11 



landed, he pointed out to me where the cannon were piled, in front of 

 the old store, upon the wharf, that was recently burnt. 



These cannon had been accumulating for some time. They were 

 owned by various persons ; had been in use on board merchant vessels, 

 and landed from them ; a general peace making them then unneces- 

 sary. 



When the alarm came that Leslie was marching that way to seize 

 them, they were dragged away by the farmers, in a general turnout, 

 suspended under their ox-cart axles, and under the direction of Col. 

 Mason, of the Salem Militia, were landed on the upper part of his 

 land, now the head of School Street. From him Mason street has its 

 name. 



A written memorandum from Gideon Tucker is here copied, dated 

 September, 1858. "While Col. Leslie was detained by the raising of 

 the draw of the bridge, the cannon were removed to Mason's field, 

 where Geo. H. Devereux's house now stands, and there I saw them 

 several years. I judge, from the best of my recollection, the number 

 might have been twelve or fifteen. They remained there several 

 years, up to 1793, or longer, and then gradually disappeared. 



In the trouble with France at that time merchant vessels sailedkwith 

 armament, and with Letters of Marque, and these cannon were taken 

 for that purpose. None of them were used in the war of the Revolu- 

 tion. The place where they lay was a thicket of bushes and trees, and 

 with boys, I have often played over and about them, until they were 

 removed." 



Our venerable citizen, Ebenezer Symonds, now living, testifies to 

 having seen them there in his very youthful days. 



ON GUANO DEPOSITS. 



Prof. A. M. Edwards, of New York, made some remarks calling 

 attention to a course of investigation he had been pursuing for several 

 years, by means of which he had become acquainted with many facts 

 of extreme importance in several branches of science, more particu- 

 larly Geology, Agriculture and Chemistry. After having spent some 

 years in the examination of Guanos, both chemically and by means of 

 the microscope, he had turned his attention to the so-called, "Infuso- 

 rial deposits " which are found to occur in various parts of the world, 

 but more particularly on the Pacific shores of the North American 

 continent, and in Japap and Peru. After becoming connected with the 

 State Geological Survey of California, carried on under the direction 

 and control of Prof. J. D. Whitney, he had been enabled to extend his 

 field of research considerably, on account of being entrusted with the 

 examination of the specimens collected during its prosecution. A full 



