Letters Home from Sea
The Life and Letters of Solon J. Hanson, Down East Sailor
by L.J. Webster and M.A. Noah
By the age of 19, Solon Hanson of Castine, Maine, had worked as a cook, crew, and mate on sailing ships, had become a cod fisherman, survived one of New Orleans’ worst hurricanes, been called as witness to a murder trial, and was close to his goal of becoming a sea captain.
Unlike most sailors of the time, he diligently wrote home about his adventures. His letters were rediscovered over a century later, and provide a rare glimpse into the daily life of 1850s Maine cod fishermen. These letters offer a brilliant firsthand account of life and death at sea.
An Excerpt from one of Solon's Letters
"There is fifteen American Ships in Port. And it seems strange that he should be taken the first one. With the awful discease. It is generally the case. the best are taken away, while some poor miserable being will live for years. They say such things happen for the best. but it hardly seems so to me sometimes. Perhaps the one that is taken away is better off. but it is awful for those that are left behind . . .”
160 pp, Paperback
ISBN 978-0-9760896-5-0 / Price $16.95
Publication Date: November, 2006
