to the northward, to escape into the state of New York. On their way, as they reached Wysock's Creek, they encountered a party of militia, under the command of Capt. Rosewell Franklin, and exchanged some shots. Joseph Dudley was very badly wounded. The others escaped. Dudley was put into a canoe, and brought down to Wilkesbarre, a distance of perhaps sixty or seventy miles. The doctor who was sent for, had no medicine. I had a small box of medicines which had been put up under the care of my friend Dr. Rush. Of these, upon application of the physician, I furnished all he desired. But Dudley survived only two or three days. On his death, his friends sent to your mother, to beg a winding sheet-which she gave them.

"In the autumn, a court of Oyer and Terminer was held at Wilkesbarre, by M'Kean, Chief Justice, and Judge Rush. A number of the villains had been arrested-were tried and convicted-fined and imprisoned in different sums, and for different lengths of time, according to the aggravation of their offence. The poor creatures had no money to pay their fines, and the new jail at Wilkesbarre was so insufficient, that all of them made their escape excepting Stephen Jenkins, brother to Major John Jenkins. Stephen was not in arms with the party; but was concerned in the plot. He might have escaped from the jail with the others, but chose to stay; and in consequence received a pardon, after about two months confinement.

"John Franklin, so often mentioned, having been indicted on the charge of treason, for which he had been arrested, remained a good while in jail. At length he was liberated on giving bond with a large penalty; and finally all opposition to the government in Luzerne county, ceasing, he was fully discharged. The people of the county afterwards chose him to represent them in the State legislature, where, in the House of Representatives he sat, I believe for several years. During this period, chance, once or twice, threw him in my way. He was very civil, and I returned his civilities."

Immediately on the abduction of Col. Pickering being known, vigorous measures were adopted for his rescue. Four companies of militia were ordered out. That of Wilkesbarre, under the command of Capt. William Ross. A troop of horse, commanded by Capt. John Paul Schott. The Hanover boys, Capt. Rosewell Franklin, and a company from Kingston, under Maj. Lawrence Myers, the whole military moving by direction of the civil authority, as part of the posse comitatus, directed by Lord Butler, Esq., the high sheriff of the county. What a change! "Circumstances alter cases." Capt.

Ross and Sheriff Butler, as violators of the law at Laurel Hill, sent in irons to Easton, were now the effectual vindicators of the violated laws. At Osterhout's, a few miles above Keeler's ferry, they made a halt to take refreshments; when a guard of two or three men, placed by the river side, observed a boat with three persons on board, to push out suddenly as in haste from beneath a bunch of willows. Refusing to answer, a shot was fired, and they changed their course. Another bullet struck near, when two men threw themselves into the river, and swam to the opposite shore, while a boy hove the canoe about and surrendered. "Who are you, and who were those in the canoe?" inquired Sheriff Butler, who had come down to the spot. "None of your-business," said the boy, with great apparent indignation. "Tell us who you are, and where you are going?" "I won't-you are all a pack of rascals not to let honest men go to mill in their own boat, but they must be shot at as if they were wolves." Finding they could get no information from the fellow, amused with the spirit displayed, and respecting his faithfulness to his friends, Mr. Butler took him to the house, gave him a good dinner, and then told him to go tell "the boys," the whole country was in arms against them, and they had better give up Col. Pickering. The story of young Hillman, for that was his name, may as well be concluded here. He was arraigned with others, and it was in proof that he was for some time one of Pickering's guard. When Chief Justice M'Kean was about to pass sentence, Col. P. with great magnanimity rose and said: "The boy had evidently been misled by older persons. That though in error, the spirit and faithfulness exhibited, in what he probably thought was right, showed that he was no ordinary character. He might yet under better advisement become a useful member of the community, and it was his desire that the lad should receive as mild a punishment as the law would admit." Of course Hillman was permitted to escape under a very mitigated sentence. We have sought to learn his subsequent fate, but he is lost to us.

The company of Capt. Ross, in ascending the east bank of the Susquehanna, encountered near Meshoppen, a party of the wild Yankees, under the lead of Gideon Dudley. An action ensued, in which Capt. Ross received a severe wound in the body, the ball passing through him, lodged in the skin of the opposite side, from which it was some time after extracted. He was removed with all possible care to Wilkesbarre, where he slowly recovered. A ball struck Dudley in the wrist, when his party retreated.

Finding, from the inflexible fortitude of their prisoner, that he could not be induced to write to obtain the release of Franklin, that being their sole object, and cherishing no feelings of malice or revenge against him, Col. Pickering was liberated as detailed in his narrative.

Joseph Dudley, of whom he speaks, was subsequently wounded in an encounter with Rosewell Franklin's men near Wysox. From the first it was supposed the wound must prove mortal, as the gall issued therefrom; but in hope of relief, he was placed in a canoe, and brought to Wilkesbarre, where he in a few days died. A fine formed, generous natured, brave young man of twenty-four, his death was regretted by friend and foe.

Col. Pickering being at liberty, immediate measures were taken to vindicate the authority of the laws, by the arrest, trial and punishment of the rioters.

Col. Franklin was still detained a prisoner in the Philadelphia jail. After remaining in prison six months, being closely confined in a rear apartment, and excluded from society, maintaining himself, for he was not apprised that any provision had been made by Government for his subsistence, although he might have claimed the usual jail allowance; suffering from a protracted fever, as well as by confinement so uncongenial to health, and so irksome to an active mind, the iron will and the iron frame of this "hero of Wyoming" began to give way, and in April he petitioned the Justices of the Supreme Court that he might be liberated on finding bail that should be deemed sufficient. Assurances were given him that if he would obtain securities in the sum of two thousand pounds, he should have his liberty. Josiah Rogers, Jonah Rogers, Christopher Hurlbut, John Hurlbut, Nathan Carey, John Jenkins, Hezekiah Roberts, Benjamin Harvey, Daniel Gore, Samuel Ayres, and Jonathan Corey, were named by Col. Franklin, any or all of whom would become pledged for his good behaviour, and appearance at the time of trial. But delays were interposed. Perhaps the spirit that prevailed in respect to himself and his adherents, may best be exemplified by an interview held between him, and a member of the Supreme Executive Council, who visited him in prison. Col. F. in June, had been allowed the indulgence of coming to the front of the jail, and receiving such company as the keeper deemed it prudent to admit. On the 8th of that month, a member of Council called. Col. Franklin urged the injustice and cruelty of longer confinement, and earnestly desired that he might be admitted to bail. The Hon. Counsellor replied,

that the bail offered was insufficient. That no ten of the Wyoming settlers were worth two hundred pounds, much less two thousand— that the whole of them were a pack of thieves from Connecticut, who had robbed others of their property, and now presumed to call it their own."

Strong must be the frame and stout the spirit, that more than a year's close confinement would not subdue. Accustomed to the morning breeze upon the mountain; to strike down the noble buck with his trusty rifle, or arrest in full spring the flying doe: drinking from pure springs at their fountains, joining in the labours and the carols of the joyous harvest, the loss of these exhilerating pleasures must have rendered his prison walls dreary as desolation itself. As the letter of Col. Franklin, declaring "I was fully determined to return to Wyoming, and to use my influence in quelling the disturbances," &c., was regarded as an honorable surrender and pledge, we publish it entire, except the omission of a few lines contained in a preceding page. PRISON, Philadelphia, Sept. 17, 1788.

GENTLEMEN:

66

You will please to pardon me, while I address you upon a subject that most nearly concerns me-the subject to which I relate in my petition, lately presented to your Honourable House, and which is referred to you, to inquire into, and report thereon.

The notice taken of me in this my unhappy situation, and the opportunity I had yesterday with Doctor Logan, who was pleased to honour me with a visit on the subject of my petition, demand my grateful acknowledgments. But, as some matters have since occurred more fully to my memory, you will permit me to lay before you a state of facts, which I would wish to do only for information.

The Honourable Justices of the Supreme Court, on the 16th of April, agreed to admit me to bail, upon my entering into a recognizance with two good securities, in a sum therein required, as stated more fully in my petition. I obtained a certificate accordingly from the Clerk of the said Court, after which I addressed his Honour the Chief Justice in a letter, stating the difficulty which would probably take place in procuring any two persons at Luzerne to be my bail, who would be adjudged equal to the sum required, and requested that four or more persons might be taken as security, and that some such person, within the said County, as his honour thought proper, might be directed to take the recognizance;-he was pleased to grant my request: however, not any thing was done to effect until the 9th of May, when a friend of mine was permitted to see me, he

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being accompanied with an Honourable Member of Council, by whom I was informed that the Chief Justice had agreed to direct the Prothonotary of Luzerne to take four persons as security for my ap pearance at court, &c." "However, before the business was complete, the Chief Justice had set off on the western circuit, My friend went on as far as Chester, and returned on the 10th, when I was informed that he had a letter from the Chief Justice, to send forward to the Prothonotary at Luzerne, to take the security at that place, and that whenever the recognizance was sent, that Justice Bryan would take my own recognizance. This letter, together with a letter which I was permitted to write to my friends at Luzerne, on that subject, was immediately sent forward. May, 31, I had information that security was taken, and the recognizance came to hand by a young man sent for that purpose. I expected to be liberated the same day; but heard nothing further until the 4th of June, when the young man was permitted to see me, he being in company with a Member of Council. I was then informed that nothing could be done until the Chief Justice returned, who accordingly returned soon after.

Application was made to him by my friends in my behalf, to obtain my discharge on the bail. I did all in my power to obtain my discharge from prison, or to know what prevented me from being liberated. I was informed that the Chief Justice gave for answer, that he had nothing to do with it, that it lay entirely in the breast of Council. Application was made to that Board, in my behalf. It rested until about the 8th of June, when an Honourable Member of Council came to see me."

"After hearing the remarks of the visiting member, the young man who was present at that time, returned to Wyoming, after waiting nine days in this city at my expense. I was still kept in close confinement, deprived of the advantages of social society as I before had been, and could not be informed of any reason why I was not liberated, except as before represented, neither did I ever, by any authority, know what other reasons were assigned, until Doctor Logan informed me, yesterday, that the security was deemed insufficient-that some of those who were taken as security, had, at the same time, used threatening language, &c., which probably prevented me from being liberated. I have not heard the names of all those who are my security, but have been informed, that some of those nominated were absent, and others accepted by the Prothonotary in lieu thereof,-ten persons being required to enter bail. If