"They took a woman named Jane Longley, who was made the victim of a series of indignities, not the least of which was the application of a coat of tar and feathers."

You have to assume plumage and adhesives were exceedingly cheap during the 19th century, because you could not walk down the street without seeing some poor soul being turned into a makeshift bird. One such case of tarring and feathering was covered in the September 15, 1860 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, in an article that was reprinted from the Detroit Free Press. An excerpt:

“An occurrence of a disgraceful nature took place a few days since in the town of Romulus, in this county, of which we yesterday received some particulars. A large party consisting of men and boys with a few women, turned out in the night in disguise, and went to the house of a man named Jeremiah Ganung, from which they took a woman named Jane Longley, who was made the victim of a series of indignities, not the least of which was the application of a coat of tar and feathers, and an impromptu ride upon a fence rail. She was banged and knocked about in naked condition, until from the abuse and exposure she nearly fainted, and was thought to be in a dying condition.

While she was in this state the party gathered around her and entered into a conversation in regard to the probable consequences of their conduct, when from the familiar tone of their voices she recognized a number of them. She afterward gave the names of thirty-nine persons, who have been arrested and held to answer. Among them was the daughter of the man with whom she lived, and several other women.

The alleged cause is a disposition on the part of the woman to ill treat the children belonging to the family. She had lived with Ganung several years, and has borne three children by him, having previous to the death of his wife entered the family as a domestic. It is charged the he desired to get rid of her, and took this means, as he offered no resistance when the crowd entered his house, but allowed them to take her from his bed and do what the chose with her. He has been arrested.”