(No. 79) SPencer Walker of
Boston, taylor, of lawful age
testifies and
says, that on the evening of the fifth instant, (being a
bright moon-light evening) immediately after the
massacre in
Kingstreet, he was passing alone,
by Murray's barrack, and
was attack'd by a man of middle height and pretty
lusty, a
rough countenance and hair curl'd round his head,
whom he
took to be an officer in disguise ; that the said officer rush'd out of
the gate from behind two soldiers with a drawn sword in his hand,
and seized the deponent first by the collar and asked him why
he carried a stick, to which the deponent answered it was all
he had to defend himself with; the officer then seized his stick
and swore he would take it from him ; the deponent said he
should not ; the officer then pull'd the stick
three times and
drew back his sword as tho' he would make a pass at
him, upon
which the deponent let go the stick and turned back and saw
at the front door of the house another officer talking with a
woman; the deponent ask'd the officer if he kept
soldiers there
to disarm people as they went about their proper business, upon
which the officer laugh'd at him; the deponent
then told the
officer that he would think it very hard if any inhabitant had
taken a gun from a soldier as he was going to relieve a centry,
the officer again laugh'd at him; upon which a
soldier came
up and struck the deponent on the hip with the breech end of his gun
in the presence of the officer at the door, and then the deponent
retired. The deponent further says, that the next day he saw
the same person who took the stick from him (knowing him to be the
same) in the dress of a commission-officer of the 29th regiment.
SPENCER WALKER.
Suffolk, ss.
Boston,
March 20. 1770. Spencer
Walker, above-
named, after due examination, made oath to the truth of
the above-written affidavit, taken to perpetuate the
re- membrance of the thing.
Before JOHN RUDDOCK, Just. of
Peace & of the Quorum.
JOHN HILL, Just. Peace.
(No. 80.)
JOnathan Mason, of lawful age, testifies and says, that
on
the evening of the
5th of March 1770, about 10 o'clock,
being in
kingstreet,
Boston, standing near his Honor the Lieut.
Governor, he heard him say to an officer at the head of the
King's troops, who it was said was
Captain Preston, Sir, you
are sensible you had no right to fire, unless you had orders from