His story is eventful, and we will give the reader an
abridgement of it, as it was told by himself, in his narrative, first
published in a New England newspaper.
John Blatchford was born at Cape Ann, Mass., in the year 1762. In
June, 1777, he went as a cabin boy on board the Hancock, a continental
ship commanded by Capt. John Manly. On the 8th of July the Hancock was
captured by the Rainbow, under Sir George Collier, and her crew was
taken to Halifax.
John Blatchford was, at this time, in his sixteenth year. He was of
medium height, with broad shoulders, full chest, and well proportioned
figure. His complexion was sallow, his eyes dark, and his hair black
and curly. He united great strength with remarkable endurance, else he
could not have survived the rough treatment he experienced at the
hands of fate. It is said that as a man he was temperate, grave, and
dignified, and although his strength was so great, and his courage
most undaunted, yet he was peaceable and slow to anger. His narrative
appears to have been dictated by himself to some better educated
person. It was first published in New London, Conn., in the year
1788. In the year 1797 an abstract of it appeared in Philip Freneau's
_Time Piece_, a paper published in New York. In July, 1860, the
entire production was published in the _Cape Ann Gazette_. We
will now continue the narrative in Blatchford's own words:
"On our arrival at Halifax we were taken on shore and confined in a
prison which had formerly been a sugar-house.
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