Although he was criticized on the coast, the greatest outcry against Tryon’s policies came from frontiersmen in the region around Hillsborough, including Orange and Alamance counties. Knowing this, and despite the rapidly growing population in the west, Tryon made sure that the eastern counties retained control by dividing favored counties into smaller units, each having its own allotment of delegates. There was no practical way to appeal these decisions, since respected British courts were thousands of miles away, and Tryon seemed to be one of London’s favorite royal appointees. These concerns became an obsession with Henry Pratt and others, who shared their frustrations with one another.

Most of the Pratts’ favorite customers were farmers, who came by on their monthly shopping expeditions to be measured for shoes, to buy harnesses and sometimes clothing, or to acquire tanned hides as raw material for their own handicrafts. Others who came to the shop more regularly were townsmen, who would sometimes buy an item but mostly enjoyed a congenial place for conversation. Jokingly, they began to call themselves the Sandy Creek Association, and would refer to their visits as “a meeting of the association.”

Henry was one of the more aggressive members of the group. “We cannot afford to be timid, and nobody else is speaking out for us. We’ve got to grab everybody’s attention, and the best way is to be strong and bold,” he urged them.

Richard Pyle responded, “Well, I work in the courthouse and hear a lot of complaints and also some of the responses. The people are confused about what’s going on, and don’t understand what their relationship ought to be with the officials. Just going public with our criticisms won’t be helpful or gain much support for our position.”

Henry didn’t like to be questioned so clearly in his own place and responded, “Richard, we are not in the business of protecting your courthouse masters from tough criticism. Everybody knows what is going on around there, so why shouldn’t we just come out with it?”

Others joined in, somewhat cautiously. “We need to keep it simple.” “Maybe the high ground would be better.” “Are we going to put our names on the petition?” “We ought to make some good recommendations, not just criticize.”

After a long discussion, Henry found a way to back down without losing face.

“Why don’t you let me draft something, based on my experience in Norfolk? I know what worked there, and I’ll try to catch what all of us seem to be saying. It certainly ought to be simple, clear, and keep us on a sound footing. When I get it done, in a day or two, all of us can go over it and change it around until everybody agrees.”