before that i wont go out
at all. it seams to me 3 oh clock is prety lait. sum
of the fellers stay out all nite.

July 5. brite and fair. i was so tired last nite that
i coodent wright. i dident go to bed until nearly
leven and i got up at 3 oh clock. it was the best 4th
i ever had. Pewt's cannon xploded the ferst time.
we loded it to the muzle and put the muzle rite
agenst the stone step of old Nat Weeks house. then
we lit the fusee and run. i gess it is lucky we done
it for there was a feerful bang and a big flash jest
like when litening strikes a tree rite in front of your
house and a big hunk of that cannon went rite
throug old Bill Greenleafs parlor winder and took
sash and all and gnocked a glass ship in a gloab that
the glassblewers blowed into forty million peaces
and gnocked a big hunk out of the marbel top table
and sent the things on the whatnot all over the room.

Bill he come downstairs in his shert tale and
hollered and swore so you cood hear him fer eigt miles
eesy. me and Pewt and Beany hid behine Pewts
fathers paint shop and lissened. Nat Weeks he
come out and old printer Smith and old Bill Morrill.
Old Ike Shute dident. i gess he dident dass to. we
cood hear them talking it over and cood hear Bill
holler and sware and Bills wife say mersy sakes
aint this dredful. they thogt it must have been did
by Flunk Ham and Chick Randall or the Warren
boys, all big fellers becaus they sed it must be big
fellers to have sutch a big cannon. so me and Pewt
and Beany clim over Fifields back fence and went
down town throug Spring street.

Beany set fire to a bunch of fire crackers in his
poket and birnt him so he can only sit down on one
side. Fatty Melcher stumped Pewt to hold a
firecracker in his mouth and let it go off. it is eezy
enuf. all you have got to do is to put the end
between your teeth and lite the other end and shet
your eys. it will go off and burst in the middle and
all you will get is a few sparks that dont hurt mutch.
but this one was a flusher and it flushed at the end
whitch was in Pewts mouth and a stream of sparks
went rite down Pewts gozzle. you would have
dide to see Pewt spitt and holler and drink water.
he drank most a gallon and he wont speak to me
becaus laffed.

All the Chadwicks got birned when they was blowing
up old Buzell's fence posts, they was lots of
fites down town and a house on Franklin Street and
a barn on Stratam road birned up. it was the
best 4th i ever gnew