Vermont daily transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1868-1870, 1868-09-03
NO. 81.
The BiUCE .SndHe.

An account of notorious smuggling
boat in the time of the embargo of
1908, the seizure of which resulted in
the murder of Ellis Drake, Jonathan
Ormsby and Asa Marsh, and the exc
cution by hanging of Cyrus b. Dean.
Read before the Vermont Historical
Society, at its special meeting at Rut-
land, Aug. goth, 1860, by l.. l.. Dutch
or, A. NJ, ofSt. Adams.
The embargo which was laid upon the
foreign trade of the United States by act
of Congress, passed Dec. 22d, \. u. 1907,
was productive of Wide-sprCadluin and
distress. This measure was deemed in
dispensablc by the President, Mr.. Jcflcr-
son, as a just retaliation for the course
pursued 10y Great Britain, in the seizure
of our vessels, the plundcr of our COM
mercc, and the imprcssment ofour sea-
men. This total annihiation of COM
mcrcc, threatening bankruptcy and
ruin to SO many of the merchants, and
checking at once the flow of produce
from the interior to the seaboard, bore
with peculiar hardship upon the peo-
| pie, and tried their patriotism to the ut
most.
Its effect was to greatly increase jhc
price of foreign commodities, and rem.
der our own nearly valuelcss. There
being no outlet to the latter, they accu
mulatcd in the market, and often could
not be sold for sum sufficient to pay
for the cost of transportation. Foreign
goods, particularly the staples, which
the people had come to consider as
among the ncccssarcs of life, being shut
out entirely, prices soon rose to such n
| height that those in moderate circum-
stances found themselves Obliged to dis
pense with them altogether. AS might
be expected, there arose tcmpcstuous
opposition TO tho embargo in all parts
of the country. a portion ofthc people,
at least, seemed to overlook and to palli-
ate the gross insults Of England, which
caused the enactment of the law. They
seemed to forget the loss Of one thous-
and merchant ships and the imprison-
ment of six thousand of our seamen.
Under the tremendous pressure with
which the embargo bore upon the peo-
pie, the opposition to President Jctler-
sons policy became in New England
exceedingly bold and fierce. The Fed
eral newspapers tccmcd with articles
most inflammatOry i'll their character,
and Mr.. jefferson and his cabinet were
denounced in acrimonious editorials,
and lampooned in doggcrel verse. 4
specimen of the latter to the tune of
Yankee Doodle, commenced as follows:
Brother Nathan's nation mad,
| think as how he's right, srs
Mammals sick, and sisters sad,
And Is right hot to fight, sirs
Further on we are let into the cause
of the difficulty:
''tor I've no 'lasscs for to eat
Along with pumpkin pie sirs'
The verses close with some very flip
pant advice to President Jefferson;
''Now Tom take off the embargo soon
And Nate and will thank yc."
Among the interests of the country
which were called to their full share Of
suffering was that Of the manufacture of
ashes. This was indeed a humble ard
limited branch of industry, but one of
great importance to the newly settled
timber region of Northern Vermont
Many of the towns might fairly be said
to be receiving only their first popula-
ton. The settlers, like the pioneers of
all new countries brought but little
with them. Their own strong arms were
their main reliance. AS soon as cabin
had been erected to shelter their families
they commenced the clearing away Of
the forest and the opening up of the
fields from which to obtain subsistence.
The tall and stately trees fell before the
repeated strokes of the axe, they were
cut into convenient lengths, rolled into
heaps and consumed to ashes. These
were cttIclully SuNcti, conveyed w VIC
nearest store and exchanged for pro-
visions and necessary articles Many
settlers in remote places far into the
wilderness, found it eXpedient to work
their ashes into black salts, thus light
ening the labor Of transportation. IN
this form they were conveyed distances
Of ten or twenty miles to Il market. In
some instances, where settlers were too
poor to own Il team, they have been
known to take a bag Of salts upon their
back to the nearest store. 1t was tOrtu-
nate for these hardy pioneers that pot
ashes, during all this time, brought u
remunerativc price in the not remote
market of Montreal. While awaiting
the growth Of their first crops, serious
Inconvenience and probably much actu-
al suffering would have ensucd but for
this. The little stores in the country
towns each had its ashcry, and all were
eager to purchase. Upon the sales of
their pot and pearl ashes in Montreal
they depended almost entirely for the
means of remittance to their creditors in
the American cities. SO important was
this traffic that in most of the interior
towns Of Vermont, during the greater
portion of the year, not Il dollar in mon
ey could be raised, except from the sale
Of ashes Without this, goods or pro-
visions could not have been imported,
taxes could not have been collected and
the country must have been greatly i'm
peded in its advance and prosperity. The
embargo, therefore, inflicted upon this
interest destructive blow. The mer-