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| Journal Points Out the Deaths That
Took Place in Boston by
Feliks C. |
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February 20th,
1770
Dear Journal,
This morning I got up early, made stew, fixed the beds, and served rum
to a couple of travelers. I went into the barn and took the eggs from
the chickens, milked the cows and then came back into the tavern.
To my surprise, there were three British soldiers and a officer in the
tavern talking. I cursed under my breath calling them Lobsterbacks. It
never came to me to even ask them what they wanted to drink or eat,
instead, they yelled out to me to get them four mugs of ale.
I did the task as slow as possible, just to annoy them. While I was
doing it, I was cursing under my breath the whole time. I finally got
the ale to them and looked at them like they were murderers. I charged
them six shillings, a couple shillings extra. I hated the British
as much as any other Bostonian did because they are taxing us to pay
back all the money they used up for the war. We, the people of Boston,
have been doing this since the day they arrived on American soil saying
that there is a tax to pay . The taxes have been put on all types of
things including rum, which people really got upset about. The
British soldiers and their general left the tavern and some
thirty minutes later about ten people entered the tavern. They seemed
very mad.
I overheard them talking about Ebenezer Richardson being a
traitor. They said that he was a Tory informer for the British. I was
upset as well, but I kept silent. The only reason I was upset was
because I knew him pretty well since he would come into my tavern every
so often. Ebenezer Richardson was a British Custom’s officer. I knew
right from the beginning when I saw the people angry and heard the name
Ebenezer, that it was not going to be good.
John Lowe
February 22nd, 1770
Dear Journal,
The people of Boston were angered with Ebenezer’s loyalty to the
British. A mob of Bostonians were outside Theophelis Lillie's shop
throwing rocks, snowballs, rotten fruit and anything else they could
get their hands on. They were at the door trying to knock it
down. Ebenezer ran to the second floor, loaded a musket with bird
pellets, and shot into the crowd.
An eleven year old boy, named Christopher Seider fell on the
cobblestone street bleeding. Ebenezer got arrested for giving
Christopher a very dangerous wound. I went to the trial, but left
quickly because Ebenezer was telling lies just to save himself. A
couple days later I went to Christopher Seider’s funeral and was amazed
at the huge crowd that gathered there. Hundreds of young boys were
there as well. A man named Samuel Adams organized the funeral for
Christopher Seider. The funeral procession started at Faneuil Hall and
ended at the Liberty Tree. Seider was buried at the Granary burial
ground. During the whole time I felt real sad that a young boy like
Christopher had died.
All of the people that went to the funeral probably did not know Seider
but they went anyway to show the British that they were not welcome
here. People were very angry at the British soldiers and were more
angry with them by the minute. The tension is erupting and nothing can
really calm it down. Maybe if the British left, then things might
settle down. It is very unlikely to happen. The death of Christopher
Seider turned almost all of Boston against The Crown and the British.
Not one person respects the Lobsterbacks anymore! That includes
me!
John Lowe
March 11th, 1770
Dear Journal,
This morning I got up and made vegetable stew and served rum to some
people who came in. They quickly left leaving a few shillings on the
table. There would be many people gathering in the tavern to talk about
news in town. The tavern was cold so I went outside to the barn and got
a couple of logs. As I was walking to the barn I was worried
about my daughter’s Smallpox disease. My neighbors son died just last
week from it. Things here in Boston are not going well. A couple of
weeks ago it was the death of Christopher Seider and now, not too long
ago, a bloody massacre happened. It all started when a young
barber’s apprentice saw a British soldier who owed his master money,
and he got into a fight and called for help.
Later that night, a mob arrived with sticks and rocks. The sentry
retreated to the Town House, as he was calling for help. Eight
soldiers and Captain Preston came to help him. The mob kept taunting
the soldiers telling them to fire. Also, the mob was ringing the bell,
which was signaling other people that there was a fire somewhere. As
the word “Fire” kept getting yelled out people ran down to King Street
with buckets of snow. My wife, children, and I all ran out too.
We got halfway there and all of a sudden we heard shots!
When we finally arrived at the site, there was blood everywhere. There
was no fire to be seen. People on the ground were motionless; maybe
even dead. I dropped my bucket as I was staring at the horrific site. I
could still see the smoke slowly rising up into the air. My stomach
felt almost as if it were to throw back all the food I ate earlier. I
froze with fear. There was nothing like it. I went to the funeral.
Unlike Christopher Seider’s funeral, this time, thousands more attended
the funeral. It started from Faneuil Hall and ended at the Burying
Ground. I do not think anyone will forget this
day until the day they either get shot by the British or die
peacefully.
John Lowe
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Historical References:
Boston Massacre. http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h644.html
4/28/06
Allison J.Robert. A
Short History of Boston. Beverly, MA: 2004
Hoose Phillip. We
Were There, Too! Canada:2004
Shoales, Gary Parker.Violence in Boston’s North
End.4/24/06
http://home.att.net/~betsynewmark/Bostinfo.html
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