South American Fights and Fighters, and Other Tales of Adventure

Name: South American Fights and Fighters, and Other Tales of Adventure
Author: Cyrus Townsend Brady

by Cyrus Townsend Brady

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Language: en1,168 downloads on Project Gutenberg

Subjects

Peru -- History -- Conquest, 1522-1548 Dueling Jones, John Paul, 1747-1792 Essex (Whaleship)Tonquin (Ship)Washita Campaign, 1868-1869 America -- Discovery and exploration -- Spanish Panama -- History

In: Children's Fiction·South America·Adventure

Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #20910.

About this book

Cyrus Townsend Brady’s South American Fights and Fighters, and Other Tales of Adventure is a sprawling anthology that gathers together a series of historical sketches, maritime yarns, and biographical sketches. The volume opens with a brief editorial note explaining that the “Yarn of the Essex whaler” and other pieces are drawn from scarce, out‑of‑print sources and from magazines such as Harper’s and The Cosmopolitan. From there the reader is led into Part I, a chronological tour of the Spanish Main, beginning with the early voyages of Ojeda and Nicuesa, a discussion of the competing claims of Columbus, Cabot and Vespucci, and a vivid description of the buccaneer era. The table of contents shows the work’s breadth, episodes of conquest in Peru, duels of American gentlemen, the story of John Paul Jones, and even a boy’s reminiscences of the West, each accompanied by period illustrations.

The prose is unmistakably early‑20th‑century, blending a scholarly tone with the flourish of a popular magazine writer. Brady’s voice is enthusiastic and often dramatizes the exploits of explorers, conquistadors, and naval heroes, while interspersing footnote‑style asides that reveal his own opinions. Readers who enjoy dense historical panoramas, illustrated travelogues, and the romanticized storytelling of the age of exploration will find this collection rewarding; it especially appeals to those who appreciate a blend of factual narrative and the adventurous spirit of turn‑of‑the‑century popular literature.

Characters in this book

John Paul JonesTall 18th‑century naval officer, powdered wig, navy coat with gold epaulettes, stern expression
OjedaMid‑16th‑century Spanish conquistador, dark beard, leather jerkin, chainmail hauberk, weather‑worn face
NicuesaEarly‑16th‑century Spanish explorer, short cropped hair, simple linen doublet, gaunt features, holding a map

The opening · free to read

"The Yarn of the Essex, Whaler" is abridged from a quaint account written by the Mate and published in an old volume which is long since out of print and very scarce. The papers on the Tonquin, John Paul Jones, and "The Great American Duellists" speak for themselves. The account of the battle of the Pitt River has never been published in book form heretofore. The last paper "On Being a Boy Out West" I inserted because I enjoy it myself, and because I have found that others young and old who have read it generally like it also.

Thanks are due and are hereby extended to the following magazines for permission to republish various articles which originally appeared in their pages: Harper's, Munseys, The Cosmopolitan, Sunset and The New Era.

I project another volume of the Series supplementing the two Indian volumes immediately preceding this one, but the information is hard to get, and the work amid many other demands upon my time, proceeds slowly.