Chap. 4. 



ADMISSION INTO THE UNION. 



71 



ALARM IN V.'INDHAM COUNTY. 



DELEGATES SENT TO CONGRESS. 



foe. With sucli precipitation did they 

 flee from their farms and dwellings that 

 the men left their teams harnessed in the 

 field, and women their ovens heating and 

 victuals cooking by the fire. 



When the intelligence reached Colonel 

 Sargeant at Brattleborongh, he sent out 

 orders into the different towns requesting 

 their militia to assemble for the purpose 

 of stopping the progress of the Indians 

 who were laying waste the settlements. 

 A snow storm had commenced, and before 

 night was so severe as to render the flight 

 of the inhabitants laborious and distress- 

 ing ; and, as evening come on, numerous 

 lights were seen along the horizon, which, 

 it was not doubted, proceeded from the 

 conflagration of the dwellings of the in- 

 habitants wantonly plundered and set on 

 fire by the Indians. This alarm spread 

 ever most of the country, but was happily 

 of short continuance. The brave soldiery 

 marched into the deserted country, but 

 they found nothing but a deep snow to 

 interrupt their progress. The original 

 cause of alarm was soon ascertained, and 

 the lights, by which it had been height- 

 ened, were found to proceed from the 



burning log and brush heapg, which had 

 been piled by the industrious inhabitants 

 of Newfane, and which had been set on 

 fire as they saw the storm approachino-. 



On the 6ih of March, 17tJ, a party of 

 Britisli and Indians made prisoners of 

 Colonel Johnson, Jacob Page, and Jona- 

 than Elkins, and carried them to Canada. 

 In the following summer, a scout consist- 

 ing of four men from Peacham, while 

 proceeding up Hazen's.Road, were fired 

 upon by a party of Indians. Two of them 

 were killed and scalped, and the other 

 two made prisoners. In 178^2, a party of 

 British and Indians, after killing one man 

 and taking one prisoner at Newbnr}^, pro- 

 ceeded to Corinth where they compelled 

 the inhabitants to sv/ear allegiance to the 

 British king. Other towns were also vis- 

 ited by small parties of the enemy in the 

 course of the war, but during the period 

 of the negotiation, mentioned in the last 

 section, and while Vermont was wholly 

 at their mercy, these parties did very lit- 

 tle injury, and probably had orders from 

 the Britisli generals not to molest the 

 inhabitants. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE ADMISSION OF VERMONT INTO THE UNION. 



Section I. 



Extending from the completion of the east- 

 ern and icestern unions irlth Vermont on 

 the 22d of June, 1781, to the dissolution 

 of the same on the 22d day of February, 

 i7S2. 



Vermont, having completed her eastern 

 and western unions, as related in the pre- 

 cedino- chapter, appointed Jonas Fay, Ira 

 Allen, and Bezaleel Woodward, delegates 

 to the American Congress to negotiate 

 for her admission into the federal union. 

 Full powers were given them to complete 

 the arrangement ; and, if they effected 

 their object, they were authorized to take 

 their seats in Conofress as the representa- 

 tives of Vermont. These delegates ar- 

 rived at Pliiladelphia in the beginning of 

 August, and about the time of the publi- 

 cation of Lord Germain's letter, as al- 

 ready mentioned. On the 7th of August, 

 1731, Congress took up the subject of 



their mission, and appointed a committee 

 of five persons to confer with the dele- 

 gates from Vermont, and agree with them 

 upon the terms of admission, provided 

 Congress should see fit to recognize Ver- 

 mont as an independent state. 



On the 18th of August, a conference 

 took place between this committee and the 

 delegates from Vermont, at which sundry 

 questions, were proposed to the latter re- 

 specting the extent, population, and re- 

 sources of Vermont, and the views and 

 wishes of the inhabitants ; to all of which 

 answers were returned.* On the 20th, 

 the committee made their report to Con- 

 gress ; whereupon that body adopted the 

 following resolution : '■'■Resolved, That it 

 be an indispensable preliminary to the re- 

 cognition of the independence of the peo- 

 ple inhabiting the territory called Ver- 

 mont, and their admission into the federal 



* For an accousit of this cnnibrer.ce aee Slade's 

 Slate Papers, page J58. 



