"Don't tread on me."

Jones attracted such favorable attention during this enterprise that on
his return he was made commander of the twelve-ton brig _Providence_ and
was employed for a time in carrying troops from Rhode Island to New
York. Since he was by birth a citizen of Great Britain, which then
insisted that "once a British subject always a British subject," the
English cruisers made determined efforts to capture him. Many of the
officers declared that if they could lay hands on the audacious
freebooter, as they called him, they would hang him at the yard arm.
But, before doing so, they had to catch him, and that proved a harder
task than they suspected. He was chased many times and often fired into,
but the _Providence_ was always swift enough to show a clean pair of
heels to her pursuers and Jones himself was such a fine sailor that he
laughed at their efforts to take him prisoner.

One of the cleverest exploits of Jones was performed in the autumn of
1776. He saw an American brig returning from the West Indies, heavily
laden with supplies for Washington's army, which was badly in need of
them. A British frigate was in hot pursuit of the American, which was
straining every nerve to escape, but would not have been able to do so
except for Jones, who ran in between the two, and, firing into the
frigate, induced her to let the American go and chase him. Taking
advantage of the chance thus offered, the brig got safely away and then
Jones himself dodged away from the frigate, which thus lost both.

In the month of October, 1776, Jones was promoted to the rank of captain
and ordered to cruise between Boston and the Delaware. I must tell you
an anecdote which illustrates his wonderful seamanship.