The design pf this work is to present to the reader such instances of courage, constancy, and perseverance, under circumstances the most peril s; rous and appalling, as will most conspicuously show the power of the human mind to triumph over dif fificulties, and that nothing is to be despaired of iwhere there is self-possession to look danger fear xlessly in the face, and promptly to take advantage 'of emergencies as they arise. Truth, it has been said, is often more marvellous than fiction, and the realities here exhibited strikingly exemplify the correctness of this remark.