This collection consists of four journals kept by Charles A. Benson, a black steward, aboard the merchant bark Glide during voyages to Zanzibar, Mozambique, and Madagascar. The journals cover almost two decades. Written during lengthy sea voyages from Benson's home port of Salem, Massachusetts, to trading destinations throughout the Indian Ocean and Red Sea, the journals were intended to be private, for personal reflection. In the journals, Benson describes life aboard the ship, health problems, and family matters. These journals are unique, as they are one of the few existing narratives composed by a black mariner in the nineteenth century.