Page:History of Delaware County (1856).djvu/299

DELAWARE COUNTY. 275 perty I would ^ go home feet foremost in a wagon/ To this one of the spectators responded, ^ that's the talk/ A pail of whiskey was brought from the house of Mr. Earle, and carried along the line, from which they drank. A horn was blown, and some accession was made to their ranks. I remained in the same position about half an hour, during which time I was blackguarded and my life repeatedly threatened, to which I made very little or no reply. Officers Steele and Edgerton then came in sight, and rode up on horseback about two o'clock. The Indians then marched forward against the stone wall on the north side of the road, and about-faced. The sheriff then announced that he would proceed with the sale, and that he would go down and drive up the property, and proceeded with one or two citizens into the pasture lot for that purpose. After he had gone fifteen or twenty rods, the chief called for twelve volunteers to accompany him to see that the property was not sold down in the lot, that he might sell it down there, and that they must prevent it. The property was driven by the sheriff with some diffi- culty up near the bars, where the Indians prevented him from driving the property into the road. The line of Indians by the stone wall, then marched through the bars into the lot and formed a hollow square around the bars, enclosing the property and the sheriff; Steele, Edgerton and myself, took our position by the bars, and Steele told me to stand between him and Edgerton, and they would protect me. Considerable conversation then took place in regard to driving the pro- perty into the road. A Mr. Brisbane, an anti-rent lecturer, wanted to know what right we had to drive the property into the road : I told him we had a right to sell it any where on the premises, and we wanted it in the road for the convenience of the bidders. Something was then said about the notice of sale on the barn, when Steele and Edgerton rode down to read it ; at this time ten or fifteen of the Indians ran from the lot,