of it, and with difficulty found him; and after the most diligent and active exertions, got him released—­in effecting which, I traveled in the heat of the day, thermometer ranging in the shade from 94 to 100, more than twenty times to and from prison, the place of his labor, and the different courts, a distance of near three miles from my residence; and after I had established his freedom, had to pay for his arrest, maintenance, and the advertising him as a runaway slave, $29.89, as per copy of bill herewith—­the allowance for work not equalling the expenses, the amount augments with every day of confinement.

“In pursuing the cook of the William Tell, I found three other free men, confined in the same prison; one belonged also to Baltimore, by the name of Leaven Dogerty:  he was also released, on my paying $28 expenses; one was a descendant of the Indians who once inhabited Nantucket—­his name is Eral Lonnon.  Lonnon had been six weeks in prison; he was released without difficulty, on my paying $20.38 expenses—­and no one seemed to know why he had been confined or arrested, as the law does not presume persons of mixed blood to be slaves.  But for the others, I had great difficulty in procuring what was considered competent witnesses to prove them free.  No complaint of improper conduct had been made against either of them.  At one time, the Recorder said the witness must be white; at another, that one respectable witness was insufficient; at another, that a person who had been (improperly) confined and released, was not a competent witness, &c. &c.  Lonnon has been employed in the South Sea fishery from Nantucket and New Bedford, nearly all his life; has sailed on those voyages in the ships Eagle, Maryland, Gideon, Triton, and Samuel.  He was born at Marshpee, Plymouth (Barnstable) county, Mass. and prefers to encounter the leviathan of the deep, rather than the turnkeys of New Orleans.

“The other was born in St. Johns, Nova Scotia, and bears the name of William Smith, a seaman by profession.

“Immediately after these men were released, two others were arrested.  They attempted to escape, and being pursued, ran for the river, in the vain hope of being able to swim across the Mississippi, a distance of a mile, with a current of four knots.  One soon gave out, and made for a boat which had been despatched for their recovery, and was saved; the other being a better swimmer, continued on until much exhausted, then also made for the boat—­it was too late; he sank before the boat could reach him, and was drowned.  They claimed to be freemen.