fifty of the scoundrels marched by my work-shop— I have seen hundreds of Indians traveling the country, and can with truth affirm, that the behavior of these fellows was ten times more savage and brutal than theirs.” The Paxton Boys, he claimed, paraded through the streets, “frightening women, by running the muzzles of their guns through windows, swearing and hallooing: attacking men without the least provocation; dragging them by their hair to the ground, and pretending to scalp them; shooting a number of dogs and fowls.” After learning about the size of the force that was prepared to meet them in Philadelphia, the Paxton Boys decided to halt their march and remain in Germantown. Seeking an end to the situation, Penn appointed Benjamin Franklin to lead a group of civic leaders to meet them in Germantown, and hear their grievances. After the leaders agreed to read the men's pamphlet of issues before the colonial legislature, the mob agreed to disperse. Black Boy disturbances The actions of the Conestoga Massacre inspired offshoots of the Paxton Boy gang such as the Black Boys to continue a guerilla war against Indian tribes. In March 1765 a group of vigilantes attacked a caravan moving goods from Philadelphia to Fort Pitt. The land that they were moving through, Sidling Hill, once belonged to squatters in 1750, but their eviction in 1755 had left the region a hotbed for anti-Indian sentiment. "The goods intercepted at Sideling Hill were being shipped by the Philadelphia firm of Baynton, Wharton, & Morgan for use in the Indian trade. These goods included 'blankets, shirts, vermillion, lead, beads, wampum, tomahawks, scalping knives,' and liquor."The attackers covered their faces in black material and hence became known as the Black Boys. Their leader, James Smith, had been captured by Delaware Indians and after his release started the group known as the Black Boys, where he sought to destroy relations between Natives and colonial powers. Another attack followed in May on the trader Joseph Spears, who was transporting liquor to a local garrison. Suspecting that these supplies would be used for Indian trade, the Black Boys ambushed the traders and murdered their horses. When soldiers of the garrison went out to rescue the traders, they were fired upon as well. In the following months Black Boy activity would continue as they ambushed caravans and in one case laid siege to a fort. Much like