(No. 56)
E Edward Payne of Boston, merchant, testifies and says, that
on the evening of the fifth instant, on hearing the bells
ring, he supposed there was fire, but on going out he was in-
formed there was not any fire, but a riot of the soldiers, and
that the soldiers were cutting down Liberty-tree. -- That he
went into Kingstreet, where he met Mr. Walker the ship-
wright, who informed him, that the soldiers at Smith's bar-
racks had sallied out upon the inhabitants, and had cut and
beat a number of persons, but were drove back to their barracks.
--That he (the deponent) then went to the east end of the
Town-house, where he heard the same report from divers per-
sons. --That whilst he stood there, a number of persons, not
exceeding twenty, some of them with sticks in their hands, came
up the lane by Silsby's into Kingstreet, at which time there
was, as near as he can judge, about the same number in King-
street, when a lad came up from the custom-house, and in-
formed the people, that the centinel there had knocked down
a lad belonging to their shop, upon which the people moved
that way, and surrounded the centinel, -- That this deponent
then went home, and stood upon the sell of his entry door,
which is nearly opposite to the east end of the custom-house,
where he was soon joined by Mr. George Bethune, and Mr.
Harrison Gray, that the people round the centinel were then
crying out Fire, Fire, damn you why don't you Fire, soon af-
ter, he perceived a number of soldiers coming down towards
the centinel, with their arms in a horizontal posture, and
their bayonets fixed, who turned the people from before the
custom-house, and drew up before the door, the people, who
still remained in the street and about the soldiers, continued
calling out to them to fire. In this situation they remained
some minutes, when he heard a gun snap, and presently a sin-
gle gun fired, and soon after several others went off one after
another, to the number of three or four, and then heard the
rammers go into the guns as tho' they were loading ; imme-
diately after which three or four more went off in the same
manner ; at which time a ball pass'd through the deponent's
right arm, upon which he immediately retired into the house.
That at the time of the centinel's being surrounded, and at the
time of the firing, it appeared to the deponent, that there were
from fifty to an hundred persons in the street, and not more. The
deponent further saith not.     EDWARD PAYNE.
Test. Mr. Payne subscribed his
name with his left hand.
John Amory.