The 53rd Show. This week we hear "Two Years Before the Mast," Chapters 1&2. This story is before the Gold Rush, and there was little hope for a better life by most working people. Richard Henry Dana Jr. left Harvard because he was having trouble with his eyes. He went to sea to restore his health. It was a hard life on board ship. Sailors often were mistreated. Dana returned to Harvard to finish his law degree, and later spent much time correcting the wrongs he saw at sea.
