Page:History of the United States of America, Spencer, v1.djvu/319

 confusion and noise became terrible. A sentinel at the custom house, alarmed for his life, cried out to the main guard for assistance, and a picket of eight men with unloaded muskets was despatched by Captain Preston to his relief. At this sight the fury of the mob increased to the highest pitch, they received the soldiers with a torrent of abusive epithets, and pelted them with stones covered with snow, dared them to fire, and completely surrounding them, pressed up to the very point of their bayonets. The soldiers loaded their muskets, but one Attucks, a powerful mulatto, at the head of a body of sailors, urged on the mob to exterminate the handful of military, and struck upon the bayonets with their clubs. "Come on," he exclaimed; "don't be afraid of them—they dare not fire{{—} knock 'em over, kill 'em." Captain Preston coming up at this moment, was received by Attucks with a violent blow. The Captain parried it with his arm, but it knocked the bayonet out of one of the soldier's hands, which was instantly seized by Attucks, and a struggle took place, in the midst of which some of those behind called out, "Why don't you fire, why don't you fire?" whereupon the soldier, suddenly springing to his legs, shot Attucks dead upon the spot. Five other soldiers immediately fired, when three men were killed, five seriously wounded, and a few others slightly hurt. The mob fell back awhile, and carried off the dead and wounded.

The tumult became fearful; at ten o'clock the alarm bell began to toll, and drums to beat; the cry was, "The soldiers are risen," and thousands of citizens flew to arms in all directions. Some people ran hastily to summon the lieutenant-governor, who hurried to the spot, and reproached Preston with firing on the people without an order from the magistrates. "To the town house! to the town house!" exclaimed some; and such was the pressure of the mob, that Hutchinson was fairly driven before it up the stairs into the council-chamber. Here a demand was made of him that he would order the troops to retire to their barracks, which he refused to do, but stepping forth to the balcony, assured the people of his great concern at the unhappy event, that a rigorous inquiry about it should take place, and entreated them to retire to their homes. Upon this there was a cry of "Home, home," and the greater part separated peaceably. The troops returned to the barracks. A warrant was then issued against Preston, who, surrendering himself, was committed to prison to take his trial, together with several of the soldiers.

Early the next morning, the people resolved to insist upon the immediate removal of the soldiers, and a committee was appointed, with Samuel Adams at their head, to wait upon the governor, and inform him and the royal commander, that the troops must leave Boston, or a fearful collision would be certain to ensue. After much hesitation and unwillingness on the part of Hutchinson and Colonel Dalrymple, the soldiers retired to Castle William. The "Boston Massacre" as it was then termed, caused wide-spread excitement, and the funeral of those who had been