Follow the Bloody Cobblestone Road

Dear Father, March 6, 1770

Last night I was in my nice warm house and Sara had just put the children to bed for the night. I thought about getting some shut eye myself for I had been in the printing shop all day trying to get the printing press to work. It never did work so in the morning I was to go down to the dock and pick up a new one. I was just about to jump into bed when I heard a slight ringing noise. I thought nothing of it. The ringing stopped and I fell into a deep sleep. I woke up to Ana telling me that someone was knocking on the front door. I got on my slippers and opened the door. It was Peter. He asked me if he could borrow a bucket. When I asked him why he told me that there was a fire at Town Hall. I put on my breeches and we each grabbed a bucket and followed the crowd of people. When we finally arrived, I was freezing. In the rush of the moment I had forgotten to put on a jacket and I lost one of my slippers in the crowd of people. I was sure that I would catch a cold. I still had no idea what was happening so to get a better look I climbed a tree. When I got to the top, I saw about 7 British soldiers take aim and fire at the crowd of people standing outside the TownHouse . When the smoke cleared, I could see from the angle in which I was standing 3 bodies laying in the snow, none of them were moving. It did not make since to me why the British soldiers kill the colonists. I climbed down and went over to Peter who was standing near the tavern. When I asked him what he had seen he told me that some of the colonists had been throwing ice and snow balls at them. I ran all the way home. As soon as I came home I started a fire. I was so cold that I was almost right over the fire. I went to bed very late last night still thinking about the eery sight of the three dead bodies laying in the snow. I knew I had to get up early and pick up the flat iron. So I went to bed dreading the thought of printing all the newspapers about what I had seen that night.

Dear Father, March 7, 1770

Two days have past since the deaths of the colonists or massacre as some people call it. Today the sky has darkened. The birds did not sing and I fear that I have caught a cold. All is not well here. The colonist are all outraged with the deaths. I say that they had it coming. They are the ones who went looking for trouble, not the soldiers. It is as if there is a dark cloud hanging over Boston. I am so tired of Samuel always printing bad things about the British soldiers. What nerve he has to do such a crusade act of hate. Why they have done no wrong to Boston's people. Why I can remember the times when it was a glorious thing to be British drinking their tea, wearing their clothes; why such a big fuss about no taxation without representation the colonists can not wait. In due time our voices will be heard but until that time it seems that the colonists and the British soldiers are at a tense stand off. More bloodshed will happen if this continues. I pray to God that this will stop. The Boston Massacre has made great business for me. More than ever I have been able to sell the newspapers but it is hard for me to write about the Massacre having seen what happened. It sends shivers down my spine every time I think of it. Also all this work has keep me away from my family. I have slept on the cold cement trying to keep up with the demand of newspapers. I can not stand the thought of Ana or Susan seeing this happen in front of them when they grow up. I want them to be happy, not thinking about the up and coming bloodshed that will shake Boston and its people with it.

Dear Father, March 9 ,1770

The five victims of the Boston Massacre had their funeral today. I thought about not letting Ana and Susan go but thought that it would show them what hate does to a person. I did not go for two reasons. The first one is because I had many newspapers to make to keep up with the demand and I do not think that I could stand the sight of seeing the faces just staring up at me so I stayed in my shop working. At one point I looked out my window to see the hordes of people going down the road. Some crying some just showing their respect. I took a moment from work to say a payer for the 5 victims. Sara and I have thought about moving to another colony. We both do not want Susan and Ana to see this. We both think that this is just the beginning. As I was walking down to the docks to pick up some medicine I saw a group of men standing outside the tavern talking in very hushed voices. I only knew of three of them, it was Samuel, Tom and Joseph. There were three others, one was a man who was about 5 6'' and had on a wig that made him about 6 2''.The other two appeared to be rope workers. As I walked by I heard a few things. My idea was that they were talking about a storage place were they could keep their musket and ammunitions. It was my worst fear ever they were preparing for war against the British soldiers. I told Sara what had happened and we both decided to leave before it started. We left at the right time. I was able to sell our home and the printing shop, I bought two horses with the money. We got a wagon and off we went. We were not the only ones who decided to leave, more then half of the colonists did the same. If we were to stay my business would go out of business. Also with my cold I thought that it would be a good idea to move out into the country with all the fresh air and sun.