Beadle's Half Dime Library: Barney Blake, the Boy Privateer

This 1897 Beadle and Adams penny dreadful features "Barney Blake, the Boy Privateer; Or, The Cruise of the Queer Fish" by Herrick Johnstone. The narrative, set in May 1813, follows Barney Blake, a young sailor who ships aboard the privateer brigantine Queer Fish out of Boston. The vessel, commanded by the humorous Captain Joker and armed with six eighteen-pounder guns, carries a colorful crew of 125 men including boatswain Tony Trybrace, the taciturn Roderick Prinn and young Willie Warner, the enormous cook Snollygoster, and various other sailors. The first mate, a disagreeable Scotsman, is universally despised. The narrative establishes the crew's camaraderie through practical jokes and introduces the ship's departure from Boston with a comic incident involving a stranded Polish Jewish peddler. The story anticipates naval action against British vessels during the War of 1812.