USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Dorchester > History of the town of Dorchester, Massachusetts > Part 22
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While they hope the Rev. Mr. Bowman will make suitable reflections upon every part of his conduct, that may have deserved any degree of blame; they at the same time sym- pathize with him, under the troubles that attend the evening of his days, and sincerely wish it may be brightened, with the comforts of that gospel he has so long preached to others.
His People they trust will most scriously consider whether they also have not contributed to the divided and unhappy state, in which they now find themselves, and take every step prescribed in the gospel of peace, that they may be delivered from it. To them the Council devoutly wish the fulness of the blessing of the gospel ; and, should they be led, by divine providence, to the choice of another Pastor, that the troubles they have passed through may be lost and forgotten, in the long enjoyment of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
A true Copy, WILLIAM GORDON, AMOS ADAMS, Scribes.
Subsequently to the proceedings of the Council, the Church endeavored to obtain their Records, then in Mr. Bowman's possession. They chose a com- mittee to demand them, but he evaded it. They then voted to demand them " in a course of law." The book containing the deaths during his ministry was recovered, but not the others, which is a serious loss to the town. Mr. Bowman died March, 30, 1775, aged 68.
After the dismission of Mr. Bowman, Rev. Moses
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· Everett was invited to preach upon trial; and on May 27th, 1774, he was unanimously chosen by the Church to be its pastor, having all the votes cast, viz., 52. This choice the town confirmed, and he was ordained Sept. 28th, 1774. The Churches in- vited to assist in the ordination, were the First Church in Stoughton ; the Church in Milton ; the Church in Boston under the pastoral care of Dr. Elliot ; Rev. Mr. Balch's Church in Dedham ; Church in Ipswich, Rev. Mr. Cutler's ; Third Church in Roxbury ; and Dr. Cooper's and the Old South Churches in Boston. On the 6th of December, 1774, Mr. Everett removed from Dedham to Dorchester with his wife. About seventy men and women ac- companied them ; and when they arrived at Mr. Everett's house, they found about the same number of Dorchester people, " where there was a most elegant dinner prepared," and where they all, both minister and people, had a joyful time, every thing being " carried on with decency and good harmony."
Mr. Everett was born in Dedham, July 15, 1750, and was the youngest but one of nine children. He preached in Dorchester with great acceptance for eighteen years, when his declining health made it necessary for him to resign, and in 1793 he request- ed and obtained a dismission. The next year he was chosen a representative of the town, soon after was appointed a special Justice of the Court of Com- mon Pleas of Norfolk County, and in 1808 was appointed to fill a vacancy on the bench of that Court, occasioned by the death of his brother, Oliver Everett, Esq. He filled the office with wisdom and
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
integrity, and to the satisfaction of the public. He was an active and interested member of the Church after he ceased to be its minister, and was a delegate to most of the ordinations to which the Church was invited ; but the latter part of his life he was very feeble, and he had several shocks of paralysis. He died March 25th, 1813, leaving a widow and ten children-one by his first wife, one by his second, and eight by his third.
Dorchester was one of the towns which early voted to pay its Province tax into the hands of Hen- ry Gardner, of Stow, who was the treasurer for the .. Sons of Liberty, instead of Harrison Gray, the trea- surer under the Crown. This was in 1774, and at the same meeting, a committee was chosen to post up the names of those who sold or made use of East India tea. How much comfort as well as trou- ble has come through the use of this pleasant but expensive weed, since its introduction into Europe in 1679! For a long time after it was brought into the colonies it was considered a great luxury, but at this time had become so indispensable that supper without it was thought but half a meal, because it made its partakers feel so cheerful and their tongues " so merrily run." Suddenly, however, it had become with the majority a prohibited beverage. On account of being brought to the port of Boston subject to duties which the people had determined should never be paid, several cargoes of it had been thrown into the harbor, the chests containing it being first broken open, and the whole mass was thus liable to be carried by the winds and tides to various and dis-
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
tant places. Some of it found its way into this town, and caused no little trouble. The follow- ing account is from the Essex Gazette of January 4th, 1774. " Whereas it was reported that one Withington, of Dorchester, had taken up and partly disposed of a chest of the East India Company's tea, a number of the Cape or Narraganset Indians went to the house of Capt. Ebenezer Withington, and his brother Philip Withington (both living on the lower road from Boston to Milton), last Friday evening, and with their consent thoroughly searched their houses, without offering the least offence to any one. But finding no tea, they proceeded to the house of old Ebenezer Withington, at a place called Sodom, below Dorchester Meeting-house, where they found part of a half chest which had floated, and was cast upon Dorchester point. This they seized and brought to Boston Common, where they committed it to the flames."
March 10, 1775, the town passed a vote requiring all the inhabitants thereof, liable to do military duty, to assemble on a certain day, with arms and ammu- nition, to be reviewed, to see who would enlist, and who would hold themselves in readiness as minute men. This was at the time the fortifications on Dorchester Heights were about being completed.
There were then nine dwelling houses on the Neck, now South Boston, the location of each of which may be seen by consulting a map now in the posses- sion of the Massachusetts Historical Society, drawn by order of the British General then in Boston ; also · the road and principal trees. The occupants of these 35
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
houses were Mrs. Foster, Mr. Bird, Mr. Deluce, Mr. Williams, Mr. Farrington, Mr. Harrington, John Wiswall, Dea. Blake and Oliver Wiswall. Mrs. Foster's house was one of the best in the neighbor- hood, and it was difficult to convince the continen- tallers that it did not belong to a tory, as some of the rooms were even papered, which was considered very luxurious in those days. This house was the most westerly, and Dea. Blake's the most easterly, of any on the peninsula, and these were both burnt by the British, who now had possession of Boston,
For a long time the English officers had their attention fixed on what they denominated, on their plan, the twin hills, with the intention of fortifying them; but while they were waiting reinforcements enough to hazard it, the good judgment of Gen. Washington prompted him to secure the hills, and he improved the opportunity. The building of the forts here, under his direction, undoubtedly saved Boston from destruction ; for Congress, after a seri- ous debate, had given him authority to destroy it, notwithstanding the property and friends within it. Washington rode out to Dorchester, and selected the farm of Capt. John Homans, in the upper part of the town, as a suitable place to obtain fascines, or bundles of white birch faggots, with which to con- struct a fort, which must of necessity be done secretly. It was in March, and the ground so much frozen that earth could not be used, even had there been time for it. A lieutenant and thirty men were detached to cut and make the fascines, and the citizens of this and the neighboring towns were called upon to cart
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
them, on the night of the 4th, to the heights. About three hundred teams are supposed to have been em- ployed for this purpose, under the special charge of Mr. Goddard, of Brookline, and Mr. James Boies, of Dorchester. The late Mr. William Sumner, of Dorchester, so well remembered by many now liv- ing, drove one team. He carried five loads before day-light, and remembered it with great satisfaction to his last days. No man was allowed to speak above a whisper, and thus the work went on silently, and unknown to the enemy, whose attention was in the mean time attracted elsewhere by a constant can- nonading kept up from the American camp at Cam- bridge and Roxbury. It was one of the most for- midable acts in the Revolution, and was accomplish- ed in an incredibly short space of time. So sure was Gen. Washington that this work would bring on a battle, that he had two thousand bandages pre- pared with which to dress the wounded. Gen. Howe wrote to Lord Dartmouth, that " it must have been the employment of at least twelve thousand men." He is also reported to have said, "The rebels have done more in one night than my whole army would have done in a month."
Dorchester Neck, in its topographical appearance, was very uneven, abounding in hills and valleys .* Nook hill, in the north-west part of it, less than half a mile from the Heights, was a very important loca- tion for a battery, on account of its proximity to
* We are indebted to Mr. Thomas C. Simonds, of South Boston, for much valuable information in relation to the history of that peninsula.
-
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
Boston. Gen. Howe perceived this, and undoubt- edly intended to occupy it, and to dislodge the con- tinental army, or at least to prevent their use of it. The place where this hill then was, is the spot on which now stands the Lawrence School-house. It was an eminence fifty feet or upwards above the sea. Washington made up his mind to fortify it, and on Saturday night, March 9th, sent a detachment for that purpose. It was one of those cold and bluster- ing nights so common at that season of the year, and the soldiers were so imprudent as to build a fire for their comfort. This was seen by the British in Bos- ton, who opened a severe fire upon them, principally from their battery near what is now the corner of Washington and Dover Streets. Four soldiers, and a surgeon by the name of Dole, were killed, and the troops obliged to suspend operations for that time. Mrs. Adams, in her Letters, refers to this night in the following manner. " Sunday evening, March 10 - A most terrible and incessant cannonade from half after eight till six this morning. I hear we lost four men killed and some wounded in attempting to take the hill nearest the town, called Nook's Hill."
At a council of war held at the head quarters of Gen. Ward, in Roxbury, it was decided to fortify this place, at whatever cost ; and on Saturday night, March 16th, a large detachment was ordered out for that purpose. The British again opened upon them a heavy cannonading ; but, nothing daunted, they kept briskly at work, and during the night erected a substantial fortification, which brought
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things to a crisis in Boston, and hastened the evacu- ation. In a history of the war, published in Lon- don, is the following :- " A breastwork discovered this morning (March 17, 1776), to be thrown up by the Americans at Nook's Hill, on Dorchester penin- sula, which from its proximity had an entire com- mand of Boston Neck and the south end of the town-a work which the king's troops had most fearfully dreaded." The next morning the troops left the town, and embarked on board their vessels for Halifax.
May 23d, 1776. The town voted, " that if the Continental Congress should think it best to declare an Independency with Great Britain, we will sup- port them with our lives and fortunes." When the Declaration of Independence was made, the follow- ing July, it was transcribed in full on the Town Records.
This year the committee appointed to sell wood on the ministerial land in Milton, reported that they had sold 480 cords to the continental army, and 140 cords to the inhabitants. Col. Lemuel Robinson and James Robinson were the representatives this year.
March 13, 1776, the census of the town was taken, and the whole number of people was found to be 1550-viz., 1515 whites and 35 negroes and mu- lattoes. The number of families was 291.
In 1777 the town chose a committee to prosecute the " breaches of the late acts respecting monopoly and oppression ; " also à committee " to lay before
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the Court the evidence that may be had of the ini- mical dispositions of any inhabitant or inhabitants of this town, towards this or any of the United States." It would appear by this, that there were one or more tories in the town ; but the inhabitants were very much united as a body, and had a love of and determination for liberty, which seem to have sometimes been lost sight of in these latter days.
During the time that the Revolution was going on, the town was continually having meetings to in- duce men to enlist in the army. They were called upon to go to New York, to Canada, to Rhode Island, Long Island, Peek's Kill, West Point, on secret expeditions, &c. To furnish the many calls for enlistments and volunteers, the town put forth all its energies, and the people sacrificed their com- fort and estates. In 1777 the town offered a bounty of twenty pounds to each man who would enlist for three years or for the war, and pass muster, besides the pay offered by the colonies. It also offered great bounties to those who would enlist for shorter periods, and authorized the treasurer to borrow money to meet these demands. So frequent were these calls for soldiers, and so great was the expense incurred by the town, that its treasury was impov- erished, and with many of the most worthy and in- dustrious of the inhabitants it was difficult to obtain the necessaries of life. But they were cheered by the females, who willingly bore their part in the labors and responsibilities of the great work, and by the clergy, who preached boldly for the cause and
....
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encouraged them in their struggles. As early as January 31, 1777, nearly one third of the men be- longing to the town, above the age of sixteen years, were in the army. The Selectmen returned, under oath, the following numbers at home and abroad- viz., 294 at home; in the service, 79; 6 Boston people, and 10 negroes and mulattoes. The six Bos- ton men were probably induced to go for this town, on account of the great bounty offered. These calls were made from time to time, until the close of the
war. In the early part of it, many of the Dorches- ter men were stationed at the forts in and around Boston. " Being inhabitants of Dorchester," writes one of them, " we went to our own dwelling places and did business at home, except when on duty. We were allowed good provisions, and the duty was gen- erally easy."
To add to the trouble and distresses brought on by the Revolution, the town took measures for a general inoculation of the small pox, and voted to use the following named houses for hospitals, if they could be obtained : viz., Mr. Powell's ; Clement Sumner's ; a house belonging to Mr. James Robin- son, "if the neighbors consent to it;" Mr. Mel- lish's ; John Pierce, Jr.'s ; Capt. John Robinson's ; and Ebenezer Prescott's, " if he consent to it." This was early in 1778, and all persons desiring to be inoculated were to be at the hospitals before the 21st of January. Dr. Holden was to have the care of the patients, and great caution was urged, both upon him and his patients, during their sickness.
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
CHAPTER XVII.
Forestalling Provisions - The Currency - The Revolution - Names of Dorchester men engaged in the War-Shay's Rebellion.
July 12th, 1779. The town held a meeting, and voted to sustain the measures advocated by the meet- ing held in Boston, June 17th, preceding, which were intended to prevent the forestalling of provisions, the depreciation of the continental currency, and the demanding of hard money for goods or rents; also that all those who demanded hard money should not remain among them, but be transported to the enemy. A convention met at Concord to fix the prices on the principal articles of trade; but many small things were omitted, and this town chose a committee to determine the price for them. They are at this time a curiosity, but as they are stated in the continental currency, we can form but little judgment as to a comparison with present prices. Innholders were to have twelve shillings per mug or bowl for the best quality of flip or toddy ; and other charges were in proportion. Every string was in motion to keep up the spirits of the people and carry on the war. . A part of the town's land was sold, and in one or two instances individuals pur- chased colored slaves and gave them their freedom on condition that they would enlist in the army for three years.
April 19th, 1775, the day of the battle at Lexing- ton, the following persons assembled in the Dorches- ter Company, viz .:
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
Oliver Billings, Captain
Joseph Withington, Jr.
Jonathan Clap, Jr.
Lemuel Clap, Lieutenant Edward Glover, 2d do. Ebenezer Glover, Ensign
Samuel Bird
Lemuel Collin
Timothy Baker, Henry Humphreys, Serg'ts
Ezra Clap Samuel Champney
Paul Davis
James Baker, Jr.
Thomas Bird,
Noah Torrey
Josiah Glover Ezra Glover
Alexander Glover
Elisha Glover
Jonathan Bird
Samuel Crosby
James Kilton
John Billings
Ebenezer Atherton
Lemuel Billings
Nathaniel Clap
Jonathan Fessenden
Elisha Clap
Asa Horton Samuel Cox
Samuel Blackman
Elijah Pope
Isaac Davenport
Elijah Pope, Jr.
Ebenezer Maxfield
Jeremiah Hunt
Joshua Williams
Samuel Belcher
Jacob Bird
Elijah Bird
Thomas Williams
Ralph Pope
James Wood
Jesse Fenno
John Vaughn
John Hawse
Ichabod Wiswall
Joseph Withington
Eben Bird
Elijah Withington
John Atherton
Francis De Luce
Joseph Davenport
The following named persons served in some ca- pacity in the Revolutionary War, and received, from July 24, 1776, to April 3, 1779, in the shape of bounty, advance pay, and travelling fees, £5343.
Isaac Allen Ebenezer Atherton
Jonathan Blake
James Blake
Samuel Allen
Lemuel Billings
William Adams
Thomas Bird
Jacob Bird
John Ackleag Samuel Allen, Jr. John Atherton
Thomas Baker*
William Blake
* Thomas Baker was also in the expedition to Cape Breton.
36
Ebenezer Pope, John Billings,
Corporals
Daniel Fairn
Paul Hall
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
Nathaniel Blake
Edward Glover
John Blackman
Rufus Gulliver John Gamsby
Henry Bird
James Humphrey
Joseph Bird
William Humphrey
Henry Bird, Jr. Lemuel Blake
Peletiah Hall
Edward Bird
Samuel Homans
Samuel Blake
Nathaniel Humphrey
Jonathan Bird, Jr.
William Hayden
Daniel Bird
Joseph Hunt .
Samuel Champney
Andrew Hughs
Ebenezer Clap
Thomas Holman
David Crane
Lemuel Horton
John Capen, Jr.
John Jenkins
Ebenezer Clap, Jr.
Oliver Jackson
Bernard Capen
Ezekiel Johnson
Ephraim Capen
John Johnson
Samuel Coolidge
Thomas Jones
Jonathan Clap, Jr.
James Kilton
Samuel Crehore
Lemuel King
David Clap, Jr.
Samuel Kilton
Ezra Clap
Ebenezer Kilton, Jr.
William Cole
John Kilton
Abner Clap
Nathan Leeds
Nathaniel Clap
James Lewis
Seth Crane
Josiah Leeds
Ebenezer Davis
Benjamin Lyon
Josiah Davenport
Lemuel Lyon
Samuel Davenport
Edward Stow Leeds
Benajah Davenport
Hezekiah Read Miller
Joseph Davenport
John Mellish
George Davenport
Jeremiah M'Intosh
Isaac Shaw Davenport
Bartholomew Moor James M'Clary
Joseph Ellis
Hezekiah R. Miller, Jr.
Stephen Fowler
Ebenezer Maxfield
Stephen Fowler, tertius
Peter Niles
John Foster
Jonathan Nash John Phips
William Farris Enoch Fenno John Fling
Samuel Preston
Napthali Pierce
James Gooley
Jonathan Packard
James Green
Elijah Pope
Alexander Glover
Thomas Phillips
Pearson Eaton
John Foster, Jr.
Benjamin Pratt
Israel Beals
William Harris
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
Lemuel Pierce
Thomas Tolman
Capt. John Robinson
Benjamin Trott Reuben Tory
Jacob Randall
Joseph Turner
John Richmond Samuel Randall
George Vose
Jonathan Sever
William Vose
Lemuel Spur Clement Sumner
Joseph Whiston
James Sherman
Lemuel Withington
Daniel Stoddard
Edward Withington
Micha Symonds
Noah Whitcomb
Rufus Sumner
Capt. John Withington
William Trescott
Samuel Withington
Elijah Tolman
Noah Whitcomb, Jr.
Ezekiel Tileston
Thomas Williams
Tohn Trescott
Thomas White
George Taylor
Abraham Wilson
Nathaniel Topliff
John Wiswall
Jazaniah Thayer
John Waters
Andrew Turner
Ebenezer Wales
William Thompson
Moses White
Samuel Thayer
Joseph Williams
The time of service of all the individuals named above, was previous to April 3, 1779. On the 4th of July, 1780, the town voted that " whosoever would enlist for the reinforcement of the Continental Army, for the space of three months, should be allowed £250 per month." The large amount here offered for monthly wages shows how great had become the depreciation of the currency. These renewed exertions brought out more men, and we find the following additional names enrolled.
Charles King Thomas Smith Samuel White John Wiswall, Jr. James Spur Elisha Spur James Tileston Samuel Babcock
William White Thomas White Timothy Wales,-in Col. Cram's reg. of Artill.
Ezra Kimbel Prince Darby Cesar Thacher
John Vaughan
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
We also know that three worthy townsmen, James Davenport, Stephen Badlam and Wm. Badlam, were in the army, and that the former received the present of a sword from Lafayette. Prince Darby was a slave ; and the name Cesar Thacher seems to denote that he was one also. The former was purchased by Dea. Edw. Pierce and Samuel Howe, and his freedom given to him on the condition that he would enlist for three years.
The following additional names were in Capt. Lemuel Clap's company, which contained many on the preceding lists.
Andrews, Samuel
Clap, Lemuel, Jr.
Beals, Seth
Clap, Jonathan
Barry, Redmon
Clap, David
Baker, David
Clap, Ezekiel
Billings, Lemuel, Jr.
Clap, Supply
Baker, George
Clap, Thomas
Bird, Comfort
Crouch, William
Bird, Edward, Jr.
Crane, Zebulon
Blaney, William
Carriel, Thomas
Bird, Aaron
Capen, John
Berry, Edward
Capen, Christopher
Bird, Jonathan
Collyer, Lemuel
Bird, Isaac
Davis, Nehemiah
Blackman, Moses
Davenport, Isaac
Bird, Lemuel
Dickerman, Benjamin
Bird, Joseph, Jr.
De Luce, Francis
Blackman, Samuel
Draper, Paul
Badcock, William
English, John
Bates, Alpheus
Foster, William
Bates, Elisha
Felt, Edward
Bates, Elisha, Jr.
Fairn, Daniel
Bostwick, Zechariah
Giles, Samuel
Clap, John
Glover, Enoch
Clap, Nathaniel
Glover, Enoch, Jr.
Clap, Samuel
Glover, Nathaniel
Clap, Edward
Goff, John
Clap, Lemuel
Healey, Nathaniel
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
Hewitt, Thomas
Payson, Joseph
Hayward, Jacob
Pratt, David
Humphrey, Jonas
Pond, Joshua
Hawes, John
Richards, David
Jackson, Gershom
Stratton, Benjamin
Kilton, Ebenezer
Sharp, William Seaver, Elisha
Leeds, Thomas Lovell, Joshua
Shed, Thomas
Lyon, Eliphalet
Tucker, Edward
Lyon, David
Tileston, Timothy
Mann, Ephraim
Wighen, John
M'Lellan, Joseph
White, James
Mann, William
Wilson, Ephraim
Meraw, William
Wiswall, Ichabod
Meraw, Samuel
Wales, John
Meraw, John
Withington, Ebenezer
Mosley, Ebenezer
Withington, James
Mosley, Thomas
Withington, Joseph
Mosley, Samuel
Withington, Joseph, Jr ..
Maxfield, John
Williams, John
Niles, Silas
Wiswall, Oliver
Payson, Samuel
Wales, Jonathan
Pierce, Ebenezer
Webb, Joseph
Pierce, Samuel
Ward, Josiah
In another list we find
Nathaniel Wales
Samuel Blackman Jonathan Bradley
John Wales John Withington Nathan Bradley
Perhaps the names of some who went from Dor- chester, and served their country in the Revolu- tionary Army, are omitted in the preceding lists ; and some few mentioned were from Milton, but pro- bably enlisted for Dorchester people. The foregoing are all the names that can readily be found, of those who engaged in that important cause. The service of some, as already mentioned, was slight-perhaps being placed on guard at Dorchester Heights, at the Castle, or at Cambridge; while others were sent to
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
West Point, Rhode Island, Ticonderoga, and other important points, and some of these were engaged in the different conflicts of the war. With all its hard- ships, there was a bright side to the revolutionary ser- vice ; many friendships were contracted, which lasted through life, and stories told round the camp fires were repeated through the country, and have been handed down to the present generation. The fol- lowing is related of two of the Dorchester soldiers, John Blackman and Joseph Whiston, who were in the army at West Point. When they were dis- charged, at the close of the war, they had a long journey to take on foot, to reach their home, and, as they expressed it, " little money to spend." They therefore purchased together one canteen full of rum (joint stock), and set their faces homeward. Black- man, being the youngest, said that he felt it his duty to carry said canteen. He soon outwalked his fel- low traveller, who seeing him upon a hill in ad- vance, hailed him, and said that he wanted some of the precious liquor. Blackman replied that he would stop at the next house, where he could obtain water, wait for him, and they would drink together. Whis- ton called at the house, as agreed upon, and inquired for his comrade, but found that he had kept on, and he hurried on after him. He occasionally got within hailing distance, but invariably received the same answer from Blackman, that he would stop at the next house, but he never kept his word. In this way they travelled from West Point to Dorchester. For a while after their return, Blackman gave Whis-
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