Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1854-09-08
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Mr.. FDrroR believing Chat \ I;,,,o oo..
sional sricing Of the early UNPUBLISHED bis-
tory OF our State would be acccrtnfIe IN ,,,ur
readers, by way Of varying the them, tro,n
thc acerbity OF clectionecring politics. fo-.
Wnr1 you the following incident Of the DAYS
OF the revolution. | regret the not heinz
aoie Mt this late day, to fix the precise d,te
IN Whlch 1t occurred, but ~ near n. could
Icarn II was somewhere about tho wear 1---
or l''6 thht solomon Johns, n grand uncle Of
NV writer ol TINS, together with man of
w name OF Bnel, Christian name not nscor-
hlhed,) having somehow made tb,ir oscono
from confinement where thcv have bonn
n'"cod under arrest on suspicion Of bc;pc
favorable to the British cause. made ,Lcir
way TO Ascntncy Mountain on Connecticut
RIVER where they remained concealed for
some time, not however without HAVING
''"',i means 10 arguhlnt some Of the loyali.ts
IN the vicinity with their circum.toncc. and
( th"lr whereabouts. among were tho Suuno,,
III 'Iaremont, y. II. As they could M, Of
course 'ubsist there vithout.ioo it wa. no.
corH,hgIy provided hy on. Of the sumner.
and forwarded by one Marsh, who sun,Iiod
them rs occasion required. 1t wa. not Inns
however ere the circumstance Of Il msn bcirg
seen now and anon carrying something 70,
wards the direction of Ascutncv, excited Tho
suspicion OF sundry sharp eyed Wing, in that
| quarter, who forthwith rallied "A pnr,,. n-n
ceedcd thlthcr, surrounded the monn,ain
discovered Johns, and hi. comrade. md ,not
them prisoners; which thing being accom-.
| pushed, 1t was decided in council To scnd
them under guard to Bennington there IN
await further orders for their disposal from
the military authority there. Th.v var. a..
cordinely started on their way thitber. (rro-
bahly VIA OF the route across the mountain n
Manchester, or perhaps Mount HollvA ,c-
comranled by three or four men as, GUARD
oh arriving west Of the mounta,rs d..
guard whom they quietly .u fered To condrc,
them hther halted in the wood, 10 mes, ,b.r,I
selves awhile. While hating thus. John,
rcsortcd to crafty stratagem 10 effect hi,
escape Accordingly feignins secession to at
tend 30 call OF nature he csutiou.l, sliprcd
over ehe fence where the bushes were thick
enough TO conceal their movement, ,nd a,
silly assisting his friend over to him T,b.
guard having their attention othervi.e occu-
ped, and unsuspicious Of their intsntionA
our refugees, availed themselves of m.
opportunity to make good their escape, in
"hlch they succeeded, putting safe distance
between themselves and pursuit. if indeed
any was attempted, and reached Canada
without mole,tation, where they. or at least
Johns, remained during the rest of his DAYS.
taking up his residence in the vicinity of
hiHSStoh, I. '. " is due 10 the memory of
tins our somewhat then obnoxou, relative,
70 state that 1t was not because he wa. found
IN arms against hi. country nor are W. aware
that he was positively detected in holding
correspondence with the enemy, but because
the over Jealous Whigi,m Of that period could
| not look even on neutrality in any one, with
out suspicion. Any how it is confidently
thought by those who knew him best. that no
never would have left the state, had he been
| let alone.
There Is also another incident, connected
with the history Of the eventful period al
| ludcd to, respecting which had before hip,.d
| in an article copied into the Swanton Herald,
| which is handed down as u tradition. a matter
of fact, which occurred in or near Clarendon
or Iinmouth and which every friend of hu-
mainly however otherwise fayorably he NAV
regard the American cause Of that dav, must
| deeply regret as a stain on the victor. and
on the W hig cause | refer to the shooting
| Of one John Irish by Isaac Clark of Castleton.
said to have been by order of CAPT Ebenczer
| Allen. They. having decoyed him out of his
! house by sending in man under rrctencc Of
| getting him to snow him the way to such a
| place, and got him in n position for the muir
| dcrou. purpose, treacherou.ly shot him down
like an Indian, near hi. own house. 1t is
urged Il. justification Of the dastardly act
! that Irish was a tory, whom they had reason
to suspect was in communication with the
enemy, but that matters not, it was das-
darlly net of assassination which cannot be
defended on any principle of honorable war
fare, and which our Vermont historians by
passing over, or expressing, seem tacitly to
acknowledge.
HI.roRIALA.
HUNTINGTON Aug %, 1854.