Excerpt from Chapter 1: “Thus far, therefore, life had gone easily and prosperously with this light-hearted young fellow, and its future looked bright before him. He knew nothing of its ruder aspects—of its despair, its hunger, and its poverty. There were those who said of him that, while he was a good fair-weather sailor, he was not of the stuff to face, and do brave battle with, the storms of adversity, should they ever overtake him. “Now, just such a storm had overtaken Myles Manning, and he was to be tried. Nearly a year before a trouble of the eyes with which Mr. Manning was afflicted had suddenly resulted in total blindness. It was at first supposed to be only temporary, but as time wore on, and one painful operation after another failed to afford relief, hope began to yield to despair, and his career of usefulness seemed ended. Thus far his salary had been continued, and the affairs of the Manning family had gone on much as usual. At last there came a letter in which, while regretting the necessity, the president of the company that had employed[6] Mr. Manning informed him that, as there was no present prospect that he would be able to resume his duties, the payment of his salary must cease from that date.” This edition is a reprint of a book published in 1890.

Kirk Munroe (September 15, 1850 – June 16, 1930) was an American writer and conservationistBorn Charles Kirk Munroe in a log cab near Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, Munroe was the son of Charles and Susan (Hall) Munroe. His youth was spent on the frontier, after which his family moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where he attended school until he was sixteen. He publicly dropped "Charles" from his name in 1883. In 1876, Kirk Munroe was hired as a reporter for the New York Sun. Three years later he became the first editor of Harper\'s Young People magazine; he resigned in 1881. From 1879 to 1884, he was the commodore of New York Canoe club. During this time he helped found the League of American Wheelmen with Charles E. Pratt on May 31, 1880. Munroe was the Wheelmen\'s first Commander. He married Mary Barr, daughter of Amelia E. Barr on September 15, 1883. The couple settled in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida in 1886.[4] Mary accompanied him on several cruises on the Allapata, a thirty-five foot sharpie-ketch sailboat designed by Ralph Middleton Munroe. While in Florida, Munroe became a noted member of the Florida Audubon Society, and recommended a family friend Guy Bradley to the position as game warden in southern Florida. Bradley was later killed by plume hunters while on duty in the Everglades. Munroe builds a tennis court on his property. It is the first tennis court in Miami-Dade county. Munroe helped in establishing what is today called Ransom Everglades School. After Mary died in September 1922, he married his second wife, Mabel Stearns, in 1924. Kirk Munroe died June 16, 1930 at the age of 79. He was buried next to his first wife, Mary at the Woodlawn Park Cemetery in Miami.

The Blue Dragon / A Tale of Recent Adventure in China by Kirk Munroe : (full image Illustrated)The Blue Dragon, chosen as a title for this story, is the national emblem of China, adopted as such by a desire to flatter and propitiate that spirit of evil considered to be the most powerful. As the dragon is believed to be big enough and strong enough to overcome and devour all the other wicked genii who continually vex Chinese life, the wise men of the "Black-haired People" thought it best to have him on their side, and consequently accorded him the highest honor in their power to bestow. As we of America chose the eagle, strongest of visible air spirits, for our national emblem, so the Chinese chose the most powerful of invisible spirits in whose existence they believe as firmly as we do in the existence of things that we can see, hear, or feel.In the story thus entitled, I have endeavored to give an idea of what China has been, is, and may become through education and development, how she is regarded, and how her people are being treated by other nations, and what causes she has for resentment against those who are taking advantage of her feebleness to despoil her.While travelling in China, and trying to gain the Chinese point of view, I met so many charming people, so many men of intelligence and liberal education, honorable, broad-minded, and devoted to the uplifting of their unhappy country, that I became exceedingly interested in their cause, and anxious to aid it. With this object in view I am striving, through the medium of a story, to present it to those young Americans who, in the near future, will be called upon to decide the ultimate fate of the great Middle Kingdom. With them, more than with any other people, even including the Chinese themselves, will rest the decision, whether China shall remain a nation, open to the unobstructed commerce of the world, or become a series of petty colonial possessions devoted only to the interests of their several ruling powers. That my young readers may be guided to a wise and just solution of this great problem, is the sincere hope of their friend,Kirk Munroe.Biscayne Bay, Florida,January, 1904.CONTENTS1. A Stranger in a Strange Land2. America\'s Unfriendly Welcome3. Rob to the Rescue4. A Triumph for Jo\'s Enemies5. Threatened Violence6. The Sheriff Takes Prompt Measures7. The Sentence of the Court8. Jo\'s Enemies Prepare a Trap9. Jo Finds that He is Some One Else10. What Happened on the Way to China11. Accept a Kindness and Pass It Along12. From the Golden Gate to the Pearl River13. In the World\'s Most Marvellous City14. A Turn of Fortune\'s Tide15. In the Heart of Unknown China16. "Fists of Righteous Harmony"17. Leaping into Unknown Blackness18. A Supper of Sacred Eels19. An Exhibition of the Rain-God\'s Anger20. Rob Makes a Startling Discovery21. The Refugees of Cheng-Ting-Fu22. A Charge and a Race for Life23. Stealing a Locomotive24. The Timely Explosion of a Boiler25. In China\'s Capital City26. War Clouds27. China Defies the World28. Fighting Sixty Feet Above Ground29. Jo Heaps Coals of Fire30. The Capture of PekinILLUSTRATIONS"A HORSEMAN FLED BEFORE THEM"MAP SHOWING ROUTE FOLLOWED BY AUTHOR"AS POOR JO LOST HIS FOOTING AND FELL, ROB DASHED INTO THE MÊLÉE""HIS MADLY YELLING PURSUERS WERE NOW CLOSE UPON HIM""THE FUGITIVES MADE A CAUTIOUS ENTRY INTO THE SACRED PRECINCTS""HE WAS ABLE TO GAZE CALMLY AT HER WHEN THEY ONCE MORE WERE ESCORTED PAST THE CATHEDRAL""SO THEY DROVE ON, MILE AFTER MILE""THE SAVAGES FLED IN DISMAY BEFORE THAT CHARGE OF YELLING AMERICANS"

The Copper Princess - A Story of Lake Superior Mines is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Kirk Munroe is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Kirk Munroe then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.

Raftmates - A Story of the Great River is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Kirk Munroe is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Kirk Munroe then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.

CHAPTER I. GRADUATION: BUT WHAT NEXT? "Heigh-ho! I wonder what comes next?" sighed Cabot Grant as he tumbled wearily into bed. The day just ended marked the close of a most important era in his life; for on it he had been graduated from the Technical Institute, in which he had studied his chosen profession, and the coveted sheepskin that entitled him to sign M.E. in capital letters after his name had been in his possession but a few hours. Although Cabot came of an old New England family, and had been given every educational advantage, he had not graduated with honours, having, in fact, barely scraped through his final examination. He had devoted altogether too much time to athletics, and to the congenial task of acquiring popularity, to have much left for study. Therefore, while it had been pleasant to be one of the best-liked fellows in the Institute, captain of its football team, and a leading figure in the festivities of the day just ended, now that it was all over our lad was regretting that he had not made a still better use of his opportunities. A number of his classmates had already been offered fine positions in the business world now looming so ominously close before him. Little pale-faced Dick Chandler, for instance, was to start at once for South Africa, in the interests of a wealthy corporation. Ned Burnett was to be assistant engineer of a famous copper mine; a world-renowned electrical company had secured the services of Smith Redfield, and so on through a dozen names, no one of which was as well known as his, but all outranking it on the graduate list of that day. Cabot had often heard that the career of Institute students was closely watched by individuals, firms, and corporations in need of young men for responsible positions, and had more than once resolved to graduate with a rank that should attract the attention of such persons. But there had been so much to do besides study that had seemed more important at the time, that he had allowed day after day to slip by without making the required effort, and now it appeared that no one wanted him. Yes, there was one person who had made him a proposition that very day. Thorpe Walling, the wealthiest fellow in the class, and one of its few members who had failed to gain a diploma, had said: "Look here, Grant, what do you say to taking a year\'s trip around the world with me, while I coach for a degree next June? There is no such educator as travel, you know, and we\'ll make a point of going to all sorts of places where we can pick up ideas. At the same time it\'ll be no end of a lark." "I don\'t know," Cabot had replied doubtfully, though his face had lighted at the mere idea of taking such a trip. "I\'d rather do that than almost anything else I know of, but——" "If you are thinking of the expense," broke in the other. "It isn\'t that," interrupted Cabot, "but it seems somehow as though I ought to be doing something more in the line of business. Anyway, I can\'t give you an answer until I have seen my guardian, who has sent me word to meet him in New York day after to-morrow....

Kirk Munroe was an American writer and conservationist.