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.

[Illustration: NEW ENGLAND EARLY TOOK THE LEAD IN BUILDING SHIPS]

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 YARDS _facing_ 82

"A FAVORITE TRICK OF THE FLEEING SLAVER WAS TO THROW OVER SLAVES" 95

DEALERS WHO CA