rican knows that almost the
first act of open resistance to the authority of the king took place
on the water, and was to some extent a naval action.

The revenue laws, enacted by the English Parliament as a means of
extorting money from the Colonies, were very obnoxious to the people
of America. Particularly did the colonists of Rhode Island protest
against them, and seldom lost an opportunity to evade the payment of
the taxes.

Between Providence and Newport, illicit trade flourished; and the
waters of Narragansett Bay were dotted with the sail of small craft
carrying cargoes on which no duties had ever been paid. In order to
stop this nefarious traffic, armed vessels were stationed in the Bay,
with orders to chase and search all craft suspected of smuggling. The
presence of these vessels gave great offence to the colonists, and the
inflexible manner in which the naval officers discharged their duty
caused more than one open defiance of the authority of King George.

The first serious trouble to grow out of the presence of the British
cruisers in the bay was the affair of the schooner "St. John." This
vessel was engaged in patrolling the waters of the bay in search of
smugglers. While so engaged, her commander, Lieut. Hill, learned that
a brig had discharged a suspicious cargo at night near Howland's
Ferry. Running down to that point to investigate, the king's officers
found the cargo to consist of smuggled goods; and, leaving a few men
in charge, the cruiser hastily put out to sea in pursuit of the
smuggler. The swift sailing schooner soon overtook the brig, and the
latter was taken in to Newport as a prize. Although this affair
occurred early in 1764, the sturdy colonists even then had little
liking for the officers of the king. The sailors of the "St. John,"
careless of the evident dislike of the citizens of the town, swaggered
about the streets, boasting of their capture, and making merry at the
expense of the Yankees. Two or three fights between sailors and
townspeople so stirred up the landsmen, that they determined to
destroy the "St. John," and had actually fitted up an armed sloop for
that purpose, when a second man-of-war appeared in the harbor and put
a final stopper to the project. Though thus balked of their revenge,
the townspeople showed their hatred for the king's navy by seizing a
battery, and firing several shots at the two armed vessels, but
without effect.

During the same year, the little tow