Chap. 2. 



SETTLEMENT AND CONTROVERSIES. 



25 



COMMUNICATION TO GOV. TRYON. 



COL. REED S TENANTS DISPOSSESSED. 



sion of tlicir lands and tenements." On 

 the reception of this letter, the commit- 

 tees of the several towns assembled at 

 Manchester, and on the 27t]i of August a 

 bold and decisive, but conciliatory answer 

 was prepared, in which they contended, 

 that there was no breach of faith on their 

 part, because none was plighted till af- 

 ter those transactions, when on the 15tli 

 of July, the proposition of governor Tryon 

 was accepted, and that the aggressors were 

 the New York claimants, who had under- 

 taken to survey and take possession of the 

 disputed domain, declaring unequivocally 

 their determination neither to break arti- 

 cles of public faith, insult governmental 

 authority, nor abandon their propert}-^ to 

 the mercy of New York land-jobbers. 

 They, moreover, declined restoring Col. 

 Reed's tenants their possessions, not 

 doubting that when His Excellency came 

 to understand tliat they were really in 

 truders, he would approve their conduct.* 



To the above-mentioned communication 

 an answer from the governor was re- 

 spectfully requested, but it does not appear 

 that he saw fit to comply ; and this abor- 

 tive attempt at reconciliation seems only 

 to have widened the breach and increased 

 tlie animosity between the parties. New 

 York now resorted to the e.xpedicnt of 

 appointing several prominent settlers to 

 office for the purpose of buying them 

 over to their interests. To counteract 

 these designs and to provide for an effec- 

 tual resistance to the Yorkers, a conven- 

 tion was assembled at Manchester, on the 

 21st of October, 1772, which , among other 

 things, decreed that no person on tlie 

 Grants should accept or hold any office 

 under the authority of New York : " and 

 ell civil and military officers, who had ac- 

 ted under the authority of New York 

 were required to suspend their functions 

 on the pain of being vieiced ."\ It was also 

 decreed " that no person should take 

 grants, or confirmation of grants, under 

 the government of New York." 



Punishment for the infraction of these 

 decrees was left to the discretion of the 

 court, except that it must not be capital 

 for the first oftence. 



Section IV. 

 Controversy with Xcw York from 1773 to 

 1775 — Minatory act ofjXew York — Res- 

 olutions and Temonstrancc of the set- 

 tlers. • 

 In July, 1773, Col. Reed, whose ten- 

 ants had been dispossessed at the lower 

 falls on Otter Creek, as mentioned in the 



* For Got. Tryon's letter and the reply , see Slade'ri 

 Vt. State Papers, pages 29—33. 

 t Allen's History of Vermont 



Ft. II. 4 



preceding section, induced a number of 

 Scotch emigrants, who had lately arrived 

 at New York, to accompany him to Otter 

 Creek for the purpose of re-possessing the 

 property which he claimed there. On 

 tlieir arrival the New Hampshire settlers 

 were a second time compelled to abandon 

 the place, and Col. Reed, having repair- 

 ed the grist-mill and re-instated the mill 

 stones by means of hooping them, left 

 the Scotchmen, with orders to keep pos- 

 session and continue the improvements. 



Intelligence of these transactions soon 

 reached Bennington, whereupon Ethan 

 Allen, Seth Warner, Remember Baker, 

 and a number of others immediately pro- 

 ceeded to the place for the purpose of 

 again dispossessing the New York intru- 

 ders and restoring the rightful owners. 

 They compelled the miller to break the 

 mill-stone into small pieces with a sledge 

 and throw them down the falls, and com- 

 manded them not to repair the mill again 

 " on pain of suffering the displeasure of 

 the Green Mountain Boys." The Scotch 

 settlers, who had not removed their fam- 

 ilies from New York, on hearing the na- 

 ture of the controversy, declared they had 

 been deceived, and abandoning all claim 

 to the lands, retired, find afterwards set- 

 tled on the Mohawk river. 



To prevent a recurrence of these scenes, 

 Allen and his party caused a small block- 

 house to be erected at the falls, which 

 was garrisoned by a few men and subse- 

 quently afforded full protection to these 

 settlements against the " Yorkers." At this 

 period the rich lands on the Winooski, or 

 Onion river, were attracting much atten- 

 tion, and several persons in and about 

 Bennington, and others in Connecticut, 

 had made purchases there under New 

 Hampshire titles ; and there is a tradition 

 that the intelligence of Col. Reed's second 

 intrusion was conveyed to Bennington by 

 Ira Allen, who returning from exploring 

 those lands preparatory to a settlement, 

 and arriving at the falls on Otter Creek 

 on a dark and stormy evening, sought 

 shelter and refreshment at the settlement 

 there, whichwas then the most northerly on 

 the west side of the mountains. He knocked 

 at the door and instead of being met by his 

 friends, who had been re-instated by the 

 Green Mountain Boys, as mentioned in 

 the preceding section, was met by the 

 thrust of a sword in the hand of some per- 

 son within, which luckily did him no in- 

 jury. After making known his condition 

 he was admitted but to his surprize ho 

 found the place in possession of a number 

 of Scotchmen. Here he passed the night 

 and then proceeded to Bennington with 

 the intelligence. 



