numbers of persons they had seen in the street
armed in the above manner; and that about eight
o'clock one Mr. Fleming came in and told them
that three hundred people were assembled at Li-
berty-Tree armed with sticks and clubs to beat
the soldiers. Mr. Gillespie goes on and says,
that about half an hour after eight the bells rung,
which he ahd his company took to be for fire;
but they were told by the landlord of the house
that it was to collect the mob. Mr. Gillespie
upon this resolved to go home, and in his way
met numbers of people who were running past
him, of whom many were armed with clubs and
sticks, and some with other weapons. At the
same time a number of people passed by him with
two fire-engines, as if there had been a fire in
the town. But they were soon told that there
was no fire, but that the people were going to
fight the soldiers; upon which they immediately
quitted the fire-engines, and swore they would
go to their assistance. All this happened before
the soldiers near the custom-house fired
their
muskets, which was not till half an hour after
nine o'clock; and it shews that the inhabitants
had formed, and were preparing to execute, a
design of attacking the soldiers on that evening.
This account is confirmed by the deposition of
William Davies, serjeant-major to
the 14th re-
giment, who declares that, on the same evening
about eight o'clock, as he was going towards the
north end on regimental business, he saw in the
streets a large body of the inhabitants, armed