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Michigan Abel Bingham
Mr. B. was so incensed that he immediately followed Tanner, had him arrested and imprisoned until he promised to keep the peace. Tan-her killed several valuable cattle belonging to Mr. B. and other citizens. Saturday night, July 4th, 1846, Tanner set fire to his own house, scattering powder around it to insure its destruction, intending, no doubt, to give the impression that he was himself burned with it. Early the next Monday morning he was seen in a thicket not far from Mr. Bingham's house, seated on a log, gun in hand, with a bundle at his side. A few hours later Mr. James L. Schoolcraft, while returning from a wood camp, was shot and instantly killed. There seemed to be no doubt of Tanner's having committed the deed, as he had often been heard to say that, " as Henry R. was beyond his reach, James, the next of kin,. must die in his stead." The excitement was so intense that soldiers and citizens alike joined in scouring the woods, fearing he might still be lurking about, and that Mr. B. would be his next victim.
Early Michigan Preachers
Page 30
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