oting amid yells and huzzas. Lieutenant
Barrette, the English commander, only twenty-five years old, was
mortally hurt and every other officer, excepting the surgeon and one
midshipman, was killed or wounded. Two-thirds of the crew were down but
still they refused to surrender, and Captain Diron had to pull down the
colors with his own hands. Better discipline and marksmanship had won
the day for him and his losses were comparatively small.

Men of his description were apt to think first of glory and let the
profits go hang, for there was no cargo to be looted in a King's ship.
Other privateersmen, however, were not so valiant or quarrelsome, and
there was many a one tied up in London River or the Mersey which had
been captured without very savage resistance. Yet on the whole it is
fair to say that the private armed ships outfought and outsailed the
enemy as impressively as did the few frigates of the American Navy.

There was a class of them which exemplified the rapid development of the
merchant marine in a conspicuous manner--large commerce destroyers too
swift to be caught, too powerful to fear the smaller cruisers. They were
extremely profitable business ventures, entrusted to the command of the
most audacious and skillful masters that could be engaged. Of this type
was the ship America of Salem, owned by the Crowninshields, which made
twenty-six prizes and brought safely into port property which realized
more than a million dollars. Of this the owners and shareholders
received six hundred thousand dollars as dividends. She was a stately
vessel, built for the East India trade, and was generally conceded to
be the fastest privateer afloat. For this service the upper deck was
removed and the sides were filled in with stout oak timber as an armored
protection, and longer yards and royal masts gave her a huge area
of sail. Her crew of one hundred and fifty men had the exacting
organization of a man-of-war, including, it is interesting to note,
three lieutenants, three mates, a sailingmaster, surgeon, purser,
captain of marines, gunners, seven prize masters, armorer, drummer,
and a fifer. Discipline was severe, and flogging was the penalty for
breaking the regulations.

During her four cruises, the America swooped among the plodding
merchantmen like a falcon on a dovecote, the sight of her frightening
most of her prey into submission, with a brush now and then to exercise
the crews of the twenty-two guns, and perhaps