[Illustration: John Paul Jones.]
Among the men who commanded the American war vessels were some noted
sea-captains, the most famous of whom was John Paul Jones.
He was of Scottish birth. His father, John Paul, was a gardener, who lived
on the southwestern coast of Scotland. The cottage in which our hero spent
his early boyhood days stood near the beautiful bay called Solway Firth,
which made a safe harbor for ships in time of storm.
Here little John Paul heard many sailors tell thrilling stories of
adventure at sea and in far-away lands. Here, also, to the inlets along
the shore, the active lad and his playmates took their tiny boats and made
believe they were sailors, John Paul always acting as captain. Sometimes
when he was tired and all alone, he would sit by the hour watching the big
waves rolling in, and dreaming perhaps of the day when he would become a
great sea-captain.
When he was only twelve, he wished to begin his life as a real sailor. So
his father apprenticed him to a merchant at Whitehaven who owned a vessel
and traded in goods brought from other lands. Soon afterward John Paul
went on a voyage to Virginia, where the vessel was to be loaded with
tobacco.
Pages:
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95