The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1895-11-01
THE REFoRMER: BRATTLEBoRo w. FRIDAY NOVEMBER 1895

seemed to imply that the prosecution
: OF the prisoner was got up for privat
purposes; and think have heard O
Secretary Brush az coupled with tn
: affair. Now, who is the alleged muir
derer and where and when was til
crime committed?
1.-THE fellow passes by the name o
Herriot, though it is suspected tina
this is not his true name, Responded
the sheriff. ''The crime was commit
ted at Albany, several years ago
when he killed, or MORALLY wounded
an intimate friend Of Mr.. Brush.
Under what circumstances?
why, from what have gathered
l should think the story might b.
something like this: that, some tim,
previous to the murder, this Herrio
had come to Albany, got into compan.
above his true place, dashed away !
while in high life, gambled deeply
and, losing all his own money, ant
running up large debt to this, ano
other friends of Brush, gave them hi!
obligations and absconded. But com
ing there again, for some purpose
year or two after, with large sun
of money, it was thought, which hat
been left or given him by rich
Spaniard, whose life he had saved, OF
something of the kind, those whom he
owed beset him to pay them, or play
again. But he refused to play, pre-
tending to have become picus, and
also held back about paying up his
old debts. Their debts, however, they
determined to have, and went to him
for that purpose; when an ARRAY arose,
and one of them was killed by Herriot,
who escaped, and fed, it seems, tc
this section of the country, where he
kept himself secluded in some hut in
the mountains, occasionally appearing
abroad to preach religion and rebellion
to the people, by which means he
was discovered, arrested. ard impris.
oned in Westminster jail where he
awaits his trial at the coming term OF
the court And l presume he will be
convicted and hung, unless he makes
friends with Brush to intercede for a
pardon. which he probably might do,
il the fellow would disgorge enough n
his hidden treasures to pay his debts
and cease disaffecting the people,
which is treason and hanging matter
of itself, for which he. and fifty others
in this quarter, ought, in justice, to be
dealt with without benefit of the
clergy. What say you, Squire Havi-
land?"
~ agree with you fully" replied
the squire. but to return to Judge
Chandler's communication what steps
have you taken, if any, in order to
sustain the court in the threatened
emergency"
"Why, just the steps that Chandler
knew | should take-sent off one
messenger to Brush, there on the
ground at Westminster another to
Rogers, of Kent: 90 and yet another to
trusty friend in Guilford, requesting
each to be on, with small band of
resolute fellows; while l whipped over
to Newfane myself, fixed matters there,
and came round to Bennington to en-
list David Redding. t6) and friend or
last night, though was compelled to
leave them my sleighs and horses to
bring them over, which accounts for
my begging passage with you. So,
you see, that if this beggary rabble
offer to make any disturbance, | shall
be prepared to teach them the cost of
attempting to put down the kings
court. T"
"Things are getting to strange pass
among these deuded people, that is
certain. | cannot, however, yet be-
ieve them so infatuated as to take this
step. But if they should, decided
measures should be taken-such, in
deed, as shall silence this alarming
spirit at once and forever
81 hope +" observed Miss Haviland,
who had been a silent but attentive
listener to the dialogue, 81 hope no
violence is really intended, either on
the part Of the authorities or their
opponents. But what do these people
complain of? There must be some
cause, by which they, at least, think
themselves justified in the movement,
surely. Do they consider themselves
aggrieved by any past decisions of the
COURT"
80, there are grumblers enough,
doubtless, in that respect" answered
the sheriff. "And among other things,
they complain that their property is
taken and sold to pay their honest
debts, when money is so scarce, they
say, that they cannot pay their credi
tors in currency-just as if the court
could make money for idle knayes CT
But that is mere pretence. They have
other motives, and those, too, of more
dangerous character to the public
peace "
"And what may those motives be, if |
it be proper for me to inquire, sir?"
resumed the fair. questioner.
"Why, in the first place, replied the
sheriff, "they have an old and invet
crate grudge against New York, whose
jurisdiction they are much predisposed |
to resist. But to this they might
have continued to demur and submit,
as they have done this side of the
had New York adopted the
resolves of the Continental Congress of
last December, and come into the
Association, as it is called, ~
"a Cream Brush. who came to Westmir ster
In I'LL. was one of the remarkable men of those
troubles, his part in them and in the revolution
and his fate finally were all remarkable as were |
his family and their previous and subsequent
careers all of which will be treated fully in a
note at later part of the story.
10 Now Londonderry, Col. James Rogers,
the man alluded to, was one of the leaders II
his section for several years but appears to
have been of strangely wavering principles. and
finally became TORY and fed the country. He
was a member of the Westminster convention of
Feb. Z, rs, to look out for the cause of the set
Tiers and express sympathy with the friends of
liberty In other colonies in the growing resist
ance TO Great Britain. He was in 1866 an assist
ant Justice of Common Pleas for Cumberland
county (Which included what Is practically now
Windham and Windsor counties,) and before
that was one of the 81 justices of the peace com.
ad Inv w n |