Thrilling Narratives of Mutiny, Murder and Piracy

A collection of true stories of the high seas, from the nineteenth century. Shipwrecks, mutiny, life and death decision-making -- all far from home, while pitting themselves against the elements. The romance of the seafaring life is depicted in its brutal reality.

00 - Preface 01 - Adventures of Capt. Woodward and Five Seamen in the island of Celebes 02 - An Occurrence at sea 03 - Loss of H. B. M ship Phœnix, off Cuba 04 - An account of the Whale Fishery, with anecdotes of the dangers attending it 05 - Loss of the Brig Tyrrel 06 - Loss of the Peggy 07 - Loss of H. B. M. ship Litchfield 08 - Wreck of the Rothsay Castle Steamer 09 - Loss of the French ship Droits de L’Homme 10 - Loss of H. B. M. ship Queen Charlotte 11 - A Scene on the Atlantic Ocean 12 - Wreck of the French Frigate Medusa, on the Arguin Bank Part 1 13 - Wreck of the French Frigate Medusa, on the Arguin Bank Part 2 14 - Wreck of the French Frigate Medusa, on the Arguin Bank Part 3 15 - Wreck of the French Frigate Medusa, on the Arguin Bank Part 4 16 - Loss of the Royal George 17 - Loss of the Æneas, transport 18 - The Absent Ship 19 - Loss of the Halsewell, East Indiaman 20 - An account of Four Russians, abandoned on the Island of East Spitzbergen 21 - Loss of the Amphitrite, Female Convict Ship 22 - The Mutineers, a Tale of the Sea 23 - Fate of Seven Sailors, left on the island of St. Maurice 24 - Seamen wintering in Spitzbergen 25 - A Man Overboard 26 - An Escape through the Cabin-Windows 27 - Tom Cringle’s Log 28 - Loss of the Nautilus, Sloop of War 29 - Wreck of a Slave Ship 30 - The Wrecked Seamen 31 - Adventures of Philip Ashton Part 1 32 - Adventures of Philip Ashton Part 2 33 - Explosion of H. B. M. ship Amphion 34 - Loss of H. B. M. ship La Tribune 35 - Burning of the Prince, a French East Indiaman 36 - Wreck of the Schooner Betsey 37 - Early American Heroism 38 - Fingal’s Cave 39 - Loss of H. B. M. ship Ramillies 40 - Preservation of Nine Seamen 41 - Capt. Ross’s Expedition 42 - Loss of the Catharine, Venus, and Piedmont, transports, and three Merchant Ships 43 - Wreck of the Ship Sidney 44 - Loss of the Duke William, transport 45 - Commodore Barney 46 - Naval Battles of the United States 47 - Address to the Ocean

Shipwreck may be ranked among the greatest evils which man can experience. It is never void of danger, frequently of fatal issue, and invariably productive of regret. It is one against which there is the least resource, where patience, fortitude and ingenuity are in most cases, unavailing, except to protract a struggle with destiny, which, at length, proves irresistible.

But amidst the myriads unceasingly swallowed up by the deep, it is not by the numbers that we are to judge of the miseries endured. Hundreds may at once meet an instantaneous fate, hardly conscious of its approach, while a few individuals may linger out existence, daily in hope of succor, and at length be compelled to the horrible alternative of preying on each other for the support of life. Neither is it by the Narratives about to be given that we are to calculate on the frequency of shipwreck. It is an event that has been of constant occurrence since a period long anterior to what the earliest records can reach. In England it is calculated that about 5000 natives of the British Isles yearly perish at sea.

This perpetual exposure to peril, however, materially contributes to the formation of character, and hence are sailors preeminently distinguished by courage, endurance, and ready invention. Habituated to the instability of the ocean, they make little account of danger, and are invariably the first in matters of the most daring enterprise. Incessantly subjected to toil, they labor long and patiently without murmur, and the prompt and vigorous measures which are indispensable to their security, teach them the immediate application of whatever means are within their power.

A natural desire to know the fate of their fellow creatures seems implanted in the breast of mankind, and the most powerful sympathies are excited by listening to the misfortunes of the innocent. To record some impressive examples of calamity, or unlooked for deliverance, is the object of these pages; and it will be seen of what astonishing advantage are the virtues of decision, temperance, perseverance and unwavering hope in moments of extreme peril and despair.