[Gould, Ralph A.]:

$1,750 · Offered by William Reese Company

[TWO MANUSCRIPT JOURNALS KEPT BY YEOMAN RALPH A. GOULD ABOARD THE U.S.R.S. INDEPENDENCE, THE U.S.S. PETREL, AND THE U.S.S. PRINCETON]. Two naval journals kept by Landsman Ralph A. Gould of El Reno, Oklahoma, covering the period beginning August 19, 1903, to December 1, 1905, providing a detailed narrative of Gould's voyages aboard the U.S.R.S. Independence, the U.S.S. Petrel, and the U.S.S. Princeton. Visiting bases all over the Pacific Ocean, Gould's journals are fine evidence of the increased American naval presence in the region in the era of the "Great White Fleet" and expanded imperial holdings following the U.S. victory in the Spanish-American War.The journals comprise an appealing below-decks narrative, including accounts of Gould's experiences at sea and on shore at various land-falls. Born July 20, 1885, Gould was between eighteen and twenty years old when he kept these journals, and he records his activities in a lively and entertaining style. The majority of the journals relate to his service aboard the U.S.S. Petrel, a gunboat belonging to the Asiatic Squadron, patrolling the Pacific, at a time of heightened international watchfulness due to the Russo-Japanese war. He visits numerous anchorages, including but not limited to the Aleutian Islands (Dutch Harbor and Kiska Harbor), Sausalito Bay, Acapulco, Magdalena Bay, Panama, and various places on the Pacific Coast.Often docking to pick up and discharge cargo (coal and wool are mentioned), Gould reports, in colorful

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