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they had been twenty-nine cats."—Frontispiece.
Buccaneers and Pirates
of Our Coasts
by
FRANK R. STOCKTON
Illustrated
GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers
NEW YORK
by arrangement with The Macmillan Company
Copyright, 1897-1898,
By THE CENTURY CO.
Copyright, 1898, 1926,
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
All rights reserved—no part of this bookmay be reproduced in any form withoutpermission in writing from the publisher,except by a reviewer who wishes to quotebrief passages in connection with a reviewwritten for inclusion in magazine ornewspaper.
Set up and electrotyped July, 1898. Reprinted November,1898; September, 1905; May, 1906; April, October, 1908;October, 1910; March, 1913; September, 1914; January,1915; October, 1917.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FOREWORD
Tempting boys to be what they should be—givingthem in wholesome form what theywant—that is the purpose and power of Scouting.To help parents and leaders of youthsecure books boys like best that are also bestfor boys, the Boy Scouts of America organizedEVERY BOY'S LIBRARY. The books included,formerly sold at prices ranging from $1.50to $2.00 but, by special arrangement with theseveral publishers interested, are now sold inthe EVERY BOY'S LIBRARY Edition at $1.00per volume.
The books of EVERY BOY'S LIBRARYwere selected by the Library Commission of theBoy Scouts of America, consisting of George F.Bowerman, Librarian, Public Library of theDistrict of Columbia; Harrison W. Craver, Director,Engineering Societies Library, NewYork City; Claude G. Leland, Superintendent,Bureau of Libraries, Board of Education, NewYork City; Edward F. Stevens, Librarian,Pratt Institute Free Library, Brooklyn, N.Y.,and Franklin K. Mathiews, Chief Scout Librarian.Only such books were chosen by theCommission as proved to be, by a nation widecanvas, most in demand by the boys themselves.Their popularity is further attested by the factthat in the EVERY BOY'S LIBRARY Edition,more than a million and a quarter copies ofthese books have already been sold.
We know so well, are reminded so often ofthe worth of the good book and great, that toooften we fail to observe or understand the influencefor good of a boy's recreational reading.Such books may influence him for good or ill asprofoundly as his play activities, of which theyare a vital part. The needful t