Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-01-22
4 College FracaS.

On Friday evening, the 10th, three boys
of Amherst, Mass. Elbridge Cook, Ed
wark Spear, and Timothy Deady, and three
students of the Agricultural College, ChaS.
Rowland, Lemuel Hall, and Geo. Graves,
made a most dastardly attack in the Agri-
cultural College dormitory upon Clarence
F. Brown, both member and janitor of
the institution. 1t appears that Cook was
Il member of the College for about three
weeks, when he was removed by the fac
ulty for general inefhciency. For an un-
founded reason, Cook suspected Brown had
reported him to the President. and on this
account, when under the influence of
liquor, had made severe threats against
Brown. The object of the attack was GER
tainly to frighten Brown, if not horsewhip
him, as two rawhides were found in the de-
bris after the unsuccessful attack The
plan was to induce Brown to open his door.
when the whole party were to rush in anG
administer the punishment.
TO this end the whole party quietly went
up stairs. and one of them knocked at
Browns door under pretence of finding
some person in the building. Brown was
in bed and refused admission to the outside
party. Very soon he overheard whisper
ing outside, and then suspected party of
drunken rowdieS. They went into the rear
room, and gaining access TO his bedroom
ventilator, broke all the glass, but left it
when they were unable to open it After
this they again kicked and knocked at the
door, but he again refused them admission
and ordered them to leave Then, by
81 oil L. 10
and the door thrown Open At this Brown
stepped to the door and threw at the
crowd (who were disguised in old clothes.
moustaches and cork blacking) a stove
wrench or handle, and closed the door on
them, when the whole party were driven
into an adjoining room. This action only
increased their attack, as they now felt
sure he had no pistol, which they feared
before The door was now kicked opened
again and broken, when Brown threw his
stove poker at the party and stepped out of
his door TO disperse the crowd, at which he
was struck and seized by three on one side
of him, and one on another, who soon
brought him TO the floor al the bottom of
the pile The only other weapon he had
was a small cabinet t-maker's chisel. one
slashed with a nervous violence right and
left, until he had stabbed Rowland four
times, Hall three times. Cook once,
Deadly once, and Graves once. This dis
persed the party the second time, and as
Graves was turning to 90 down stairs, ten
feet from where he was stabbed, he slipped,
and brought his head to the fiocr with such
violence that he has been in an unconscious
state nearly all the time since, and now
lies in a critical conltion The other par
ties are all doing we'll
Young Brown is student of excellent
character, from Florence Northampton,
and no blame is attached to him for his
conduct in this affair by President Clarke
or any of the citizens of Amherst 1t
ought also to be stated that, sometime in
the melee, Brown declared to any Of the
party that if they crossed his threshold
they were dead men, and also that, accord
ing TO the best of his recollection, most of
his stabs were made when down upon the
floor, and so choked that he could neither
speak nor breathe. How much influence
liquor had TO do with the matter is as yet
uncertain, save that one of the party show
ed evidences of having used it within a
short time.