The War in the Northwest 23 



from Nashborough, two from Mansker's, two from 

 Bledsoe's, and one from each of five other named 

 stations. 15 Whenever the freemen of any station 

 were dissatisfied with their Triers, they could at 

 once call a new election, at which others might be 

 chosen in their stead. The Triers had no salaries, 

 but the Clerk of the Court was allowed some very 

 small fees, just enough to pay for the pens, ink, and 

 paper, all of them scarce commodities. 16 The Court 

 had jurisdiction in all cases of conflict over land 

 titles; a land office being established and an entry 

 taker appointed. Over half of the compact was de 

 voted to the rules of the land office. The Court, 

 acting by a majority of its members, was to have 

 jurisdiction for the recovery of debt or damages, 

 and to be allowed to tax costs. Three Triers were 

 competent to make a Court to decide a case where 

 the debt or damage was a hundred dollars or less; 

 and there was no appeal from their decision. For 

 a larger sum an appeal lay to the whole Court. The 

 Court appointed whomsoever it pleased to see de 

 cisions executed. It had power to punish all of 

 fences against the peace of the community, all mis 

 demeanors and criminal acts, provided only that its 



15 Putnam speaks of these men as "notables"; apparently 

 they called themselves as above. Putnam's book contains 

 much very valuable information; but it is written in -most 

 curious style and he interlards it with outside matter ; much 

 that he puts in quotation marks is apparently his own ma 

 terial. It is difficult to make out whether his "tribunal of 

 notables" is his own expression or a quotation, but appar 

 ently it is the former. 



" Haywood, 126. 



