ler beat to
quarters, shouting to the cruisers. "Fire, you ----, and be ---- to
you." The battle at once commenced and continued smartly for an hour,
when the _Pelican_ came up to give assistance to the two cruisers. The
_Kent_, big as she was, now used sweeps--it was reminiscent of the
days of Elizabethan galleasses--and drew away. However the _Pelican_
(a frigate) overhauled her, and the _Arethusa_ which had also come up
gave valuable aid as well. The two naval captains allowed the cruisers
to seize the _Kent_, and to take her into Hull, but the prisoners were
put on board the _Arethusa_ as stated. The _Kent's_ master and four of
the men had been killed. It should be added that the day before this
incident the _Pelican_ had also chased the _Kent_ out of Bridlington
Bay, so the smuggler must have come further north in the meanwhile,
thus meeting the two Scottish cruisers bound south. The hatches of the
_Kent_ were found to be unbattened, and her cargo in great disorder.
The latter consisted of 1974 half-ankers, and a large amount of tea
packed in oilskin-bags to the number of 554. This schooner had been
built at that other famous home of smugglers, Folkestone. She was
specially rigged for fast sailing, her mainmast being 77 feet long,
and her main-boom 57 feet. It was found that her sails were much
damaged by shot. Her mainmast was shot through in two places, and her
main-boom rendered quite unserviceable. Ship and tackle were appraised
at L1405, 16s., so with the addition of her cargo she represented a
fair prize.

But "Smoker" was still at large even though "Stoney" was a prisoner.
It was in April of 1777, when Captain Mitchell had fallen in with him
off Robin Hood's Bay. A month later the Collector of Hull wrote up to
the Board to say that a large lugger had been seen off Whitby, and
well armed. She was described as "greatly an overmatch" for any of the
Revenue cruisers, "or even for a joint attack of two of them": and
that as long as she and the armed cutter commanded by Browning,
_alias_ "Smoker" continued so daringly to "insult" the coasts, there
was little prospect of success. For six months past the Revenue
cruisers had not been able to make any seizures, because these
smuggling craft not only brought over vast quantities themselves, but
protected the smaller ones from the attempts of the Revenue cruisers.
A year later, and we find that Mitchell was every bit as slack as
before. This is made quite clear from a