146 RIOTERS MARCH ON PHILADELPHIA. [1764, Eeb. 



The tumult of this alarm was hardly over, when 

 a fresh commotion was raised by the return of the 

 men who had gone to secure the Swedes' Ford, 

 and who reported that they had been too late ; 

 that the rioters had crossed the river, and were 

 ah'eady at Germantown. Those who had crossed 

 proved to be the van of the Paxton men, two 

 hundred in number, and commanded by Matthew 

 Smith; who, learning what welcome was prepared 

 for them, thought it prudent to remain quietly at 

 Germantown, instead of marching forward to cer- 

 tain destruction. In the afternoon, many of the 

 inhabitants gathered courage, and went out to visit 

 them. They found nothing very extraordinary in 

 the aspect of the rioters, who, in the words of a 

 writer of the day, were "a set of fellows in blanket 

 coats and moccasons, like our Indian traders or 

 back country wagoners, all armed with rifles and 

 tomahawks, and some with pistols stuck in their 

 belts." ^ They received their visitors with a cour- 

 tesy which might doubtless be ascribed, in great 

 measure, to their knowledge of the warlike prepa- 



vania, 39. Heckewelder, Narrative, 85. Loskiel, Part II. 223. Sparks, 

 Writings of Franklin, VII. 293. 



The best remaining account of these riots will be found under the 

 first authority cited above. It consists of a long letter, written in a very 

 animated strain, by a Quaker to his friend, containing a detailed account 

 of what passed in the city from the first alarm of the rioters to the con- 

 clusion of the affair. The writer, though a Quaker, is free from the 

 prejudices of his sect, nor does he hesitate to notice the inconsistency of 

 his brethren appearing in arms. See Appendix, E, 



The scene before the barracks, and the narrow escape of the German 

 butchers, was made the subject of several poems and farces, written by 

 members of the Presbyterian faction, to turn their opponents into ridi- 

 cule ; for which, indeed, the subject offered tempting facilities. 



1 Haz. Pa. Reg. XIL 11. 



