Voyage of Will Rogers to the South Pole

It seems strange that I should only now publish an account of my extraordinary voyage and experience near the South Pole, but when I arrived in England my story seemed to be so out of the way that I was laughed and jeered at, and not having written anything in my life in the shape of a journal, I gave up talking about it. Now, however, sooner than the world should lose what ought to be of great interest to it, I will attempt, in my plain way, to give an account of what occurred to me, and of the strange people I fell in with, in my last voyage, especially as my span of life is drawing to a close.

I was born in the village of Tamarton, near Plymouth, Devonshire, in the year 1812, and went to school at Stone-house, in the same county, until I was eleven years of age, when I was obliged to leave school, owing to the death of my father, who was a small trader in that town. My mother and two sisters were left very poor, and feeling myself a burden to her, I resolved to shift for myself, and also hoped to be able, after a time, to be of some help to her. I engaged myself on board of a collier, and had a very rough life of it for two or three voyages, being kicked and cuffed by the captain and all hands, because, I suppose, I was a helpless lad; and in the last voyage I was so cruelly ill-treated that I ran away the first chance I had. I next shipped on board an East Indiaman, where my life was more bearable, and made several voyages in her from London. The treatment of boys on board ship in those days was very different to what it is in the present day. Talk of cruelty to animals! The cruelty to lads on board ship was worse than any animal ever went through! After a time, I became an expert seaman, but of course could not get to be more than a foremast hand, owing to my want of education. However, as soon as I got good wages I took as much as I could from time to time to my dear mother, who was one of the best women, I do believe, that ever was, and who almost broke her heart when I first left her. The wages were not so good in those days, so that I had not much to take her, but such as it was, it was gratifying to her, as it was also to me, for they were so glad to see me after a long spell. After a time they got to be a little better off, for some kind friends, seeing that my mother was a good and striving woman, set her up in a small shop, which in a short time succeeded so as to keep the wolf from the door.