Page:History of Delaware County (1856).djvu/63

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DELAWARE COUNTY. 39 opposite side of the river, who was shot during the Revolu- tion under the following painful circumstances : Dumond, in company with J ohn Barrow, a neighbor, who occupied and owned the present residence of Warren Dim- mick, Esq., in Middletown, had been — as my informant Colo- nel Dimmick recollects, and which somewhat differs from a subsequent recital of the same event in this chapter — up the river on a hunting excursion, and when returning and while near Arkville on the flat, they unexpectedly fell in with a company of Schoharie guards, who had been sent by Colonel Vroman, of Schoharie, to scour the head waters of the Dela- ware, and to arrest certain disaffected persons, and to destroy supposed Indian gettlements, and who were now on their return to Schoharie. The Guard perceiving them armed, ordered them to halt." Dumond and Barrow, from the best authority I can command, were favorable to the cause of the colonies, although from considerations of personal safety they had been prompted to maintain, as much as possible, a neutral position. It is there- fore probable, that in their haste they mistook the character of the troops, and supposing them to be tories and Indians, • disregarded the injunction, and immediately attempted to flee. Perceiving their retreat, the commander of the troops ordered his men to fire upon them, when Dumond fell mortally wounded, surviving his fall but a brief period, while Barrow, more fortunate than his companion, escaped unhurt and un- molested, to carry the painful intelligence to the family of the deceased. The guard dismounted, and gathering around the expiring man, expressed in heartfelt grief their sympathy at his untimely death; raising him gently upon their locked arms, they conveyed him to a house near by. No physician was at hand to render efiicient aid, and indeed none was neces- sary, for it was apparent to all as they watched the tremulous palor of his countenance^ the glazed and fixed expression of