Boston Decr 18 1773
Dear Will,
However precarious our situation may be, yet such is the
presentt calm
composure of the People that a stranger would hardly think that ten
ten
thousand pounds sterlg of the East India Companies tea was destroyd the night,
or
rather eveng before last, yet its a serious truth; and if yours
together wth ye other South–
ern provinces, should rest satisfied wth
their quota being stord, poor Boston will feel
the whole weight of
ministerial vengeance; however, its the opinion of most People
that we
stand an equal chance now, whether troops are sent in consequence of it,
or not, whereas, had it been Stord, we should inevitably have had ;
'em, to enforcd
the Sale of it, -- The affair was transacted with the
greatest regularity & dispatch
you can conceive of. Mr. Rotch findg he
exposd himself not only to the loss of his
ship, but for ye value of the
tea in case he sent her back wth it his ship, without a
clearce
from ye Custom hs., as ye Admiral kept a ship in readiness, to make a
seizure of it, whenever it should sail, under those circumstances, therefore
declind complying with his former promise, & absolutely Declard his
vessell
should not carry it, without a proper clearance could be procurd,
or he to be
indemnified for the value of her – when a general muster was
assembled,
from this & all ye neighbouring towns, to the number of
five or six thousand,
at 10 O Clock thursday morng in the Old South Meetg
house, where they passd
a unanimous vote, that the Tea should go out of
the harbour that afternoon, &
sent a committee wth Mr Rotch to ye
Custom hos. to demand a clearance, which the
collector told ‘em was not in
his power to give, without the duties being first
paid, they then sent Mr
Rotch to Milton, to ask a pass from ye Governor, who Sent
for answer, that
"consistent with the rules of government, & his duty to the
King he
could not grant one without they producd a previous cleara from the
Office," by the time he returnd with this message, the candles were Light in the
house, and upon readg it, such prodigious shouts were made, that induced
me,
while drinkg tea at home to go out, & know the cause of it, the
house was so
crowded could get no further than ye porch, where I found ye
moderator, was
just declaring the meetg to be dissolvd, which causd
another general Shout,
outdoors & in, of three cheers; what wth that,
& the consequent noise of breaking
up the meetng, you'd tho't the
inhabitants of the infernal regions had broke loose.
for my part, I went
contentedly home & finishd my tea, but was soon informd
what was going
forward, but still not crediting it without ocular demonstra
tion, I went
& was satisfied – they mustered I'm told upon Fort hill, to the
number
of about 200 & proceeded, 2 by 2 to Griffins wharfe, where Hall,
Bruce and
with only that article, but ye lattr arriv'd at ye wfe only ye day before, was freighted
with a large quantity of other goods, which they took the greatest care not to
injure in the least, and before nine O Clock in ye eveng, every Chest, from on board
the 3 vessells, was knocked to pieces and Flung over ye sides – they say the
actors were Indians from Naragansett, whether they were, or not, to a
transient observer they appeard as Such, being cloathd in Blankets, wth
their heads muffled & copper colord countenances, being each arm'd with a
hatchet or axe or po [ pair of] pistols, nor was their dialect different from what I
conceive those geniueses to speak, as their jargon was uninteligible to all
but themselves – not the least insult was offerd to any person, save
one Capt Conner, a letter of horses in this place, not many years since
immergd from dear Ireland who had ript ye lining of his coat & waistcoat
under the arms, and watchg his oppoty had nearly filld 'em wth tea, but
being detected, was handled pretty roughly, they not only Stript him of his
cloaths, but gave him a coat of mud, wth a severe bruising into the bargain, &
nothing but their utter aversion to make any disturbance prevented his
being tard & featherd.
Should not have troubled you with this, by the
Post, hadn't I tho't you
would be glad of a more particular account,
of so important a transaction,
than you could have obtaind by comn
report, and if it affords
my brother but a temporary amusement,
I Shall be more than repaid for the
trouble of writing it
The weather as yet, continues wth us very
mild & at the same time very
unhealthy, an inflammatory fever prevails much, this eveng one of ye most
amiable & amiable and accomplish'd girls among
us, a
daughter of Henderson Inches, was incorporated wth her mother
earth, after
only 4 days illness, Such is ye sudden transition after
being Seizd; and
last Wen's'day Mrs Johonnot, eldest daugt of Doctor
Cooper was
carrd to her grave; had I time amp; paper, Bill, I have a large
field to
morallize upon, but must reserve room enoh to acquaint
you, that my dear
Ruthy has been under ye Doctrs hands for 3 weeks
past, being afflicted wth
an exceedg bad cold, attended wth a constant pain
in her head &
stomach but is now a little better, wth wishes of Health &
prosperity I rest y Fd. & Bror. [your Friend & Brother?]
[Date at bottom of page:] Saturday evng 10 O
Clock
18 Decr 1773
Sunday Eveng – I give you joy of your easy riddance of the banefull herb
being just informd by ye arrival of the post, that it's gone from whence it
came, –
you may bless your stars that you have not a H________ [Hutchinson]
& board of Commisr
resident with you -- I forgot to
acquaint you last evening that Loring, in a
brig belongg to Clarke, one of
ye Consignees, is on shore at ye back of Cape Cod
drove thither, by a
Storm last Fryday week, who has ye last quota of Tea for
this place, being
58 Chests, which compleats the 400 – am informd, some
Indians were met on
ye road to Plimouth, which is abt 50 Miles, this side
Cape Cod – its
unlucky that, Loring has ye Lamps on board, for illuminating
our Streets,
am sorry if they are lost, as we shall be depriv'd of their benefit
this
winter, in consequence of it
By the Dolphin Capt Scott, who Saild the 11th Inst, I sent your first bill
to Messrs Hayley & Hopkins, and ye Second is on board the Hayley Cap Scott
who has been waitg some days for weather to go to sea, in whom Doctr
Williamson of your place takes passage. – tender my best respects to Mr
Fooks & my regards to Mr Mifflin & Lady, tell him, if he has a
respite from publick affairs now the tea is gone, Should be glad
he would
think of his friend J. Andrews
[Address]