John Malcom was born in Boston in 1723, the son of Scots-Irish immigrants Michael and Sarah Malcom. 约翰成为了一名船主和船长，并有一段活跃的军事生涯, 从1745年路易斯堡之围开始. Frank Hersey described him as “cursed with a fiery temper which under the slightest provocation flamed into ungovernable rage.在他的一生中, 这种脾气会使他与任何人发生争执, 不像他的兄弟但以理, 一个爱国者, John picked the opposite side of the brewing dispute between colony and crown—setting the stage for his denouement in Boston. 北卡罗莱纳州监管者起义期间(1768-1771), Malcom was notorious for his “enthusiastic suppression” of “rebel” forces and was suspended for misconduct in the office of Comptroller at the Customs House in Currituck, 北卡罗莱纳.

在他被停职之后, 马尔科姆被任命在法尔茅斯的海关总署任职, 缅因州, 报纸宣布“著名的约翰·马尔科姆”来了, (he says) with large Authority from the Commissioners of the Customs … When such Creatures are employ’d in publick Affairs, it gives us great Reason to think there is some rotten Plank in our Constitution.” Given his reputation, it would not be long before Malcom ruffled feathers among the maritime

10月下旬，马尔科姆扣押了这艘船 兄弟 因为你没有登记用最微不足道的借口, 在这样做的时候, 他以他一贯的敌对态度行事. 的 波士顿公报和乡村杂志 1773年11月15日的会议报告了结果:

昨天我.e. 11月1. [1773]大约12点, 远处传来三声欢呼向我们致敬, 当接近窗口调查原因时, 我们看到了大约30名水手, 围绕着一个看起来更像D----l的物体, than any Human being; but in Truth it was the infamous J—N M----m, Esq; who had render’d himself obnoxious to the Sailors by being an Informer. 他们围住了先生。. 布拉德伯里的房子, 马尔科姆在哪里?, 经过顽强抵抗，约翰·爱尔兰被攻占, 被解除了刀剑, 甘蔗, 帽子 & 假发, he was genteely TARR’D and FEATHER’D; then after marching thro’ the Streets an Hour, 被开除了.

的 “genteel” nature of this tarring and feathering—the sailors did not remove Malcom’s clothes before tarring him—stands in contrast to the treatment he would receive in Boston just a few months later.

波士顿街头发生了一起随意的口角

While Malcom’s first experience with the tar and feathers was related to his official duties; his second would occur due to a dispute in the streets of Boston. 马尔科姆回到波士顿的时候, it had been occupied by British soldiers since 1768 and seen the tumult of the killing of Christopher Seidel and the Boston Massacre and its citizens had just dumped three ship cargos’ worth of East India Tea into the Harbor. 波士顿局势紧张, 和一个傲慢的存在, 妄自尊大的海关执法者帮不上忙.

1774年1月25日, 据说那是寒冷的一天，地上有雪, 波士顿鞋匠乔治. T. 凿 encountered John Malcom threatening to beat a young boy with his cane. 正如当天报纸所报道的那样, 凿—convinced that Malcom would kill the boy were he to strike—confronted Malcom. 此后，局势迅速升级:

... Mr. 马尔科姆，我希望你不要用那根棍子打那孩子. Malcom returned, you are an impertinent rascal, it is none of your business. Mr. 休斯问他，孩子对他做了什么. 马尔科姆骂了他一顿，问他要不要参加? Mr. 凿回答 ... that he thought it was a shame for him to strike the child with such a club as that, 如果他想打他. 那该死的马尔科姆先生. 凿, 叫他流浪汉, and said he would let him know he should not speak to a gentleman in the street. Mr. 凿返回 ... he was neither a rascal nor vagabond, and though a poor man was in as good credit in town as he was ... 我[休斯]从来没有被责骂过，也没有被责骂过. On this Malcom struck him, and wounded him deeply on the forehead, so that Mr. 有一段时间，休斯失去了理智 ...

事实上，马尔科姆的一击在休斯的帽子和头上撕开了一个两英寸的口子. Dr. 约瑟夫•沃伦, 谁治疗他?, 注意到，如果他没有这么“厚脑壳”的话,"那伤口肯定是致命的. B.B. 撒切尔和詹姆斯·霍克斯, 谁在19世纪30年代纪念了休斯, 据报道，即使在60年后，伤疤仍然清晰可见.

“我想看到它以新式的方式完成。”

在他恢复知觉之后, 凿 went to the constable to swear out a warrant on Malcom—the two travelled to Malcom’s house to serve it, but finding the house already surrounded by angry Bostonians (news of the assault had travelled fast) departed, 打算第二天再来. 就在那时，暴徒们亲手惩罚了马尔科姆. 还是从报纸上摘录的:

马尔科姆回家了, 人们聚集在哪里, 他出来大骂他们, 说, 你说我满身柏油和羽毛, 而且不是用正当的方式做的, 该死的你, 让我看看谁敢做得更好! 我想看它以新式的方式完成.

群众很快同意了, 把马尔科姆拖出房子, 剥夺他, 在他裸露的皮肤上涂上焦油，然后给他涂上羽毛. 的y marched him through the freezing-cold streets of Boston to the huzzahs of many, 尽管一些, 包括凿, 试图帮助马尔科姆，给他带来自己的毯子或外套. 晚上的事情持续了好几个小时, ending with Malcom’s being forced to drink tea toasting all the members of the Royal family until he was sick to the point of bursting. 被威胁要失去一只耳朵, Malcom finally capitulated and was returned home where 凿 recounted that “the poor creature was almost frozen, 然后像木头一样从车上滚了出来.” Malcom’s injuries were grievous; the frostbite had caused his skin to peel off in chunks along with the tar and he was bedridden for eight weeks. 他康复后, Malcom—bearing preserved chunks of his own frostbitten skin--departed for England to petition for redress from the crown. He would die there 15 years later, far from his wife and children who had remained in Boston.

Many Bostonians were sickened by the treatment accorded Malcolm—diarist John Rowe called it an “act of outrageous violence.” Patriot leaders were quick to disclaim responsibility for Malcom’s attack, posting notifications in the streets and the newspapers that certified “that the modern Punishment lately inflicted on the ignoble John Malcom, was not done by our Order: --We reserve that Method for bringing Villains of greater Consequence to a Sense of their Guilt and Infamy.”