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The Paxton Boys were frontiersmen of Scots-Irish origin from along the Susquehanna River in central Pennsylvania who formed a vigilante group to retaliate in 1763 against local American Indians in the aftermath of the French and Indian War and Pontiac's Rebellion. They are widely known for murdering 21 Susquehannock in events collectively called the Conestoga Massacre. Following attacks on the Conestoga, in January 1764 about 250 Paxton Boys marched to Philadelphia to present their grievances to the legislature. Met by leaders in Germantown, also Samuel Peters they finally agreed to disperse on the promise by Benjamin Franklin that their issues would have been a dirty mark in history. ==Attack on Susquehannock== In the aftermath of the French and Indian War, the frontier of Pennsylvania remained unsettled. A new wave of Scots-Irish immigrants encroached on Native American land in the backcountry. These settlers claimed that Indians often raided their homes, killing men, women and children. Reverend John Elder, who was the parson at Paxtang, became a leader of the settlers. He was known as the "Fighting Parson" and kept his rifle in the pulpit while he delivered his sermons. Elder helped organize the settlers into a mounted militia and was named Captain of the group, known as the "Pextony boys." At daybreak on December 14, 1763, a vigilante group made up of Scots-Irish frontiersmen, the Paxton Boys, attacked the local Conestoga, a Susquehannock tribe who had lived since the 1690s on land donated by William Penn to their ancestors. Many Conestoga were Christian, and they had lived peacefully with their European neighbors for decades. They lived by bartering handicrafts, hunting, and from subsistence food given them by the Pennsylvania government. Because of a snowstorm, most of the Conestogas had been unable to reach home the previous evening and spent the night with neighbors. Those at the camp were scalped, or otherwise mutilated, and their huts were set on fire. Most of the camp burned down. Although there had been no Indian attacks in the area, the Paxton Boys claimed that the Conestoga secretly provided aid and intelligence to the hostiles. On December 14, 1763, more than fifty Paxton Boys marched on Conestoga homes near Conestoga Town (now Millersville), murdered six, and burned their cabins. The colonial government held an inquest and determined that the killings were murder. The new governor, John Penn offered a reward for capture of the Paxton Boys. He placed the remaining sixteen Conestoga in protective custody in Lancaster but the Paxton Boys broke in on December 27, 1763. They killed and scalped six adults and eight children. The government of Pennsylvania offered a new reward after this second attack, this time $600, for the capture of anyone involved. The attackers were never identified. The Rev. Elder, who was not directly implicated in either attack, wrote to Governor Penn, on January 27, 1764: 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Paxton Boys」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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