In an earlier series of books the present writer told the story of the high achievements of the men of the United States Navy, from the day of Paul Jones to that of Dewey, Schley, and Sampson. It is a record Americans may well regard with pride, for in wars of defense or offense, in wars just or unjust, the American blue jacket has discharged the duty allotted to him cheerfully, gallantly, and efficiently.

But there are triumphs to be won by sea and by land greater than those of war, dangers to be braved, more menacing than the odds of battle. It was a glorious deed to win the battle of Santiago, but Fulton and Ericsson influenced the progress of the world more than all the heroes of history. The daily life of those who go down to the sea in ships is one of constant battle, and the whaler caught in the ice-pack is in more direful case than the blockaded cruiser; while the captain of the ocean liner, guiding through a dense fog his colossal craft freighted with two thousand human lives, has on his mind a weightier load of responsibility than the admiral of the fleet.

In all times and ages, the deeds of the men who sail the deep as its policemen or its soldiery have been sung in praise. It is time for chronicle of the high courage, the reckless daring, and oftentimes the noble self-sacrifice of those who use the Seven Seas to extend the markets of the world, to bring nations nearer together, to advance science, and to cement the world into one great interdependent whole.

WILLIS JOHN ABBOT.
Ann Arbor, Mich., May 1, 1902.

List of Illustrations

PAGE
New England early Took the Lead in Building Ships[Frontispiece]
The Shallop[2]
The Ketch[5]
"The Broad Arrow Was Put on all White Pines 24 Inches in Diameter"[7]
"The Farmer-Builder Took his Place at the Helm"[8]
Schooner-Rigged Sharpie[11]
After a British Lieutenant Had Picked the Best of her Crew[18]
Early Type of Smack[21]
The Snow, an Obsolete Type[29]
The Bug-Eye[34]
A "Pink"[38]
"Instantly the Gun was Run Out and Discharged"[42]
"The Water Front of a Great Seaport like New York"[55]
An Armed Cutter[57]
"The Loud Laugh often Rose at my Expense"[65]
"The Dreadnaught"—New York and Liverpool Packet[69]
There are Building in American Yardsfacing [82]
"A Favorite Trick of the Fleeing Slaver was to Throw over Slaves"[95]
Dealers who Came on Board were Themselves Kidnappedfacing [98]
"The Rope was Put Around his Neck"[103]
"Bound them to the Chain Cable"[114]
"Sending Boat and Men Flying into the Air"[128]
"Suddenly the Mate Gave a Howl—'Starn All!"facing [132]
"Rot at Mouldering Wharves"[140]
"There she Blows!"[144]
"Taking it in his Jaws"[146]
Nearly every Man on the Quarterdeck of the "Argo" was Killed or Wounded[162]
The Prison Ship "Jersey"[163]
If they Retreated farther He would Blow Up the Shipfacing [176]
"I Think she is a Heavy Ship"[179]
"Striving to Reach her Decks at every Point"[186]
"They Fell Down and Died as they Walked"[199]
"The Treacherous Kayak"[203]
The Ship was Caught in the Ice Packfacing [204]
Adrift on an Ice Floe[206]
DeLong's Men Dragging their Boats over the Ice[210]
An Arctic House[224]
An Esquimau[227]
The Wooden Bateaux of the Fur Tradersfacing [236]
"The Red-Men Set upon them and Slew them all"[241]
One of the first Lake Sailors[243]
"Two Boat-Loads of Redcoats Boarded us and Took us Prisoners"[245]
A Vanishing Type on the Lakes[249]
"The Whaleback"[253]
Flatboats Manned with Riflemenfacing [266]
"The Evening would Pass in Rude and Harmless Jollity"[271]
The Mississippi Pilot[286]
A Deck Load of Cotton[290]
Feeding the Furnace[293]
On the Banks[314]
"The Boys Marked their Fish by Cutting off their Tails"[322]
Fishing from the Rail[328]
Trawling from a Dory[333]
Strikes a Schooner and Shears through her Like a Knifefacing [334]
Minot's Ledge Light[345]
Whistling Buoy[354]
Revenue Cutter[360]
Launching a Lifeboat through the Surf[364]
The Exciting Moment in the Pilot's Tradefacing [366]

Contents

CHAPTER I.