1763, Dec.J MATTHEW smith and companions. 121 



voices caught the ear of an Indian ; and they saw 

 him issue from one of the cabins, and walk for- 

 ward in the direction of the noise. He came so 

 near that one of the men fancied that he recognized 

 him. " He is the one that killed my mother," he 

 exclaimed with an oath ; and, firing his rifle, 

 brought the Indian down. With a general shout, 

 the furious ruffians burst into the cabins, and shot, 

 stabbed, and hacked to death all whom they found 

 there. It happened that only six Indians were in 

 the place ; the rest, in accordance with their vagrant 

 habits, being scattered about the neighborhood. 

 Thus baulked of their complete vengeance, the 

 murderers seized upon what little booty they could 

 find, set the cabins on fire, and departed at dawn 

 of day.^ 



The morning was cold and murky. Snow was 

 falling, and already lay deep upon the ground ; 

 and, as they urged their horses through the drifts, 

 they were met by one Thomas Wright, who, struck 

 by their appearance, stopped to converse with them. 

 They freely told him what they had done ; and, on 

 his expressing surprise and horror, one of them 



1 The above account of the massacre is chiefly drawn from the nar- 

 rative of Matthew Smith himself. This singular paper was published by 

 Mr. Redmond Conyngham, of Lancaster, in the Lancaster Intelligencer for 

 1843. Mr. Conyngham states that he procured it from the son of Smith, 

 for whose information it had been written. The account is partially con- 

 firmed by incidental allusions, in a letter written by another of the Paxton 

 men, and also pubhshed by Mr. Conyngham. This gentleman employed 

 himself with most unwearied dihgence in collecting a voluminous mass of 

 documents, comprising, perhaps, every thing that could contribute to 

 extenuate the conduct of the Paxton men ; and to these papers, as pub- 

 lished from time to time in the above-mentioned newspaper, reference will 

 often be made. 



