The inhabitants of the villages ceased ; they ceased in Israel."

The fearful depredations in the Neutral Ground were viewed by the higher military authorities on the British side with entire approval, and on the American side, it must be admitted, generally without any acute disapprobation. The command of the American troops " on the lines " was always particularly coveted by officers of unscrupulous inclinations, because of the opportunities it afforded for plundering transactions, which their superiors were pretty certain not to discountenance. When Aaron Burr took command on the lines, in January, 1770, his first official duty was to deal with a " scouting party,*' which, on the same day, under the lead of his predecessor, had gone below for no other purpose than to seize private property; and the principal condition of unsatisfactory discipline which he had to correct was the extreme fondness of the soldiers for such " scouting " enterprises. It is but fair to say, however, that the American commanders on the lines were usually men of good personal antecedents, and it does not appear that any very notorious person on our side was ever intrusted with authority in Westchester County. But while the American commanders were well-intentioned as a rule, they generally allowed their subordinates and men much license. Burr's stern administration in this particular was exceptional. The circumstance of the continued existence during the Revolution of the quasi-patriot organization of " Skinners," who were fully as merciless and rapacious as the British "Cowboys," is conclusive proof of a studied disinclination on the part of the American