“雪”(源自日耳曼语和斯堪的纳维亚语中的“snau”)一词的起源并不确定，它用来描述一艘方形双桅帆船的外观, but by the 17th century it was in common use. Although mariners often used the terms “snow,”“brigantine,” 和 “brig” interchangeably to describe similar types of sailing vessels, a snow came to be associated with a specific detail of its rigging.

As John Boit makes clear in his drawing of the 乔治, a snow had a small, 辅助桅杆紧靠在主桅的后面(后面)，在主桅上连接着前后斜帆或“侧帆”. 小桅杆解决了在主桅上同时携带方帆和前后帆的问题. 真正的禁闭室, with both square 和 fore-和-aft sails set on the mainmast, overcame this difficulty 和 began to appear in the 1770s.

The “bright dawn of youthful adventure”

John Boit was born on 15 October 1774, a son of John 和 Sarah Brown Boit of Boston. 老约翰·博伊特. 他是革命前波士顿著名的商人，他的生意和家庭关系使小约翰成为可能. to go to sea in 1790, shortly before his 16th birthday. He sailed as the fifth mate (官) of the 哥伦比亚 这是这艘船第二次经西北海岸前往中国，并进行第二次环球航行.

Young Boit kept a logbook during the 哥伦比亚1792年5月12日，他进入哥伦比亚河，留下了唯一的目击记录，这一事件后来在美国和英国之间的西北边界争端中产生了重要的外交影响.

John Boit was not yet 19 when 哥伦比亚 returned to Boston, but soon sailed again as first mate of the 伊丽莎 on a voyage to Virginia 和 Irel和. 1794年夏天，还不到20岁的博伊特被任命为这艘小型(65英尺，98吨)单桅帆船的指挥官 联盟 开始了从纽波特到中国为期两年的航行(“再见了纽波特的漂亮姑娘们,” he wrote in his 联盟 logbook), 航海历史学家塞缪尔·艾略特·莫里森(Samuel Eliot morrison)将这次航行描述为“在青春冒险的黎明中最引人注目的青春壮举”, that has come to my notice.”

The Long, Leaky Voyage of the 乔治

No sooner had John Boit’s ship reached Boston in July 1796 than the owners of the 联盟 appointed him captain of the 乔治, 这是一艘被法国海盗劫持的英国货轮，连同一桶一桶的豌豆在波士顿被卖掉, 土豆, 和牛肉. The new owners of the 乔治 (one was Boit’s brother-in-law, Crowell Hatch, a part owner 和 investor in the 哥伦比亚 和 联盟 在九月份驶向印度洋的法兰西岛(毛里求斯)之前，他没有时间让雪上的货物着陆，也没有时间修理漏水的船体.

Despite his lively frontispiece portrait of the 乔治, 博伊特的航海日志显示，在绕非洲航行期间，雪“太沉闷了，让人不舒服”，而且雪漏得太严重，以至于在法国岛的法国驻军的帮助下，船到达港口后才进入港口，然后雪“在港口漏得和在海上一样严重”，并有可能在抛锚时沉没.

The Pleasures of the Harbor

John Boit proved to be as able a business agent as he was a captain. 他卖掉了 乔治的货物, despite damage from leaks 和 attempts to repair his vessel at sea, 为了获得巨大的利润，甚至还以“好价钱”将雪重新粉刷，然后卖给当地与马达加斯加的贸易. Boit ended his logbook remarks about the “Old Snow 乔治” with the wish, “God send I may never sail in the like of her again.”

博伊特在法兰西岛上岸，“守着巴彻尔的酒馆——过着这个岛上年轻人普遍追求的那种快活的生活。,” by passing “a few months away in quite an agreeable though dissipated manner.他注意到，就像他在海上一样，他的“忠实的仆人周(一个中国人)”陪伴着他。.”

Chow M和erien, a Native of China

“Chou” (sometimes spelled “Chow”) had joined the crew of the 联盟 in China during John Boit’s earlier voyage. 年轻的少年, 他作为博伊特的仆人去了波士顿，然后几乎立刻又和博伊特一起乘火车出海了 乔治. After their sojourn in Isle de France, Boit 和 Chou returned to America in 1797 as passengers in 这艘船 广州. Less than a year later, in September 1798, 19-year-old Chou was killed in a fall from the masthead of John Boit’s new comm和, 这艘船 Mac, then in Boston fitting out for a voyage. Chou’s self-described “affectionate Master,——约翰·博伊特, 将他安葬在波士顿中央墓地，并为他立了一块巨大的墓碑(碑文将他的名字拼成了“周”)。. 周或周(博伊特的家人称他为“李贝”)是第一批住在波士顿的华裔之一——虽然时间很短——并被埋葬在这里.

A Secret Voyage Becomes Public

并不是约翰·博伊特所有的航海日志都保存了下来:1798年，博伊特的“忠实仆人”周从英国皇家海军的桅顶上摔了下来 Mac, Boit was preparing 这艘船 for a secret, 非法奴隶航行到非洲，然后再到古巴——这是臭名昭著的三角贸易的传统路线. There is an official record of the Mac1799年5月，在经历了一段痛苦的航行后，美国海军抵达古巴，244名被奴役的俘虏中只有206人在横渡大西洋时幸存下来，幸存者中几乎有三分之一是儿童. Boit’s voyage became public when 这艘船 returned to the United States. Under the Slave Trade Act of 1794, American citizens were forbidden to outfit ships for importing slaves. Boit was severely criticized in the public press 和 the Mac 在1799年10月，在当时的缅因区巴斯被查获并拍卖.

Home from the Sea

约翰·博伊特的船长生涯很长，一直延续到19世纪, alternating periods ashore as a Boston merchant with wide-ranging commercial voyages. In 1799, he married Eleanor Jones of Newport, 也许是他乘大帆船出海时留下的“新港漂亮姑娘”中的一个 联盟. 他们生了7个孩子，约翰在岸上的时间分别花在波士顿和牙买加平原之间. John Boit died in Boston in 1829, at last home from the sea.