Page:History of Delaware County (1856).djvu/236

 212 HISTORY OF The courts, and all other public gatherings, were held at the hotel of Grideon Frisbee, until the completion of the court- house and jail, which was in the summer of 1799. Although the county had been to the expense of erecting a jail for the confinement of prisoners, it seems to have been an unnecessary appendage, for we note that in 1813, the Legislature passed an Act authorising the commissioners of excise of the town of Delhi, in their discretion, to allow an inn or tavern to be kept in the building occupied as a jail and considering the extent of the county, Delaware has ever had, comparatively, but a small ratio of crime. In the early part of the year 1814, the citizens of Bovina and Delhi were thrown into the greatest excitement, by the inhuman murder of two citizens and neighbors. These two men, Hugh Cameron, and Alexander McGilfrey, had been at a logging-bee on a neighbor's premises, and were murdered while passing through a piece of wood on their way home. Suspicion immediately rested upon J ames Graham, an Irish- man, who had had an angry dispute with the men during the afternoon, and who had left for home a short time previous to their departure, pursuing the same route. He was accord- ingly arrested and confined in Delhi jail, from which he suc- ceeded in making his escape a short time afterwards, in com- pany with another prisoner. After a few days search he was recaptured and returned to jail, where he was locked in a cell, until some irons could be forged to confine him more securely. While in this situation he bethought himself of fortifying his cell in such a manner as to prevent the ingress of any one, and for this purpose he wedged the bedstead firmly between the door and the partition ; he then broke the hearth of the stove into suitable pieces, and prepared to defend himself to the last minute. A large crowd of persons assembled around the out- side door and in the jail, but none dared to approach the door of the cell, with the exception of one Smith, who made strong