During the years 1837 and 1838, large forces of Irish laborers were employed upon the canal. Some time in the winter of these years, one of their characteristic feuds broke out between the Corkonians or Munster men and "Far Downs" or Lienster men at the Sagg, on the upper portion of the work. This gradually spread itself downwards, until in May, a united effort was made on the part of the Corkonians, who were the stronger party, to drive the "bloody Far Downs" from all jobs. A skirmish took place near Marseilles where the latter were worsted. The triumphant party, excited by victory and bad whisky, defying the civil authorities, destroying property, and abusing and maltreating every luckless county Longfort man who came in their way, continued down the line below Ottawa, to the job of Edward Sweeney, who was a Corkonian. Here they were reinforced by his entire force--about two hundred men--and marched, under his leadership, to the extreme western end of the line, at Peru, whence they countermarched, having swept the line from end to end, of all obnoxious fellow laborers, and destroyed many of their shanties. The Sheriff, Alson Woodruff, summoned a posse to quell the disturbance. Word was sent to the Deputy at Peru, Zimri Lewis, late in the afternoon, to raise a party and form a junction with another from Ottawa on the next day. Lewis gathered what forces and arms could be raised in the town and neighborhood during the night, and was ready to march early in the morning. The rioters, some five hundred strong, bivouacked near the "Carey Patch," or "Split Rock" just above the Pecumsogin. In the morning they moved up the line, renewing the excesses of the previous day. All were armed with guns, knives, scythes, picks, and whatever other weapons could be seized. Lewis' forces were joined at La Salle, which then was a mere cluster of laborers shanties, by a reinforcement of Americans and "Far Downs" under the leadership of that veteran contractor, William Byrne, Esq., who was himself a Lienster man, and whose employees were driven from their work. On the way, the Irish portion of the forces were with difficulty restrained from destroying the property and insulting the families of their enemies who were in the mob ahead.--Upon the ridge of table land, near Buffalo Rock, Woodruff, with his posse, met the tumultuous rabble. The former, tolerably well armed, were drawn up to prevent their further advance.--Woodruff ordered them to lay down their arms and submit to the civil authority, warrants having been issued for the arrest of the leaders. This order was answered by a charge from the mob which immediately produced a retreat of the posse. The forces of Lewis and Byrne were at first placed under the command of Capt. Ward B. Burnett, the present Surveyor General of Kansas, but who soon relinquished the command to Lewis. They moved on rapidly to the place where the party was held, a short distance from which they overtook the enemy.