Log of the Brig Roscoe: A Journal of a Passage from Salem Towards the Pacific Ocean on Board the Brig Roscoe of Salem 1821-23, Benjamin Vanderfo

The book contains a complete transcription of the original Log Book of a two year voyage around the world in the years 1821-23, plus additional documentation of the voyage, using first hand contemporary accounts. It also contains pictures of many of the native artifacts collected during the voyage. Captain Benjamin Vanderford was a merchant sea captain sailing a vessel owned by a group of investors. The success or failure of the venture was in his hands. And success, then as now, was measured in profits. Captain Vanderford sailed in seas, only lightly charted with rudimentary navigational instruments, entirely at the mercy of the winds, to secure those profits by trading with the local natives. He was a pioneer in the beche-de-mer trade at the Fiji Islands & for three decades challenged the dangers of the uncharted coral reefs of Fiji & the cannibalistic natives, who often killed & ate those who fell upon those reefs. Because of his experience in the Fijis & his knowledge of the South Pacific in general, he later sailed as pilot on the United States Exploring Expedition of 1838-42.