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One September morning, in 1853, three strangers were being served with breakfast at the old Phoenix by a colored waiter whose name was William Thomas, a quadroon of powerful build and handsome appearance, and who it seems was a fugitive slave from the South.

Other guests at the table and the employees of the hotel were startled by the sudden act of the three strangers in all springing upon Thomas and making a brutal assault in an attempt to place handcuffs upon him. They tore off most of his clothing and inflicted several painful wounds. Of the three strangers, one was the agent of the alleged owner of Thomas and the other two were deputies of Colonel Wynkoop, United States Marshal, who several years before had been the colonel of the regiment in the Mexican War of which regiment Captain Dana's company was a part.

Fortunately for Thomas the deputy marshals and the agent succeeded only in placing the handcuffs on Thomas' one hand, which, as a matter of fact, furnished him with a very effective weapon of defense. Swinging the one free handcuff he kept his assailants at bay. Seizing a carving knife from the table he rushed, all blood stained, from the room, and across the river common and down the bank into the river, some distance from shore. The deputies and the owner's agent quickly followed, and, standing at the top of the bank, displayed revolvers and commanded Thomas to come out or they would shoot him. He replied: "You can shoot me but you can't take me."

The news rapidly spread and a large crowd quickly gathered. Among the crowd were many colored citizens of the town, including Rex, the colored barber, who called to Thomas: "Drown yourself, Bill; drown yourself; don't let them take you!" The advice to drown himself did not seem to appeal to Bill, who was standing in the water up to his neck.

The sympathies of the crowd were with Thomas, and the movements of the agent and the two deputies were so hampered and impeded that they practically could do nothing. Meantime Thomas made his way around the bridge abutment and along the river shore to a point above Union street, and then passed out of sight and made good his escape to Canada.

The crowd of colored men assumed a threatening attitude toward the agent and the deputies; the latter, taking alarm, hurriedly ordered their horses and carriage and drove rapidly down River street, pursued by the colored men who shouted vengeance. The horses were put to the run and the pursuers were soon out-distanced.

The affair created great excitement and the newspapers here and elsewhere devoted much space to it. The agent and deputies were indicted by the grand jury, but a writ of habeas corpus was granted and, upon a hearing at Philadelphia before Mr. Justice Grier of the United States Supreme Court, the defendants were discharged from custody.

Colonel Wynkoop, United States Marshal, offered a reward of a hundred dollars for information leading to the conviction of the persons who interfered with the deputies, but evidently the information was not forthcoming.

Some few years after these occurrence Thomas was seen by one of our citizens serving as head waiter at the Clifton House on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.

One effect of the attack on Thomas was to completely change the politics of some who witnessed it. Certain of them who were pronounced Democrats and in favor of the fugitive slave law were so impressed with the brutality incident to the law's enforcement that they became at once active Abolitionists, and thereafter aided fugitive slaves to make good their escape. (George R. Bedford - Early Recollections)