The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-08-07

Allen, a young Iron monger of Con
necticut, who came TO the grants
prospecting, but soon made the cause
OF the unjustly treated settlers his
own. Appearing before the court In
Albany with skilled at
ltorneys in some OF the ejectment
suits growing out of New York
claims, with all the necessary docu
ments, he soon found that there was
no redress on the basis of common
justice and having told them "the
gods Of the valleys are not as the
gods OF the hills" returned to Ben
nington and reported his lack of sue
cess to the anxious settlers. The
matter was taken up by these settlers
in their own original way. They
passed resolutions of independence
and selfprotection and put their case
In the hands of q committee of safe
ty, with power backed by a military
Organization with equal power, over
which they placed Ethan Allen as
commander. He allied with himself
bold spirits who sought by terroriz
ing the Representatives of land specu
lators to retain the independently, the
convention had voted. Those were
days that have Deen likened to the
outlaw days OF Robin Hood and his
merrie band. for most of the leading
actors were outlawed and a price sci
on their heads by so-called outraged
justice at Albany. The band was
called The Bennington Mob" and
their methods it must be confessed
were consonant rather with those
rough times than with usages of our
day.
One OF the exciting episodes grow
ing out OF this boundary warfare, was
the rescue OF Remember Baker, on
whose head price had been set by
the colonial government OF New
York. Some Representatives OF that
authority having brutally taken him
from his home, word was at once
passed to these defenders of the
grants, who mounting their horses
reached the ferry over the Hudson
before his captors and brought him
back In triumph. "Ducking," 1.-The
Beech Seal" and Viewing" which
seems to have consisted in exposure
TO ridicule, as In the case of one
Dntchman who was hung aloft in a
chair at the site of the catamount, an
object of derisiOn for all passersby
were some OF the original methods
used to deter would be New York
claimants from pursuing their claims
any further, or Others from speaking
disrespectfully of the conventions and
their laws, OF these intrepid settlers
This band OF men were ready when
the capture of TicondeToga was sug.
gested TO Ethan Allen and
Seth Warner on that expedition as
did some OF them later on Aliens i'll
starred expedition to Montreal Or.
ganized now under the sanction OF a
vote OF Congress and the leadership
of their chosen Seth Warner, they
gave good account of themselves al
Hubbardton and Bennington when
later they were called into the field
by the exigencies OF our borders, due
to the invasion of Burgoyne. 1t was
this that brought General John Stark
from his farm across the mountains.
= Ethan Aliens Green Mountain Boys
called The Bennington Mob
Ethan Allen--Judge Il. H. Holden
Seth Warner-Harry Sharp.
James Breckenridge-E c. Bennett
Robert Cochrane-George yelling
Peleg Sunderland-George Worth
ington.
Sylyanus Brown-William Myers.
James Smith--William HOLSTER
Elijah Dewey-William Lundergan
Gideon Warner-Mr. Vail.
Stephen Fay--Lester Vail.
Aaron Hubbell-W. T. White.
Samuel Atwood-Luther Graves