On the 13th of February, A.D. 1851, one John Caphart, of Norfolk, Va.,
came to Boston, in pursuit of one Shadrach, alleged to be a fugitive
slave and the property of John Debree, a purser in the navy, and
attended by Seth J. Thomas, Esq., as counsel, made his complaint, as
agent and attorney of the said owner, before George T. Curtis, Esq., U.
S. Commissioner. On the evening of the 14th, the following warrant was
placed in the hands of special marshal Sawin, and served, Shadrach
offering no resistance, about half-past 11 on Saturday forenoon, the
15th, at the Cornhill Coffee House, where Shadrach had been employed for
some months as a waiter:--