The convention.
Edwards was brought to trial on the
charge of leading an armed invasion of New Hampshire.
He declared that he alone was responsible
for the foray, and doubtless his statement was a true
one, though Allen did not believe it.
The district court condemned Edwards
to death by hanging, for his act was one of high treason,
and the sentence was sure to be confirmed by the king,
to whom it had to be sent.
When Gov. Tryon heard of the
fight and the capture of Edwards, and his subsequent
trial and sentence, he resolved on two things.
He would bring all the pressure to bear on the king
that he could to prevent the sentence being confirmed,
and he would capture Allen and his friends, no matter
what the consequences might be.
A proclamation was printed and sent
through all the grants, in which the governor of New
York offered a reward of one hundred and fifty pounds
sterling for the capture of Ethan Allen, dead or alive,
and a further sum of fifty pounds each for the bodies,
dead or alive, of Seth Warner, Remember Baker, Sylvanus
Brown, Robert Cochrane, Peleg Sunderland, James Breakenridge
and John Smith.
When the proclamation had been well
discussed the people got another sensation in a counter
proclamation, signed by Ethan Allen on behalf of the
mountaineers, offering two hundred pounds for the capture
of the attorney-general of New York.
Both proclamations started out with
a command to the parties named to surrender themselves
within thirty days under pain of the forfeiture of
all their property, of conviction of felony and sentence
of death without benefit of clergy.
These proclamations placed the two
sections on a war footing, and Ethan saw that it was
necessary to organize on a larger scale than had been
done.
He consulted his trusty friend, Seth
Warner, and as a result a convention was called at
Bennington.
“It is no use calling on New
Hampshire to aid us. We must rely on ourselves,”
Allen told all with whom he came in contact.
A larger number gathered at the convention
than he expected, and his heart was full of joy.
He was the more pleased that he had
called the men together, when, on the very morning
of the gathering, he received a notice from Concord
that the king had forbidden the colony to take an active
part against New York in the matter of the grants.
In other words it meant that the king
would protect New York and oppose all claims of New
Hampshire to the lands.
“Men of the mountains,”
Allen commenced, “we are met to form laws to
protect ourselves and our property. We must rely
on ourselves alone. I think that the time has
come when we should declare ourselves independent
of any colony, and apply to the king for a charter.”
“Good!”
“That is talk of the right kind.”
“Why cannot we have our own laws, our own governor
and our own army?”
“You are rather previous, Sunderland.”
“Not a bit of it. I say
that the king has never done anything for us, and
New Hampshire has betrayed us into the hands of the
Yorkers.”
“We will call ourselves the Green Mountain Colony.”
“I think, if you will let me
suggest, that if we are going to have a new name it
should be a pretty one.”
“Is not the Green Mountain Colony pretty?”
“Yes; but I have thought that
Vermont ;it means Green Mountains ;would
sound good.”
“Nothing could be better,”
assented Allen, “so we will commence our deliberations
with the declaration: ’We, the men of Vermont,
in convention assembled’; that will place our
name above controversy.”
“I propose that Ethan Allen be our governor.”
“Stay, that will never do.
The king must appoint a governor, so we can only
declare our desire to be independent of New Hampshire,
and until the king accepts our independence we must
nominally recognize Gov. Wentworth as our governor.”
It is not our purpose to give the
proceeding of that convention in extenso, but
this much we have given, in order that the whole country
may know that the sturdy mountain boys talked of independence
and liberty with spirit even before the Revolution
began.
Warner stood on a chair and waved
his hand for attention.
“I have heard,” he said,
“that Gen. Gates is pressing the people of Boston
so hard that the English are getting themselves disliked
in that city, and I should not be surprised if a rebellion
was talked of.”
“The sooner the better, say I.”
“Yes; why should England govern us?”
“We are too far away. The king ;”
“Leave his name out of the question.
We can be loyal to him, even if we become independent
as a new nation.”
“We want no kings ;”
“Silence!” shouted Allen; “I will
not listen to treason to the king.”
Warner continued:
“If the people of Boston talk
of rebellion, so will the people of New Hampshire,
and we Green ;I beg pardon, Vermonters ;we,
too, can govern ourselves. Then, when two or
three colonies show some spirit, New York will have
to tackle us all, instead of a few mountaineers.”
“That is for the future, Capt.
Warner; what we have to think of is, are we going
to protect our farms?”
“Ay, to the death!”
The sentiment was the occasion for
such cheering as Bennington had never heard before.
“We will hold our lands, even
if every man has to carry a musket when he plows the
ground or sows the seed or reaps the harvest.”
“Good for you, Warner!
Now, then, let us have a good militia.”
Every man present enrolled his name
on the list, and a very excellent start was made to
form an army to defend the farms.
The district was divided into two
parts, the northern part of the New Hampshire grants
being under the command of Allen, the southern under
the guidance of Warner.
Rules were laid down for the guidance
of the mountaineers, and as good a system of government
was inaugurated as existed in New Hampshire itself.
The strongest contingent of militia
was sent with Allen to the north, for it was thought
that the next attempt of New York would come from
the Champlain section instead of Albany.
Everywhere Ethan Allan was received with open arms.
The farmers had reclaimed the lands
from the mountain sides, and made them fruitful, and
it was extremely hard that they should be turned from
their farms without receiving compensation.
Resistance was popular, and the men
who had taken the lead in organizing the farmers were
looked upon as heroes.
Allen had taken Eben with him, and
the young lad was the most useful member of his staff.
Eben had all the faithfulness of a
hound, with the sagacity of a trained scout.
He was invaluable.
In some of the districts it was necessary
to conceal their identity, for until the sentiment
of the people was known treachery might be expected.
The reward offered for Allen was a
large one for those days, and was a great temptation
to the poor, struggling farmers.
So the leader had to be on the alert
all the time, and Eben proved his usefulness by finding
out all about the men before Allen made himself known.
The Green Mountain Boys camped on
the shore of Lake Dunmore, and made the place their
headquarters for the district.
Eben was returning to the camp one
night when he was accosted by a lad about his own
age.
“You’re a stranger about here, eh?”
said the lad.
“Yes; just looking about.”
“Oh, from New York?”
“No, I come from New Hampshire.”
“So did I. I used to live in Concord.
Ever in Concord?”
“Many times,” answered Eben.
“Then we ought to be friends. Looking
for work?”
“Partly. My folks want
a good grant somewhere, and I’m looking about
for one.”
“There aren’t many good
places now; most have been taken. They do say
that a man called Ethan Allen is round stirring up
the people so that he may get them their lands free.”
“So I have heard.”
“But some say that he wants the lands for himself.”
“How is that?” asked Eben, innocently.
“Why, I have heard a man say ;he
came from Fort Ticonderoga ;that if Allen
can get his way there will be a fight. Then he
will surrender and will recognize York, and as a reward
will get the best farms.”
“It’s a ;”
Eben was about to give the boy a piece
of his mind, but checked himself in time.
“It’s a what?” asked the lad.
“Very unlikely story, I was about to say, but
thought that I would not.”
“Why?”
“Because a man who would think
such a thing about Col. Allen is not worth contradicting.”
“Oh, that is it. So you believe in this
man, Allen?”
“I do.”
“So does father. He says
that he will stick by him as long as he has a hand
to hold a gun.”
“What is your father’s name?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Only he might help me to find
a good piece of farm land which I could get by applying.”
“So he might. Well, my
father is Ezekiel Garvan ;Old Zeke, they
call him round about. Glad to see you when you
are near. See, that is our house over yon, where
the smoke is rising up from among the trees.”
“And what is your name?” asked Eben.
“I am called Zeb; it is short for Zebedee.
What is your name?”
Incautiously he answered, truthfully:
“Ebenezer Pike is my name.”
The boys separated, and Eben returned
to the camp, feeling pleased with himself to think
he had found a good friend, as he never doubted old
Zeke would be.
Zeb stood watching Eben for a time, and then he too
returned home.
“My old dad used to blame me
for listening, and used to say that little pitchers
had big ears, when anyone was there, just to prevent
them talking, but the big ears will be useful now,
or I am not fit to be my father’s son.”