and that he had advised them in the meanwhile to hold their possessions until such decision, which they were resolved to do." It appearing evident that the New York arguments, however plausible, were not to be accepted by the Bennington tribunal, the sheriff seized an axe and going towards the door of the house threatened to break it open. Immediately the party in the field perceiving his movement presented their pieces towards him, upon which he came at once to the conclusion that in his position "discretion was the better part of valor," and retired. On returning to the bridge the sheriff, doubtless to save himself from blame, made a formal demand of the posse to accompany him five miles further into the township of Bennington to aid him in taking possession of the farm of Mr. Josiah Fuller, but as no one seemed inclined to venture farther in that direction, it was concluded to omit that part of the programme of the expedition from Albany. "The power of the county" was allowed to evaporate, and the men composing it dispered with all commendable speed to their several homes, thus leaving the settlers in the quiet occupation of their property, and illustrating the truth of the quaint apothegm of Allen, after the trials at Albany, "that the gods of the valleys were not the gods of the hills." 1 It is scarcely possible to overestimate the importance, in the New York controversy, of this discomfiture of the sheriff and his posse. It not only gave confidence to the New Hampshire claimants in their ability to defend their possessions, but served to convince their opponents, that the feelings of the body of their own people were in unison with those of the settlers, and that any attempt to gain possession of the disputed lands by calling into public action the civil power of the province, would necessarily prove unavailing. This defeat of the New York claimants was the entering wedge that eventually severed the New Hampshire grants from a province to which they had been without their knowledge, annexd by the arbitrary will of the crown. Here, in fact, on the farm of James Breakenridge, was born the future state of Vermont, which, struggling through the perils of infancy, had by the commencement of the general revolution, acquired the activity and strength of adventurous youth; had by its close reached the full stature of manhood, and which not long afterwards became the acknowledged equal of its associate American republics. 1 1 Manuscript Letter of Robert Yates to Kempe and Duane of July 20, 1771. Ira Allen's Vt., p. 23-31. Doc. Hist. N. Y., p. 732-742. Connecticut Courant, March 24, and April 21, 1772, Nos. 379, 383, and May 5, No. 384. CHAPTER XII. COLLISIONS BETWEEN NEW YORK AND NEW HAMPSHIRE CLAIMANTS-continued. 1771-1772. Town committees of safety meet in general convention and resolve to stop New York surveys, and settlements on lands granted by New Hampshire - Military organization of Green Mountain Boys - Surveyor Cockburne prevented from surveying Socialborough, and other lands-Surveyor Stevens driven off - New York military grants in Rupert, Pawlet, and Dorset, for the benefit of Duane and other speculators-New York claimants prevented from occupying lands in those towns Seizure of Remember Baker at Arlington by John Munro, and his rescue - Formidable character of the opposition to the New York claims- Cannon brought from Fort Hoosick for defense against an apprehended attack by Gov. Tryon with regular troops - Tryon by letter to Rev. Mr. Dewey proposes negotiation-Agents by his invitation sent by the settlers to New York Terms of reconciliation proposed by the governor and council, and approved, with great rejoicing, by a public meeting of the settlers at Bennington. THE HE resolve of the Bennington town meeting, to resist the execution of the Albany judgments, and hold the possessions of the defendants by force, if necessary, until the final decision of the crown upon their titles, was very generally approved by the inhabitants of the other townships. It was also readily seen that, upon the principles adopted by the New York courts, judgments would at once be rendered against the settlers in all actions that had been or might be brought by the New York patentees, and that it was perfectly useless to appear in court and contest them. Nor could the settlers gain anything by waiting to have the claims of their adversaries prosecuted. The opposition to them seemed indeed more likely to be made effectual by resisting at once, all the efforts of the claimants towards perfecting their titles. The inhabitants of the several townships, as fast as they had become sufficiently numerous, had organized themselves into municipal communities in conformity to their charters, and had adopted rules and regulations for their local government. The maintenance of the possession and title to their lands against the New York claimants, soon became an absorbing interest, and town committees were appointed, whose special duty it was to attend to their defense and security. The committees of the different townships, as occasion seemed to demand, met in general convention to consult upon and adopt measures for their common protection. Fe.. ¿cords of the proceedings of these conventions remain, though sufficient accounts of them have been preserved to show that they exercised a general supervision over the affairs of the settlers, and that their decrees in regard to their land title controversy, were received and obeyed as laws. At these general conventions, the resolve of the people of Bennington to resist the execution of the Albany judgments was not only approved, but in conformity to the policy above indicated of meeting their adversaries at the threshold, it was further determined that New York claimants should not be permitted either to take possession or make surveys of lands which had been granted by New Hampshire, and that New York officers should be, prevented from serving writs of ejectment on the settlers and from arresting any of them for riots or other offences connected with their land controversy. At first the execution of these resolves seems to have been left to individual and neighborhood efforts. But subsequently as the attempts to intrude upon the settlements increased and became more formidable, a military organization was resorted to. This consisted of several companies of volunteers, of which Seth Warner, Remember Baker, Robert Cochran and some others were captains, the whole being under the command of Ethan Allen with the title of colonel. These eventually assumed the name of Green Mountain Boys, in derision and defiance it is said, of a threat of Gov. Tryon, to drive the settlers from their possessions into the Green mountains. This name, by the bravery and military exploits of those who bore it during the revolutionary period, became an honorable appellation, and has often been used to designate all the troops of the state and sometimes the whole people. This military organization of the settlers appears to have been commenced towards the close of the year 1771, some months after the expedition of the posse of Albany county to Bennington. The resistance on that occasion was doubtless made by the militia of the town, of which a company had been formed as early as October, 1764, aided probably by volunteers from the neighboring towns. The first notice which has been found of the volunteer organization for opposing "the Yorkers," as they were styled, is in a letter from John Munro, Esq., to Governor Tryon, dated in February, 1772, and in an affidavit of one Benjamin Gardner, taken by Munro three days afterwards and forwarded to the governor. From the letter and affidavit it appears that a company, commanded by Seth Warner (Munro erroneously has it John Warner), met on the preceding new year's day and "reviewed and continued all day firing at marks." Gardner in his affidavits says: "he was present on the first day of January last when a number of men were under arms at the house of Seth Warner of Bennington, when the men honored said Warner as their captain, Tubbs as their lieutenant, and Nathaniel Holmes as ensign, by firing about his house, etc., and drinking good success to Governor Wentworth and all his grants, and damning the Yorkers; and deponent heard often that they were enlisting men and putting each recruit under oath to be true in maintaining the New Hampshire Grants."1 The duties of these men were to watch, and detect in their several neighborhoods, any hostile movements of their adversaries, and to hold themselves in readiness to repair to any part of the territory to which the general convention or its executive committee should require them to go for the proper defence of the persons or lands of the settlers. It was not often that occasion was found for calling them out in large numbers, but they were always prompt and efficient in every emergency. In carrying into execution the resolves of the general convention collisions with the New York officers and claimants were not unfrequent, and they occured occasionally through a series of years. Some of those which their adversaries most loudly complained of, will now be noticed. We have a pretty full account of the manner in which the New York claimants were sometimes prevented from making surveys of their "interfering grants," in a letter from Mr. Cockburn, a deputy of the surveyor general, to James Duane, dated at Albany, in September, 1771, on his return from an attempt to survey, and divide into lots the lands included in the patent of Socialborough. Of this patent a full account will be given hereafter. For the present it is sufficient to say that it was issued by Governor Dunmore, in 1771, in violation of the king's prohibitory order of July, 1767, that it covered the two townships of Rutland and Pittsford, which had been chartered ten years previously by New Hampshire, and that the lands were already occupied under those charters. The patentees of Socialborough were all New York city speculators, among the most prominent of whom was Mr. Duane. Notwithstanding the illegality of their patent the patentees seemed determined to enforce it, and to deprive the settlers of their possessions. The following extracts comprise all the material parts of Surveyor Cockburn's letter. 1Doc. Hist. N. Y., vol. 4, p. 762. Allen Papers, in Vermont secretary of state office, p. 15. "ALBANY, Sept. 10, 1771. Sir: Your favor of the 16th of August, and the £60. 2s. 9d. of Mr. Robert Yates, I received on my return here, after being the second time stopped in Socialborough by James Meads and Asa Johnson in behalf of the settlers in Rutland and Pittsford. I have run out lots from the south bounds to within about two miles of the Great Falls. I found it in vain to persist any longer, as they were resolved at all events to stop us. There have been many threats pronounced against me. Gideon Conley who lives by the Great Falls was to shoot me, * and your acquaintance Nathan Allen was in the woods with blacked and dressed like Indians, as I was informed. * * * * * * * * another party Several of my * * men can prove Townshend and Train threatening my life, that I should never return home, etc. * The people of Durham, [now Clarendon] assured me, these men intended to murder us if we did not go from thence, and advised me by all means to desist running. * I found I would not be allowed to go to the northward as they suspected I would begin again, and therefore intended to convey us to Danby and so on to the southward, and by all accounts we should not have been very kindly treated. I was advised by no means to go that road. * * return. * * * * * * * * On my assuring them I would survey no more in those parts, we were permitted to proceed along the Crown Point road, with the hearty prayers of the women, as we passed, never to * I have not been able to fix Kier's location and Danby people have been continually on the watch always. Since I have been here several have visited me, asking questions, no doubt to be able to know us, should we venture within their territories, and at the same time warning us of the danger, should we be found there. Marsh's survey is likewise undone as I did not care to venture myself that way. I shall be able to inform you more particularly at our meeting, and am Sir your most obedient servant, WILL. COCKBURN." In this case no actual violence appears to have been used, but the surveyor was deterred from continuing his work by the apprehension of personal injury from men who he believed designed to shoot him, some of whom disguised as Indians, he supposed, were prowling in the woods for that purpose. It is not probable that his life was at any time in actual danger, though it was doubtless the object of the settlers to make him think so and thus by intimidation to frighten him away, in which they were successful. There is no |