OF LANCASTER COUNTY. 187 



" On page 222 it is stated that Captain Robertson's company was now 

 relieved by one hundred and seventy men from Gen. Gage's army, com- 

 manded by Captain Schlosser. ' These soldiers had suffered much from 

 the savages near Lake Erie, which rendered them averse to the Indians.' 



"These facts will show clearly that the military authority was unwil- 

 ling to attempt the avengeance of the Paxton Boys. 



"It is a little remarkable that three of the persons who were most 

 deeply concerned in the murder of the Indians at Lancaster, William 

 Hays, the Sheriff, and two persons of the name of Smith and Howard, 

 met with an untimely fate; Hays was killed in a Saw Mill, Smith drown- 

 ed himself, and Howard fell on a knife, which he had in his hand, by 

 accident, which caused his death. 



" Wm. Hays, jr. the son of the Sheriff, and Donnelly the jailor, were 

 also suspected of being in the plot. 



" The Paxton Boys, after the commission of the murder, gave three 

 cheers, and said 'We have presented the citizens of Lancaster with a 

 Christmas Box, and we shall present the Philadelphians with a New 

 Year's Gift.'" 



Narrative of Smith, one of the Paxton Boys. 



" I was an early settler in Paxton, a member of the Congregation of 

 the Rev. Mr. Elder. I was one of the chief actors in the destruction of 

 Conestogo and in storming the Work House at Lancaster. I have been 

 stigmatized as a murderer. No man, unless he were living at that time 

 in Paxton, could have an idea of the sufferings and anxieties of the 

 people. For years the Indians had been on the most friendly terms ; 

 but some of the traders were bought by the French ; these corrupted the 

 Indians. The savages unexpectedly destroyed our dwellings and mur- 

 dered the unsuspicious. When we visited the wigwams in the neighbor- 

 hood, we found the Indians occupied in harmless sports or domestic work. 

 There appeared no evidence that they were an}^ way instrumental in the 

 bloody acts perpetrated on the frontiers. 



" Well do I remember the evening when stopped at my door, 



judge my surprise when I heard his tale: 'Tom followed the Indians to 

 the Big Island ; from thence they went to Conestogo ; as soon as we heard 



it, five of us, , , , , , rode off for the village. I left 



my horse under their care, and cautiously crawled where I could get a 

 view ; I saw Indians armed ; they were strangers ; they outnumbered us 

 by dozens. I returned without being discovered ; we meet to-night at 



; we shall expect you with gun, knife and* ammunition.' We met, 



and our party, under the cover of the night, rode off for Conestogo. Our 

 plan was well laid; the scout, who had traced the Indians, was with us; 

 the village was stormed and reduced to ashes. The moment we were 

 perceived, an Indian fired at us and rushed forward, brandishing his 



