Digital Paxton: Digital Collection, Critical Edition, and Teaching Platform

Apology of the Paxton Volunteers - 6

that men stationed on the Frontiers in the manner appointed by the Assembly would not see a single Enemy during the whole Season, even tho’ the Inhabitants should be murdered every Day. The Assembly well knew that their Conduct would be severely animadverted on, if they would make no Provision for assisting a bleeding Frontier; yet they had found a Way to save the Lines of the Enemy & to suffer the Inhabitants to be murdered, while they had the shelter of a Vote of the House. What was this but to load us with the unnecessary Taxes, when we were already reduced to the most abject Poverty? Was this like sympathising with us or assisting us in our Distresses? Had they been in the Interest of the Enemies of his majesty, what could they have done more for them? Pardon the Expression, they could have found means to do much more for them in the last War. When the Quakers could no longer keep their Seats in the Assembly, & thereby prevent any Assistance being given to us, a Number of their leading men immediately erected an Association, & collected 5000 Pounds, which they have by their own Confession mostly distributed in Presents to the Indians; under the Pretence of buying Peace with them. Under this Pretext, they encouraged them to go to Philadelphia, where, we are credibly informed, they treated them as Friends, entertained them in their Houses & loaded them Presents, while they were boasting thro’ the Town to the Inhabitants, how many white people they had killed or led into Captivity; in which such of them as have not made their Escape with the utmost Danger, or were tortured to Death for attempting it, continued till this Day. Nay under a Pretence of holding Treaties with them they constantly kept Intelligence with them, sent Messages to them & rec. a string of Wampum from them as if they had the Power of making Peace & War, & at all Treaties had Commissioners to make them Presents, to furnish them with Arguments, to vindicate their making War with us, to condemn the Proprietaries as the Occasion of the War. And after these Treaties, when the Indians were returning loaded with Presents, they seldom or never failed to murder some of us. Now would any Person believe, that the Quakers would be so liberal to Savages, & at the same Time not contribute a single Farthing as a Society to help our Distresses the last Summer altho applied to for this Purpose when near a thousand Families of our Frontier Inhabitants were obliged to abandon our Habitations, when every other religious Society in the City of Philad. did? They did Nothing for us. And can any man believe after all this, that we judge wrong when we ascribe a great share of our Sufferings to the Quakers?---

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