Early years -- The wrecker chronicles -- San Francisco Bay times -- The tragedy of Merritt's Circassian -- Dynamite Johnny and the Umatilla -- Midwest and coastal operations -- Success, sealing, and the Arctic -- Failures follow accomplishment -- Wrecks--and a ghost ship -- No rewards without risk -- Used parts, scrap, and a new bow -- The decade of the Great War -- The roaring twenties -- The change of eras.