[CUMBERLAND] THE FENIAN RAID OF 1866 105 
Canal, all American vessels were withdrawn from it, and the Northern 
Transit Co., an American line of steamers operating through the upper 
lakes to Oswego on Lake Ontario, stopped their trips. 
In later May, depots of arms were made at various places along the 
American northern frontier, among others at Erie and Buffalo. The 
instructions were that the agents were to store the arms and advertise 
auction sales of arms and military equipments and so explain their 
possession. The agent at Erie failed to insert his advertisement so 
for want of this his stores were seized by the local authorities. 
The Fenian agent at Buffalo was more judicious and it was adver- 
tized that an auction sale of muskets, rifles and military equipments 
would take place by P. O’Day at his store in Pearl St., on Friday 
morning, June Ist. 
The enterprising newspaper reporters, moved by the current 
rumours, investigated the premises and some of the samples and the 
many rows of boxes piled up in the store, but were informed that the 
goods would not be opened for exhibition until the morning of the sale. 
All these in the public prints prior to, and on 29th May. 
On Tuesday the 29th, a railway concentration to the frontier was 
begun from Nashville, Louisville, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Columbus 
towards Buffalo, and from New Haven and Boston towards the eastern 
frontier. 
As the small parties came into Buffalo they disappeared among 
the residents, for the larger parties, coming by special trains containing 
three hundred and fifty men or more, the trains on arriving at Buffalo 
were stopped outside the city near the Union Iron Works, and the men 
were quickly dispersed to the houses of the friends of the brotherhood. 
The men were clad in every imaginable way, some in Confederate 
gray; but most wore the black felt U.S. Army felt hat. It was evident 
that they were largely discharged soldiers from the northern and 
southern armies. 
On the evening of 30th May, General Sweeney, chief of the Fenian 
Brotherhood announced in Buffalo that something would be done at 
once to rescue the order from disgrace. 
Notwithstanding these open evidences of an intended movement 
on Canada the United States authorities took no steps to prevent it. 
Early on Ist June the sale at O’Day’s began and amid much amuse- 
ment the arms were sold singly, and by the case at $1.00 each. The 
auctioneer being asked what had become of the large piles of cases which 
had been seen two days previously, laughingly said that he was afraid 
the rascally Fenians had taken them away. It had been publicly 
known that there would be an “ Excursion on the River,” from Black 
Rock early that morning. Nine waggons with cases were seen going 
