been levied upon for the payment of taxes due. About two hundred people assembled at the place of sale and threatened bodily harm to potential buyers with guns and revolvers. When no one would make a bid, the sale was adjourned. Governor Alonzo B. Cornell, to whom the sheriff sent a telegram, responded that the sheriff must exhaust his powers before the state would become involved. The sheriff formed a posse of 50 men to attend a sale in April 1878 to sell the lots, but it was unsuccessful. On February 7, 1882, the collector attempted to make 98 sales. There was a posse of 40 men, met by a group of 250 taxpayers, who were reported to be quiet and orderly, or according to the Buffalo Weekly Express, the citizens were well armed, with martial music and hard cider. The collector claimed that he was not sure of the legality of the levies, and adjourned the sales indefinitely. Miners and oil men from Pennsylvania, just over the border from Greenwood, helped the Greenwood citizens' attempts at resistance. Molly Maguires from Pennsylvania may have been present. The Governor's proclamation Since the telegram sent to the Governor in 1878 did not result in assistance from the state, the sheriff traveled to Albany to present the situation to Governor Alonzo B. Cornell, informing him that several would-be purchasers were seriously injured. In response, Governor Cornell proclaimed on February 11, 1882 that a state of insurrection existed. In the proclamation, he stated that citizens of Greenwood had unlawfully assembled, issued threats, and prevented the collection of taxes as well as the actions of the officers of law. He ordered Greenwood citizens to "desist from any attempt" to violate peace, to threaten others, or to prevent officers of the law from their duties. Otherwise, they are "commanded to disperse and depart to their respective places of abode" and officers of the law were commanded to use any legal process necessary to maintain order. Aftermath On February 14 the Sheriff was more successful at a new sale. He was able to collect a few of the delinquent taxes on that day, and it was reported that most of the $8,000 due would be collected. At another announced sale in March, the Sheriff and a party of thirty-three retainers sold property seized for unpaid taxes, starting with the sale of livestock that had been owned by