Who was James Smith and the black boys?

Answer 1

James Smith, born in the colonial Pennsylvanian settlement at Conococheague Creek, was captured by the Indians while working near Bedford, Pennsylvania, and was adopted (held captive) for several years in the area south of Lake Erie. During that time he learned how the Indians hunt and wage war, and upon being freed at the end of the French and Indian war, he put that lore to good use by organizing a band of young men from the Conococheague area to protect the settlement during Pontiac's war. That band was was sometimes referred to as the "Black Boys", purportedly for their practice of disguising themselves and painting their faces Indian style. In the immediate aftermath of Pontiac's war, fearing that the pack trains of eastern trading firms included contraband arms along with the goods that were being shipped to the Indians in Ohio, James Smith led his Black Boys upon raids on the traders' pack trains, destroying goods in shipments that were not accompanied by letters of safe passage indicating that the shipment previously had been inspected and included no contraband. In doing so, Smith and his Black Boys infringed upon a governmental function, which led to conflict with British and Provincial authorities, including even exchanges of gunfire.