Of Eagle Pass in the 1950's, from Porter's book "The Black Seminoles"....
In fact, a nest of professional slave hunters - particularly the Town, Wood, and Morris families - operated from nearby Eagle Pass. They tried to intercept runaways at the border and reclaim those who were already in Mexico. The Rio Grande did not stop tem from pursuing fugitive blacks.
"Old Man Townes" and his family... colored, but mostly white, were the worst of the lot. They were descended from David Town, a Georgian, who had moved to Nacodoches, Texas, with a black woman in 1817. He eventually emancipated her and her children, and in 1834 they were described as industrious and respectable. In 1850 his son David, now living in Eagle Pass, went into the slave-catching business.
Although the Town family was mostly white, they appeared black enough to fool unwary runaways. Constantly looking for an opportunity to steal Black... children, they once kidnapped a little girl playing on the river bank.
Birdwatcher
