The Crew’s Allotment
September 7, 1878
W e set sail out of Boston with the high tide in our journey to the Caribbean Sea where I last set eyes upon something. It's been twenty years since I witnessed a ship taken down to the deep by this underwater "something," and when I saw it, it was far in the distance attacking another poor bastard of a ship so I can't really be sure. But no one else has seen it.
I and my crew have been commissioned by Dr. Johnathan Hughes of the Royal Society of Science and Lord Marsden of the Royal Geographic Society to search for, identify, and destroy the sea-creature that has recently sunk 3 seafaring trade ships near the Cayman Islands.
How this came about
Dr. Hughes reached out to me by post some 6 months ago, upon hearing tales that I had witnessed something that was unexplainable attack a ship. He asked if I thought the recent tales of the sinking ship were true and if I would be open to exploring this further. I explained that I had seen something, although it was nearly night and a sailor's eyes can play tricks on him. I also let him know my normal trade routes do take me to the area and I had not seen anything in two decades. Aside from that, I was open to further discussions.
Those further correspondences bloomed into a sizeable fortune for me, my crew, and my ship the SS Bellerophon to be commissioned for an expedition with Dr. Hughes and Lord Marsden to search the area for a mysterious creature. Additionally, they would like to dive and collect samples of sea life. While the British navy was tied up in other warfare and endeavors of an empire, they allowed these scientists to ascertain the validity of the claims and capture, proof, and destruction if necessary.
Being a man of capital and my crew enjoying the idea or "hazard pay," we eagerly accepted this trip as something out of the ordinary and something to break up the monotony of normal merchant shipping.
Daily Journal
I will, in a good account, attempt to keep an accurate log of this journey so that in time it could be looked and reflected upon if our endeavor is successful or a by God, a failure. I feel it will be of some use to those who come after us. These pages written herein are my notes and thoughts during this sea passage.
