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men, some of whom handled him very roughly. Lieutenant McDonnell came up to him, with his arm in a sling, and at first offered to strike him with his fist, and then attempted to draw a pistol out of his belt to shoot him, but was prevented from doing him any hurt by Sergeant McFall, to whom he had at first surrendered himself; then the pockets of the deponent were searched and rifled, and a loaded pistol, among other things, taken out of them.
In the mean, while the deponent's cellars (being an outbuilding) were broke open and pillaged, and the heads of several hogsheads were staved in, and others had forced open the potash works, and brought out three negroes, with divers kinds of plunder; during all which the deponent and his wife were kept standing in the mud, with naked feet, to behold their house and goods burned and plundered, trunks opened, and pieces of goods from the store divided among them, whilst neither himself nor his wife were allowed any clothes to cover or defend them from the cold. At length Sergeant David Me Fall took off his blanket-coat and put it upon Mrs. Walker, whilst the deponent wrapped himself round with a coverlid which he had hastily snatched up. Thus equipped, they were marched to the end of the road leading to Sulpice, where a cart was pressed, and they were carried therein to a batteau lying in the river St. Laurence, a league from his house, being guarded all along the road by this party of twenty soldiers, and flanked in the woods by the Canadians, with his three negroes on foot, part of the plunder and the wounded Grenadiers in one of the deponent's carriages. Several armed batteaus were sent down from Montreal to give us the meeting, commanded by Lieutenant Leslie; and when we arrived at the Landing, opposite the barracks, General Prescott, in great wrath, came down upon the beach, and commanded the prisoners lo be brought forth; all the troops were marched, put of the gate, and formed in two divisions, and the deponent enclosed in the centre, where he ordered him to be pinioned, and then, marching into the barrack square, he spoke these words: "You are a traitor and a villain, you scoundrel, to betray your country; but the laws of your country have overtaken you at last; you shall have the justice of this country: for, to you, you villain, is owing the loss of all the blood of those brave men that has been, or shall be spilled at St. John's, or in other parts of Canada. To which this deponent replied: "I perceive that you know very little of my real character; but pray, who are you, sir, that treats me thus unworthily, for I have not the honour to know you?" not having seen him before. "What do you think of last night's work," continued he; "and of that brave man in the boat, which you have so desperately wounded?" "I think, sir, that it was a very poor exploit, to send fifty men on purpose to murder one, and burn his house, whilst he and his family were asleep in their beds." He replied, by calling to the Provost-Marshal and the smith, to put the deponent in irons, which were much heavier than ordinary, being made by the particular orders of Major Hughes, who, also, gave the dimensions, as the smith has since informed this deponent; and whilst he was putting them on, General Prescott called out to him, to rivet them well, (in doing which, he jarred the bones of the deponent's legs, so as to give him inexpressible pain,) and then, with a loud voice, cried out, "Your crime is high treason and rebellion; and," added he," give that poor unhappy man a stray bed and a blanket in Number four, in the barracks, and keep sentries over him, that nobody speaks to him but the Town-Major, (Mr. Hughes,) unless before the Sergeant of the Guard."
There this deponent lay, confined and alone, in irons, for thirty-three days and nights, without fire or candle for a long while, or the consolation of a friend, at any time, Mrs. Walker being absolutely forbid to see him, and, for many days, made a prisoner in her own house, with six sentries round about it, and the persons who came and went to and from the barracks, with victuals, were searched for letters, fee.
At length, St. John's being taken, this deponent was carried by soldiers, in a weak and low condition, and in presence of Captain Anstruther and Mr. Hughes, under pretence of going to General Prescott's room, in a very rainy day, to a boat, which conveyed him on board an armed schooner in the service of Government, commanded by Captain Lisote, who had the humanity to order his irons to be knocked off, placing a sentry at the cabin-door with at drawn sword, and orders not to let the prisoner receive or send any letters, papers, or messages, without examination and leave of the Lieutenant. It seems, notwithstanding these precautions, that the Generals were offended at Captain Lisole for having freed from fetters this deponent, without positive orders from them; and told him that he must answer for his prisoner, corps pour corps.
Two days afterwards, the deponent was hurried from on board Captain Lisote, to another armed schooner, commanded by Captain Bouchet, where he remained, under the same kind of confinement, for twelve days, nine of which were spent in the attempt the vessel made to escape to Quebeck, which began with precipitation immediately upon the appearance of General Montgomery's vanguard at St. Paul's bland. However, they durst not venture to pass the point of Sorel River, there being Continental troops, cannon, and an armed gondola, which drove the ships back again to La Velterie, having killed one man on board the Gaspee, where the capitulation was signed by Gen. Prescott, on Sunday evening, to surrender eleven sail of vessels, in which were, viz:*three Majors, five Captains, and several subalterns, conductors, and inferior officers, together with one hundred and seventeen regular soldiers, rank and file, with their arms and accoutrements, besides St. Luke La Come, one of the Legislative Council of Quebeck, Captain John Eraser, Judge of the Common Pleas and Counsellor, and several Canadian volunteers. Governour Carle/on having quitted the Gaspee, with Messrs. Niverville and Lanaudiere, at midnight, on Thursday, was conducted in a whale-boat, with muffled paddles, by Captain Bouchet, a secret way to Three-Rivers, and arrived at Quebeck on Sunday following.
The deponent was set free on Monday morning, by his friend Major Brown, who delivered him from the cruel hands of tyranny and oppression, and from the tools of military and arbitrary power, †
Over and above the indignity and sufferings imposed upon this deponent and his wife, who was denied the liberty of seeing him by General Prescott, and taking his last adieu at the instant of his departure, when it was exultingly given out that he was to be sent home in irons, there to be . . . . . He had his apprentice imprisoned for about sixty-seven days, and his other servants and slaves put under confinement, to his very great damage in his interest, and ruin of his health, besides the loss sustained by burning, destroying, and plundering his house, manufactory, store, household goods, cash, plate, books, notes, furniture, clothes,
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