HE SINKING OF THE
"MAINE."
Deadly and Heroic Deeds in the War with Spain 288

CHAPTER XXVII
THE GREAT VICTORY OF MANILA BAY.
Dewey Destroys a Fleet Without Losing a Man 294

CHAPTER XXVIII
HOBSON AND THE SINKING OF THE "MERRIMAC."
An Heroic Deed Worthy of the American Navy 304

CHAPTER XXIX
SAMPSON AND SCHLEY WIN RENOWN.
The Greatest Sea Fight of the Century 313

CHAPTER I

THE FIRST SEA FIGHT OF THE REVOLUTION

THE BURNING OF THE "GASPEE" IN NARRAGANSETT BAY

DOES it not seem an odd fact that little Rhode Island, the smallest of
all our states, should have two capital cities, while all the others,
some of which would make more than a thousand Rhode Islands, have only
one apiece? It is like the old story of the dwarf beating the giants.

The tale we have to tell has to do with these two cities, Providence and
Newport, whose story goes back far into the days when Rhode Island and
all the others were British colonies. They were capitals then and they
are capitals still. That is, they were places where the legislature met
and the laws were made.

I need not tell you anything about the British Stamp Act, the Boston
Tea-party, the fight at Lexington, and the other things that led to the
American Revolution and brought freedom to the colonies. All this you
have learned at school. But I am sure you will be interested in what we
may call the "salt-water Lexington," the first fight between the British
and the bold sons of the colonies.

There was at that time a heavy tax on all goods brought into the
country, and even on goods taken from one American town to another. It
was what we now call a revenue duty, or tariff. This tax the Americans
did not like to pay. They were so angry at the way they had been treated
by England that they did not want that country to have a penny of their
money. Nor did they intend to pay any tax.

Do you ask how they could help paying the tax? They had one way of doing
so. Vessels laden with goods were brought to the coast at night, or to
places where there was no officer of the revenue. Then in all haste they
unloaded their cargoes and were away again like flitting birds. The
British did not see half the goods that came ashore, and lost much in
the way of taxes.

We call this kind of secret trade "smuggling." Providence and Newport
were great smuggling places. Over the green waters of Narragansett B