me, I ran down Exchange lane, and so up the next into King-
Street, and followed Mr. Gridley with several other persons
with the body of Capt. Morton's apprentice up to the prison
house, and saw he had a ball shot through his breast; at my
return I found that the officer and soldiers were gone to the
main guard. To my best observation there were not seventy people
in King street at the time of their firing, and them very scattering ;
but in a few minutes after the firing there were upwards of a
thousand; finding the soldiers were gone I went up to the
main-guard and saw there the soldiers were formed into three
divisions, the front division in the posture of platoon firing,
and I expected they would fire. Hearing that his Honor the
Lieutenant-Governor was going to the Council-chamber, I
went there ; his Honor looking out of the door desired the peo-
ple to hear him speak; he desired them to go home and he
would enquire into the affair in the morning, and that the
law should take its course, and said, I will live and die by the
law. A gentleman desired his Honor to order the soldiers to
their barracks, he answered it was not in his power, and that
he had no command over the troops, and that it lay with Col.
Dalrymple and not with him, but that he would send for him,
which after some time he did ; upon that a gentleman desi-
red his Honor to look out of the window facing the main-
guard, to see the position the soldiers were in, ready to fire on
the inhabitants, which he did after a good deal of perswasion, and
called for Col. Carr and desired him to order the troops to
their barracks in the same order they were in; accordingly
they were ordered to shoulder their guns, and were marched
off by some officers, and further saith not.
    RICH. PALMES.

Suffolk, ss. Boston, March 17, 1770. Richard Palmes, above-
named, after due examination, made oath to the truth of
the above affidavit, taken to perpetuate the remembrance
of the thing.
Before RI. DANA, Just. of Peace and of the Quorum.
JOHN HILL. Just. Peace.

(No. 54)
I William Wyat of Salem, coaster, testify and say, that last
Monday evening, being the fifth day of March current,
I was in Boston, down at Treat's wharf, where my vessel was
lying, and hearing the bells ring supposed there was a fire in
the town, whereupon I hastened up to the town-house, on the