USA > Wyoming > A sketch of the history of Wyoming > Part 10
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ately on receiving notice of this affair, Armstrong detached as many men as could be spared from the garrison in pursuit of what he called the "insur- gents," who took refuge in a cluster of log-houses from which his troops attempted to dislodge them, but were driven back with the loss of two men wounded. Armstrong by way of apology for this retreat, observes in his letter to the president of the Council :- "I need scarcely observe to your Ex- cellency, that four log houses so constructed as to flank each other, become a very formidable post. " He retired with his troops to the fort where he found himself capable of defence, and dispatched a mes- senger to the Council to request re-enforcements. These proceedings served to convince the inhabit- ants that Armstrong's force was small, and as they severely felt the loss of the fire arms which he had so treacherously taken from them, they concluded it would be a favorable time to recover them pre- vious to the arrival of any re-enforcements, and hav- ing ascertained that they were deposited in a house near the bank of the river they proceeded to the house on Sunday night, the 25th. of September, and as they were attempting to break it open, they were attacked by a detachment of Armstrong's party, placed in a proper position as a guard, and after exchanging a few shots the inhabitants retired, The next day Colonel Armstrong set out for Phila- delphia, to represent the state of affairs at Wyo- ming, and to request of the Council the appoint- ment of a sufficient force to protect the Pennsylva- nia claimants, On the night of the 27th. about fif,
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teen of the inhabitants surrounded the house where Patterson and the Commissioners lodged, and com- menced an attack upon it with fire arıns, which was continued for about two hours, during which time Messrs Reed and Henderson, two of the ma- gistrates, were mortally wounded. The inhabit -: ants having recovered their arms, withdrew, and Colonel Franklin on their behalf sent a statement of the transaction to the Council at Philadelphia, in which he states that these events were not pro- duced by any disposition to disregard the laws, but ' to be revenged on Patterson and Armstrong for their treachery.
An account of these transactions having been re- ceived in Philadelphia, the Council on the 2d. of October, "Ordered, that a detachment of fifty men properly officered and equipped, be immediately : drawn forth from the militia of the county of Bucks, . and that the like number of men be in like manner immediately drawn forth from the militia of the county of Berks, to be sent to Wyoming for quiet- ing the disturbances and supporting the civil au- thority in that district." The Council on the same day appointed John Armstrong to be Adju- 1 fant General of the Militia, with directions to take charge of the troops which were to march to Wyo- ming, and to maintain the post there. These measures of the Council appear to have been taken contrary to the wishes of the President, John Dick- inson, Esquire, who, on the 5th. of October, sent to the Council Chamber a letter from which the fol- lowing is an extract :
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" Being still indisposed and unable to attend in ** Council to day, I think it my duty, notwithstand. "ing what has been already offered, to request " that you will be pleased further to consider the # propriety of calling a body of militia into actual 's service, on the intelligence yet received, and in " the manner proposed. If the intention is that % the militia should assist the Pennsylvania claim- "ants in securing the corn planted on the lands " from which the settlers were expelled last spring, ·" such a procedure will drive those settlers into " absolute despair. They will have no alternative " but to fight for the corn, or suffer, perhaps to per-
" ish, for want of it in the coming winter. The " Commissioners have informed the Council that " their determination on that alternative will most " probably be" [Here is a space left in the entries of this letter in the Book containing the minutes of the Council, over which is a long black mark drawn, as if some cause prevented the insertion of this part of the President's letter, which thus proceeds :] "" They will regard this step as the commencement "' of a war against them, and perhaps others whose " sentiments are of vastly more importance, may
s' be of the same opinion. I am perfectly convin- " ced of the uncommon merit of Colonel Arm- " strong, but the appointment of an Adjutant- " General upon this occasion, and bestowing that ' "appointment on the Secretary of the Council, " when it is well known that the settlers view him " in the light of an enemy, are circumstances that " may promote. unfavorable constructions of the %' conduct of government.
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" The public bodies which have lately assem- " bled in this city, have fully testified their disap- " probation of hostilities on account of the disputes "at Wyoming ; and upon the whole, there is too " much reason to be persuaded that the plan now " meditated will, if carried into execution, produce " very unhappy consequences.
" Knowing the uprightness of your intentions, " Gentlemen, I feel great pain in dissenting from "your judgment ; and if the measure is pursued, " from esteem for you and affection for the Com- " monwealth, I have only to wish, as I most hear- " tily do, that I may be proved by the event to have " been mistaken."
The Council, on consideration of the letter from the President, "Resolved, That the measures " adopted on the second instant be pursued ;"$ and on the same day issued a proclamation, offering a reward of twenty-five pounds for the apprehension of eighteen of the principal inhab- itants whose names were mentioned.
Armstrong proceeded under his new appoint- ment to collect and organize the troops destined for the expedition to Wyoming ; but notwithstand- ing all the assistance which the Government could give him, in addition to his own exertions, he could not prevail upon the militia to undertake an expe- dition so revolting to their feelings, and on the 14th. of October he commenced his march, at the head of forty men only, and arrived at Wyoming on Sunday the 16th. The inhabitants on his ap- proach retired to Forty-fort, where they formed & garrison of about seventy men, and Armstrong, not
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being sufficiently strong to attack them, wrote to the Council for re-enforcements. Much exertion was made throughout the counties of Northamp- ton, Bucks and Berks, to raise troops for anoth- er expedition to Wyoming ; but the public mind had become averse to the measure, and no re-en- forcements could be procured. Many of the peo- ple of Pennsylvania began to consider the inhabit- ants a persecuted people, and all the influence of the landholders in the Council and Assembly was necessary to maintain even a small armed force at post. This disposition of the public mind was much strengthened by the proceedings of the Coun- cil of Censors, to which President Dickinson allu- ded in his letter.
By the first Constitution of Pennsylvania, which was established immediately after the Declaration of Independence, the Government of the Common- wealth was vested in a House of Representatives, a President, and Council. Another inefficient Council was also established, called the "Council of Censors," who were chosen by the people, and. directed to meet every seventh year ; " and whosc " duty it shall be," says the constitution, "to en- " quire whether the constitution has been preser- "ved inviolate in every part, and whether the "Legislative and Executive branches of the Gov- " ernment have performed their duty as guardians " of the people, or assumed to themselves, or exer- " cised, other or greater powers than they are en- " titled to by the constitution. They are also to " enquire whether the public taxes have been just.
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's ly laid and collected in all parts of the Common- '' wealth ; in what manner the public monies have- " been disposed of, and whether the laws have been " duly executed. For these purposes they shall '' have power to send for persons, papers and re-
"' cords. They shall have authority to pass public 66 censures, to order impeachments, and to recom- " mend to the Legislature the repealing such laws "' as appear to them to have been enacted contrary " to the principles of the constitution."
This Council of Censors met at Philadelphia in the summer of 1784, and having received informa- tion of the transactions at Wyoming, on the 7th of September, ordered, that the President and Su- preme Executive Council should furnish certain documents in relation to their proceedings in the case of the Connecticut settlers, at and near that place ; and that William Bradford, Jun. and James Wilson, Esquires, Council for Pennsylvania in this case, should furnish all the documents in their hands on the subject. On the 8th. Mr. Bradford surrendered the documents in his hands in obedi- ence to the order, and the Secretary of the Supreme Executive Council informed the Council of Cen. sors by letter that the documents required of them had been transmitted to the General Assembly. On the following day the Council of Censors pas- sed a resolution requiring the General Assembly to furnish the said documents. The Assembly pro- ceeded immediately into the consideration of the erder, and passed a resolution refusing to comply with it. In consequence of this refusal on the
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part of the Assembly, the Council of Censors, on the 10th. of the same month, issued process against the General Assembly in the following words :
" The Council of Censors, in the name, and by the authority of the people of Pennsylvania, to the General Assembly of the State of Pennsylvania, Send Greeting :- We demand of you that you with- out delay or excuse, forthwith send into this Coun- cil of Censors, the documents and papers hereun- der mentioned, now, as it is said, in your keeping, that is to say, the Report of the Committee ap- pointed the 9th. of December last, to enquire into the charges contained in a petition from a number of the inhabitants of Wyoming, and the papers and affidavits accompanying the same, and the letter from Zebulon Butler and others of Wyoming, read in the Supreme Executive Council on the 28th. of May, 1784, and which was by them transmitted to the house.
"Signed by order of the Council of Censors, now sitting in the State House, in the city of Phil- adelphia, on this 10th. day of September, Anno Domini, one thousand seven hundred and eighty four."
"FREDERICK A. MUHLENBERG,
President of the Council of Censors, " Attest, SAMUEL BRYAN, Secretary."
The mandamus of the Censors was received by the General Assembly with the utmost contempt, and the House, as if forgetful of the dignified char- acter of the Council, and unmindful of the high au- thority vested in them by the Constitution, refused
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not only to send the required papers, but also to give any answer whatever to the process. When it was ascertained that no answer was to be expec- ted from the Assembly, the Council declared that " this unwarrantable conduct of the wrong doers themselves has but the more decidedly convinced this Council of the truth of the complaints of the settlers at Wyoming, and of the utter neglect of the Government to protect the oppressed inhabitants. " On the same day the Council of Censors passed a public censure upon the conduct of the Govern- ment of Pennsylvania in relation to the Connec- ticut settlers in the following words :
"It is the opinion of this Council that the decis- ion made at Trenton early in 1783, between the State of Connecticut and this Commonwealth, con- cerning the territorial rights of both, was favoura- ble to Pennsylvania. It likewise promised the happiest consequences to the confederacy, as an example was thereby set of two contending sov- ereignties adjusting their differences in a court of Justice, instead of involving themselves, and per- haps their confederates, in war and bloodshed. It is much to be regretted that this happy event was not improved on the part of this State as it might have been .-- That the persons claiming lands at and near Wyoming, occupied by the emigrants from Connecticut, now become subjects of Penn- sylvania, were not left to prosecute their claims in the proper course without the intervention of the legislature .-- That a body of troops was enlisted after the Indian war had ceased and the civil gov-
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ernment had been established, and stationed at Wyoming for no other apparent purpose than that of promoting the interests of the claimants under the former grants of Pennsylvania .- That these troops were kept up, and continued there, without the license of Congress, in violation of the confed- eration .- That they were suffered, without res- traint to injure and oppress the neighboring inhab- itants, during the course of the last winter. -- That the injuries done to these people excited the com- passion and interposition of the State of Connecti- cut, who thereupon demanded of Congress anoth- er hearing in order to investigate the private claims of the settlers at Wyoming, formerly inhabitants of New England, who from this instance of partial- ity in our own rulers have been led to distrust the justice of the State, when in the mean time, num- bers of these soldiers, and other disorderly persons, in a most riotous and inhuman manner, expelled the New England settlers, before mentioned, from their habitations, and drove them towards the Del- aware through unsettled and almost impassable ways, leaving those unhappy outcasts to suffer evc- ry species of misery and distress. - That this arm- ed force stationed as aforesaid at Wyoming, as far as we can see, without any public advantage in view, has cost the Commonwealth the sum of £4460, and upwards, for the bare levying, provi- ding, and paying of them, besides other expenditures of public monies,-That the authority for embody- ing these troops was given privately, and un- known to the good people of Pennsylvania, the
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same being directed by a mere resolve of the house of Assembly, brought in and read the first time on Monday the 22d. September, 1783, when on mo- tion, and by special order, the same was read a second time and adopted .- That the putting this resolve on the secret journal of the House, and concealing it from the people, after the war with the savages had ceased, and the inhabitants of Wy- oming had submitted to the government of the State, sufficiently marks and fixes the clandestine and partial interest of the armament, no such con- dition having been thought necessary in the de- fence of the northern and western frontiers during the late war. -- And lastly, we regret the fatal ex- ample which this transaction has set of private per- suns, at least equally able with their opponents to maintain their own cause, procuring the interest of the Commonwealth in their behalf, and the aid of the public treasury. The opprobrium which from hence has resulted to this State, and the dissatisfaction and prospect of dissention, now existing with one of our sister States, the violation of the confederation, and the injury hereby done to such of the Pennsylvania claimants of lands at Wyoming, occupied as aforesaid, as have given no countenance to, but on the contrary have disavow- ed, these extravagant proceedings. In short, we la nent that our government has in this business manifested little wisdom, or foresight ; nor have 1
acted as guardians of the rights of the people com- mitted to their care. Impressed with the multi- plied evils which have sprung from the imprudent
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management of this business, we hold it up to pub- lic censure, to prevent, if possible, further instan -. ces of bad government, which might convulse and distract our new formed nation."
Notwithstanding the respectable authority from . which these opinions proceeded, and the public manner in which they were pronounced, the Su- preme Executive Council regarded them with as much indifference as they did the letter of the Pres- ident ; and as if anxious to show their contempt for public opinion, they not only sent Colonel Armstrong with a second expedition to Wyoming, but continued to exert their utmost endeavours to furnish him with re-enforcements. In this measure, however, they totally failed, for the declaration pronounced by the Censors, furnished a reasona- ble excuse for refusing to obey the orders of the Council, and Colonel Armstrong and his forty men continued to occupy the Block House in the ruins of fort Dickinson, with a force too weak to support an extensive system of plunder, and the certainty of an approaching winter with a very limited means of support.
The inhabitants who supported a garrison at Forty-fort, continued, under the protection of guards, to gather their corn ; but as they expected Armstrong would soon be in force sufficient to de- prive them of their means of subsistence, viewed the prospect before them as gloomy and discoura- ging. They however sent memorials to Congress, to the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, and to the Legislature of Connecticut. To the last men-
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tioned body they gave an account of the transac- tions at Wyoming for the last few years, alluded to the decision of the jurisdiction in favor of Pennsyl- vania, and of their submission to the authority of the State, but complained that although they sup- plicated like children, yet they found no protec- tion ; that their petitions to the government of Pennsylvania were treated with neglect, and the government instead of relieving their distresses, had sent an armed force against them ; that their numbers were at that time reduced to about two thousand souls, most of whom were women and chil- dren, driven in many cases from their proper habita- tions, and living in huts of bark in the woods, with- out provisions for the approaching winter, while the Pennsylvania troops and land claimants, were in possession of their houses and farms, and wasting and destroying their cattle and subsistence. The Legislature, then sitting at New Haven, in answer to this memorial, alluded to their want of Jurisdic- tion, recommended an application to Congress, and promised the aid and assistance of that Legislature, both with Congress and the government of Penn- sylvania.
As winter approached, Armstrong, finding that re-enforcements were not to be expected, abandon- ed the post at Wyoming, and having discharged his troops, returned to Philadelphia. Thus ended the last expedition fitted out by the government of Pennsylvania, to operate against her own peaceful citizens. Various attempts were made by the in- habitants of Wyoming, during the two succeeding
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years, to effect the appointment of a tribunal for trying the title to the lands between themselves and the Pennsylvania claimants, but all to no ef- fect, the government of Pennsylvania successfully interfering at all times to prevent it. At length the inhabitants concluded to propose a compromise of their claims, and accordingly sent a memorial to the General Assembly, which was read in March 1787, proposing that in case the Commonwealth would grant them the seventeen Townships which had been laid out, and in which settlements had been commenced previous to the decree at Trenton, they would on their part, relinquish all their claims to any other lands within the limits of the Susque- hanna purchase. These townships were Salem, Newport, Hanover, Wilkesbarre, Pittston, North- moreland, Putnam, Braintrim, Springfield, Claver- ack, Ulster, Exeter, Kingston, Plymouth, Bedford, Huntington and Providence. The towns are rep- resented to be as nearly square as circumstances would permit, and to be about five miles on a side, and severally divided into lots of three hundred acres each, as near as may be, of which one was to be appropriated to the use of the first settled minis- ter of the Gospel in fee-one for the Parsonage- and one for the support of a school -- three to remain as public lots, subject to the future disposition of the Towns -- and the remainder, to be appropriated to purchasers or settlers. In consideration of which arrangement being confirmed by the Assem- bly, the Pennsylvania claimants were to relinquish such lands lying within those Townships, as the
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State had previously granted to them. On the - 25th. of the preceding September, an act had been passed, erecting all that part of Northumberland county, extending from the falls of Nescopeck to the northern boundary of the State, into a separate county, to be called "Luzerne," in honor of the Minister from France, the Chevalier de la Lu- zerne, who had a short time before the passage of the act, returned to Paris. This County included all the Wyoming settlements ; it had been erected at the request of the inhabitants, and furnished an evidence that the measures of the government would in future be less hostile to their peace and security, On the 28th. of March, 1787, an act was passed, complying with the request of the inhabitants in re- lation to their lands. Commissioners were appoint- ed to cause a re-survey of the lots claimed by the respective settlers, and to give them Certificates of the regularity of their claims. These Commission- ers were Timothy Pickering, William Montgome- ry, and Stephen Balliot, Esquires, who proceeded to Wyoming and entered upon the duties of their appointments. Although a very large proportion of the inhabitants resided within the seventeen Townships, yet there were many whose farms were not situated within those limits, and as they were consequently not included among the number of those to whom the law would apply, they made a determined opposition to its execution. Their object appears to have been to contend for the whole territory, or to procure such terms as would satisfy all the inhabitants> A number of those persong-
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having been informed that the Commissioners had arrived, and were about to proceed in executing the law, came down from Wyalusing and that vicinity in the night, and seizing Colonel Pickering, returned with him a prisoner. A company of about fifteen men under the command of Capt. William Ross, pursued the rioters, but as they had conceal- ed themselves in the woods, among the mountains · of Mahoopeny, the place of their retreat was not easily ascertained, particularly as their movements were only in the night ; for during the day they lay concealed to guard their prisoner, who was kept bound to a tree. About the dawn of the day, Capt. Ross' company fell in with a company of the rioters near the mouth of Meshoppen creek, and skirmish ensued, in which Capt. Ross was wound- ed. Col. Myers and Capt. Schotts also proceed- ed, with a portion of the militia, in pursuit of the rioters, whose retreat was at length ascertained, and the party having rescued Col. Pickering, re- turned with him to Wilkesbarre. A sword was af- terwards presented to Capt. Ross, by the Supreme Executive Council, for his gallantry in this affair.
Against the execution of this law, there was also opposed another and more powerful class of citi- zens. These were those persons, principally in- habitants of Pennsylvania, to whom the State had previously sold a great portion of these lands, and who considered, and perhaps very justly, that the Legislature had no authority to deprive them of their lands, with a view to dispose of them again to the claimants under Connecticut, Such was the
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effect of the opposition that the next year the act was suspended, and afterwards entirely repealed. Thus the question of title was again thrown into its former position, and during the ten succeeding years, continued to retard the settlement of the country, and to create continual contention and dis- trust between the respective claimants ; but the sit- uation of the inhabitants of Wyoming was very different from what it had been in the former stages of the controversy. They were represented in the General Assembly by one of their own number, and they were the executors of the laws within their own district. Pennsylvania had adopted a new Constitution, and was governed by a more liberal policy. Petitions were again presented to the Legislature, praying for the passage of another law upon the principles of the one which had been re- pealed, and in April, 1779, an act was passed pro- viding for a final settlement of the controversy, so far as related to the inhabitants of the seventeen Townships. By this act Commissioners were ap- pointed to cause a survey to be made of all the lands claimed by the Connecticut settlers, and which had been assigned to such settlers previous to the decision at Trenton, according to the rules and regulations amongst them. They were also to value the lands -- to divide them into four classes, according to the quality-to make out a certificate for each claimant, specifying the number of acres and the class or quality of the land, and the num- ber of this lot, and to annex to the certificate a draft of the same. The same Commissioners were also
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