ley was said to have been contrived by the Deity with the
express object of punishing these trespassers. But the cruelty of the
Pennsylvania legislature was not confined to words. A scheme was devised
for driving out the settlers and partitioning their lands among a
company of speculators. A force of militia was sent to Wyoming,
commanded by a truculent creature named Patterson. The ostensible
purpose was to assist in restoring order in the valley, but the
behaviour of the soldiers was such as would have disgraced a horde of
barbarians. They stole what they could find, dealt out blows to the men
and insults to the women, until their violence was met with violence in
return. Then Patterson sent a letter to President Dickinson, accusing
the farmers of sedition, and hinting that extreme measures were
necessary. Having thus, as he thought, prepared the way, he attacked the
settlement, turned some five hundred people out-of-doors, and burned
their houses to the ground. The wretched victims, many of them tender
women, or infirm old men, or little children, were driven into the
wilderness at the point of the bayonet, and told to find their way to
Connecticut without further delay. Heartrending scenes ensued. Many died
of exhaustion, or furnished food for wolves. But this was more than the
Pennsylvania legislature had intended. Patterson's zeal had carried him
too far. He was recalled, and the sheriff of Northumberland County was
sent, with a posse of men, to protect the settlers. Patterson disobeyed,
however, and withdrawing his men to a fortified lair in the mountains,
kept up a guerilla warfare. All the Connecticut men in the neighbouring
country flew to arms. Men were killed on both sides, and presently
Patterson was besieged. A regiment of soldiers was then sent from
Philadelphia, under Colonel Armstrong, who had formerly been on Gates's
staff, the author of the incendiary Newburgh address. On arriving in the
valley, Armstrong held a parley with the Connecticut men, and persuaded
them to lay down their arms; assuring them on his honour that they
should meet with no ill treatment, and that their enemy, Patterson,
should be disarmed also. Having thus fallen into this soldier's
clutches, they were forthwith treated as prisoners. Seventy-six of them
were handcuffed and sent under guard, some to Easton and some to
Northumberland, where they were thrown into jail.

Great was the indignation in New England when these deeds were he