The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-03-12
CANADIAN RAIDS
ARE RECALLED.
Forgotten Chapter Of History
Brought to Mind by the
Present Situation.

IL been taken seriously, but In the
dominion there has been unmIstakable
excitement In certain governmental
quarters, and In towns near the line
tho Inhabitants have been stirred UP
over reports. The very vaguencss OF
the reports that have circulated among
the people OF Canadian border towns
has added to their apprehensivcness
In Official circles 1t has been thought
wise to announce that elaborate steps
have been taken by the dominion gov
crnment to guard the frontier, says
the Philadelphia Evening Ledger.
Some OF the newspapers Of Mon
treal. Ottawa and Toronto, however,
refuse to be comforted by official as
surances OF preparedness and Of the
small likelihood of an invasion. 1T
Is nonsense for people to poohpo0h
such an idea." declares one Of them,
land say that no invasion in force
would ever be attempted" They re-
call the Fenian raids of the late sixties
and early seventies, and ask If Ger
man raids are to be considered out
OF the question in the face Of such a
lesson.
The neutral observer, as well as
the Canadian himself, recalls the in
vasion Of the Fenians, which project
ed itself into an international situa-
ton already somewhat strained, but
fell fat after few III organized and
unsuccessful raids. There was great
excitement in the border towns. both
in Canada and the United States, how
ever, rising and subsiding with raids
and rumors of raids through a period
Of several years.
The Fenian society was political
association of Irish and Irlsh-Ameri-
cans, the object of which was the
overthrow of English authority in Ire
land and the establishment OF re-
public there. The plans for both the
Irish and American organization were
drawn in Paris in 1S48 by band OF
revolutionary exiles. The society, Us
whole, bore the name of the Irish
Revolutionary Brotherhood R. B.
for Shorthand the name Of Fenian ap-
piled at first only to the American or
ganizatlon, though the title was after
ward popularity applied to the Euro
pean groups. The American organ-
lzer. John O'Mahoney. was a student
of old Irish lore, and gave the name
Fenian to the society. He derived 1t
from Fionna Eirinn. am ancient mill
itary organization which existed in
ireland, taking its name from Finn,
the celebrated hero of Irish legend.
The American society was headed
by O'Mahoney at first, but afterward
by James Stephens. who escaped to
this country when the British govern
ment suddenly suspended the habeas
corpus act In an effort to round up
the leaders of the brotherhood. The
organization here consisted of the
head center, or general manager, who
commissioned state centers, who in
their turn commissioned district CEN
tiers, by whom local societies, called
circles, were organized. The MEM
bers, many OF them, saw service in
the Civil war, and the leaders felt
at the conclusion OF the conflict that
their men were prepared to fight for
Ireland. The first attack on Canada
was made in 1866. Ten thousand men
were moved toward the border in
northern New York and New England,
but, owing to lack of definite plans
and to poor organization, only 500
men crossed the line. These were re-
pulsed by the Canadian militia. A
few other raids followed, but each
ended in early failure.
1t was an opera bouffe war, so TO
speak, but it created CONSERVATION
and long lasting state Of apprehen-
siveness among the people who lived
on the farms and in the villages In
the northern part of Vermont and
New York. Many communities formed
companies of home guards" on the
principle of safety first" At one
village, at the height Of the excite
ment, sentinels were stationed all
about the outskirts. The captain OF
the guards. thinking to test the mettle
OF his men. once went outside the
village, returning in disguise. In a
covered bridge two sentlnels had been
placed, both of them about is or 10
years old.
The captain approached as suspi-
ciously US possible. He was chal-
lenged and gave an evasive reply. One
OF the boys took to cover. The other
stuck his rifle in the captains face
and told him to move on. The captain
tried to explain. Not word was per-
mltted to pass his lips. Finally he
marched into the company's headquar-
ters-the old town hall-where he coll
lapsed in a chair, the perspiration
running down his face and his body
shaking from the fright the boy had
given him all the way up from the
bridge. This was the chief event in
that town during the period OF the
Fenian raids, and 1t hasn't been for
gotten yet.
At another time a company OF
Canadian militia was encamped near
the border. A small scouting party
was returning to camp Just as the
night was falling. A dark, indistinct
figure was moving slowly and furtive-
ly across a field. The soldiers called
out challenge. but there was no re-
Spouse. They fired into the air, but
the only effect was to accelerate the
speed OF the moving figure. Another
shot and the runaway halted and
crumpled to the ground. The SOL
dlers ran up and found that they had
killed an old deaf woman, whose home
was on a nearby farm. That was one