and severe fight, captured a schooner of the English service that
mounted fifteen guns--over twice as many as the _Decatur_ carried. The
_Saratoga_ of New York, Captain Aderton, took the _Morgania_, a British
packet of eighteen guns, off Surinam, and in the action both vessels
were nearly dismantled. The _Comet_, of Baltimore, had a running fight
with three English merchant-men and a Portuguese sloop of war; she beat
off the latter, who officiously interfered, and compelled all three of
the Englishmen to strike their colors. The _Young Eagle_ took two
British ships at once--one quite as large and as powerful as she was.
The _Montgomery_, Captain Upton of Boston, mounting twelve guns, fought
yard arm to yard arm with a fine sloop of war belonging to the English
navy, mounting twenty guns. The _Surinam_, for that was her name, gave
up the fight, and, much crippled, put in at Barbadoes. They were rare
good fighters--these privateers.
But perhaps one of the strangest adventures was that of the _Young
Teazer_--what a saucy, impudent name for a vessel; but, according to
account, it suited her to a nicety. Captain Dobson of New York was part
owner and commander, and while cruising off Halifax he was chased by a
large armed ship, the _Sir John Sherbroke_. As she kept gaining
steadily, Dobson headed his own vessel straight for Halifax harbor; he
passed the lighthouse, and as he did so hoisted up English colors over
the American in order to lead his pursuer to suppose he was an English
prize. As if in disgust at having wasted so much time, the _Sir John
Sherbroke_ hove about and put to sea, and as soon as she was at a
safe distance, Dobson hauled down his misleading colors and did
likewise, successfully escaping.
The journals of the time are crowded with adventures such as these, and
the few here referred to have been selected merely at random. But they
give an idea of the adventurous spirit and daring enterprise of the
Yankee tars and captains.
On Many Seas.
_THE LIFE AND EXPLOITS OF A YANKEE SAILOR._
BY
FREDERICK BENTON WILLIAMS,
EDITED BY HIS FRIEND,
WILLIAM STONE BOOTH.
12mo. Cloth. $1.50.
COMMENTS OF THE PRESS.
"Every line of this hits the mark, and to any one who knows the
forecastle and its types the picture appeals with the urgency of old
familiar things. All through his four hundred and more pages he is
equally unaffected and forcible, equally picturesque. To go through one
chapter is to pass with lively anticipation to the next. His book is
destined to be remembered."--_New York Tribune._
"The book reads like a romance, but is at the same time realistic
history, before which the fancy ships and the fancy sailors of the
novelist are pale and faded."--_Baltimore Sun._
"The charm of the book is its simplicity and truth. The author, as I
happen to know, can spin thrilling yarns by the hour, and this book of
his is simply one long yarn of his life. A seaman every inch of him, he
writes as only a sailor can. No landsman, no amateur yachtsman, could
write a book like this. The entire book bears the stamp of truth, and
in this age of literary shams that is a crowning merit."--_New York
Herald._
* * * * *
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY,
66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK.
THE WORKS OF
Captain Marryat.
With an Introduction to each volume by DAVID HANNAY, and 40
Illustrations by an Eminent Artist.
Printed on Antique Paper, uniformly bound in Cloth. 12mo. $1.50 each.
JAPHET IN SEARCH OF A FATHER. Illustrated by Henry M. Brock.
JACOB FAITHFUL. Illustrated by Henry M. Brock.
PETER SIMPLE. Illustrated by J. Ayton Symington.
MIDSHIPMAN EASY. Illustrated by Fred Pegram.
THE KING'S OWN. Illustrated by F. H. Townsend.
THE PHANTOM SHIP. Illustrated by H. R. Millar.
POOR JACK. Illustrated by Fred Pegram.
SNARLEYYOW. Illustrated by H. R. Millar.
MASTERMAN READY. Illustrated by Fred Pegram.
FRANK MILDMAY. Illustrated by H. R. Millar.
THE PIRATE AND THE THREE CUTTERS. Illustrated by E. J. Sullivan.
NEWTON FORSTER. Illustrated by E. J. Sullivan.
* * * * *
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY,
66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK.