ember of 1773 three ships laden with tea
arrived in her port. Their captains soon heard of the hostility to
their mission, were soon warned of the dangers that awaited them.
Alarmed at their perils, the captains declared their perfect
willingness to return with their cargoes to England if they were
permitted to do so by the Board of Customs and the persons to whom the
tea had been consigned. But the willingness of the captains was of no
avail. The consignees insisted that the tea should be delivered to
them, and neither the Custom House nor the Governor would grant the
captains permission to return. But if the consignees and the
authorities were resolved that the tea should be landed, the citizens
of Boston were equally resolved that it should {160} not. Their
fantastic method of giving force to their resolution has made it
famous. In the dusk of a December evening the three tea-ships were
suddenly boarded by what seemed to be a small army of Mohawk Indians in
all the terror of their war-paint. These seeming Indians were in
reality serious citizens of Boston, men of standing, wealth, and good
repute, wearers of names that had long been known and honored in the
Commonwealth. The frightful paint, the gaudy feathers, the moccasins
and wampum, the tomahawks, scalping-knives, and pistols that seemed so
alarming to the peaceful captains of the boarded ships were but the
fantastic accoutrements that concealed the placid faces and the portly
persons of many a respectable and respected Boston burgess.

The plan had been schemed out by a conclave of citizens around a bowl
of punch in Court Street, and was carried out with a success that was
no less remarkable than its peacefulness. The trappings of the red man
concealed the identity of many prominent citizens, friends of John
Hancock and Samuel Adams, their rivals in ability and their peers in
energy. The sham savages were so numerous and so determined that no
resistance was offered by the captains or the crews of the vessels.
The shore was picketed with sentinels ready to resist any interference
on the part of any representatives of royal authority. There was no
interference. The conspirators of the punch-bowl and those who obeyed
their instructions kept their secret so close, and did their work so
quickly, that those in authority knew nothing about the business until
the business was happily over. In about two hours the entire cargo of
the three tea-ships was dragg