At this time of year, as most folks prepare for festive gatherings with family and friends, I often think about the fourteen members of the Conestoga tribe huddled together in the Lancaster Jailhouse in December 1763.
Just a week or so earlier, on December 14th, eight of their fellow Conestogas were slaughtered by the Paxton Boys in an unprovoked raid. Placed in the jailhouse for protection after that attack, I'm sure conditions there weren't too warm and cozy...or sanitary. I'm wondering if they were even fed more than one meal a day. My visions of what they had already endured brings current issues and events into immediate perspective.
Man's inhumanity to man has reared its ugly face many times since 1763. But at that time and place, events between December 14th and December 27th would spawn immediate outrage and further unrest all across colonial America, but ultimately resulted in little retribution for most...until July 3, 1778 in the valley of Wyoming.
Best to you, your family and readers!
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