Both he and his wife had grown weary of the loneliness of the back country, and the peril from which they had been delivered was a deciding factor.

So it happened that the Irons family and Solomon went to Albany by bateaux with the Hares.

It was a delightful trip in good autumn weather in which Colonel Hare has acknowledged that both he and his wife acquired a deep respect "for these sinewy, wise, upright Americans, some of whom are as well learned, I should say, as most men you would meet in London." They stopped at Schenectady, landing in a brawl between Whigs and Tories which soon developed into a small riot over the erection of a liberty pole.

Loud and bitter words were being hurled between the two factions.

The liberty lovers, being in much larger force, had erected the pole without violent opposition.
"Just what does this mean ?" the Colonel asked John Irons.
"It means that the whole country is in a ferment of dissatisfaction," said Irons.